Hello- I wanted to know if topical minoxidil will work if there are hair fibers on my crown (and sides)? I cannot stop using fibers as I’ve been using them for 1+ year, and do not want to use oral minoxidil due to sides. Any advice would be appreciated

Hey, just wanna show you my results after 2 years of finasteride.

Started with topical in March 2024
switched to oral in Oct 2024
added dutasteride once a week in May 2025
added minoxidil + tretinoin in november 2025.

i think finasteride did the most because didn’t see that much change with minoxidil tbh

Which is more effective ?

Ciao a tutti, avevo un dubbio, da due anni ormai assumo finasteride, il mio dermatologo me l’ha prescritta quando avevo appena 17 anni, non ho mai riscontrato effetti collaterali e anzi mi sembra di aver notato in questi 2 anni, nonostante la mia situazione non fosse per niente grave, un netto miglioramento.
Da un mese
Però ho notato lungo la hair line vari capelli corti di circa 2 cm, mentre nei mesi successivi notavo semplicemente dei capelli corti corti di qualche millimetro, però ora mi sembra di vedere entrambi, vorrei capire se questi capelli corti di 2cm possono essere capelli spezzati o una cosa del genere in modo da poter intervenire.
La prima foto risale a un anno e qualche mese fa, la seconda risale ad ora.

I started Fin September 5th 2025, along with Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. I started Minoxidil on Dec 31st 2025.

Around the beginning of 2024 my hair loss had progressed to the point where I was just "holding out" for a bit longer and mentally preparing myself to shave and go bald. I was having a hard time handling this, I'd always had long hair and didn't want to let go. But I'd never done any research into hair loss treatment, I had no idea treatment even existed.

Everything changed with the hims ads attacked. I started seeing them in the middle of 2025, and started researching their claims. That led me to this sub, where after a few months of being scared of potential sides I said screw it and decided to start fin and min, staggering when I started them to monitor side effects. I didn't go with hims, I got my prescription through helloalpha ($30 for a month and they gave me a script for 90 days with 3 refills and had them send it to costplusdrugs.) A year of both meds + getting the script costs around $140 a year. About $12 a month.

I started fin alone (1mg daily orally) and didn't have any sides after 3-4 months so I also started min (2.5mg daily orally) and also had no sides.

First pic is September 24th 2025, second pic is Oct 10th 2026.

I'm 31. I wish I had started this in my mid twenties. I'll probably continue to wear a hat for a while, but I'm excited to see how the next year or two goes.

Can someone recommend a doctor which I can go to to quickly get Finasteride. Started balding and want to minimize the damage🙃. Thanks in Advance (DM possible as well).

Why is it that the studies don't show that multiple sheds can take place before improvement?

People on dutasteride are getting worse past 10 months and all the comments are to wait it out and that's it's just a shed, and multiple sheds are normal.

Then how come the studies show noticable improvement and then some from 6 month onwards?

Which is right?

Hello, as the title says, I’m 18 years old, and I first started noticing significant hair shedding around the beginning of spring. I initially brushed it off, but by mid-September, I decided to see a dermatologist. I was diagnosed with male pattern hair loss and prescribed finasteride. My dermatologist advised me to hold off on starting minoxidil for now, and I also use ketoconazole shampoo.
I’ve been taking finasteride for about a month, and this past month has been extremely difficult due to the amount of shedding I’ve experienced. I haven’t noticed any negative side effects; if anything, I’ve experienced a significant increase in libido.
However, my hair is currently at its thinnest point ever. Just last month, I could still conceal the thinning relatively well, but now it’s becoming much more noticeable. I’m shedding more than ever, and my hairline appears to have receded noticeably in a short period of time.
Could this severe shedding be a sign that I’m a hyper-responder to finasteride, or is it more likely that my hair loss is progressing? Has anyone experienced something similar during their first month on finasteride, and did things eventually improve?

Ive been on oral fin + min for one year now but haven’t seen growth im happy with, should i completely stop taking fin and switch to dut or do i need to stay taking fin and slowly add dut

I had been using topical fin/min for a couple years. I’ve seen good results on the top/front of my scalp, but still not much success on the crown. This was a twice per day liquid that was a bit messy and when dried would leave your hair crunchy. I recently found a new product I switched to and have been much happier. It’s a once a day cream, which is easier to use in my opinion. Also hoping to possibly see some improved results with the addition of dut. along with fin/min. I won’t mention where I obtain it due to the no advertising rules, but I’m sure you can find similar products through the online prescription sites.

Hey I have been using Dr.Reddy's Minoxidil for 2 years and Man Matters Mintop for 2 years . I haven't seen any hair regrowth but I feel using them made hairfall rate slower. Now I noticed thinning of hair & as usual hair fall that's being continued... So I'm thinking to go for GFC package , as many of my frnds suggested to start taking clinical treatments...

But the only scary part i feel is ..

1, After these 5-6 sittings of GFC , do I still need to continue taking it regularly like minoxidil ( as I'm thinking our scalp will be habituated to it .. so it'll be demanding us for regular supply) ?

2, Do i really find some good progress,if I go for GFC..? Like new hair growth, stopping hair fall...

3, Suggest me any of best clinics where I find good results & affordable too..

4, please provide honest opinion...

Thankyou.

Ps : I'm facing this issue even though I'm taking regularly all kind of seeds , almonds , amla , sun light exposure

I first started noticing my hair thinning in August 2025. I’m constantly stressed because of work, and I also had some family members pass away in 2025, so I initially assumed it was stress-related.

By December 2025, I noticed that it had gotten worse, so I decided to reach out to my doctor. After doing some research, my doctor recommended trying minoxidil first. However, I was concerned that minoxidil might not address the underlying cause of my hair loss, so I decided to get a second opinion.

