Hi, I began fin 2 months ago and my hair is significantly worse. It’s really thinner and my hairline is more receded than before. Also, I’ve a lot more sex drive like never before. I dont know if it’s a shed or if fin is having the opposite effect on my body.
First, check with your mom and the other females in the family (grandmothers, aunts, sisters, etc..) and see if they had the same situation in their 20s as this condition is often inherited on the female side of the family. You need to get a good doctor and a good examination of your hair with a trichoscope which shows classic genetic patterns in the area around the sides and back of your head.
Some common blood tests for female hair loss:
- Sex Hormone tests
- SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) used to test status of male hormones
- Estradiol is a sex hormone
- FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) *not hair follicle but follicle in the ovary*
- LH (Luteinizing Hormone) is a sex hormone
- Free Testosterone
- Total Testosterone
- ANA (Anti Nuclear Antibody) used to test for Lupus or other autoimmune diseases
- TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) used to test for hyper or hypo-thyroid disease
- Test Iron status
- TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity)
- Ferritin
- Iron
As these test may point to a cause other than genetic
Diet and Healthy Hair
Medically Reviewed by Stephanie S. Gardner, MD on November 12, 2020
- Salmon, tuna, mackerel, and other fatty fish
- Flaxseed oil, Flaxseeds, chia seeds, canola oil
- Walnuts
- Soy beans, tofu and cruciferous fruits and vegetables
Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid are also important to your hair. Vegetarians and vegans often don’t get enough of them.
Foods with B6 include bananas, potatoes (both white and sweet), and spinach. Major sources of B12 include meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products.
You can get folic acid with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits and tomatoes. Whole-grain and fortified-grain products, beans, and lentils also have it.
I think because of better social media, we are more aware of balding today and we are sharing the problem with others. I don’t believe that we moved the needle on balding
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/sdut-hair-stem-cells-papillae-gnedeva-terskikh-burnham-2015jan26-story.html
This has been done before. I remember attending a lecture which described these cells put into mice and since the direction couldn’t be controlled, the mice all died from ingrown hair infections
I am surprised to see your Finasteride does being so low as the studies of effectiveness puts it down to less than 25% effective at the 0.1mg dose. The minoxidil dose is 5% and microneedling all occurring at the same time. The time frame between photos is 9 months and I suspect that the microneedling plus the minoxidil working together gave him the benefit he can see.
Hairline lowering procedures come in two types (1) a hairline advancement surgery (a good surgery for women but generally not men) and (2) a hairline lowering hair transplant surgery. When women have corner recession as many men do, then a hairline advancement surgery is not as good as a hair transplant lowering surgery. As this surgery could leave a scar in the front of the hairline, men who recede shouldn’t have it because their hairline could go back and leave the scar exposed requiring a hair transplant to cover it. Be careful, as some surgeon promote what they know not what may be good for you. Here are some examples of a hair transplant hairline lowering surgery:
I have marked up the areas that are thinning that may lead to complete balding. The forelock has a different genetic code and may remain in some men so this man has an evolving Norwood Class 5 pattern that could eventually lead to a Class 6 pattern as many such patterns do. You have at this time a persistent forelock that may eventually be lost along with the bridge area defined in the photo as well. If you are lucky and the forelock lasts until you are 35, it will hold a frame to your face for many years after
I have been reading and seeing some SMP done on bald/balding men. So it is basically a hair tattoo. To be honest, in my opinion, it doesn´t look that different than a bald head. It says that it should resemble a buzzcut, or a really short hairstyle visually. But it sounds like some bullshit too me. It is also pretty expensive. For that price, I would rather pay a little more and get a hair transplant in the future when I get older. Have any of you heard about it/try it? What is your opinions? :)
SMP is a good solution for some people who can accept a shaved head for rest of their life, but for others, not as good a choice as a hair transplant. Of course, you can start with SMP and if you decide at some point in the future to get a hair transplant , that is an option. The best thing about SMP (a name we coined and published) is that you don’t have to worry about progressive balding. If you get a hair transplant when you have a Class 3 pattern and then progress to a Class 6 pattern, with SMP, you don’t have to do it again while with a hair transplant, you will have to transplant the new bald areas. See our site: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/
SMP is also a great solution for people with thinning hair as it makes it look fuller because the contrast between skin and hair color can be made closer to each other
I had sexual side effects on finasteride and my dermatologist told me to switch to dutasteride, does this make sense?
If your sexual side effects on finasteride are real, then it would be the same on dutasteride
My dad is 55 and is still a NW2 with good density, but unfortunately I don’t think I got his hair genes. Looking at my maternal grandfathers pictures I have a really similar hairline to him and the same big forehead. He said he didn’t start losing hair until 40 and was a nw7 around 60. However I think he started earlier than 40 he just didn’t really notice it getting bad until then. I was an NW2 at 20 and have been on fin since then (am 23 now) and am still an NW2, but my overall density has thinned a little bit. Do people usually follow an exact pattern as certain people in their family or is it sometimes a combination of multiple people?
Many men who are balding can find someone in their family line that have a balding pattern and rate of balding that they can identify with.
In my experience prescribing it, I don’t hear of much complaints about shedding unless the hair loss is under rapid progression and the shedding was going on before the drug.