Atypical hair loss, weird response to finasteride
Hey guys,
I'm writting today to have other finasteride users' experience.
I've been suffering with hair loss for aproximately 7 years (25 yo -> 32 yo). At first, it started with intense itching, scalp burning and a LOT of dandruffs. But at this time, I didn't give a fuck. I was doing a lot of experience : powders, not washing for weeks... So I thought it was kind of adaptation. Stupid younger me.
So I let it go... Until I learned about seb derm. Tried everything, oiling, mixtures... without success. Lost a bunch of hair, but "luckily" (I guess), I've always had tons of hair, very thick, so this was barely noticeable. Let the problem undergo for years, until I went to a pseudo hair specialist, that scammed me with stupid products like essential oils, etc. That was 2 years ago. At this point, I was almost bald. Big recession on temples and hairline. Poor hair quality.
I'm a diffuse thinner + as I said I had tons of hair, so one could say I had lost some hair, at worst a moderate hair loss. But the truth is, I easily lost 40% of my overall density.
I FINALLY managed to get rid of seb derm with ketocanozole, that was 1,5 years ago, maximum. Got tons of regrowth, then another hair loss for whatever reason. Thought I was losing hair and receding because of seb derm, not because of pattern hair loss. I've been doing microneedling, and that helped a lot. I refused to believe I had MPB because my pattern was atypical + I was growing back a lot of hair. My guess is that I had a very unagressive kind of hair loss, that was triggered by seb derm + the famous DHT itch.
I finally started to take finasteride (0,25 everyday) on October 2025. 2 weeks in, the quality of the hair changed. More pigmented, maybe a bit thickier (but not that much). And overall, NO MORE itching. I'm not even using ketoconazole anymore. 2 months in, my hair is dense and amazing. But I keep losing hair everyday... 6 months in, I have lost most of my gains, and I believe I'm below baseline (although, in my case, baseline is irrelevant, my hair changing too much). But I believe the shedding phase has slowed sown. I still have some "big days" but overall, I lose an average of 20 hairs per day.
I decide to switch to 1mg finasteride. During the night, sex drive is crazy. And the next morning ? Mega shed. 2 weeks later, I'm shedding like crazy. From all the scalp. Since then, my shedding is constant : 50-60 hair everyday. Only terminals or intermediaires.
And here I am now. Wondering why my progression isn't linear, if there are other people in my situation, if finasteride works, etc.
Now here's what triggers me:
My temples are receeded, but I still have hair everywhere. Many hair. It's not like in MBP where the progression is linear. It's more that my temples and hairline are more sensitive, but there are still 1) several terminal hair (that give the illusion that I didn't lose any hair with some hairstyles) 2) A LOT of vellus/miniaturized hair. Yet, I believe the MBP scheme is progressing, as I'm losing hair behind the temple.
I am almost sure that finasteride worked, because I feel the difference in my body. Could be wrong but...
I'm not losing any vellus/miniaturized hair. Only terminal/medium hair. Sometimes they are thinner, but most of the time they are not. My overall hair is way less thick than when I was 25. Is it possible that all my hair has been affected by DHT, and that's why I'm shedding only terminals ?
What do you think guys, I am cooked ?
Are there people in similar situation as mine ? Barely noticing any progress after 7 months?
Anyone tried the switch from 0.25 -> 1MG ?
And are there people who've seen results very lately ? I mean reduced shedding.
Thanks for reading me, I know it was long!