Fashion Balding - anyone tried finasteride or minoxidil?

[thundercock.]

So I just noticed that I'm balding (currently I'm between II and III on the Norwood scale).
Possible courses of action:

1. Let balding run it's course. For now that means rocking a shorter hairstyle. If/when I start balding at the vertex, just shave it all off. Useful advice on looking good bald.
2. Stop balding from progressing with finasteride. (very simplified) Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a hormone, mostly active during puberty, that in some men attacks the hair roots (follicles) causing male pattern baldness. Finasteride suppresses DHT.
3. Treat balding with minoxidil which encourages hair (re)growth.
4. Hair transplantation surgery.

I'm fine with option 1.
Option 4 is too much for me.
Options 2 & 3 are maybes. I'm not too enthusiastic about messing with my endocrine system.
So the question is, has anyone on the forum tried finasteride (2) or minoxidil (3)?
What are your experiences? Thoughts?

EDIT: older threads one two three four five

 

[Alpha13SC]

I use minoxidil for beard with no side effects(or I was not aware of them). It works, but genetics also play a factor even while using it.

For hair, check MPMD's blog. He has another compound advertising in combination with minoxidil, without the same side effects as finasteride. A friend of mine growth back his hairline at least 3cm.

Alpha13SC

 

[ulrich]

I am not aware of any side effects for minoxidil but it is a well known fact that minoxidil induced hair growth need further minoxidil dosage to be maintained.
So, once you start you need to keep dosing or all your regrown hair will eventually fall off again.

I am in the I Norwood scale so I don’t worry much but if I had an aggressive baldness pattern like III or IV, I would go for transplant eventually.

Guys are going to mock you for being bald and they are going to mock you for the transplant too so I’d rather just hand out 4K-6K and get done with it.

 

[Winston]

Do not use Finasteride. It mess up with your hormones, and especially it could destroy your libido and ability to get a boner. It happened to me (I dropped it instantly when I understood this was the cause). There are also plenty of people reporting that online.

Minoxdil has way less adverse side effects.

I have a friend who did an hair transplant in Turkey 6 months ago. After 1 or 2 months I wasn't impressed by the results, but 6 months after it does look good and not something you would detect.

 

[Skills]

Do not use Finasteride. It mess up with your hormones, and especially it could destroy your libido and ability to get a boner. It happened to me (I dropped it instantly when I understood this was the cause). There are also plenty of people reporting that online.

Minoxdil has way less adverse side effects.

I have a friend who did an hair transplant in Turkey 6 months ago. After 1 or 2 months I wasn't impressed by the results, but 6 months after it does look good and not something you would detect.

correct this is factual, no opinion, the reason is it blocks dht, which is the hormone pretty much that makes you horny... no thanks, your dick won't move...

Finasteride, a specific and competitive inhibitor of 5α-reductase enzyme Type 2, inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In adults, DHT acts as primary androgen in prostate and hair follicles. The only FDA-approved dermatological indication of finasteride is androgenetic alopecia.

 

[POB]

correct this is factual, no opinion, the reason is it blocks dht, which is the hormone pretty much that makes you horny... no thanks, your dick won't move...

I've been using finasteride 1mg for the past 15 years and see no side effects.
Being a DHT blocker does not mean it will automatically mess with your libido.
It depends on a lot of factors, including:
- testo levels;
- how well is your testo to DHT conversion;
- how much of actual DHT the drug is blocking it and;
- how well your body will react during the adaptation period;

If you don't wanna use it, combine daily minoxidil (topic and pills), daily biotin (pills) and a saw palmetto shampoo to get the best results.

Edit: also check vitamin D levels and supplement if needed
(some people have genetic problems converting vitamin D and need to supplement in high doses).

