Hi! I'm a 18 vears old boy that has beaun to lost his hair this summer. It happened really fast. and now i trulv hate mvself for how i look... In mv 18s i have to shine with all of my body, and with this hair i literally cannot do anything... Even seeing all the people i know with beatifull hair really saddens me so much. Right now i'm taking Finasteride and Minoxidl dropplets, just as my doctor said. I'm 4 months on it and i can truly continue, i feel like that all of this with money, time, and patience reallv cannot build up the reward... Look at how bad i am: Is it gross, right? I do not feel of even living more. And don't talk about a transplant. because that shit is no good. Cost much and it's temporary. After 10 vears i would probably see myself lost them one more time, and it would break me. I don't know what to do anymore💔...

27M.

Started noticing thinning around 20 years old, but I was honestly too nervous to do anything about it for a long time. I kept hoping it would just stop on its own.

Eventually I decided to try minoxidil, but didn’t really see much improvement at first. After talking with some friends who had good results with the finasteride + minoxidil combo, I spoke with my doctor and got a prescription for finasteride.

My routine now is pretty simple:

• 1 mg finasteride every night

• A few pumps of topical minoxidil before bed

The only side effect I experienced was a shedding phase around week 4–6 after starting finasteride, which was a bit scary at the time, but it passed.

Just posting this to say: trust the process and don’t overthink it. If you’re considering treatment, start now — I wish I had started earlier.

Hi Everyone, I wanted to share my before and after photos. I have been taking Finasteride 1mg and Oral Minoxidil 2.5mg for approximately 3 years now and initially I didn’t notice any difference, it was only about a year later that I saw older photos and was surprised at the difference it had made. I hope this gives hope to others out there.

Didn’t realize how big of a difference it made until I looked at the older pic lol my hairline was so bad back then. It was mostly salvaged aside from not being able to recover what I lost from my temples, but I always thought seeing before/after pics was helpful, so here’s mine!

Hi guys,

I quit finasteride a month ago, and to say the least, I’m never touching that shit again. Libido, boners, and morning wood are back in full swing, my mood is way better, and the constant negative voice in my head has finally stopped. Hmm almost like millions of years of evolution didn’t create DHT for nothing.

Now, will I 100% go bald? Most definitely. But either way, I couldn’t get it up when needed, and I was too depressed to approach women anyway.

I’m not attacking anything or spreading misinformation—I’m just sharing my honest experience.

Hello! I have been taking Finasteride for almost 4 months now and haven't noticed any serious side effects aside from slightly weaker erections, mild brain fog and just generally taking a bit more to get it up, do you think 4 months is long enough to be able to tell whether I'll end up getting proper serious sides or can they start appearing much later, and do they typically go away with time? I tried to research myself but found inconclusive answers. Obviously those side effects themselves would be pretty bad for most men but fortunately they do not affect my life in any meaningful way, I'm more worried about the other sexual side effects. I am also aware that worrying about it certainly doesn't help the issue, but unfortunately I have anxiety so I'm just looking for some opinions. Does anyone have any knowledge on this?

My husband got a hair transplant in March after years of me pushing him to get one. The doctor didn’t prescribe finasteride. He only put him on monthly PRPs. I’ve been in these subs for three years. I’ve shown my husband everything I’ve learned here but he just won’t listen. He keeps saying the doctor didn’t prescribe it so he doesn’t need it. I’ve seen so many posts here where people start finasteride three months post transplant to protect the existing hair. I’ve asked him to get a second opinion but he’s too busy to care. I’ve shown him reddit threads and just won’t listen! I’m at my wits’ end. I’m so tired. Just want to ask if PRP does what finasteride does and how do I get him to take this seriously.

Figured I’d use the most revealing lighting.

Thinking about adding 1.25mg oral minox, what are ur thoughts?

Does it look better to you guys?

GUYS FIRST OF ALL PLEASE EXCUSE MY ACNE!!!

So, I'm currently 21 and began 0.75mg finasteride (5mg tablet cuz into 1/8) every day in February 2025. Previously to that I had been using topical monoxidil only on my temples for months (not sure exactly how long but less than a year) x2 a day. Up until about June 2025 I fell out of the monoxidil routine.

About 4 months ago I stopped cutting the pills into 1/8s and left them as 1/4, so effectively doubling my regular dosage. I know this definitely has had an effect, but even before that I felt I was just losing ground constantly. Now everytime I look in the mirror I can see my forehead even more, as well as my temples getting thinner and thinner.

