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Have any other HN readers gone through all the standard hair loss prevention treatments and just given up? I was obsessed with saving my hair in my late 20s. I

Have any other HN readers gone through all the standard hair loss prevention treatments and just given up? I was obsessed with saving my hair in my late 20s. In my 30s I just accepted it and moved on. Treatments can be expensive with dubious results (Minoxidil, different shampoos) or have possible serious side effects (Finasteride). This can be really disheartening if you are single though.

deanmoriarty 4y ago
I (mid 30s) have been on Finasteride for a couple years. No side effects whatsoever (healthy sex life, no depression, etc.) and it seems to have significantly slowed down my progression. I do not take Minoxidil because it would consume too much of my time, and am not comfortable with the oral version. If Finasteride continues working for a few more years I might consider a FUE transplant to restore a bunch of density. I consulted with a top hair transplant surgeon (very famous and pricey, with a one year-long backlog) and he told me Finasteride is by far the most effective, and time-sensitive, treatment one can start to mitigate the problem. In his experience of 20+ years as surgeon administering Finasteride to 1000s of patient, he said the number of people exhibiting side effects is consistent with the published research during clinical trials, i.e. very very low. That being said, each person clearly has a different appetite for "risk". He said I should not necessarily be in a rush with the transplant considering my situation, and that as long as I keep using Finasteride and it works it will keep my options open in the future for a transplant. I'm also not single and my partner actually suggested multiple times she doesn't care about my hair, I just do like my hair and will explore all options this world has to offer before giving up :-)
- keepquestioning 4y ago
  What dosage?
- Baeocystin 4y ago
  I want to keep my hair for the very specific reason that I don't want to have to always wear a hat in the sun. Hair is useful!
  - thoraweigh 4y ago
    This is one of the worst consequences of hair loss, for sure.
- thoraweigh 4y ago
  I've had 2 FUEs from great doctors, and the results are really pretty amazing. You wouldn't regret it (assuming you're referring to H&W or Dr. K).
binkHN 4y ago
> This can be really disheartening if you are single though. I started to lose my hair earlier than I cared, so I started cutting my hair rather short to deal with it. I met my partner around this time, but we were both in other relationships. A few months later, I finally decided to shave my head, and only after that did my partner think I looked good. Maybe this will work for you if you haven't gone down this route already.
hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
If hair treatments don't work, just completely shave your head or keep it trimmed really close - that's a look that can be pulled off by a lot of guys. What is generally considered unattractive (even if people are no longer allowed to say it out loud they still think it) is the male-patterned baldness look. But just look at Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in the late 90s vs. today - they took different but IMO equally successful approaches to their hair loss. Musk went the hair plugs route while Bezos went the "shave it all off" route (of course I don't think the hormone therapy for Bezos hurt either).
- Mountain_Skies 4y ago
  Getting ripped really helps Bezos pull off that look. No hair on your head, none on your face, and a dad bod can make one look like a giant baby or like someone under going chemo. Neal Stephenson seems to have done well with the facial hair route, not ending up looking like a pair of handlebars or someone with an upside down head.
temp24582934 4y ago
That's something people really need to know: finasteride / dutasteride literally modify your endocrine (hormonal) system. They block (most) DHT production which is a key hormone for male sexual health / mental well-being etc. so it should be surprising if you have don't have side effects. Having said that though, the side-effects aren't necessarily bad. You might feel different but it depends on the person if that difference is considered good or bad (I think most men would feel bad though?) Note that since conversion from testosterone to DHT is blocked, your DHT decreases but your testosterone increases. TL;DR: discuss the possible implications (especially fertility-related!) of higher T and lower DHT with your doctor before taking finasteride / dutasteride
- hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
  Many drugs modify your hormonal system - that in and of itself isn't the issue. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481923/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481923/ is a really good overview in my opinion that does a thorough, fair analysis of many studies of finasteride. The biggest problem I have when hearing about finasteride side effects is that anecdotal reports are completely useless when determining the true risks of finasteride, but they are played up a ton by the press. The reason being that finasteride is a long term medication. If you look at a large group of men from, say, age 30, tons of them will develop fertility issues, sexual issues, depression, etc. in the next 5 years regardless of any medications they are taking. But it's very easy to get someone on the news that says "I started taking finasteride last year and now I have no libido" and blame it on finasteride. The press rarely interviews people like me who have been taking finasteride for nearly 20 years with no ill effects. And, to be clear, my anecdotal report is useless, too - only broad meta-analyses and your personal risk threshold should weigh into your decision of whether or not to take it.
  - Auracle 4y ago
