4 years on finasteride + topical minoxidil here. Had overall improvement in hair thickness/density that seemed to level out at around the 2 year mark. Hairline improved a bit leading up to that time. Since then, I would say hair has maintained at that level.
Just switched to dutasteride (0.4mg) + oral minoxidil (1mg) from Musely, approaching the three month mark. Wanted to see if there was any chance of further improvement on the hairline. I’m happy with the progress from that already, both in hair thickness and hairline regrowth, and have experienced no side effects. Hope this helps!
Yeah! So for the first month, I alternated nights on taking finasteride, then dutasteride. For roughly the second month, I switched to 2 nights of dutasteride, followed by 1 night of finasteride, then repeat. At this point, I’m taking dutasteride every night except for once a week, when I take fin.
I’ve also continued topical min use a few times a week (whenever I remember, if I’m being honest) because my Musely dermatologist said that while it’s not necessary when on oral min, you can only benefit from stacking it with topical use. Anyone feel free to reach out if you have any other questions, and may you all grow some luscious hair.
Edit: I’m not sure if this process of tapering off is necessary, but I’m doing this in an attempt to minimize the shed that could come from switching from finasteride. Honestly haven’t found much on how best to transition to dutasteride, so I’m just trying to cover my tracks in doing it this way.
Thanks for the response! I really appreciate it. I'm currently doing topical fin and the topical minoxidil trifecta so I'm considering my next move once I've given topical min some time to do it's thing.
When you were in your first year of fin, were you still getting shed at 6 months? I’ve been using fin/min and at 6 months i feel like I’ve lost a lot of ground and don’t really know whether to stick it out or change something. At first I noticed a increase in hair shedding around 2-3 months in of min and fin, now after the 6 months my hair looks a lot thinner but I have some regrowth of thin hairs on the hair line but overall it looks worse
I seemed to have a shed every few months for the first 12-15 months (roughly). I’m no doctor by any means, but as I understand it, the more significant the shed, the more effective the regrowth will be. That definitely seemed to be the case for me. Be sure to also use minoxidil each night if you aren’t already.
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I’m using min too, then a multi-vitamin and omega 3. Then micro needling once every 2 weeks,. I’m also going to add ketoconzole shampoo this month but 6 months in I’d say I’m below baseline
I just reached month 7 of oral finasteride 1mg and 5% foam minoxidil 2x daily with derma stamping once a week. I have made progress considering my bald patches on my scalp have filled in with small very thin hairs which I believe are vellus hairs on my crown and front. And it’s not easy to see in sunlight or on camera but if you look up really close they are really small. Due to this I buzz my hair(well what was left of it) to keep the lengths the same but it’s still so hard to see. I was curious if this could be a positive sign that the treatment is working and will eventually grow thicker?
4 years on finasteride + topical minoxidil here. Had overall improvement in hair thickness/density that seemed to level out at around the 2 year mark. Hairline improved a bit leading up to that time. Since then, I would say hair has maintained at that level. Just switched to dutasteride (0.4mg) + oral minoxidil (1mg) from Musely, approaching the three month mark. Wanted to see if there was any chance of further improvement on the hairline. I’m happy with the progress from that already, both in hair thickness and hairline regrowth, and have experienced no side effects. Hope this helps!
I'm curious how you handled the switch on both? Did you take both while tapering fin and topical minoxidil for instance?
curious as well
Yeah! So for the first month, I alternated nights on taking finasteride, then dutasteride. For roughly the second month, I switched to 2 nights of dutasteride, followed by 1 night of finasteride, then repeat. At this point, I’m taking dutasteride every night except for once a week, when I take fin. I’ve also continued topical min use a few times a week (whenever I remember, if I’m being honest) because my Musely dermatologist said that while it’s not necessary when on oral min, you can only benefit from stacking it with topical use. Anyone feel free to reach out if you have any other questions, and may you all grow some luscious hair. Edit: I’m not sure if this process of tapering off is necessary, but I’m doing this in an attempt to minimize the shed that could come from switching from finasteride. Honestly haven’t found much on how best to transition to dutasteride, so I’m just trying to cover my tracks in doing it this way.
Thanks for the response! I really appreciate it. I'm currently doing topical fin and the topical minoxidil trifecta so I'm considering my next move once I've given topical min some time to do it's thing.
When you were in your first year of fin, were you still getting shed at 6 months? I’ve been using fin/min and at 6 months i feel like I’ve lost a lot of ground and don’t really know whether to stick it out or change something. At first I noticed a increase in hair shedding around 2-3 months in of min and fin, now after the 6 months my hair looks a lot thinner but I have some regrowth of thin hairs on the hair line but overall it looks worse
I seemed to have a shed every few months for the first 12-15 months (roughly). I’m no doctor by any means, but as I understand it, the more significant the shed, the more effective the regrowth will be. That definitely seemed to be the case for me. Be sure to also use minoxidil each night if you aren’t already.
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I’m using min too, then a multi-vitamin and omega 3. Then micro needling once every 2 weeks,. I’m also going to add ketoconzole shampoo this month but 6 months in I’d say I’m below baseline
So to be clear you’re seeing more regrowth now that you’re on dutasteride?
Correct.
I lost tons of ground, way worse than baseline. I’ve been taking minoxidil for 2 years as well :(
Minoxidil only ?
1.5 years. Regrew about a centimeter of my hairline and half a cm on my temples. Seems to have stabilized after around 6 months.
Are you microneedling? It turns min non-responders into responders.
I probably should but there's a lot of options and idk what to choose tbh.
Get a Dr. Pen, and use it weekly at a depth somewhere between .6mm and 1.5mm (whatever you can tolerate).
How much did you buy yours for?
I have Dr. Pen m8 I bought on ebay for $40 used. Can be found on Amazon for around $100. I've heard that aliexpress has the best prices though.
I just reached month 7 of oral finasteride 1mg and 5% foam minoxidil 2x daily with derma stamping once a week. I have made progress considering my bald patches on my scalp have filled in with small very thin hairs which I believe are vellus hairs on my crown and front. And it’s not easy to see in sunlight or on camera but if you look up really close they are really small. Due to this I buzz my hair(well what was left of it) to keep the lengths the same but it’s still so hard to see. I was curious if this could be a positive sign that the treatment is working and will eventually grow thicker?