Pictures! will my hairloss get better from here? should i add somthing with finasteride

[headache2015]

Hi I'm 23 years old and started noticing my thinning in May of 2014. I started finasteride on October 8th and was told I would maintain the hair I had at the time which would be fine with me. In 3 months and 21 days my hair on the top of my head has gotten thinner. My hairline (which is where I first noticed my hair loss) has taken the biggest hit. I'm afraid to get a haircut because Ill have less coverage if I do. I have some short dark hairs about eyelash length along the hairline but they are spread far apart. In the first four pictures your notice that the right side of my head( your left) has thinned the worst. But there are also short kinda weak dark hairs that are sparse I'd if it's thinned hair or hair that will grow and thicken. I just need some advice if I should try a new treatment or add more to my current finasteride treatment? Is my loss at this point normal and can I still get back the hair I started my treatment with? The first four pics are from today the last is from November 12th today today today today(Same lighting) nov 12th(same lighting) Sorry about the sideways shots im in a rush getting this done at the moment. if it doesnt zoom in when clicked ill repost it in a larger size.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

It looks like you have some minor recession, but not all your pictures are taken at proper angles to be able to tell. Also, just given the lighting in the photo, it kind of looks like your front central forelock might have some thinning in it, which would indicate an "A" pattern of hair loss. It's really difficult to tell from pictures, and I am not a doctor with the proper equipment to give such a diagnosis, so take from my post what you will. Might want to seek the opinion of a dermatologist to be sure. They can test to see not only if you're balding, but the likely pattern in which you will bald into. Good luck.

 

[headache2015]

Thanks for the response, but is it still possible to get the hair I've lost in the front back while on finasteride? I've been on it for 3 months and 22 days so far and I'm not sure how much of a negative cosmetic effect the shed can create. Is it normal to lose that much and grow most back?. Or would dutasteride be more effective?

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Finasteride is typically going to be strong enough on its own to halt hair loss. Dutasteride blocks both types 1 and 2 AR, and is really only meant for really aggressive balding men from what I understand. Finasteride, so long as you don't discontinue treatment, will at the very worst greatly slow down your hair loss. Most men see hair loss stop completely, and a small percentage of lucky bastards will actually see regrowth whilst on finasteride only. Most men go with the big 3 (finasteride, minoxidil, and ketoconazole) because for the most part they fall under the umbrella of finasteride completely stopping their hair loss. The minoxidil regrows or thickens the areas that are thin, but works best at the crown. Keto is a topical DHT blocker that is used about 3-4 times per week, and can be found in nizoral shampoo. Your hair loss doesn't look to be very extensive at all, so I would recommend only finasteride for now, and you can add the other two later on if you find your hair loss worsening or you just aren't getting the regrowth that you had hoped for.

Hair growth cycles tend to last for quite a while, so it usually takes about 6-8 months minimum before you know whether you've seen any improvement with finasteride, and even at that point it would be hard to tell with the naked eye. Around month 12-14 you should know definitively whether finasteride has slowed down loss, stopped loss, or has actually began regrowing your hair. Keep in mind that the vast majority of any regrowth or thickening occurs in areas where hair already exists, i.e. the crown/vertex area. The hair lost at the hairline and temple region is pretty much never coming back without a transplant. It has happened, like the user "zeroheat" on this very message board, but it's extremely rare. Typically around two years on the drug will show the greatest improvement for men, and after that it usually tapers off a bit and you see a slow decrease in it's effectiveness, but that can vary greatly from person to person. Some men maintain for 10-15 years, others for 5-7, and for some genetics proves to be too difficult to overcome and the drug just cannot combat nature from taking its course. Good luck.

 

[headache2015]

Thank you so much that's a lot of helpful info. In my mind I always thought regrowth meant regrowing hairs lost before finasteride. I thought that the finasteride shed would more than likely regrow the hairs lost during treatment back thicker after the resting phase. Ill give finasteride 2 more months before deciding on dutasteride.

 

[Baylad]

might need to give it more than 2 months