34
votes
Hair loss open discussion
Experiences, past or present? Age, medical, genetic, no reason? Anything worked for you or a waste of time / money ? What works, what doesnt, or just acceptance?
Intended for open discussion for everyone interested
I'll be 42 soon and it's just really started to become more noticeable for me. My hairline has clearly receded and according to my wife, I have a vague baldspot on the top of my head. This is genetic for me, as my dad was sporting the Picard by his 30's (and supposedly lost most of it by 18ish), but my hairline is clearly very similar to my maternal grandfather. I still have a good amount of hair, but again, it's most clearly on my forehead where I'm losing it.
As for how I feel? Eh...I'm not sure, really. My wife isn't going to divorce me over it and I can't really shave my head because I have lots of weird moles and like some sort of blood vessel that pokes out (I can feel it, but it's a blood vessel according to the dermatologist and would require surgery to fix) and I haven't bothered to take or do any medication for it. I'm sort of...mixed feelings, I guess.
I feel that losing my hair is the last vestiges of my youth leaving me and there's some anxiety about trying to hold on to that. At the same time, I feel like it's kind of beautiful in a way, if that makes sense? I'll have the hairline that my grandfather had and in someway, it makes me feel closer to him; something I've inhaireted from a long genetic line and it feels sort of callous to try and reverse that process. I've always been in to the idea of aging gracefully and even if I won't necessarily be handsome anymore, I'm also not trying to impress anyone and never have been.
I appreciate you
Chocobean's case
I've always had jet black, extra thick, shiny wavy hair. I've donated good lengths a few times. My stylists would mention how healthy my hair was, with no split ends. I've only coloured my hair twice; I didn't bleach first either times so I gave up after that -- black just doesn't take on colour. Having too much hair was most of my life's concern, except for a number of teenage years when it was FRISSY; then it settled down for a long time as merely wavy and much more manageable.
Now, my hair doesn't feel thick at all, and I'm low key terrified by how many strands I'm losing throughout the day. It was such a slow progression I didn't notice until I saw a much younger person walk by with hair like I used to have: the contrast was so great I couldn't not see it.
Should I make dietary changes? Try fancy shampoos? Or just shrug and learn to grow bangs? Give up and buy a good wig?
Hair loss has a number of causes, so it’ll depend on what’s causing yours. Hereditary, age, menopause, stress, malnutrition, etc. Identifying the root cause for your situation is the first step, which likely involves a doctor if it’s not obvious.
I noticed increased shedding from chronic stress and very poor sleep when my kids were very young, which cleared up when everyone could finally sleep through the night on a regular basis.
Side comment on shedding: 50-100 scalp hairs a day is normal. Hair follicles grow a hair for a while, then pause and take a break (hair might shed here), then start over with a new hair (old hair gets pushed out here if it didn't come out during the rest period).
Eyebrow hairs have a growth cycle of about six weeks and a rest period of around three to four months. So over a year, every single one of our eyebrow hairs sheds at least twice.
Scalp hairs typically grow for two to six years before resting. Shed scalp hairs are a normal part of the hair follicle behavior, with most people losing between 50 and 100 each day, and not by themselves indicative of any problems.
The age thinning is sad and real (I have long hair, and most of my braid length is pencil thin now), but is a result of hair follicles not growing new hairs after their rest cycle, not related to the normal cyclical shedding itself.
Honestly, wigs are amazing. I love never having a "bad hair day". Takes a minute to slap it on, and then I'm good for the day. I've received so many compliments about my "hair" from various people since I started wearing one. I've confided to a few people (close friends) that it's a wig, to which the answer was always "WHAT‽"
I honestly doubt I'd stop wearing them even if my bio hair was perfect instead of "pain in my assholes" 24/7. But hey, my hair might behave really annoyingly, but I have really amazing nails instead...
I don't have a thousand dollars for human hair wigs (yet) but I sure do have $50 for a heat resistant synthetic off Amazon for now! Honestly, women put on false lashes ALL the time and I would consider this is similar, but less fear of poking my eyes out.
I'll report back with findings. Always wanted purple silver hair but my own would have to be bleached to high heck just for a possibility. I have high hopes for wigs
Mine's synthetic too (albeit medical-grade) and looks real as fuck, I wouldn't worry about it. Hell, I'd say that some synthetics look more real than some real hair wigs.
The mindset that "it's not 'wrong' or shameful to wear a wig; it's basically on the same category as makeup, false lashes, synthetic nails, and other things we do all the time" is true, but it can take a while for it to "click". In fact, several people you see outside during a normal week are actually wearing wigs, but an untrained eye will only figure it out the "bad examples"
I've thought about buying a wig instead of having to deal with my hair. Mine is super, super fine, may be thinning a little, and gets greasy quickly no matter how much I try no/lo-poo methods (starts looking unkempt after onky a day). At its best, it looks just ok.
I've thought it'd be nice to be able to throw on a wig on days I dont have time/energy for haircare.
The mindset you're describing is definitely part of my reluctance. Could I ask if you have some basic advice for finding better looking wigs if I decide to make the leap? (I'm a woman and in canada if either matters at all).
My hair behaves very similarly to yours, and wigs helped me a lot there. Good news is - wigs with long (i.e. stereotypically feminine) haircuts are IMO the easiest ones to wear without fuss.
I can't name any specific shops in Canada, as I've only bought mine from local shops in my area. I know lots of people on "the other place" swear by wigs.com - I saw a lot of comments about it while researching wigs myself - but I have never even browsed it, so I can't properly recommend it myself. However, I can give the following pointers:
Personal suggestion: Get an appointment for a consultation and/or demo at a reputable local shop. That's their job, and they're not there to judge you or shame you or make fun of you. They're there to help and they see dozens of clients like you regularly. You don't need to buy anything from them per se, but they can help you try out things and see what suits you more etc.
