Hi all, I've been on this sub for a long time but never posted. Today I decided to share my story and look for advice.

• 2012 – I started losing my hair and every year it got worse. Tried Minoxidil but wasn't really working.
• 2021 – after years of depression and very low self-esteem I decided to do a Hair Transplant. Life-changing decision, for better and worse.
• During 2021 – after the HT, doctor prescribed me Saw Palmetto / Serenoa Repens (large dose) + Minoxidil, because I told him I worried about Finasteride sides. Unfortunately I still experienced serious sides from Serenoa after 4 months of use (low libido, no sensitivity, no orgasm, weak erection). So I decided to stop. I recovered a bit with the help of Cialis but never fully. Unfortunately, I never recovered the penis sensitivity and orgasm pleasure.
• 2022 – my native hair was getting worse and I felt very anxious again. I decided to restart with a lower dose of Serenoa again but with no results. Then I decided to try Oral Finasteride because my doctor was pressuring me. After only 1 week of use (like 3 pills) I experienced new sides (watery semen, no morning wood) on top of what I already had so I stopped immediately.
• During 2022 – hair was getting worse and also I started having problems with the prostate, a bacterial infection and HPV.
• 2023 – I stopped everything, no more meds for hair. I wanted to see if I could recover because sex without pleasure gave me a lot of depression and also focus on my prostate problems.
• Today – hair is not worse but still very bad. I want to do another transplant but the doctor told me to wait a few years more. I'm trying to manage with a lot of hair fiber and spray but it's hard, even mentally doing this every morning and feeling self conscious. Prostate seems better luckily, I found out Quercetin fixed some of my problems with no sides. I can finally pee without pain.

I'm starting to think that I will never get back the penis sensitivity and orgasm but also that if I don't do something for my hair I will be even worse than now and I'll get more depressed. So I'm now thinking about using Topical Finasteride + Minoxidil, hoping that at least my hair would get better and I won't get worse sides. I'd like some advice if this is a good or bad idea in your opinion.

Just to add in case you ask, in these last 2 years I did regular workouts in the gym, healthy diet (although I put on 20kg in the last 4 years because I was a bit underweight), and tried a tons of testosterone and nootropics supplements but nothing worked.

Thank you if you're reading.

This is after a month of fin and almost a year of min.

;TLDR if you're struggling to make gains and you're already on fin, min, and microneedling, look to reduce stress and anxiety by improving sleep, diet, exercise and environment.

Just wanted to quickly run down my experience and maybe this will be helpful to others:

• Started on finasteride and pm topical minoxidil at 26 (NW2) at this point. Started micro needling 6 months in for about 6 months

• Saw small gains across the scalp for about 1 year. Exercised 5-6x a week

• Plateaued at the 1 year mark (wasn't really micro needling at this point)

• Started to have losses shortly after (I also went on a gaming bender for like 2-3 months so my sleep quality wasn't very good). Exercised once a week. At this point I was probably behind baseline

• Switched to oral dutasteride after gaming bender (no gains, no losses ~3 months). Sleep still wasn't great here. Exercised 2x a week

• Started to exercise, get consistent sleep and microneedle once a week (small gains, but still behind baseline)

• Had another 1 month gaming bender where I didn't microneedle, have good sleep, or exercise much. Over the next 3 months I lost more hair (at this point the worst it has been)

• 3-4 months off the bender, but not really microneedling, sleep is decent and I am exercising 4-5x a week. Didn't make aby progress at this point.

• 1.5 month gaming bender and again losing hair (NW2.5-3) at this point.

• Finally, last 2 months Ive been locked in with sleep, exercise, diet, microneedling etc, and Ive seen some small gains in the form of terminal hairs, but a crazy ton of vellus hairs which gives me hope if I can stay locked in.

Some things to note: I've stayed quite consistent with medication throughout the last few years. All of the sheds correlated with 4 things: no microneedling, poor sleep, less exercise, more video games. Obviously I expect to lose some hair coming off of microneedling, but the fact that each time I did, I actually fell further behind premicroneedling levels makes me feel the other changes contributed as well.

