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POSTED UNDER Hair Loss Treatment REVIEWS

22 Years Old, Norwood 3? Using Finasteride for 3 Months - Canada, CA

ORIGINAL POST

Hey everyone, this is my first post on here as I...

foster14
Hey everyone, this is my first post on here as I have just recently started to become very self conscious of my appearance. As little as two years ago when I started university, I had long hair that I could flow back and it was awesome. Through first year about Midway through, I really started to notice shedding like crazy, but didn't think too much of it. After first year I still held my hairline but my hair definitley thinned a lot. Fast forward to the end of second year and it really had started to recede, I'm assuming due to the stress of school, especially as I stress a lot while at school. In the summer I had a relationship end which really hit hard and ever since then my hairline has gotten aggressively worse. I went from a possible Norwood 2 to a worsening case of Norwood 3.

To help combat the issue, I started finasteride in January and haven't noticed much since, if anything it has gotten worse. I'm wondering if there is any chance of regrowing hair along the hairline or if in the next few years I should be thinking of a hair transplant, something I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for. I do still have small nearly invisible hairs along the Norwood hairline and even some in the temple regions.

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice as to what I should do and if finasteride will really be able to do enough on it's own. Also if anyone knows of any upcoming products that may be able to help. Thanks in advance for reading the post and I look forward to hearing everyone's responses. The pictures are where I stand after just over 3 months ouf finasteride use.

Replies (13)

April 9, 2017
Had the exact same problem as you including the stress from university and break up from a long term relationship just before I graduated (this was definitely worst stage). I started using rogaine a year ago, I am going to be 24 soon and hair loss shedding has sort of stopped but continues slowly every now and then. I believe I am on Norwood 3 approaching Norwood 3a/4a, and have a FUE transplant booked next week. Don't know if this will be my solution and a bit skeptical on what results will be but hoping for the best. Will probably also start finasteride too. Did u notice any side effects?
April 9, 2017
As of now haven't noticed any side effects from finasteride, maybe a bit lower libido but I also feel like that's just because of how I feel about losing my hair, not the drug. I'm hoping finasteride can regrow atleast a bit of my hairline as I still have some velous hairs but we will see. I think the finasteride has caused some serious thinning more than any shedding but I think this should reverse itself soon (hopefully). Eventually I might turn to FUE but reviews are always so skeptical and the costs are crazy.
June 27, 2017
@spacemonkey7 , Have you had your HT yet? Would love to hear from you and how things are going
May 4, 2017
I feel your pain I was there 20 years ago. Honestly best thing is to buzz it down and focus on other things. I did a HT several years ago and have regretted it since. I went to one of the best to. Results turned out ok for a few years but it's worse now. Made me feel goofy doing it and even though bald sucked this is a nightmare. The simple fact is if you're balding early you'll never be a good candidate although ppl will try to convience you otherwise. Best advice I can give you is find a way to accept it. Counseling, learn about BDD, reading forms like slybaldguys, anything to accept it and be happy with yourself for who you are as a person. The HT industry is a sleezy misleading business that manipulates ppl for money. Don't fall into that trap. Buzz it, lift weights, study hard and just let it go. I've been there tried it all and wasted so much time, money, effort and will be miserable forever now.
May 4, 2017
Oh and stop the propecia it's a waste of money. There are girls out there that like bald, confident, in shape, good dudes
June 5, 2018
Best advice is to shave it bald . You can consider hair transplant in the future . Let us be honest you are young and you are losing your hair rapidly . i think if you take finsteride plus minoxidil and do prp you are going to save what you have for like couple of years so its not worth it and its really costly and you may not see any results at all . Never believe that there is a cure for severe hair loss at young age . The two fda drugs to treat hair loss are discovered by accident one in the 70 s the other in the 90 s so this should give a hint how dumb we are in treating such a common thing like balding .
June 6, 2018
Finasteride is effective for most men but isn't for some. I am one of those guys who don't respond to finasteride whatsoever but got some good results with minoxidil. I recommend going on minoxidil as well for better chance of stimulating regrowth. You must continue the drugs indefinitely though otherwise you will lose your gain and perhaps land in a worse position than where you started out. I was foolish to stop minoxidil for one month and even getting back on it later didn't help anymore.
If you're not in a rush to grow hair, I would suggest staying on finasteride alone for 1 year to see if finasteride is effective for you. If you start minoxidil at the same time you will never know which one is effective for you.

Best of luck.
August 13, 2018
What's your update on this post? I'm curious to know as I'm currently oblivious about what to do in my situation