I'd bring the hair changes up with your doctor on your next visit - as /u/DrStone said, there can be many different underlying causes besides "aging". Overall thinner, finer hair that doesn't follow hormonal balding patterns could be due to thyroid problems, anemia, stress, etc.
As far as nutrition is concerned, a general multivitamin and good overall diet with adequate protein and greens should be sufficient. "Hair, skin, and nails" supplements usually contain collagen (which is just another animal-sourced protein that's broken down to amino acids in digestion, and it's not a complete source of essential amino acids), biotin (already in multivitamins, no evidence that extra helps), and silica (plenty in a diet with adequate greens and vegetables). You might increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids (fish, fish oil, nuts and seeds, seaweed, some expensive vegan products).
It's also possible that your current hair treatments and styling methods are contributing. I had less hair loss when I switched to fragrance- and sulfate-free products (skin allergy), used a good conditioner and detangling brush, and minimized blow-dry heat. My hair strands seem a little thicker with minoxidil treatment, so that's something to try as well.
My current hair routine is no heat no curling no blow drying, and I'm usually pretty fragrances free but maybe also switching hair products.
on the nutrition front, my digestion / metabolism had had drastic changes in the last handful of years, so it's possible that it's side-effect age related: food isn't being used up the same, less availability for hair.
Its been reassuring hearing so many responses from people on different stages / resolutions / acceptance on this issue. I'll start with the obvious and easy steps like you suggested, maybe some dietary supplements
Our family did take up vegan diet for about half the time and we're all picky eaters in a way (rarely eat beans, eg), so it is also true the inputs haven't been the same as when I was young and on a much more collagen heavy diet.
If you haven't had your thyroid checked before, get it checked. It's very possible it's totally unrelated, but hypothyroidism can cause problems with hair and skin, and it's something you don't wanna overlook before trying hormonal solutions. I think iron deficiency can also contribute to hair loss as well. Try to rule out stuff like that first, imo.
It's a good tip for anyone else reading : thyroid and iron are the indicators my doctor looked at first as well. He also said hair loss has two major causes, local and general. Local being if the scalp has any red or itchy or scabs or anything obviously skin wise to address. And then the general is everything else
I didn't even have any hair problems when my thyroid stuff was untreated personally, but I remembered it from the common symptoms list and since mine went undiagnosed for so long I am constantly beating the drum of getting your thyroid checked.
I had heavier and longer periods in perimenopause, and I've always struggled with iron deficiency (just don't absorb it very well from supplements and plant sources). But more iron didn't fix the hair thinning and alopecia. Declining estrogen is a contributor since the effects of endogenous androgens become more prominent.
The evidence suggests that topical finasteride, which blocks conversion of androgens to the form that causes hair loss, plus minoxidil, works better than topical estrogen for hormonal hair loss in women. Topical finasteride seems to be low in side effect risk.
Dietary phytoestrogens from soy products, and HRT, have mixed reviews - some say they help with hair loss, some say they don't, and there are systemic risks with estrogen supplementation later in life. For me, it's not worth those risks, but it may be worthwhile for women subject to the economic penalties applied to those who show their age.
If you're in perimenopause you honestly should get your thyroid checked even if your hair's fine, since that's right around the peak onset time for hypothyroidism iirc.
But once that kind of health problem is ruled out, yeah, finasteride is probably the best next thing to try (if you can get a doctor to prescribe it for you).
Ugh economic penalties for real. -..- my department is hiring and I heard people talk about interviewing "older candidates" in their 30s.
I'm clinging to my current job like a barnacle because I don't want to be a 60+ year old woman (who also hasn't pursued any anti-aging cosmetic enhancements other than hair loss and weight management) searching for tech employment. Doesn't matter how much experience I have, how quickly I adapt, how much more productive I am than my coworkers, however many glowing references, I know my resumé will get binned or interviews down-rated, and I'll never make the same salary again. I've heard all the ageist and sexist excuses applied to other candidates over the years, and it's worse in the U.S. thanks to healthcare costs for employers. It's a bitter satisfaction that the "talent shortage" is self-inflicted, and even more so when trying to substitute AI in roles it's not good at.
Job Hugging is all the rage right now. You and me both, god speed my friend
that being said : korean / japanese skin care products are pretty wonderful, lots of them really quite cheap too. I can't know that they're "working" but they feel like a nice small bit of luxury pampering.
I'm sort of in the same boat as you. One day I just noticed I can see my scalp a lot more than before, despite having fluffy curly hair.
When I brought up my concerns with my doc he had my iron levels checked and they were abysmally low so he put me on iron tablets for 6 months. My iron levels went up, but around that time I started taking spironolactone. This led to several months of very long and erratic periods. My iron levels started going back down despite staying within the normal range.
I went to a hair loss specialist and they confirmed there was some slight loss on the top, but nothing is wrong with my scalp. They suspected spiro was the culprit and told me to pause the treatment for a few months. Ironically it's used to treat hair loss on women, but it seems to have had the opposite effect for me (I think). There are anecdotes online from other people who had the same experience.
I'm off spiro now for a little over a month, and keeping an eye on things. I don't know if my hair will go back to its former thickness given I'm also now entering my 40s - I imagine that doesn't work in my favour. My take is it's likely to be a combination of age and just general malnutrition over the years of stress starving.
I haven't gone back to the hair loss expert, I'm waiting to see how things evolve. In the meantime they suggested exfoliating my scalp because some follicles seemed a little clogged, and that could help a tiny bit. Their recommendation if nothing else works is either minoxidil or Platelet Rich Plasma injections.
My dermatologist gave me some vitamins and a serum for hair and nail health but honestly I'm not sure that's made much of a difference. Time will tell I suppose.
I would love to just shave it all off to be honest, but I have a weird bump on the back of my skull. Unless I get that surgically shaved down, going bald is not an option.