The second doctor recommended taking 1 mg of finasteride daily with lunch, so I started on February 2, 2026.

The first photo is from December 2025, the second is from June 2026, and the third is from today. Unfortunately, it looks like my hair loss is continuing to progress.

Here are my blood test results from before I started finasteride:

• TSH: 1.77 mcIU/mL (Normal)
• HbA1c: 5.1% (Normal)
• Iron: 128 mcg/dL (Normal)
• Total Iron-Binding Capacity (TIBC): 314 mcg/dL (Normal)
• Iron Saturation: 41% (Normal)
• Ferritin: 119 ng/mL (Normal)
• DHEA-S: 130 mcg/dL (Lower end of the reference range)

My main questions are:

1. Should I consider switching to dutasteride, or is it too early to make that decision? I’ve been on finasteride for about eight months, and I’m concerned that my hair loss is still progressing.
2. Are there any additional blood tests I should ask my doctor about? I’m wondering whether a more comprehensive blood panel could help identify other potential causes of my hair loss.
3. Could this be stress-related hair loss, male pattern baldness, or a combination of both?

For context, nobody on my mom’s side of the family is bald. My dad is bald, but his hair loss was primarily concentrated around his receding hairline rather than the crown, which is where I’m experiencing the most thinning.

I haven’t started minoxidil because I wanted to see how well finasteride would work on its own rather than introducing two treatments at once and having difficulty determining which one was responsible for any improvement.

Fortunately, I haven’t experienced any side effects from finasteride so far. However, I’m unsure about the potential side effects of dutasteride and whether switching would be worthwhile.

I’d appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences with finasteride, dutasteride, and crown thinning, especially if you continued losing hair after several months on finasteride.

Started on 1mg finasteride daily and topical minoxidil every night. Haven’t changed.
Month 4 started derma stamp once a week, 0.5mm.
Use ketoconazole shampoo x2 a week.

Glad I buzzed, it was horrible. Bleached it (probs not a good idea I know) and made it look much better for a while I guess couldn’t see the denser parts of hair as well.

Temples have Defiantly improved, hard to say if anything else has, I think the derma stamp has helped the temples improve.
I’m wondering if certain areas are too far gone to recover

Was hoping for better results at this stage, but I’m gonna stick at it.

- Edema in knees after a long walk

- Heart racing harder at gym (was pretty severe)

- Random chest pain

- Immediately had some hair falloff, probably exasperating telegon

And to make it funnier, it was an HIMS 3mg and I only had 1/2 the first time on Wednesday and 3/4th yesterday.

Seems extremely severe. Likely won't take again (spent £100 on a six month supply LOL!)

Gonna try nettle root, as recommended by my Turkish mate.

Planning hair transplant in May

Oral min 2.5mg daily for about 3 months

Oral fin 1mg eod for about 2 months

I'm still shedding no results😴 when can i actually see some results

Will it work for everyone ..I'M NW2

I've been using topical minoxidil for about 3 years now, and I've been on dutasteride for the past 4 months. Before that, I was on finasteride for 6 months.

During my time on finasteride, I wasn't very consistent with applying minoxidil. However, for the past 5 months, I've been strictly applying topical minoxidil twice a day.

I'm now considering switching to oral minoxidil, as it might be more effective and would definitely be more convenient, especially when traveling.

I've noticed some improvement over the past 4 months. My dermatologist also mentioned that I still have a lot of fine, miniaturized hairs growing across my scalp, with no completely bald or smooth areas.

I'm curious what others think about my situation?

I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences!

Has anyone used hair fibers while starting on their treatment? Any pros/cons?

Hair fibers work great for me, but obviously, want a more permanent solution. Using the fibers while I start my treatment, but not sure if there are any negative impacts of doing so.

Thanks for any advice!

Dut 0.05mg
Min 2.5mg

These are my (25M) results after about 6 months of topical minoxidil once a day combined with tretinoin, and micro needling once a week. I'm seeing an endocrinologist this week to get my hormones tested and to talk about starting finasteride. I am absolutely terrified of that stuff but this hairloss shit is a serious drag on my self confidence and would love to get some better regrowth and maybe reverse some of the recession. I know finasteride is primarily for maintaining rather than regrowth, but I've seen some people come back from literally nothing while using finasteride. Do you all think it's worth it?

I’ve recently learned about the false daisy plant or Bhringraj which is made into oil and can be applied onto the scalp. It supposedly slows down hair fall and helps stimulate the growth centre of hair follicles.

Human clinical proof is very limited on this, has anybody tried this for themselves?

What was your experience like with sides? I have sides on oral but want to try topical fin. Did you notice no sides on topical? Was it just as effective? Thanks

Hi everyone I've been on fin 0.65mg daily and low alcohol content minoxidil 5% X1 application a day my baseline was NW4 now I think i'm like NW3 I'm still thinning but way less noticeable and got temple recession too but the main problem is that my hair is brittle and very dry and I recently my scalp has become very itchy. I wash my head at every 4 days so I don't know why it looks so damaged ?

Any advices the itchiness is on mosquito bite level.

Thank you kindly

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Also, I'm not saying AI is a bubble in itself, but the valuations of companies like OpenAI might be, and I don't see this company surviving many years.
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It's true this is not a "simple" testable solution that can be verified inside a computer, like a math problem, but I believe there is enough literature and studies so that it can yield some conclusions with enough certainty that might help or solve androgenic alopecia.

So if you think this "idea" is worth giving a shot, what first actions would you take, or what would you do to encourage these companies to give it a shot?

A simple idea that comes to mind is starting a Change.org petition.