 

[Skills]

I've been using finasteride 1mg for the past 15 years and see no side effects.
Being a DHT blocker does not mean it will automatically mess with your libido.
It depends on a lot of factors, including:
- testo levels;
- how well is your testo to DHT conversion;
- how much of actual DHT the drug is blocking it and;
- how well your body will react during the adaptation period;

If you don't wanna use it, combine daily minoxidil (topic and pills), daily biotine (pills) and a saw palmetto shampoo to get the best results.

well in most guys i know that have tried the dick went dead, however i agree field test in small doses as long as you are getting side effects, then stop it.... But me personally i love having high dht, gets me horny as fuck...

 

[POB]

By MPMD:

"The way Finasteride works is by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase.
Finasteride more or less creates a blockade whereby testosterone can't be 5-alpha reduced into DHT as efficiently as it normally would.

Very similar to how HGH and IGF-1 levels determine how tall you get during puberty, Testosterone and DHT levels determine how much sexual development you experience during puberty.

Once you're an adult, these androgens simply support existing androgen dependent functions though.

A teenager in the middle of puberty could severely inhibit his sexual development by taking Finasteride.

An adult could induce androgen deficiency side effects by taking Finasteride, but this could be manually reversed with ease via hormone manipulation.

There's only a certain amount of androgen receptor activation you need in different tissues to support satisfactory function, and the necessity of maxed out DHT levels is lower post-puberty.

This isn't to say that DHT isn't needed, but there's a reason why the majority of Finasteride users are side effect free."

What does it mean???
1) wait as much as you can before taking it, and never do it during your formative years
2) get a complete blood/hormone panel before taking it
3) never stop dieting and working out to keep optimized testo levels

 

[POB]

i love having high dht, gets me horny as fuck...

I must be a rare case where blocking DHT helps.
When I got off of it for a short time, I could not think straight and had huge boners at the worst times (like during meetings).

 

[POB]

Last bit from MPMD
(and why your body can adapt to low-to-no DHT levels, and keep your libido intact as long as you have enough testo available):

"I took 1.0 mg of Dutasteride for a year straight with exogenous Testosterone.
I kept my Testosterone levels on the brink of high-normal.
Blood work proved that DHT was almost completely wiped out in my body.
It was so low that DHT was not even detectable in my blood.
All I had to support androgen dependent tissues was testosterone, but because I had more than enough of it, I had 0 negative side effects at all.

I had no libido issues at all.
If anything, my libido was too high, and it was annoying." (check my comment above)

By taking 1.0 mg Dutasteride I not only crushed my DHT far lower than what the average woman produces, but I lowered it all the way down to as low, if not lower, than what male pseudohermaphrodites produce.
This experiment to me proved that the functions of DHT can be replaced simply be replacing the disparity in the body's androgen load from baseline after inhibiting 5-alpha reductase.
The reason is because all those same functions are supported just fine by testosterone, with the caveat being that estrogen is in the sweet spot and is modulated correctly.
As long as the androgen load is satisfactory in the body, your androgen index is sufficient with enough bioavailable free testosterone, and your ratio of androgens to estrogen is optimized, sexual function will be sufficiently supported.

And it's not just testosterone that can accomplish this.

Sexual function can be supported by any androgen at the end of the day.
The whole point is, androgen receptors are literally just receptors located in different tissues that can be activated by androgens to regulate gene expression.

It's not like DHT is special, nor is testosterone special.
It's just the fact that your body endogenously produces them to begin with that makes them seem special.
AR activation is AR activation."

Problem lies on doctor prescription.
NO DOCTOR WILL ASK FOR YOUR FUCKING BLOOD WORK!
They are fucking ignorants that will casually prescribe a pill that reduces 70% of your DHT levels, and send you on your way.
This is where the problem is.
You have to be emphatic: get your blood work done and then a good doctor who knows how to interpret the results before deciding if you wanna get into the drug.

 

[Karea Ricardus D.]

I started taking finasteride in 2009 as I started to get a slight bald spot and my hairline started to recede a little. I read the package insert and it said that side effects are very rare, and even if they happen, they will revert themselves if you stop taking the drug, so I went for it.