Spiro is also used to treat hirsutism (excess body hair) in women, since that's also an androgen-related condition (spironolactone is a testosterone blocker). When I was on it, it didn't do much on that front tho tbqh.
I think asking about DHT blockers (like finasteride) or minoxidil and mo the next time you're talk to your hair loss specialist is a good idea. I would assume they want to see how you and your scalp react to going off spironolactone before putting you on something new, but those are pretty well-studied treatments that you definitely should at least talk about.
Yeah this is exactly it. I'm leery of starting yet another treatment. It's kind of exhausting having a body that doesn't just work, and having to jump hoops to correct things, y'know? Hence the desire to just
burn it all downcompletely shave my head. I'll see how it goes for the next couple of months and go from there.yeah I completely sympathize with you there. Best of luck with the whole thing.
Thanks sparksbet, all the best to you as well.
I've seen a few docs prescribing it like candy, so I genuinely hope they didn't put you on spiro blindly without a really detailed hormonal blood test...
I had a doctor prescribe me spiro for hirsutism (and other symptoms of high testosterone) without prescribing me hormonal birth control first or alongside it. The spiro didn't do shit, fwiw. Absolutely bizarre.
I have bad news for you TaylorSwiftPickles...
To be fair, I'd taken similar medication for acne before (Cyproterone) and it worked very well. I stopped taking it for different reasons and tried every other type of solution to deal with it in the meantime and nothing else worked. Cyproterone isn't an option anymore so spiro was pretty much my last resort. The acne type I have is definitely hormonal since it disappears when I'm on these kinds of meds. But the side effects aren't worth it. I already loathe having periods at all. Having them last a month with barely a break in between was hell.
Oof...
Yeah, as a former cypro user, I very much understand... Just wanted to say, if you haven't visited a doctor with an expertise both in endocrinology and in gynaecology about your issues with androgens (and your experience with spiro) I would safely recommend doing that. Considering almost every one of my friends has their fair share of hormonal issues, some things sadly are very much above a dermatologist's specialisation.
Hell, even my clueless dermatologists and pathologists never suspected a thing, but as it turns out, I've lowkey had untreated endocrinological issues all my life without knowing, because nobody else ever bothered to prescribe me a proper fucking blood test...
Huh that's interesting and something I never really thought about. Thanks for raising the suggestion, I'm definitely interested in looking more into it.
If it's not too private, would you mind sharing your experience? The hair loss expert had me do some blood work and my DHEA and thyroid levels were normal. It would be good to understand if there's something else that I should be looking at and bringing up with an endocrinologist/gynaecologist expert
I'd say it mainly depends on your own experience of your body. Biology is complicated and there are multiple ways/reasons for organisms to act "strange". And sometimes we don't even recognise those things as strange because, well, some things look normal to us when we have no other frame of reference.
Androgenic acne doesn't even inherently require high testosterone levels per se. There are more things at play here - which a doctor like this should have an insight into. Looking into your own life experiences, symptoms, medical history, etc. with them is probably the right thing to do.
In my case, the reasons related to my genetics in two ways, but that's all I'd write here. On the other hand, way too many people I know have been diagnosed with PCOS, but that's another can of worms...
Thanks TSP, I appreciate the insights!
Dietary changes that seemed to have helped my wife include taking collagen and pre-natal vitamins. She lost a ton of her hair after giving birth to our son and the pre-natals have really helped restore her hair's thickness.
I started balding at around 23 or so, and I'm in my early 40s now. By the time I was about 33, my hairline had receded so much that I was shaving my head. I went through a lot of personal stuff that started making me self conscious of it in a way that I wasn't really before so I started trying to actually solve it. Finasteride, caffeine and minoxidil topically 2x a day. It sooooorta worked? Not really noticeably though. In the end, I got a hair transplant when I was 37, and it's one of the best decisions I ever made.
You can't tell I was ever losing my hair unless you look at some thin areas very closely, and I don't ever really think about it anymore. I never really thought of myself as a bald guy, so it was always jarring looking in the mirror after I started shaving my head. I just didn't have the build or skull shape to pull it off. It kinda reminded me of the Matrix, when in the real world, Neo is bald, but when he's in the matrix his residual self image is of him with a full head of hair. Even after years of shaving my head, I still felt like that. Having a hair again has helped me feel like "me" a lot more, of that makes sense.
As far as I’m concerned this is a medically solved problem. That is, as long as you address it quickly enough. The two most common drugs, applied topically every day, have almost entirely reversed my hair loss that had progressed to the point where no amount of combing could address it. I’m using minoxidil and finasteride in a combo tincture I apply to my front and center scalp areas once per day. My hair loss is hereditary. My dad had lost about half of his hair by my age.
Things to keep in mind:
It depends entirely on your response to it. I don't respond to minoxodil whatsoever. Finasteride is slightly better for me, but lots of people don't really respond to it either. Unfortunately they're the best we have, but they're not a panacea.
I've looked into this pretty extensively. There are potential sexual side effects with fin and dut. They're very rare though. It's also very difficult to figure out how much of that is placebo and how much are actual physiological effects. As soon as you put the idea of sexual side effects into someone's head, they're going to watch like a hawk for them.
There are many, many threads filled with guys overanalyzing the strength of their erections after being on finesteride. Even so, the majority of those side effects go away after being on the drug for a bit as your body reestablishes an equilibrium. The ones that don't generally go away after ceasing the drug.
There's a very, very small contingent of men who report side effects after ceasing the drug, but this is exceedingly rare, and we're not sure if this is the drug, a psychosomatic effect due to guys being obsessed with looking for side effects, or just an unfortunate coincidence that comes naturally with aging for many men. (Most guys who take finesteride are entering middle age, when ED problems tend to show up even without any drugs).