    As another anecdote though, I started taking something like .1mg/day topically and I wasn’t anticipating side effects. My mood and libido absolutely tanked. It’s the same as women on hormonal birth control. Some don’t notice any difference - and others get incredibly moody/sad/etc. Hormones are complex.
Mountain_Skies 4y ago
I refused to ever go down the chemical path and just lived with the ugliness of having splotchy hair on the crown of my head. It didn't seem to impact my dating life much but there are so many variables in such things that it's hard to know if things would have been somehow better if I hadn't started thinning. But then I went through a very stressful period of life and the hair loss accelerated and I started shaving it completely. Though I have since grown my hair out again, the pre-stress slotchiness is still there but I in general don't care. Being Mr. Clean level bald for several years did come with some lessons. The biggest was that even with thinning hair, it provides far more thermal regulation than you'd expect. Without any hair, your head can quickly overheat in direct sunlight and you lose tons of heat during cold weather. Get accustomed to having hats. For me, the newsie type hat worked best but for some reason, there are plenty of people who think if you wear that particular type of hat, that you're trying to fool everyone into thinking you're not bald. Some people can be very assholish about it. But for the bald it is a good hat because there's not a lot of empty space for where hair usually would go. It does a nice job of replicating the thermal regulation hair normally would. Mesh trucker type hats are generally not a good choice. There's too much airflow and the bands tend to be abrasive. Another thing you'll have to deal with if you still have significant amounts of hair outside of the balding spots is how much more time you're now going to spend keeping it shaved clean. Stubble might be seen as sexy on your face but it looks bad on your head. Any time savings from not needing to shampoo, condition, and style your hair can get consumed by needing to keep it shaved. There are specialized types of razors made for head shaving that use standard shaving cartridges. It's worth spending a few bucks on getting one instead of using a razor designed for your face.
- tomcam 4y ago
  Great summary. In my 60s I can tell you that the one thing you didn’t cover is the vast amount of hobbit hair one can have while still being bald. if only I could put my ear, nose, and toe hair to use for good instead of evil…
Traubenfuchs 4y ago
I am taking oral minoxidil at the dangerous upper limit I barely tolerate (12mg). At the start I once almost drowned in wild waters from the unexpected fast heartbeat and low energy. Finasteride gave me severe depression. Also, I microneedle. My min + microneedle regime is extremely effective.
- jimlongton 4y ago
  > Finasteride gave me severe depression. This happened to a friend of mine. Another is taking it for years and is fine. I honestly think people aren't warned enough about that side effect. I was more worried about possible sexual dysfunction.
  - Traubenfuchs 4y ago
    I also had zero sexual desire, barely could get it up and had almost no ejaculate... Functional sexual recovery took up to three months. At this point I do believe in post finasteride syndrome, and I am glad I completely recovered. I did... "smalldose" at 0.5mg a day for only about 3 months. And yes, the vast majority seems to have no nameworthy side effects. The norwood reaper is cruel.
- mancerayder 4y ago
  Is there a microneedle system that works better than others?
  - gigasus 4y ago
    https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/wiki/microneedling/ https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/wiki/microneedling/ is a good place to start reading up on microneedling for hairloss.
  - Traubenfuchs 4y ago
    No matter what, use a pen and no roller. I am using a pelcas one. On amazon there seems to be a pseudo brand cluster of pens that look very similar but use the same cartridges. You can check out /r/tressless for more reviews.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
TheAdamist 4y ago
Trim it really close, im not going to pull off a jason statham or bruce willis, but its easy enough to cut with an electric razor myself. Used to have a cheap barber, but covid led me to try it myself, and doable
thoraweigh 4y ago
I take oral minoxidil and dutasteride without any negative side effects (okay - my eyelashes are now a bit too luscious for my liking, and my nails grow very fast). I've also had two (by design) hair transplants. Never cared about my hair loss re: women. I've found consistently that many (enough) women don't care. Body image issues are the problem.
Teknoman117 4y ago
I just wish there was an easy way to sort what works from what's snake oil. You've got my barber recommending to check out some infrared hat thing you wear a few dozen minutes a day, you've got minoxidil and finasteride, special shampoos, microneedling, hair transplant, etc. I'm about to join the 30-something club and my hairline has started to recede (temples first). To be honest, it's been around a lot longer than I thought it would be - my dad and grandfathers had little hair by age 30. Not that I've really taken advantage from a dating perspective (self-image issues are no fun). I would like to keep it around if possible, but if the answer is more drugs with little research into long term usage, I'm not sure if I'd really be willing to make that trade-off.
- Auracle 4y ago
  The thing is, all of those things work - at least to some extent. I’d try Minoxidil, micro needling, and LLLT first (but not necessarily all three) as the side effect profile is low. Even a super low dose finasteride gave me significant side effects, but I do have some hormonal issues on my own. Some people apparently get long term side effects, and my doctor was against me trying it for that reason. Obviously hair transplants are the nuclear option.