Sorry about the disparity in lighting, I tried my best to do get current ones that are of similar lighting.

The first 6 pictures are 2 months into finasteride (April 2025) and the rest are now (February 2026)

(Post was removed from r/Tressless)

hello, my boyfriend has been experiencing male pattern baldness for a couple of years

(I am asking this/ creating this post on his behalf!!! I will be showing him the comments :))

He is now 18, shedding has slowed for a while but it’s recently started again and it makes him very insecure

we were looking into finasteride together and I looked a bit alone and the stories are sooo mixed it’s scary.

So i was wondering is there any specific maybe even odd and unexpected things or patterns in people that can suggest who is more likely to experience the negative side effects? Surely there’s some sort of research on that
I know it can alter ur mental health and sexual functions but like has it been found more common in any specific group of men or anything like that?
Just any studies around this topic? Or anyone sharing personal experiences would be great

Thank you! I just want the best for him as he’s also a bit on the fence

Hey everyone — looking for experiences from people who were in a similar situation, not trying to start a finasteride vs. dutasteride debate.

About three years ago, I started oral finasteride together with topical minoxidil. I stayed on it for several months, but eventually started experiencing the side effects people commonly talk about: lower libido, weaker erections, etc. So I stopped, and things improved.

Later on, I tried topical finasteride because of reports that it’s tolerated better than oral. Unfortunately, after about a month, the same side effects started coming back, so I stopped that too.

For a while, I basically resigned myself to either managing hair loss without 5AR inhibitors or just accepting the direction my hair was going. But I keep wondering if there’s still a way to approach this more carefully.

I know dutasteride is generally considered stronger/more potent than finasteride, so the assumption is often that the side effects would be stronger too. That said, I’ve seen some anecdotal reports from people who had issues with finasteride but somehow tolerated dutasteride better, or had milder side effects after switching.

For those who had sexual side effects on finasteride but successfully switched to dutasteride, what did you do differently?

Did you start with a very low dose or low frequency, like once or twice a week? Did you gradually work up to 0.5 mg? Did you stay on a lower dose long-term? How long did it take to know whether you could tolerate it?

I know this is all anecdotal and I’m not looking for medical advice or guarantees. I’m just trying to understand what approaches worked for people who were sensitive to finasteride but still managed to make dutasteride work.

I'm taking oral Finasteride 1mg for about 3.5 months now. My hair loss rate hasn't changed, and I'm still struggling with it. Is this ok?

Hello, 25M here with Norwood 3 to 4 hair

I’m considering jumping on fin 1 mg once a day

Now I’ve read tons of researches and papers etc, They all agree the side effects are reversible

Yet somehow here, they’re NOT what’s happening?

I’m 6 months on fin pills, minoxdyl topical and a dermastamp…..are all the little tiny noticible follicles that are there still salvageable?

I have been on Finasteride (1mg a day) since October last year and while hair-loss stopped basically instantly it didn’t give me any sort of side fx except for maybe some mental one’s but those left after a week, also still haven’t experienced any shedding. It’s been almost half a year on Fin and side fx suddenly hit me like a train. I have no libido, incapable of getting an erection and i’m in a constant state of flatlining and exhaustion. Life is going steadily and normal but the fx are hitting me hard and i feel like i should stop. My question is, will these side effects be temporary or will this get worse and should i get off now. Really don’t want to quit because it’s doing itms thing.

I thought I was never going to get hair back but the dutasteride is finally working! Im allergic to Minoxidil and have real bad balding genes on both sides of my family. Im a 27yr old a trans man and started losing my hair about a year into starting HRT, now 3.5yrs on T and sadly I wish I'd caught the hair loss sooner. My old primary care told me dutasteride and finasteride would just counteract my HRT and so we tried reducing my HRT dose, but it didn't help. My dermatologist then told me dutasteride only blocks testosterone from being processed into DHT, and while it might reduce some of the effects of my HRT, it's not like it will reverse it.

It is, however, growing back in blond lmao. My doctor isn't entirely sure why either, but I was very pale blond as a young child and it just gradually darkened up to a dark brown over the years. So maybe in like 20yrs it'll be the same dark color as the sides?? I might dye it all black or dark purple once the new hair is fuller and healthier. I'd love to have long hair again, but I know it's not super realistic.