For me, my conclusion was that it was an exceedingly small risk, and I've not experienced any negative side effects at all.
Well thank you for that, that's very flattering.
Although I thought about it and I felt that I should state, since I'm sort of giving medical advice. I'm not a doctor and I have no medical experience at all. I'm just a formerly bald guy who had a lot of time on his hand to do research on hair loss.
Remembering a paper I had read sometime, it's been hypothesised that a cause for PFS might be the parasitic lowering of neurosteroids such as allopregnanolone:
Sadly the alternative would be $10-15k for a hair transplant.
Don't you still have to take the drugs to stop hair loss even if you get a transplant? It can recover what's lost, but it won't stop hair from falling out.
Sort of? Not really though. When you get a hair transplant, they take hair from the back of your head, which is resistant to DHT. That's the reason that even totally bald guys still have the donut ring around the back of their heads.
Those follicles remain DHT resistant no matter where they're transplanted. So you won't lose any transplanted hairs to androgens. The hair around them is another story though. Your hair loss for the follicles around where you were already losing hair will continue as normal, so a lot of guys stay on drugs after transplants so that they don't have a bunch of new hair loss behind their transplanted hair.
I believe you need to take finasteride which they say they respond to. Not sure if their level of response would be sufficient. So I guess I worded it wrong in calling it an alternative.
Hmmm I am woman with a cat, but at no risk of becoming pregnant. Wonder if just minoxidil alone would work as well. Glad to hear you found something that works -- these doesn't sound crazy expensive.
They’re both generic.
Ah, if you're looking into prescription medication, it might be worth speaking with a physician/hair loss clinic? There might be an underlying cause which is more easily addressed, e.g. low iron, tight hairstyles, etc. Minoxidil (and finasteride, for anyone looking to address male pattern baldness) is pretty well tolerated afaik, but taking an iron supplement is waaaaay less costly (and stands less of a chance of side effects).
Women can still take finasteride. Talk to a doctor if you're worried, but it is prescribed to women and generally well-tolerated by women (most of the studies on side effects were done on men, but that's sadly not uncommon for many medications). Unless you're pregnant or likely to get pregnant, you don't need to avoid finasteride because of your gender.
If you have elevated androgens as a cis woman (e.g.: PCOS), you might be prescribed antiandrogens and/or birth control medicine if your doctor actually listens to you instead of going "well, as long as you're not planning to get pregnant right now, you're perfectly fine, stop gaslighting yourself :^)"
If I had a dollar for every time my concerns are dismissed by "well you're not fertile now anyway"...
A quote from one of my good friends:
Oh my god are there still people who say those stupid things? I’m not a woman but that is so incredibly dumb that it makes me want to punch someone.
Sadly, yes, way too often. My partner had to change like 4 doctors until one listened to her and actually gave her what she actually needed.
Argh, it’s worse when they’re doctors! You can’t even get fully angry because they are at least in theory trying to help you.
Shitty doctors hurt everyone, so I hope you submitted complaints for all of them. Last year I switched doctors and I found out that I had many misconceptions because of how poor the communication was from my previous doctor, including one that made me think my walking was going to be permanently impaired from arthritis!
Finasteride may cause birth defects in male fetuses, so women who are pregnant or trying for pregnancy should indeed avoid contact with it, but "not something women should come into contact with" is a little much. The risk is to a fetus, not the adult woman, so unless you put all women in the "may become pregnant" class, there's no reason all women should avoid contact with it. DHT-blockers like finasteride are generally well-tolerated in both men and women, and finasteride is sometimes prescribed to women for both hair loss and hirsutism.
Unfortunately anytime something can impact fertility or fetal development they don't recommend it for women who "are or can become" pregnant. And they rarely mean "intend to become pregnant" or "intend to maintain a pregnancy."
It's not even an on-label usage in post-menopausal women, but it's not going to even get tested in younger women. Because it's great here.
Finasteride is more and more frequently prescribed to women though, off-label or not. The potential risk of birth defects in male babies (based solely on animal studies fwiw; afaik we don't have evidence in humans) has limited the readiness of doctors to run studies on its efficacy, but some exist regardless (this paper does a good job summarizing info about research into the subject over the years). And I do think it's important to point out that the studies we have don't show women having any particular complications or more than "minimal and transient" side effects when they themselves were taking the medication.
There's even a case study of a pregnant woman who was on finasteride with the child of a man who was also on finasteride. The baby was male and totally normal. One case study doesn't completely get rid of the potential risk, of course, but it's interesting and definitely indicates that more research is needed even into even the effects on male fetuses. Of course, doing that research responsibly and ethically is its own difficulty...
In any case, even if some in the medical profession treat all women like potential baby carriers at all times, I refuse to allow people to do that on Tildes unchallenged. Finasteride is not "something women should not come into contact with."
Notably, IIRC, the source of the whole "WOMEN SHOULD NOT EVEN BREATHE AIR FROM A ROOM WHERE A FINASTERIDE TABLET IS STORED!1!! fiasco and the reason it's still overstated as a "factoid" is the botched study, linked under [22] in your linked article, where someone gave unreasonably high doses of finasteride to monkeys
I'm not surprised it's still repeated everywhere as if it's really the case, because, hell, even the package of finasteride sitting 1 metre away from me right now still has huge warning like that stamped on it...
Yeah, and that botched study appears to be the only citation people actually have for birth defects. I get that we don't want another thalidomide scandal, but the fact that we actually seem to have zero evidence that it even causes birth defects at therapeutic doses is wild to me. I completely get operating with an abundance of caution around pregnant women, since it's probably better to be too cautious when there are unknowns in that scenario, but the hand-wringing over literally any woman, even one who is not capable of getting pregnant, interacting with finasteride is absolutely detached from reality.