I think video games in moderation are fine, but when i play them my resting heart rate is like 25-40bpm above resting, and doing that for 12 hours a day is adding a lot of additional stress on my body. Poor sleep and lack of exercise also add additional stress which I think was contributing to my losses / lack of growth.

So after multiple HT I finally have a decent hairline, however the texture is still quite thin. I'm just wondering if anyone who has had HTs could recommend any products that won't damage the hair or feel really crunchy. I know that Sea Salt spray is suppose to be good, but shouldn't be used daily, are there any better alternatives? Don't really want anything too thick like clays, and Uk brands if possible

Bit of a positivity post for people just starting out on meds but I just hit 1 month using finasteride (21 yo). I used to be afraid to wash my hair everyday because of the amount of hair I would have on my hands afterwards. This week I washed my hair and had maybe 2 hairs on my hands compared to the usual 20-50. Thank you to this community for informing me of this treatment and to any other young males looking for answers my DM is open!

diffuse thinning & telogen effluvium - fin not working, should I start min? should I be doing anything else?

Hi everyone, finally figured out the right term for my hair thinning - and I am almost certain its telogen effluvium. I have a variety of physical, hormonal and mental health issues which I think have been contributing. I am going to get a referral to a dermatologist for a diagnosis, but the health care is garbage here so It will be a very long wait.

I have been on fin for about 4 months now (daily 1.25mg) and I have not noticed my diffuse thinning stopping. I am stressed as it seems to not be slowing down and even perhaps getting worse. I am also on Vitamin D supplements (5000 IU daily -blood test said I was deficient) Biotin supplements (10,000 mcg daily, I am going for a daily walk at sunset to help with my stress, & daily 10 minute scalp massages & overall better nutrition and hydration.

Wondering if anyone could give me some advice, should I go on minidoxil right away now? It seems the fin isn't working even though its been more than 4 months - and I am worried waiting any longer will just allow my hair to get worse. Should I start oral min, or is topical better for this type of hair loss? & any other lifestyle and nutrition related advice you guys know of? I am just feeling sorta lost and overwhelmed by all the different information online and would appreciate someone with experience with this type of hair loss sharing some of your wisdom and experience.

Thanks a lot!

I realized im paying an insane amount for propecia pills. It seems to have stopped further shedding but if i switch to proscar and split them so they are 1.25mg, i will save 24x more money per month.

So is proscar as good as propecia?

Extra: Minoxidil tablets are just starting to become a thing here but only way is to import and its insanely expensive. So saving money from this switch could be useful. (I have tried topical but cant stick to it + hate it)

Possible cause of hairloss due to Thyroid

Hey everyone,

I have been losing my hair for the last 4 years. When I first noticed the loss I hopped on finasteride but ultimately got sides and quit. I tried two different at a later date and still got sides with a low dose. I ended up getting all of my blood work done about a year ago and I showed some abnormal thyroid results. My TSH was normal, however my FT3, FT4, and Reverse T3 were all well over (elevated) the normal range. And no, I am not taking Biotin. Is this possibly the cause for my hair loss? Has anyone had labs similar to this?

I tested negative for Graves’ disease. And my thyroid scan came back normal.

I have been on Dutasteride for the last 7 months and oral min for the last year. Thankfully no sides effects, but I am still shedding hair like crazy as before with no stabilization or regrowth.

What do you think about applying progesterone cream to the scalp?

1. The assumption that prolactin causes hair loss has been substantiated (Prolactin induces an increase in DHT).
2. Progesterone inhibits DHT production.
3. Progesterone suppresses prolactin.

Could progesterone cream be the answer?

for1
hmi 115 results

for2.

M. A. Camilletti et al. provide new insights into how progesterone actions affect prolactin secretion and its role in prolactinoma development. The study suggests a complex interaction that could potentially inhibit prolactin secretion under certain conditions.

