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Hello! I'm new here but I've been lurking these forums for many months and I've reached a point where I need advice. This is long but I've been pondering posting for a while so here it goes...
Firstly, I'll start off with how I got here. I noticed around 2 years ago (I'm 20 now) that my hair texture was beginning to change. I found out recently my mother's father's hair did the same thing. It went from pretty straight to curly and then his hair thinned and fell out by 40 and he was bald until he passed away a few years ago at 82. My hair has a definite curl to it but I have/had a lot of it (depends if my shed grows back). I don't want the bald part to happen and since hair loss comes from your mother (my dad is 48 with a full head of hair still, I'm jealous) I began to try to combat it.
I was always the kid that when I went to the barber they'd comment on how much hair I had, how thick it was, etc. I hated it then but I realize now it's why I love my hair so much so when I noticed smaller hairs appearing along my hairline I freaked out.
About a year and a half ago I started using Kirkland 5% minoxidil topical foam on my hairline and things were fine. I realized around 6 months ago my hairline was slowly receding so I went to a dermatologist and she prescribed me Generic Finasteride (1MG tablets) a day. I was sad because it validated my balding fears but I had hope because of these forums.
So, that brings me to where I am today. I believe I'm at worst a Norwood 2. I've always had a high forehead ever since I was a baby so It's hard to gauge if it's as bad as I believe/comparing to other people's photos. I have been on Finasteride for (3 days shy of) 4 months while continuing to use Minoxidil. After about a month and a half on finasteride I noticed I started to shed a considerable a amount from what I normally do (8-10 while shampooing, 5 or so with conditioner, and maybe 10 when I blew-dry my hair, and definitely some as I was just about my day existing). I read that it was normal to shed so I stuck with it. Currently, my hairline looks worse than it did (I might post photos of the before/after but I want to wait for advice from this post first. I've been taking pictures bi-weekly) but I notice shorter hairs all along my hairline that weren't there before. I can't tell if it's new growth or continued miniaturization but the smaller hairs from last month are longer and there are new small hairs beneath them.
I think the shed has improved as I lose maybe 1-2 hair when I shampoo now and same with conditioning, not sure about blow-drying though. I know the growth cycle is around 3 months for hairs so ones I lost right at the beginning might be coming back now and ones I lost more recently still have a while until they have a chance of reappearing.
I'm going to stick with Finasteride for a while because I understand you need at least 12 months to evaluate whether or not it's effective, I understand that it's still too early (technically) for me to see results. My question is if I should go and see my dermatologist and ask about duasteride? Should I schedule an appointment soon and just get a check-in? I know it's hard to tell without photos and because it's only been 4 months but I can't tell if it's getting worse or if the hairs that are along my hairline are positive growth. I would just love to know if this is the beginning of the end for my hair.
Any advice would be awesome, I love my hair and I would just like to know if I should consider asking my parents about hairline replacement surgery... I don't want to but if this won't work for me I don't think I have any other options. Thanks in advance
P.S. No noticeable side effects from either at least for now lol
Edit: The image on the left is the day I started finasteride and the right was taken today.
Firstly, I'll start off with how I got here. I noticed around 2 years ago (I'm 20 now) that my hair texture was beginning to change. I found out recently my mother's father's hair did the same thing. It went from pretty straight to curly and then his hair thinned and fell out by 40 and he was bald until he passed away a few years ago at 82. My hair has a definite curl to it but I have/had a lot of it (depends if my shed grows back). I don't want the bald part to happen and since hair loss comes from your mother (my dad is 48 with a full head of hair still, I'm jealous) I began to try to combat it.
I was always the kid that when I went to the barber they'd comment on how much hair I had, how thick it was, etc. I hated it then but I realize now it's why I love my hair so much so when I noticed smaller hairs appearing along my hairline I freaked out.
About a year and a half ago I started using Kirkland 5% minoxidil topical foam on my hairline and things were fine. I realized around 6 months ago my hairline was slowly receding so I went to a dermatologist and she prescribed me Generic Finasteride (1MG tablets) a day. I was sad because it validated my balding fears but I had hope because of these forums.
So, that brings me to where I am today. I believe I'm at worst a Norwood 2. I've always had a high forehead ever since I was a baby so It's hard to gauge if it's as bad as I believe/comparing to other people's photos. I have been on Finasteride for (3 days shy of) 4 months while continuing to use Minoxidil. After about a month and a half on finasteride I noticed I started to shed a considerable a amount from what I normally do (8-10 while shampooing, 5 or so with conditioner, and maybe 10 when I blew-dry my hair, and definitely some as I was just about my day existing). I read that it was normal to shed so I stuck with it. Currently, my hairline looks worse than it did (I might post photos of the before/after but I want to wait for advice from this post first. I've been taking pictures bi-weekly) but I notice shorter hairs all along my hairline that weren't there before. I can't tell if it's new growth or continued miniaturization but the smaller hairs from last month are longer and there are new small hairs beneath them.
I think the shed has improved as I lose maybe 1-2 hair when I shampoo now and same with conditioning, not sure about blow-drying though. I know the growth cycle is around 3 months for hairs so ones I lost right at the beginning might be coming back now and ones I lost more recently still have a while until they have a chance of reappearing.
I'm going to stick with Finasteride for a while because I understand you need at least 12 months to evaluate whether or not it's effective, I understand that it's still too early (technically) for me to see results. My question is if I should go and see my dermatologist and ask about duasteride? Should I schedule an appointment soon and just get a check-in? I know it's hard to tell without photos and because it's only been 4 months but I can't tell if it's getting worse or if the hairs that are along my hairline are positive growth. I would just love to know if this is the beginning of the end for my hair.
Any advice would be awesome, I love my hair and I would just like to know if I should consider asking my parents about hairline replacement surgery... I don't want to but if this won't work for me I don't think I have any other options. Thanks in advance
P.S. No noticeable side effects from either at least for now lol
Edit: The image on the left is the day I started finasteride and the right was taken today.
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