Yeah the overall lack of research on women's health remains the shittiest thing. But I think it'll depend a lot on the prescribing doctors given the state of reproductive care and even the risk that a miscarriage or deadly birth defects could be framed as murder in some states.
But I both take and support your point.
I don't think the evidence that finasteride even causes birth defects is very strong, frankly, and I don't think there are even claims that it causes miscarriage. But yeah, it'll depend a lot on the prescribing doctor no matter what -- but ime that's the case even for getting prescribed on-label stuff, not just off-label treatment. It seems like clinicians are more and more willing to prescribe it to women, but I'm also most familiar with it in the context of trans healthcare anyway.
Oh to be clear, I'm not saying that this is comparable to thalidomide or anything. I'm just sort of reading the room when it comes to what I've seen from doctors. And heaven forbid someone miscarries while on this medication even if that wasn't the cause.
But especially off label. It can be harder to convince a doctor who's not used to prescribing it to to use it in that way. But I fully understand again what you're saying and I'm hopeful that it will lead to some studies that get it approved and covered for folks more easily!
yeah finding a doctor who I trust and feel I can communicate productively with on my healthcare decisions is something I really want but am nervous about when I move. I know it's not something a lot of people have. I almost got teary-eyed telling my psychiatrist here I was leaving because he's so good at talking through options with me and open to off-label stuff when there's promise. It's so, so dependent on the provider so I'm hoping I get lucky.
I'm not actually on finasteride myself but it's something I've been considering if I start T for obvious reasons. But I need to find a pretty understanding doctor for doing that anyway lol
If you have a local queer/pride community org they may have a directory and/or word of mouth. I know locally which doctors provide HRT and are good folks because of our local community and I'm not even looking to take it.
I wish you luck and if I can help, lmk.
...i've taken finesteride orally since my fourties, started oral minoxidil a couple of years ago, too: wouldn't risk topical application around our cats...
...my hairline receded a bit in my twenties and thirties and late medication didn't remediate that, but i started soon after my hair had thinned enough for my scalp to burn, and medication arrested the thinning...
I worry about oral because minoxidil can cause hair growth all over and finasteride can cause... blood in your semen. I assume targeted application helps with both.
All these stories freak me out. I have a cat and I like my blood-free fluids to remain that way.
I’m not a fan of the hair loss ive been undergoing and I absolutely love my hair but … yikes, do I really want to keep it this badly? Idk
For what it's worth I (and most people) have no side-effects. When I visit people that have cats I've been fine just making sure to wash my hands after application. And for people with a lot of body hair I suppose they don't have much to worry about with oral minoxidil. And maybe some people want more body hair.
There are a lot of rare side effects to almost any medication, and finasteride is one where the vast majority of people don't experience side effects at all. It's ofc important to be on the lookout for them in case they do happen for you, but many of these aide effects are rare enough that I wouldn't use that to base your decision around it. And you can always talk to your doctor about your worries about side effects and what the plan should be if you encounter any.
Well, everything is risk management, as with many things in life. For some people it's 1000% worth it, and for some it isn't. You accept the risks, compromise to mitigate some of the risk, or reject the idea altogether and fully mitigate the risks. Each of those is perfectly valid and nobody has any right to judge or make fun of the people who made a different decision regarding said risks.
My hair thinned out not so much post puberty but like post college ish. I definitely caused some of it with tight ponytails but I went from really thick hair as a kid to much thinner hair and my very pale scalp was very visible.
Went shorter and shorter with my hair and shaved my head about 8 years ago (edit. Around age 33) and I love it. It stands out as more queer on a femme person and when I can keep up with it it's perfect. When I'm struggling with stress and mental health I do a worse job of caring for myself and not shaving my head is the first and "safest" thing to let slide. I may treat myself to a Great Clips cut to start over this weekend though....wonder if there's a super bowl sale on hair cuts 🤔
I think my hair is healthier now, but it's still thinner than I want. I'm not balding but i feel like I have closer to old lady hair if I let it grow out and I don't want that. So shaving it is. I recommend a skull shaver for folks that want to try, but clippers do a decent job with a bit more fuzz
Oh, wear sunscreen. And/or hats or whatever during the day. Don't get skin cancer.
Great call, yes I've just recent years started taking sunscreen advice seriously, good reminder.
Part of my reason for shaving my head was that my hair was thin enough that my scalp would burn without a hat even when I had hair. Sunscreen is way harder on a head with hair on it. I mostly avoid the sun which is not great for my vitamin D but better for the cancer thing.
My dad went bald in his early twenties. I went bald in my late twenties. I never stressed about it because I could see it coming from a mile away.
(There was an awkward period where I was bald-ing but not yet bald, where my pre-balding hair style very gradually morphed into a combover. These days I get my hair cut short, but making that transition felt awkward, and I probably should have done it earlier than I did.)
I do have extremely bodacious facial hair, which as a cis man more than makes up for any self-image issues my baldness could otherwise cause. =)
I'll second @DefinitelyNotAFae's note about sunscreen or a hat. I wear a hat outdoors religiously. Cancer risk aside, sunburning your scalp is no fun at all.
Shaved my head 5 years ago (aged 25) and haven't looked back.
Here's the before & after.
My hair line has receeded even farther since these pictures. No one else in my family is bald. Was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2024, but I'm not too sure it's related.
You look fantastic after! But in the before before you look fine to me still, I'm not sure I would have felt ready....
How is the lymphoma fight going currently?
My goodness you're so young to get a diagnosis -- but that's the "good" one to get right? Hank Green had a comedy special, Pissing Out Cancer, where he talked about his experience and beating Hodgkin's. Sending good fight and ongoing protective vibes
Thanks! Yes, I had the same as Hank Green. I'm 29 now, and have been cancer free for 7 months or so.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I shaved my head during the peak of COVID, so I wasn't leaving the house anyway. I was a bit nervous about it but I figured I could let it grow out if I didn't like it.