4 years later I started getting serious libido issues including boner problems and had developed manboobs (gynecomastia). I weened the drug but it took about 2 years for my libido to recover back to 70% of what it had been and I think I'm still not back to 100% even though that could be age.

For the manboobs, I had to fly to a different continent and shell out 8k for a surgeon (cause if I'm gonna go under the knife then only the best in the world please). My chest looks great now, better than before probably but, NOT a fun procedure and not without serious risks.

I was one of the lucky ones. As I looked for ways to repair the hormonal damage, I came across propeciahelp.com. It has a forum and guys on there are much worse off than I was. Serious brainfog, permanent erectile dysfunction, suicidal depression.

If any of you ever have this issue, go to the propeciahelp forum and read all posts by user "cdnuts". He is to reversing PFS (post finasteride syndrome) as Captain Jack is to the pickup arts. I devoured all his posts twice and implemented as much of his advice as I could.

tl;dr: DO NOT TAKE FINASTERIDE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. It will fuck you the fuck up. There was also a giant class action lawsuit by all the people who got damaged by this poison.

What good is a nice hairline if you have a limp dick, depression and boobs? I think it's easier to get hot girls with a shaved head than with man-titties. Then again, it's 2023, and maybe you can just make a tinder profile as a woman and get laid more that way?

Seriously. Stay away from this stuff.

 

[Skills]

I started taking finasteride in 2009 as I started to get a slight bald spot and my hairline started to recede a little. I read the package insert and it said that side effects are very rare, and even if they happen, they will revert themselves if you stop taking the drug, so I went for it.

4 years later I started getting serious libido issues including boner problems and had developed manboobs (gynecomastia). I weened the drug but it took about 2 years for my libido to recover back to 70% of what it had been and I think I'm still not back to 100% even though that could be age.

For the manboobs, I had to fly to a different continent and shell out 8k for a surgeon (cause if I'm gonna go under the knife then only the best in the world please). My chest looks great now, better than before probably but, NOT a fun procedure and not without serious risks.

I was one of the lucky ones. As I looked for ways to repair the hormonal damage, I came across propeciahelp.com. It has a forum and guys on there are much worse off than I was. Serious brainfog, permanent erectile dysfunction, suicidal depression.

If any of you ever have this issue, go to the propeciahelp forum and read all posts by user "cdnuts". He is to reversing PFS (post finasteride syndrome) as Captain Jack is to the pickup arts. I devoured all his posts twice and implemented as much of his advice as I could.

tl;dr: DO NOT TAKE FINASTERIDE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. It will fuck you the fuck up. There was also a giant class action lawsuit by all the people who got damaged by this poison.

What good is a nice hairline if you have a limp dick, depression and boobs? I think it's easier to get hot girls with a shaved head than with man-titties. Then again, it's 2023, and maybe you can just make a tinder profile as a woman and get laid more that way?

Seriously. Stay away from this stuff.

Correct another victim, again i dont get how blocking dht aka get horny hormone can be any good.. maybe pob can get away he looks like hulk, his test probably so high probably no major issues...

 

[Karea Ricardus D.]

It doesn't affect everybody the same, but it's also that you can be fine for a long time before your body hits a tipping point. I was fine for 4 years on it then suddenly boom, I needed fucking cialis for 2 months... Big pharma laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[POB]

As a side note, I started taking it at age 28.
By that time I was already a 13 year seasoned lifter.
Also stopped drinking at 28, never did any drugs, and never took exogenous hormones.

Correct another victim, again i dont get how blocking dht aka get horny hormone can be any good.. maybe pob can get away he looks like hulk, his test probably so high probably no major issues...

700 and something last I checked, which is pretty great for a 43 yo.
I must be an anomaly, because my libido has stayed ok all this time.

Serious brainfog, permanent erectile dysfunction, suicidal depression.

Now this is accurate, I do get the occasional brain fog and lack of concentration.
MPMD blog has also has a list of things you could do to restore proper hormonal function if you have side effects, including taking testo and/or masteron, depending on estrogen levels. Worth checking out.

