I swear finasteride is causing my hairline to miniaturize...
- Thread starter JHCL1990
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Quantum Cat
Senior Member
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LOL. the many men (including yours truly) who have retained their frontal hairline might dispute that
Quantum Cat
Senior Member
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true, but it was receding alrmingly fast and the recession appeared to halt when I started finasteride. Without the ability to travel to a parallel universe we'll never know for sure, but I believe there's a reasonably strong chance I could be a couple of Norwoods higher than I am now.
If finasteride works, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on the entire Norwood area, unless you're a non-responder and/or your male pattern baldness is too aggressive, which unfortunately may be the case for the OP
If finasteride works, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on the entire Norwood area, unless you're a non-responder and/or your male pattern baldness is too aggressive, which unfortunately may be the case for the OP
Quantum Cat
Senior Member
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I don't believe it would 'speed up' recession - the OP is probably imagining this - but finasteride isn't supposed to regrow hair either. Nobody's claimed it will regrow hair at the front, and while there are reports of regrowth at the crown, I think these are uncommon and largely anecdotal, or due to other reasons.
You can discount the original Merck trials as corrupt/biased/flawed or whatever if you so wish, but other impartial studies of finasteride's effectiveness have been done since. The aggressiveness of an individual's male pattern baldness is the key to whether finasteride will work or not, not the area. Besides, the front and crown are almost always the first to go (apart from diffusers).
That finasteride does 'jack' for the front is just one of the many male pattern baldness myths out there...
We could argue opinions all day but there is a study showing finasteride does work everywhere even the frontal hair line. I think the question could be if you stop finasteride is your hair more sensitive to androgens than if you had never used it? Does hair adapt to different androgen levels in terms of receptors or however hair interacts with androgens at the cellular level.
massa
Banned
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I see at lot of threads about finasteride making hairlines worse and no threads on finasteride is making crown mid-scalp worse., it does make you wonder!!!. Truth is finasteride works for 83% of men, but on the hairline that number is a lot lower as especially in young people frontal hair loss is aggressive and finasteride is sometimes too weak to make a difference. In the year I took finasteride my hairline went and never returned but I wouldnt say I was a non responder as my crown/mid scalp remain super thick. Im now on dutasteride (more DHT blocked) and RU for my remaining frontal hairs(attacks DHT/Test locally), although its too early to make judement, id recommend this regimen if you get no sides as its a more aggressive approach to tackle aggressive hair loss. finasteride sadly doesn't block enough dht in some people
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we don't need a study for the hairline to know it works. The mechanism of miniaturization is exactly the same for the hairline as the rest of the scalp. finasteride stops this mechanism
Quantum Cat
Senior Member
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that still doesn't change the fact that many, many men who use Finasteride report that it halts - or at least severly slows down - hairloss all over the Norwood area, including the frontal hairline. Obviously, not for everyone, but for the majority. Your argument that 'you have no idea how the male pattern baldness would have progressed' doesn't really hold water because there are too many to write off as coincidence.
Merck didn't include the front in their study. That's not the same thing as saying it doesn't work for the front. Why Merck chose not to - you can speculate all you want. If you're cynical you could argue it was to skew their studies in a more positive light. But AFAIK further studies by impartial teams have confirmed that finasteride does work at the front for most men (about 80%).
So your assertion that it doesn't help the front at all - or only minimally - is wrong, apart from those men who's male pattern baldness is simply too aggressive for finasteride to work at all (the other 20%).
of course, if it's true that finasteride really does lose its effectiveness over time, I expect the front will be the first to succumb. but that's another debate
Quantum Cat
Senior Member
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where are you getting this 'many' from? AFAIK it's mostly anecdotal reports of crown regrowth by people on forums such as this, and that don't really count as rigorous evidence, and there are probably other factors skewing people's reports.
if memory serves, the original Merck trials tentatively reported that some subjects showed some regrowth on the crown, but they were reluctant to champion it too much. If it really was as many as you claim, I don't think it's something Merck would have kept a lid on.
Merck promoted Propecia as a preventative rather than a hair regrower - which for all intents and purposes is what it is. The bottom line is, if you start finasteride believeing you will get a full crown back, you're quite likely going to be disappointed. But you never know...
Sanchez1234
Experienced Member
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How is your situation now?
It got better, then worse again around 1 year 6 months. Started dutasteride 6 months ago and my hair is better.
When did it start to get better?
Sanchez1234
Experienced Member
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Do you have timeline for us? Need some reasurrence
I just want to point out there are studies showing propecia does work on the front hairline. Its not mercks main studies, but they do exist.
Its not to say its impossible finasteride could make hair loss worse. With something as poorly understood as male pattern baldness I think almost anything is possible still
Its not to say its impossible finasteride could make hair loss worse. With something as poorly understood as male pattern baldness I think almost anything is possible still
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Did you have any shed when switching to dutasteride? I've been on finasteride since the start of the year and it turned my hair to sh*t during the first 6-7 months, it seems to be better now though and I don't shed as much as I did prior to starting, if things do take a switch for the worse, I won't hesitate to start dutasteride.
Dutasteride gave me a horrible telogen effluvium. Actually, my hair is once again looking worse at my left temple.
There is no reassurance to give. Being on these drugs is like being bipolar--constant ups and downs. One week you might think your hair looks great, the next you might think you'll be bald in another month. You will never know what is actually happening.
There is no reassurance to give. Being on these drugs is like being bipolar--constant ups and downs. One week you might think your hair looks great, the next you might think you'll be bald in another month. You will never know what is actually happening.
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I just made the switch to dutasteride a month ago after a year on finasteride. finasteride darkened and thickened my hair but constantly shedding quarter inch hairs like maybe 100 a day..after switching to dutasteride shedding has all but stopped and hair looks much better..no bad sides as of yet but everyone responds differently of course but hang in there.
