so i've thought about getting a script as a sort of one-two punch. one, to save my thinning hair so it can still look cute. two, the side effects would be scary if they weren't basically just "ooops you transed yourself"
oh noes... what ever will i do if i grow boobies and my body hair thins
but seriously, some of the side effects (depression) I thought were maybe from cis men getting gender dysphoria but seems even transfemmes have experienced it. at least reading some reddit posts
anyone had experience with this? i'm hoping it can be a sort of gateway to everything else. dip my toes in the hormone adjustments
and minoxidil has never seemed to work for me. i know i won't get my hair line back but i'm cool with that.
I take it out of an abundance of paranoia (my levels are fine, but what if they suddenly aren't???) No weird side effects, likely no effects at all since my testosterone levels are super low, but all the men in my family are bald and I'm not taking any risks if I can avoid it. It's just another tiny pill I take before bed.
Not trans, but I use finasteride as preventative maintenance topically. Hope it's ok to respond with my experience.
With me, like you, I used minoxidil and saw nil results. However I am on a finasteride/minoxidil combination spray that has done wonders. Some hair regrowth, yes. But more importantly, the thickening of my existing hair. I would say it took about three months to see a noticeable difference but yes, yes, fuck yes - it worked for me.
Good luck!
Yep. All spray. Unfortunately the only national distributor I know of who carries the cocktail is HIMS. You might be able to consult a hair specialist clinic and see if you can get the same or similar cocktail locally.
When I was researching potential hairloss remedies and transplants, I did find some open online groups welcoming of trans folk who were all in all very supportive. I distinctly remember one person who had frontal loss and thinning, and the after photo was remarkable with how the techs were able to rebuild her hairline, while also lowering it - making it, for lack of a better term, convincing.
If you want to talk more specifics, feel free to DM me. Hair loss fucking sucks.
I eventually got increased anxiety from it. This was after like 5 years on it so I simply stopped it and within a couple months it went back to normal.
It made some thinning go back to how it was before, and it hasn't re-thinned after I stopped it (its been more than 5 years now), so yeah. Worked great, might as well give it a go.
thanks sorry i was slow on the uptake reading everyone's stuff and got busy at work
you won me over though. i'm going to do a teledoc/online script thing probalbly next week not a clinic i found some sources.
my hair is also crazy thick which is the only reason the thinning over the decade has only recently become noticeable
hoping i can get it back, maybe grow my hair out a bit, do an undercut
thank you
I've been on finasteride for over a year and did basically exactly what you're proposing, used it for about six months on its own before starting estradiol as a way to dip my toes in.
I'll be honest, it didn't do much on its own for me, so i'd recommend keeping your expectations low. it didn't do anything to help with my body hair unfortunately, but i did notice i was losing a lot less hair in the shower which was reason enough for me to like it. i didn't notice any mental health related effects, except that I feel like it made me dream more (might be correlation not causation)
i still take it along with the e in place of something like spiro, mostly because those potential side effects scare me more.
i give finasteride a tepid thumbs up! good luck
Chiming in with a trans man's perspective: My hair started thinning considerably about two years ago after about 5 years on T, and I ended up getting a prescription for topical finasteride (plus a low dose of oral minoxidil) since I was worried about the potential side effects of taking finasteride orally. Though the doctor I spoke to about it wasn't really worried about it "reversing" the changes from testosterone, getting a topical solution seems to prevent a lot of the hormonal side effects from happening? The main thing I was worried about was potentially getting periods again, which apparently can happen to some people.
I've definitely noticed improvement from the finasteride! The main downside is that I need to buy it from a compounding pharmacy, and my insurance won't cover it.
I take Dutasteride at the highest dose allowed for hair and I've been on it for years now. As I understand it, Dutasteride is a lot more potent. I noticed some emotional changes fairly quickly, I've felt a lot better on it with a more stable and manageable emotions. I'm also on SSRI's so that helps too.
But I didn't know it can have feminizing effects... Tell me more?
here's some of the listed side effects that suggest it:
- breast enlargement and tenderness
- unusual weight gain or loss
- inability to have or keep an erection
- decreased amount of semen
Man, I got none of these! D is only slightly slower to respond, nothing stops my gock apparently lol.
I had thinning hair when i started HRT, and the thinning area is no longer visible. A friend I started with had far more significant hair loss and was significantly older, but has also seen a total reversal of hair loss.
YMMV, and for what it's worth, said friend was on finasteride for years, but IME it's not necessary, and there have been frequent issues getting insurance to cover it for some reason.
Also, iirc some studies have come out that finasteride has some funky health risks? I literally can't remember the specifics, nor if it was applicable to trans women, but i know there is some body of literature that would probably caution use.
i am super paranoid about the weird side effects. i just can't rush the HRT right now, i need to do some more serious prep
was looking to at least save the hair, maybe reduce T levels as a bonus
I take dutasteride and have had pretty great results. I will still ‘need’ a hair transplant for my scalp if I want it at some point, but have been so pleased with the hair I have gotten.
i've looked into it. seems more potent and selective but maybe harder to get? since it's being used off-label
Medical studies suggest it is more effective (for instance, see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27549867/)
Dr. Powers' serum uses it so you may want to try
https://www.reddit.com/r/DrWillPowers/comments/1996vn6/version_60_of_my_hair_formula_is_now_ready_for/kp7ug2a/
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i’m cis but i just wanted to add to this and say i’ve been seeing a lot of really good results from topical finesteride with zero side effects. i’ve been on it for about 9ish months and my hair is a lot thicker and i think my hairline might’ve grown back just a very tiny bit. minoxidil didn’t do much for me either, but as soon as i got off of it my hair immediately seemed worse (and it gave me black circles around my eyes), so i got a lower dose of that with my topical finesteride and those went away.
