Hair Loss

[macmac]

I think the key is in watching till you notice the earliest sigs of actual hairloss/shedding to then jump to the strongest medication used to treat hairloss. Im no expert though, just a guy going through it trying to figure it out.

Same dosage Test-E daily admnistration. Noticed a little light shedding when I first jumped on hormones were fluctuating like crazy (I was taking hcg for a bit too which only made things worse). But it stopped once stabalized. Then I whgen I added to my cycle my shedding got pretty bad. As soon as I decided the shedding wasnt getting better I made my derm appointment and he told me to just start taking oral fin but I asked for topical and told to try minoxidil topical first. Shit stopped it immediately (I also cut back any dosage changes and dropped to only test a bit before). Have to be consistent but it will not only stop your shedding, but your hair will grow fuller. At our test-e doses I think our risk for DHT induced hairloss is on the lower side, normally experienced at much higher doses or running DHT-derived compounds.

If Minox doesnt seem to be holding up and its from heavy dht-derived compounds, add RU or KX. Last resort, Oral Fin.

This is the gist from what Ive gathered so far

What exactly is shedding? Do you have hairs in your hand? How did you notice?

 

[null88]

You shouldn't really go by shedding. Hair loss occurs through gradual hair miniaturization. It could be years before you actually visibly notice hair loss, but its still occurring. It could also take years of meds before you fully restore your hair. IMO, if you value your hair, you should start a 5-AR inhibitor even if its a lower dose.

 

[Mariusdr]

You shouldn't really go by shedding. Hair loss occurs through gradual hair miniaturization. It could be years before you actually visibly notice hair loss, but it’s still occurring. It could also take years of meds before you fully restore your hair. IMO, if you value your hair, you should start a 5-AR inhibitor even if it’s a lower dose.

100% agree, the moment it’s visible you have already lost a lot of hair and the damage might be irreversible. The actual chance of getting sides from 5-AR inhibitors is pretty low, particularly when running gear.

 

[k710]

What exactly is shedding? Do you have hairs in your hand? How did you notice?

I use a little silicone hair scrubber thing in the shower and it does a good job at trapping the loose hairs into the brush. I always look at it after washing my head to see how much hair is on there. Its easily 5-6x the amount of hair on the brush when I am shedding vs when im not.

By shedding, I literally just mean youll start to notice hair everywhere around ya. Like you woke up, going through your morning routine, fix up your hair and go to brush your teeth only to look down and see hairs all over your sink or counter. Maybe around your pillow/bed and so on.

The brush in the shower is my go to to guage hairloss. Went from crazy brush full of hair to a literal 3-4 strands per shower when consistent with Minoxidil use.

You shouldn't really go by shedding. Hair loss occurs through gradual hair miniaturization. It could be years before you actually visibly notice hair loss, but its still occurring. It could also take years of meds before you fully restore your hair. IMO, if you value your hair, you should start a 5-AR inhibitor even if its a lower dose.

Yes, if you are actually loosing hair. We were talking about young healthy guy with no hairloss, but wanting to start a treatment as a peventative measure. Taking oral dht blockers have systemic affect on all dht receptors in the body, not just your hair follicles. This is why derms monitor your PSA levels when starting an oral treatment like finasteride. Same with Liver values and accutane.

The discussion was more about when one should consider starting preventative care than how to actually stop and reverse hairloss thats already happening. I agree once combating hairloss, oral fin will be the most effective. Till then, topicals like minoxidil can help prevent the hairloss from starting. Plus once you start these meds, you pretty much using them for life. I dont think oral dht meds should be your first line of defense for your hair especially as a preventative method.

Plus if your using dht-derived compounds remember that those cannot be further reduced, its already DHT. Thus oral meds wont have an affect. This is where RU/KX come into play imo. I dont mention topical Fin becuase If your gonna take fin, might as well just do the oral and have better results.


P.s yes, I know derms are more relaxed with bloodwork for accutane treatments, but when I talked to my derm he said he needs bloodwork to start and monitor till your on stable dose and then retest after treatment to make sure all is good