r/Balding

Since I got so many messages after my first post asking how the shedding went, I finally decided to do another post.

I’ll explain it from the beginning for y’all.
On February 1st, 2025, I decided to hop on 1 mg finasteride daily while already being on topical minoxidil for a long time (first pic). I immediately started shedding, and around 1.5 months in my hair looked terribly thin (second pic).

But that’s how I knew the medication was working. So over the next few weeks I decided to shave it all off so it could regrow evenly. That’s when I noticed that after 3 months the density had gone up massively and my hair looked a lot better (third pic).

Six months into treatment, my head was almost completely full again (pics 4–8). I also have a video of me running my fingers through my hair multiple times, which really shows the progress clearly, but I’ll post it in the comments for y’all.

Now, 8 months into treatment, I started noticing hair falling out again and felt a shedding phase coming on. My hair continued to shed over the months, with density fluctuating back and forth. Now I’m on the lower end again (last two pics).

I’ve decided to switch to dutasteride since it’s more potent and blocks approximately 90% of DHT compared to about 70% for finasteride. Knowing that finasteride already worked wonders by lowering my DHT, I have high hopes for dutasteride, but I’m expecting another huge shed.

I also started taking oral minoxidil 3 months ago and will continue to do so alongside topical minoxidil until my supply runs out.

And for anyone asking: no, I’ve never experienced any side effects or low libido.

So my current stack is:
• 0.5 mg dutasteride daily
• 2.5 mg oral minoxidil daily
• Topical minoxidil twice daily
• Derma stamping every other day
• Some vitamins, as well as biotin, zinc, and iron

Probably just overreacting but wanted to make sure this a normal amount of scalp and not thinning. I zoomed it in for each picture.

Hey all, so I’ve had a large cowlick on the top since I was a kid. In the attached short video you will see the cowlick causing a little circular patch of skin to show through at the top left hand side.

I never pay much attention to the back of my head but just recently I noticed that my scalp is visible on the middle/ right side of the back of my head which you will see here below the cowlick I mentioned. Is this just an extension of my cowlick causing scalp to show through more than I’ve noticed before? Or is this for certain the beginning of thinning happening? When I grow my hair out my cowlick is very large on the back of my head but I’ve never noticed this much scalp showing until recently. It’s not hardly as noticeable in normal lighting compared to the light directly on my head in this video.

Any and all input would be GREATLY appreciated as I’ve been stressing pretty hard about this. Thank you!

Hey guys! I’ve found this really neat, subtle trick to hide any balding in the back/crown. Let me know what you guys think!

Cowlick looks to be thinning a lot... 26 years old.

Looking for advice, just turned 16 and look like im in my 30s. Im able to hide it now with longer hair but am worried by 18 that wont be the case. Unsure what meds i should take or if a dermatoigist visit is even worth it

23yo male, I am a very stressful guy, I have depression and I eat very poorly tho, what do u guys think?

So I recently removed my hair due to Alopecia - the spots were getting quite large and I could not hide them any longer.
I have always had lots of hair, so this was not something I’d ever thought would happen.

So what you say, can I rock this look or should I wear a cap? 🧢😊

I’m 19 and have no idea of what balding looks like, never really looked into my hair or wondered if I’m balding. When I shower maybe around 5-10 hairs come out and through out the day I see about the same amount. My grandpa on my mom’s side has all his hair and is 70 and my dad still has all his hair at 45. I would just appreciate if anyone could give their opinion, only wondered because I see a little more of my scalp. I have very straight and thinner Asian hair if that changes anything.

Looking for advice on if people here in this sub think it would be worth it to get a hair transplant

I understand my hair isn’t THAT bad and some people would trade their hair for mine but I’ve recently become self conscious of my hairline, I’m 26 right now and it started looking like a Norwood 2 when I was about 17-18. Now I’d say it’s more like a Norwood 3. I started taking fin around 19 and added minoxidil a little over a year ago. My hair loss is stabilized and there has been little to no movement for years. All pictures taken here are within the last 3 months or so. I included some pictures of hairstyles I’ve been enjoying recently and I think they look alright but I can’t help but feel like I’d look better with a lower hairline.

Should I get a transplant?

How many grafts? 2000 on hairline? My density on top is good, minox and fin made sure that was fine

basically, i’ve been on T for 6 years now and am actually in the process of tapering off of it to see if it helps with hair regrowth. but yeah, i’ve been using topical minoxidil foam for like 2 years now and my hairline has actually gotten worse. i am about to stay GHK-CU serum for my hair, but what else can i do?

Please help

I feel like I'm on the edge of either or, what are your thoughts?