I chose to start shaving my head during the pandemic and haven't stopped since. It takes only a few minutes twice a week and is actually quite a relaxing part of the shower routine.
I appreciate that due to social norms, this might be less viable for women.
And yet it's amazing
I had the beginning stages of hair loss before I transitioned around 10 years ago. Since then many male friends spoke to me about their hair loss. Except for one, all of them decided to not follow along, never asked a doctor about finasterid, and instead complain about even more hair loss 10 years down the road, while unsuccessfully trying all the scammy social media tips and solutions posted by the same men who also continue to spread the whole "your beard grows in thicker and faster if you shave it" misinformation.
Now their hair loss is permanent and can't be reversed by this anymore. You have to act in the first few years of noticing it.
Many other men similar to these friends now get hair transplants and are put on finasterid afterwards, anyways.
The one friend who actually listened and wasn't afraid because "hormones" started taking finasterid and is happy about his hair again. His beginning hair loss is gone and his general hair quality improved as well.
Don't be a social media masculinity-guru following guy, actually listen to what medicine has to say, not ads made to sell you something. Otherwise, it will be too late to do something about it at a point in time that is arriving sooner than you want to.
My hair is fine but I’m of the age when many/most of my friends are losing hair. Shaving it off seems like a great option, and it’s what pretty much all of my friends in that situation have done. One friend of mine shaved and got tattoos that simulate hair follicles and it’s actually indistinguishable. Personally, I’m going to just shave and accept it if/when it comes.
I had some temporary hairloss in late 2024/early 2025 with a condition called alopecia areata. I learned that alopecia isn't one condition, but this specific type of alopecia is actually split into 3 variants. There's alopecia totalis, which most people would imagine when they hear the word alopecia. It is total hair loss on the scalp. There's then alopecia areata where you lose hair in small areas (or patches) on your head. Finally, there's alopecia universalis where you lose hair all over your body. I only had the mild alopecia areata.
When I first noticed it, I immediately felt dread and immediately understood the plight of all the balding characters I've seen in movies and TV shows and felt bad for laughing at them. I also immediately felt self-conscious, constantly trying to hide my bald patches. This was made worse by the fact that I noticed these bald patches the night before a 2-week long trip (in December!). After I got back, I scheduled an appointment at a local dermatologist after the new years and they confirmed it to be alopecia areata.
Treatment was fairly straightforward. I had a cream (I will get the name of the medication in a bit) that I had to apply twice a day in 2-week stretches. I also then got steroid injections monthly. This aggressive treatment meant that my patches were gone within 5-6 months of me first noticing them. They haven't returned since but I still check out of fear haha. In all, the saga really made me more grateful for having the hair that I do have. I do expect to start balding more once I'm in my late 30s due to genetics but I don't mind it as much anymore. I do worry about having a weird head shape so if I have the financial means, I might consider a hair transplant but that's an issue to deal with down the line.
Oh man, that sucks! Thirty years ago in my mid-twenties I had a year long episode of alopecia areata. I lost a lot of my (then long hippie-)hair in about two-three weeks, culminating in a sunday morning where it just fell out in clumps. I was so panicked that I went to the emergency room where a doctor told me that it was 'just' alopecia. 🥲 I also lost about 50% of the hair on my body. I was pretty depressed at the time.
I shaved my head then, and for about ten months it just didn't grow back at all, until I got a few centimetres of superfluffy thin and white baby hair for a few weeks, and then it all went back to normal. No explanation for all of this.
Now in my fifties I have a rapidly receding hairline and grew a beard in protest. I kinda hate it, but I accept it.
Sorry you had to deal with an extreme case like that, glad it grew back!
The panic I felt seeing those bald spots is certainly something I'll never forget. I'm grateful that with social media now, we have online communities like on Reddit where people come together to support each other as they deal with alopecia areata, made me feel less alone and supported. Similar to your case, my episode of alopecia areata only lasted 6 months total. Even now, I'll still run my hands all over my head just to see if it ever comes back.
Yeah, I totally get you. It was really shocking when it happened.
Here's to good health (and healthy hair)! 🙂
Cheers to that :)
I started topical minoxidil about a month and a half ago! No results yet. Be warned if you start you may start shedding hairs dramatically in the beginning- this is normal. Scary.. but normal.
Question for the group- I use the foam and I never feel like I'm quite spreading it properly. I've started spraying it, semi-randomly, directly onto my scalp until I resemble a cooling rack of meringues. I assume after rubbing it around im hitting all the spots well enough on average? Not sure if theres a better technique.
I use a dropper. I think the foam makes sense if you have very little hair. But if you're getting ahead of more serious loss most of the drug ends up on the hair and not the scalp.
Ah! @Akir mentioned the same and I think that's a very good point. I'll switch over after this batch is done thanks!
I use minoxidil foam and still have hair - I apply the foam, then comb it in thoroughly with a "Tangle Teaser" type plastic hairbrush. Enough seems to get on my scalp for it to be effective.
For me, it took about three months for the apparent medication-related hair loss to stop and the persistence of new hairs to be really evident. I hope you get good results!
I honestly don’t understand why they sell the foam. You’re supposed to get it on your scalp but the foam will get it all over your hair instead. Grab the liquid stuff instead; the dropper can be put right against your scalp, and it’s less expensive as well.
I'm in mid 30s and getting a progressively deeper and deeper windows peak. Typical receding hairline stuff.
The thing that has helped me cope the most was just turning off self view on my Teams and Zoom meetings at work. I hate seeing myself constantly and seeing how much my hairline has pulled back over the years. It's like watching myself grow old before my eyes.
I'm much happier and in better spirits when I can be on meetings and just not constantly see how I look, or the expression on my face, or the size of my nostrils.