deanmoriarty 4y ago

I (mid 30s) have been on Finasteride for a couple years. No side effects whatsoever (healthy sex life, no depression, etc.) and it seems to have significantly slowed down my progression. I do not take Minoxidil because it would consume too much of my time, and am not comfortable with the oral version. If Finasteride continues working for a few more years I might consider a FUE transplant to restore a bunch of density. I consulted with a top hair transplant surgeon (very famous and pricey, with a one year-long backlog) and he told me Finasteride is by far the most effective, and time-sensitive, treatment one can start to mitigate the problem. In his experience of 20+ years as surgeon administering Finasteride to 1000s of patient, he said the number of people exhibiting side effects is consistent with the published research during clinical trials, i.e. very very low. That being said, each person clearly has a different appetite for "risk". He said I should not necessarily be in a rush with the transplant considering my situation, and that as long as I keep using Finasteride and it works it will keep my options open in the future for a transplant. I'm also not single and my partner actually suggested multiple times she doesn't care about my hair, I just do like my hair and will explore all options this world has to offer before giving up :-)

keepquestioning 4y ago
What dosage?
Baeocystin 4y ago
I want to keep my hair for the very specific reason that I don't want to have to always wear a hat in the sun. Hair is useful!
- thoraweigh 4y ago
  This is one of the worst consequences of hair loss, for sure.
thoraweigh 4y ago
I've had 2 FUEs from great doctors, and the results are really pretty amazing. You wouldn't regret it (assuming you're referring to H&W or Dr. K).

binkHN 4y ago

> This can be really disheartening if you are single though. I started to lose my hair earlier than I cared, so I started cutting my hair rather short to deal with it. I met my partner around this time, but we were both in other relationships. A few months later, I finally decided to shave my head, and only after that did my partner think I looked good. Maybe this will work for you if you haven't gone down this route already.

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago

If hair treatments don't work, just completely shave your head or keep it trimmed really close - that's a look that can be pulled off by a lot of guys. What is generally considered unattractive (even if people are no longer allowed to say it out loud they still think it) is the male-patterned baldness look. But just look at Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in the late 90s vs. today - they took different but IMO equally successful approaches to their hair loss. Musk went the hair plugs route while Bezos went the "shave it all off" route (of course I don't think the hormone therapy for Bezos hurt either).

Mountain_Skies 4y ago
Getting ripped really helps Bezos pull off that look. No hair on your head, none on your face, and a dad bod can make one look like a giant baby or like someone under going chemo. Neal Stephenson seems to have done well with the facial hair route, not ending up looking like a pair of handlebars or someone with an upside down head.

temp24582934 4y ago

That's something people really need to know: finasteride / dutasteride literally modify your endocrine (hormonal) system. They block (most) DHT production which is a key hormone for male sexual health / mental well-being etc. so it should be surprising if you have don't have side effects. Having said that though, the side-effects aren't necessarily bad. You might feel different but it depends on the person if that difference is considered good or bad (I think most men would feel bad though?) Note that since conversion from testosterone to DHT is blocked, your DHT decreases but your testosterone increases. TL;DR: discuss the possible implications (especially fertility-related!) of higher T and lower DHT with your doctor before taking finasteride / dutasteride

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
Many drugs modify your hormonal system - that in and of itself isn't the issue. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481923/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481923/ is a really good overview in my opinion that does a thorough, fair analysis of many studies of finasteride. The biggest problem I have when hearing about finasteride side effects is that anecdotal reports are completely useless when determining the true risks of finasteride, but they are played up a ton by the press. The reason being that finasteride is a long term medication. If you look at a large group of men from, say, age 30, tons of them will develop fertility issues, sexual issues, depression, etc. in the next 5 years regardless of any medications they are taking. But it's very easy to get someone on the news that says "I started taking finasteride last year and now I have no libido" and blame it on finasteride. The press rarely interviews people like me who have been taking finasteride for nearly 20 years with no ill effects. And, to be clear, my anecdotal report is useless, too - only broad meta-analyses and your personal risk threshold should weigh into your decision of whether or not to take it.
- Auracle 4y ago
  As another anecdote though, I started taking something like .1mg/day topically and I wasn’t anticipating side effects. My mood and libido absolutely tanked. It’s the same as women on hormonal birth control. Some don’t notice any difference - and others get incredibly moody/sad/etc. Hormones are complex.