1. In research by H. Minakami et al., progesterone significantly lowered circulating prolactin levels in a majority of hypogonadal women, hinting that high progesterone levels during the luteal phase might inhibit estrogen-induced prolactin release.
2. L. Assairi et al. demonstrated that progesterone inhibits the lactogenic action of prolactin, reducing lactose synthesis activity in pseudopregnant rabbits, directly showing progesterone's inhibitory effect on prolactin’s biological function.
3. An experimental study noted by L. Caligaris et al. showed that progesterone inhibits the release of prolactin in ovariectomized rats, reinforcing the notion of progesterone as a regulator of prolactin secretion.
4. The paper by I. Maslar and R. Ansbacher highlighted that progesterone inhibits prolactin production in cultures of proliferative human endometrium during short-duration treatments, providing insights into its regulatory effects in human reproductive biology.

These studies collectively emphasize the regulatory role of progest

for 3.

1. A study by J. Graham and Christine L. Clarke explores how progesterone may inhibit the action of DHT by regulating gene expression in target tissues like the uterus, ovary, and breast.
2. Progestins like progesterone have been shown to inhibit the enzyme 17,20(17-hydroxyprogesterone)-lyase, which could potentially reduce DHT production, according to a study by D. Mahajan and L. Samuels.
3. In another context, J. Studd et al. found that progesterone caused a significant reduction in blood pressure, indicating potential non-reproductive systemic effects, though the direct link to DHT inhibition was not explored in this study.
4. Progesterone receptor antagonists such as 17-hydroxy-17-pentafluoroethyl-estra-4,9(10)-diene-11-aryl derivatives, as discussed by W. Bone et al., have a progesterone antagonizing effect that might indirectly influence DHT synthesis.
5. The potential for natural progesterone to inhibit DHT was also hinted at in a study by K. Dalton, discussing how progesterone converted into testosterone in the adrenals could provide a pathway to modulate DHT effects.

How is it possible that 1 mg of topical fin reduces scalp DHT more than 1 mg of oral fin, even though topical doesn't lower serum DHT as much as oral.

I think the only logical reason for this could be that a big part of 5a-r is produced in the scalp. Topical fin could inhibit 5a-r by going systemic and locally in the scalp.

Is there any scientific proof that 5a-r is produced or stored in the scalp?

I'm not taking anything but just curious

I read a comment under a post about someone taking oral minoxidil, and that comment said the oral minoxidil will cover up the problem with the person's hair loss but won't actually address it

So is it necessary to take fin or dut while on oral min, or can you just take oral min and have no problem? (Depending on what you're dealing with hairless wise)

Sorry if this doesn't make sense

I don’t know how to properly word title sorry but would minoxidil be able to keep alive the small dying hair at my hairline until I am old enough for fin and then when I hop on fin the hairs that minoxidil was keeping alive can now rely on fin

That what my grandma with dementia just said to me <3 Maybe my parents told her to say it so it boosts my confidence, I am not sure. It's just ironic that I am on countless meds and I had a hair transplant 2 years back.

Regardless, it made my day. Never skip grandma day 🫶

A few questions as i microneedled for the first time at 0.5mm around my hairline:

1)How many passes on the same area

2)if i dont feel pain(slight pricking) but no redness and bleeding, do i go on a higher depth?

3)Do you press kinda hard to make sure the needles penetrate the skin?

4)Do you needle the bald and potential bald areas (balded hairline, and the area above it)

Answers from the experienced is appreciated!

Anyone who quit dutasteride due to a massive shed? How long before hair returned to how it was before you started? When did you notice regrowth?

For context, yes I know shedding is part of the process. I’ve seen so many people say they’ve used it for a year or longer and it only made things worse. I’m trying to decide if it is worth the long term gamble or to quit and return to what I had before. Only really interested in hearing about people’s experiences who have stopped and whether it grew back or not after the shed.