I would like to have a barber though who could be straight up honest with me on the best way to cut and style my hair. I'm starting to get the impression I am getting too much of a combovwr look with how long the rest of my hair is and the way I part it.
I know you didn't ask for advice, but as someone who also had a side part veeeeeeery gradually turn into a combover over about a decade of balding, I'd say: switch to a short haircut sooner rather than later. I look way better bald with my hair all trimmed to a centimeter or so than I ever did balding with longer hair.
I sympathize a lot with not feeling like you can get a straight answer about thinning hair from your barber, though. I suspect a lot of their male customers are very very sensitive about it and would react poorly to honest feedback even if it were solicited.
Ive talked about this a few times.
I never liked the idea that one should just accept it “just shave it off bro.” I don’t like the idea in general that one must accept their insecurities and not even bother trying to do something about it. These things can make a big difference
I remember how much anxiety and depression I had those first few months when I learned I was losing my hair. It wasn’t fun. And taking hair loss medication acted as anxiety meds for me.
That was a very informative post and great comments, just wanted to draw more attention to it from this thread
While I am happy for anyone that finds self acceptance in their balding, I do want to share a perspective I find that is often left out of these conversations: the treatments largely work, and there's nothing wrong with using them for most people. I (a man) currently have been using finasteride (pills) and minoxidil (rogaine) to very satisfactory effect for almost a decade now after I first noticed hair loss and have successfully halted and mostly reversed the loss for that period.
I find there's this odd undertone of "well if you DON'T want to be bald and take steps it avoid it, you're shallow and weird" to many of these conversations, especially among men. So take it from me - I feel a lot happier with my hair preserved and the treatment has been negligible for my life otherwise.
i started noticing some hairloss at 26 or 28 or something, 2019 i think, at like 30 if that year is correct, i started taking finasteride and it halted and MAYBE THE TINIEST BIT reversed my hairloss
idk about sideffects cause around that time i started taking anti psychotics as well
i dont even care about my hair now at 37 really, maybe i should stop taking the fin, my hair is buzzed shorter then a millimeter right now, although i do like that i have shadow all over and not a bald spot in the middle, but i dont even grow my hair out any more like i did when i started taking the fin
On my 29th birthday my twin brother and I were looking at a picture taken from behind and we knew we were screwed.
It didn't bug me that much, but being taller than everybody else, nobody can look down and go "Hey, you're losing it." I had lived with my hair buzzed most of my life anyway, between JROTC at school, the years after high school, and as a requirement of my first job, and I always wanted to start shaving, so to me that was the time to start.
That wasn't as bad as looking back. When I was 25 a coworker of mine asked if I was balding. I was a little defensive after being made fun of for my hairline most of my school days and insisted I wasn't, but, looking back at pictures, especially from when I was a teenager, I had definitely been balding, because I don't remember my widow's peak being different from 25 to 29, which meant damage had been done.
Mine is hereditary, likely from my mother's side (grandpa balded like I did, my dad's went super slow). My one regret is not growing it out long for more of my life, I really liked that. But, I got blessed with a sick beard so I'm doing that.
I've had both hormonal and medical hair loss going on for a while now. I got a little hairline recession and enough thinning that noticeably more scalp showed through at the part with the beginnings of perimenopause. Not a catastrophe, I just changed my hairstyle and lived with it.
Then, patchy alopecia areata along with distorted brittle nails when immune system problems kicked off. The balding patches grew back in with steroid treatments and the first round of RA drugs. The hair all over my head fell out drastically (like clumps blocking the shower drain) with the "chemo" type antimetabolite drugs, methotrexate and leflunomide. I started using minoxidil, which reduced the hair loss side effect of leflunomide.
The current biologic drug and leflunomide plus minoxidil seems to have resolved the hair loss and nail problems to the point that I'm wondering if the "hormonal" hair changes were just early symptoms. Both my parents had full heads of hair well into their eighties, though my brother did get the complete complement of baldness genes.
The moral of this story is that hair loss for which you don't have a clear genetic history is worth a doctor's visit.
Early 40s and I knew from family pictures that it was always going to happen. It's still a bit jarring when you see that bald spot on top of your head for the first time. Since my hair has always been relatively thin, I don't feel too bad about it honestly.
And like @BeardyHat says, I kind of like the feeling that I'm shairing (sorry) this with my father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
My hair loss is also hereditary but unlike you the men in my family were almost exclusively assholes I would rather not be associated with. The only exception is an uncle who’s path to god led him to be an army chaplain who was pushed into service of people of different faiths. Coincidentally he’s the only one of his generation still alive so I’d like to say if there is a god that he is just.
While I do admire my uncle I’m still clinging to my hair loss drugs like a lifeline.
I started shaving my head when I was in my late 20’s because of a receding hairline.
I had the mindset of fire them before they quit. I like the shaved head look.
I like the sound of firing them before they quit in this context. Power move, respect
I (female) noticed thinning hair in my temples around age 45. I dismissed it for a while, but one day I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and noticed a V-shaped hairline. I chalked it up to stress and benign hair loss associated with losing weight. But my hair didn't bounce back after my weight stabilized, so I talked to my doctor. I was surprised to learn age-related hair loss happens to women too, and how common it is during midlife.
My doc ran some tests. Thyroid, vitamin D, iron. They all looked fine. She suggested topical Minoxidil, and I started that about a year ago. My temples have filled in nicely, but it took a good 6-8 months to notice much of a difference. I was initially depressed by the notion of putting medicine on my head every day for the rest of my life, but it's been no big deal. I use the topical solution (blue box, not foam) from Costco, just dropper some onto each temple and lightly rub in before bedtime. It takes less than 20 seconds to do. The standard recommendation is to use it twice a day, but once a day has been sufficient for me so far.