Mountain_Skies 4y ago

I refused to ever go down the chemical path and just lived with the ugliness of having splotchy hair on the crown of my head. It didn't seem to impact my dating life much but there are so many variables in such things that it's hard to know if things would have been somehow better if I hadn't started thinning. But then I went through a very stressful period of life and the hair loss accelerated and I started shaving it completely. Though I have since grown my hair out again, the pre-stress slotchiness is still there but I in general don't care. Being Mr. Clean level bald for several years did come with some lessons. The biggest was that even with thinning hair, it provides far more thermal regulation than you'd expect. Without any hair, your head can quickly overheat in direct sunlight and you lose tons of heat during cold weather. Get accustomed to having hats. For me, the newsie type hat worked best but for some reason, there are plenty of people who think if you wear that particular type of hat, that you're trying to fool everyone into thinking you're not bald. Some people can be very assholish about it. But for the bald it is a good hat because there's not a lot of empty space for where hair usually would go. It does a nice job of replicating the thermal regulation hair normally would. Mesh trucker type hats are generally not a good choice. There's too much airflow and the bands tend to be abrasive. Another thing you'll have to deal with if you still have significant amounts of hair outside of the balding spots is how much more time you're now going to spend keeping it shaved clean. Stubble might be seen as sexy on your face but it looks bad on your head. Any time savings from not needing to shampoo, condition, and style your hair can get consumed by needing to keep it shaved. There are specialized types of razors made for head shaving that use standard shaving cartridges. It's worth spending a few bucks on getting one instead of using a razor designed for your face.

tomcam 4y ago
Great summary. In my 60s I can tell you that the one thing you didn’t cover is the vast amount of hobbit hair one can have while still being bald. if only I could put my ear, nose, and toe hair to use for good instead of evil…

Traubenfuchs 4y ago

I am taking oral minoxidil at the dangerous upper limit I barely tolerate (12mg). At the start I once almost drowned in wild waters from the unexpected fast heartbeat and low energy. Finasteride gave me severe depression. Also, I microneedle. My min + microneedle regime is extremely effective.

jimlongton 4y ago
> Finasteride gave me severe depression. This happened to a friend of mine. Another is taking it for years and is fine. I honestly think people aren't warned enough about that side effect. I was more worried about possible sexual dysfunction.
- Traubenfuchs 4y ago
  I also had zero sexual desire, barely could get it up and had almost no ejaculate... Functional sexual recovery took up to three months. At this point I do believe in post finasteride syndrome, and I am glad I completely recovered. I did... "smalldose" at 0.5mg a day for only about 3 months. And yes, the vast majority seems to have no nameworthy side effects. The norwood reaper is cruel.
mancerayder 4y ago
Is there a microneedle system that works better than others?
- gigasus 4y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/wiki/microneedling/ https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/wiki/microneedling/ is a good place to start reading up on microneedling for hairloss.
- Traubenfuchs 4y ago
  No matter what, use a pen and no roller. I am using a pelcas one. On amazon there seems to be a pseudo brand cluster of pens that look very similar but use the same cartridges. You can check out /r/tressless for more reviews.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

TheAdamist 4y ago

Trim it really close, im not going to pull off a jason statham or bruce willis, but its easy enough to cut with an electric razor myself. Used to have a cheap barber, but covid led me to try it myself, and doable

thoraweigh 4y ago

I take oral minoxidil and dutasteride without any negative side effects (okay - my eyelashes are now a bit too luscious for my liking, and my nails grow very fast). I've also had two (by design) hair transplants. Never cared about my hair loss re: women. I've found consistently that many (enough) women don't care. Body image issues are the problem.

Teknoman117 4y ago

I just wish there was an easy way to sort what works from what's snake oil. You've got my barber recommending to check out some infrared hat thing you wear a few dozen minutes a day, you've got minoxidil and finasteride, special shampoos, microneedling, hair transplant, etc. I'm about to join the 30-something club and my hairline has started to recede (temples first). To be honest, it's been around a lot longer than I thought it would be - my dad and grandfathers had little hair by age 30. Not that I've really taken advantage from a dating perspective (self-image issues are no fun). I would like to keep it around if possible, but if the answer is more drugs with little research into long term usage, I'm not sure if I'd really be willing to make that trade-off.

Auracle 4y ago
The thing is, all of those things work - at least to some extent. I’d try Minoxidil, micro needling, and LLLT first (but not necessarily all three) as the side effect profile is low. Even a super low dose finasteride gave me significant side effects, but I do have some hormonal issues on my own. Some people apparently get long term side effects, and my doctor was against me trying it for that reason. Obviously hair transplants are the nuclear option.