Like I said, it should only be prescriped by knowledgeable doctors after a complete blood and hormonal panel AND an assesment of the risks.
Guys prescribing it like it's aspirin is fucking wrong.

It's funny to be in this thread, because I was already planning on hoping out of the drug. It stops working after a certain time (15-20 years), meaning my hair will fall no matter what. Plus it's probably not good a good idea to keep blocking DHT once you start to get old.
Need to squeeze every bit of juice my body can naturally produce.

 

[POB]

Also worth noting:
- Finasteride does not block DHT, It blocks the enzime that converts testo to DHT (5-alpha reductase). In theory, this means that once you stop it, your body will slowly begin to convert testo back to DHT again (and more DHT = more hair loss).
- Gyno is probably caused by aromatization, meaning taking the drug might screw yor hormonal balance, making your body convert more testo into estrogen via this mechanism (as less testo is converted into DHT, your total testo levels are going to increase by up to 15%, which in theory could increase aromatization).
- Low libido could also by caused by aromatization (high estrogen convertion), low free testo, or a failure in the cell binding mechanism (meaning your sexual cell receptors are not being activated by testo, and definitely need the natural levels of DHT back).
- TRT could possibly fight those side effects, as in theory more testo means more androgens running around your body and bindind to cell receptors of sexual function.
- Finasteride could possibly screw your PSA (prostate) exams. This is very important, because as an DHT blocker, it keeps your prostate from growing naturally (which in theory is good). But even a small prostate could host an agressive cancer, and late detection is not desirable in this case.

 

[POB]

To the OP @thundercock.
If you don't wanna run blood tests, face shitty doctors, and fear the potential side-effects of DHT blockers (finasteride or dutasteride):

1) minoxidil 5% solution - twice a day, apply on balding areas and massage vigourously, dont wash after;
2) minoxidil oral 2,5mg - once a day;
3) saw palmetto formulated shampoo - daily if possible, let it act for 1 minute before washing;
4) biotin oral 5mg - once a day;
5) any zync supplement 20-40mg - once a day;
6) melatonin supple if you have trouble sleeping;
7) vitamin D shots if you live in a cold area (low sun exposure), is too white-skinned or have trouble absorbing it because of genetic deficiency;
8) microneedeling (recommended to be done by a professional, at-home sessions may not be as effective);

 

[thundercock.]

Lots of great points.
For now I'll start taking a few supplements and using saw palmetto shampoo (as POB suggests), and try to measure accurately how much hair I'm losing.
Also get a quality blood test - see if finasteride is even viable.
Depending on this, I may start with minoxidil - although the fact that one needs to keep using it to retain the gains is a big minus. But I guess there are lots of stuff in life that need maintenance, including muscles, etc.

 

[POB]

Quick update...

Been off fina for 3 weeks now.
Replaced it with minoxidil 2,5mg oral, plus kept doing the other stuff I've talked in my last post.
- hair: still no visible signs of shedding. I know it's too soon, but I think the other things are holding it together just fine.
- concentration: way better, the foggin is mostly gone. Been producing content on a faster pace than before.
- libido: holy shit, not blocking DHT makes a HUGE difference!
Been waking up with epic boners every day! My main is basically tapping out every time we have sex lol.
Also my sexual agression is off the charts, I've been horny towards 6s and 7s on a regular.
Feel like fucking all the time.

Have to tip my hat to @Karea Ricardus D. and @Skills , you guys were right.
I'll def change my stance: fina is a slow castration drug disguised as a hair solution.

 

[Karea Ricardus D.]

Nice man. Glad to hear you're feeling so much better... too

I'll def change my stance: fina is a slow castration drug disguised as a hair solution.

Almost everything made by big pharma is poison... avoid.

 

[Warped Mindless]

Several people in the carnivore and animal based diet communities have reported that their hair loss stopped happening when they switched away from the standard diets they were on. Something to consider.