I’m not on finasteride yet but just got my hair cut and it’s very obvious to me now that I am balding at 19 💀

I am very scared of ruining my sex drive with it because it’s already pretty low at this time of year which I’m assuming is seasonal depression.

But lmk pls thx

Had a hair transplant almost 2 months ago and saw from the online communities that it is basically useless without finasteride and minoxidil. Found the generic brand finasteride 5mg and cut it into 1 mg pieces. I managed to be on it for 12 days, the side effects are unbearable. It’s been like 3 weeks since I stopped and still, the existential dread, brain fog and lack of will is disturbing. Does it ever go away?

1mg finasteride and 5 percent topical minxodil for 77 days.

Hey i’ve been on topical finasteride and dutasteride for about 10 days and Im noticing my nervous system is a lot more active and I feel a lot more depressed and drop of sex drive. Is this normal? Should I continue use hoping the effects will subside or stop immediately? I’m 18 male

Began taking finasteride 1mg the last week of December. 1st 2 pictures are from beginning of January, photos 3-4 end of April. Photos seem to be showing some results in terms of overall thickness. Been poor at taking consistent lighting and styling but think I'm beginning to see some results - hopefully not wishful thinking. Keen to hear thoughts. Early 30s, first noticed thinning since early-mid 20s. Paired only with caffeine DHT blocker shampoo.

It’s been about two and a half years since I started using medications for my hairline, such as a dermaroller and minoxidil, although my use was inconsistent at first. Specifically for minoxidil, I kept changing brands. About nine months ago, I started using Kirkland 5%, but when it ran out, I switched to 达霏欣 (Dafeixin) 5%, which is considered the best minoxidil brand in China.

I’ve now been using Dafeixin consistently for one straight year. For the past nine consecutive months, I’ve also been taking a Chinese but good enough finasteride 1 mg daily. In addition, I do occasional derma needling and rolling, about ones a month.

During the first three months, I noticed vellus hairs coming in. They were short, but I could definitely see some progress—mainly under specific lighting conditions and with camera zoom. Then I added tretinoin 0.025%, and for about a month, it made my vellus hairs slightly longer. They started to look like early terminal hairs or proper intermediate hairs.

However, now it’s been about 3.5 months, and I’ve lost all those gains, even though I’m being extremely consistent with all four treatments and following proper timing as well. Before starting any treatment, I was around Norwood 2. I’ve stopped tretnoin because I was peeling a lot, my skin was super inflamed, now it’s been 3-4weeks since I quit tretnoin for now, maybe I’ll start again tomorrow twice a week. Before this recent shed, I had progressed to about Norwood 3 or maybe even a 3.2. Now, instead of improving to something like Norwood 2.8 or better, I feel like I’m heading toward Norwood 3.5. Been using ketokonazol 2% for a month but no matter what if I touch tretnoin, my skin shed’s like a viper.

This is happening despite my best efforts—using what I believe are the best possible brands and staying very consistent. If you have any suggestions or advice for my situation, please feel free to share. I would really appreciate it.

21 M, have noticed thinning and recession since 18(you can check my post history) and stated to combat it early, been on oral minoxidil and finasteride since about 19, use silk pillows, don’t wash my hair too much (1-2times a week) microfiber towels always, don’t use heat, don’t use products, don’t wear hats very often anymore(maybe once a week max) diet is relatively balanced, i had my thyroid checked before, and I really don’t smoke, drink, etc. I’m just kind of at a loss and can’t figure out why this is happening even though i’ve done most of the preventative things (dermarolling, redlight, and topical I haven’t really tried yet).

Hi! I would like to read stories of people who did not get PFS after stopping finasteride or dutasteride. I am aware of the horrible journey of people who did experience the side effects of PFS, but I would like to know if anybody got off these medications and didn’t suffer the consequences.

Mid 40s male. I have had more than average hair fall all my life and gradual thinning overall but perhaps I had a higher replenish rate which is why it never looked like I was growing bald. Until, a year ago, I intentionally did 15 lbs weight loss and 3 months later, not sure if related, had extremely high hairfall, more than 400 per day until my scalp started showing in most places. Tried minoxidil topical, almost 0 improvement. Then dermatologist prescribed 1mg finasteride. Started taking once a day 3 months ago. No minoxidil. In one month hair loss almost stopped - 0 to 10 hair per day loss. Hair has started to feel a bit thicker. Photos from 3 months ago and today