I originally asked about the oral form, thinking it would be easier, but my doc talked me out of it and I'm glad she did. Oral minoxidil is a blood-pressure lowering medication, and I didn't need those systemic effects. Also, by sticking with the topical type, I can apply it just where I need it instead of getting hairier all over my body.
It's worth noting that topical Minox is fatal to cats. If you use it with felines in the house, be extremely careful. Use it behind a closed door, seal the bottle tight, and wash your hands after.
My hair started thinning during high school, but didn’t become too evident until some point in my mid-20s.
During college I wasn’t eating well (was almost certainly deficient in several things, plus just wasn’t eating enough), which continued through my mid-20s and then had multiple stressful years piled on top. This is all probably the reason why I’d lost a chunk of hair across the top of my head by my late 20s.
I started eating better and working out at 28 or so, which has mostly kept it in check. I’m now mid-late 30s and it doesn’t seem to have gotten much worse. It’s still at a point that as long as I keep my hair cut short-ish, I can brush it to look basically like it did 15 years ago. The bare spot can show if my hair gets weighed down by grease or sweat though.
I haven’t treated it at all. Topical treatment is a no-go because I have a very lovey cat who sticks to me like glue and I’m not keen on the side effects of oral treatments.
Not sure what to do. I doubt my luck will continue to hold out and the thinning will likely accelerate soon. Even though I’m a guy, I don’t think my head shape and face works with the bald look so I’d like to avoid that if possible. Maybe one of the handful of follicle reactivation compounds currently in human trials will pan out.
My hair started thinning in my twenties I think. I didn't notice really. I was blissfully unaware until one day in saw a photo and I was balding on my crown(I think that's what its called) and I had long hair. So I cut it short and had it like that for a few years and now I shave my head once a month.
I sometimes toy with the idea of growing long hair again and rocking the death metal look the guys from blood incantation have. Another look in might go for once I have fully reached middle aged madness is the skullet. See bill bailey.
The skullet! That's what it's called! In Steven Universe (the cartoon), Steven's dad is a musician who sports one.
Hahah glad to be of assistance. Let's all grow skullets and be weird music people!
I am very much at skullet time, but I'm not a musician so I think it'll feel more "tales of the crypt" and less 'rock god'
My father and all but one of his brothers had quite pronounced hair loss by their early 30s so I always assumed it was prey inevitable for me. On that side it’s pretty much just my grandad and that one uncle who dodged it. But nearing my mid 30s and no signs yet, while my younger sibling is starting to see the signs (though even for them they’ve outlasted my fathers generation). Maybe I’ve dodged it temporarily, maybe I’ve lucked out and will follow my grandfather.
I began noticing some slight thinning and recession in my early 30s. I spent several months researching the safety of Finasteride since there is a lot of online fearmongering regarding side effects and post-Finasteride syndrome. I finally made the decision to start Finasteride a little over a year ago and Minoxidil six months ago. My hairline feels thicker and I'd say I went from a Norwood 2 to 1.5 with no discernible side effects. I'm very glad that I started.
It's very easy and cheap to get a Finasteride prescription through an online telehealth company (you just need to fill out a form and upload some photos) and the CostPlus online pharmacy. Of course you can consult a doctor as well. Minoxidil is over-the-counter and can be ordered online from Costco, but most likely not worth taking without Finasteride. There's a wealth of information on the "tressless" subreddit.
I know that I personally do not look good with a shaved head. Of course life would go on if I lost my hair, but I have no doubt that it would impact the way that others perceive and treat me. We all have instinctual biases towards others based on appearance whether we like it or not. When I look young and healthy, others treat me like I'm young and health, and that makes me feel younger and healthier.
However, I also see tons of men who look great with shaved and even heavily receding hair. And some men just don't care, which is great too. It is a very personal choice. But if you're on the fence about medication, I recommend looking into it now and not waiting too long.
My hair started thinning in my late 20s, but I didn't understand what was happening until my early 30s. I always had really thick hair just like my mom's dad, so I thought I was safe. When my hair came out in the shower, I just assumed that the product I had in my hair was preventing normal shedding, and I was getting it all out in one go. I was slightly self-conscious about going grey at a very young age (started at 21), but hair loss never crossed my mind. My delusions were shattered when my sister casually mentioned my grandfather's plugs one day. I felt like the detective at the end of The Usual Suspects, finally seeing all the signs that were in front of me the whole time.
I'm one of those guys who can't pull off the shaved head look. My facial hair (which is mostly grey now) is best left at scruff length, and my with my build, a bald version of me would give off more of a Dean Pelton vibe than a Bruce Willis or even Walter White look. With that in mind, I started finasteride right away, which halted most of the shedding, and added oral monoxidil to the mix a few months ago after I gave myself a buzz cut and saw the how noticably sparse things were at the crown. It's starting to look and feel a little thicker, and when my hair is longer and styled properly, everything looks fine to the untrained eye. However, I don't think I'll ever return to my former glory without a carefully planned visit to Turkey, which might happen if things get thinner up top.
This may sound like pseudo-science, but there's a fair amount of research showing that red light therapy (RLT) can noticeably improve hair thickness and density in those with age related hair loss. I don’t have sources on hand, but I'll see if I can find some and update this comment.
I'm not going to claim it's a guaranteed cure, but it's worth looking into if you're looking for a solution with essentially no side effects.
I have really annoying hair. It's thin, wispy, and dark. And that means you can often see my scalp through my hair. And not like in the usual balding sort of places--it's firmly on the sides. In addition to that, there's definitely some thinning on the top/front. And I don't notice any excessive hair falling out or anything. So if I am balding, it's taking a good 15+ years at this point.
It's weird limbo. Feel like I'm going bald, but it's slow and it bothers me but I can't be bothered to do anything about it. For now I mostly just don't worry about it. Or I'll wear a hat or get a buzz cut if I feel like it. But someday I'll join the baldy club!