Dear Tressless fellas,

I've been on this sub for years. Never posted, never commented, never interacted. Just a silent observer, watching people share their journeys, their struggles, and of course, those unbelievable transformations from the so-called "hyper responders."

And I won't lie, those guys got me good.

Especially as someone who struggles with serious OCD when it comes to my appearance. Hair loss has taken a bigger toll on me mentally than I'd like to admit. So every time I saw one of those transformations, I couldn't help but think, "What if that could be me?" What if I could actually get my hair back?

Well, two weeks ago, I finally gave in and started oral finasteride.

For context, I've been using topical minoxidil for years. Is it magical? Absolutely not. But I genuinely believe it's helped me hold on to whatever hair I have left. And the funny thing is, I'm not even consistent with it. I apply it once before bed, sometimes I get lazy and skip a night or two. But overall, it's been good to me, and I personally haven't had any issues with it. I'm talking strictly about topical minoxidil here. Never tried the oral version, and I don't intend to.

Now, here's why I'm writing this.

I genuinely care about you guys because I know what it feels like to look in the mirror and slowly watch something that used to be part of your identity disappear. I know how desperately you want to believe that the next treatment, the next pill, or the next success story might finally be your answer.

But guys, please remember that your hair isn't the only thing worth protecting.

Oral finasteride can cause sexual side effects, including reduced libido and erectile dysfunction. I know these effects don't happen to everyone, and I'm not claiming they do. But they're real risks, and I personally don't think we should brush them aside just because someone on Reddit grew a beautiful head of hair.

I'm only two weeks into this myself, and that's hardly enough to draw conclusions about my own experience. But it's made me think seriously about what I'm willing to risk for my hair.

And before the finasteride defenders come charging into the comments, I'm not here to argue with anyone. I'm not interested in fighting over statistics or telling people that their positive experiences aren't valid. I'm simply asking you to think carefully about the trade-offs and make an informed decision.

If a buzz cut looks good on you, embrace it. Seriously. If you can afford a hair transplant, research it properly, understand its limitations, and consider whether it's right for you. If neither is an option, wear a hat, rock a cap, or find whatever makes you comfortable in your own skin.

And if you decide finasteride is still worth it for you, that's entirely your decision. I genuinely hope you get the results you're looking for without any side effects.

But please, don't let your desperation to save your hair convince you that nothing else matters.

We're so terrified of losing our hair that sometimes we forget how much more there is to lose.

I'm probably not going to open this post again. I didn't write it to start a war in the comments or convince everyone to quit their medication. I wrote it because I know there are guys out there just like me, silently scrolling through these transformations, feeling worse about themselves with every picture, and willing to try almost anything to get their old reflection back.

To those guys, I just want to say: I get it. I really do.

But you're worth a hell of a lot more than the hair on your head.

Take care of yourselves, fellas.

Peace! ❤️

I mean, the compound is public domain, a lot of people get amazing results, and yet some guys complain about chest pain. Why not start some new trials and use AI to figure this out once and for all?

Honestly, with AI around, we should just team up and do the legwork ourselves to find something better than fin/dut or minoxidil. And if not a new drug, at least a better vehicle with higher affinity so we get better results with fewer sides.

Its tempting to focus on getting back the hairline you had at 20.

But designing a hairline is also about age, facial proportions, donor supply and what happens if existing hair keeps thinning. alloroots offers hairline reconstruction, and we'd be interested in how people actually think about this decision. Would you prioritize maximum coverage now or a more conservative long term design?

Tell me why I shouldn't go ahead with the hair transplant, I'm in Turkey and agreed with a clinic where my bald dad did the transplant before. I can still stop it.

I was trying to avoid finasteride, and when i try the kirkland minox, it was greasy as fuck, so I stopped.. but I read that Rogaine Foam is oretty good.

Balding in Canada genuinely sucks. Topical minoxidil is ridiculously overpriced, dermatologists will straight-up reject your physician’s referral for male pattern baldness because it’s considered cosmetic rather than medically necessary under OHIP, and telehealth providers charge absurd prices for both oral minoxidil and finasteride.

You’re literally cooked if you’re trying to treat hair loss affordably in this country.

Thankfully, IndiaMART exists, but even that feels like a gamble since you never really know what you’re getting.

i always had the thickest fullest head of hair. Life was stressful. I became homeless in 2023 and my hair got way worse. Stress before during and after homeless. That's not changing any time soon. Was using ​finasteride tablets for like a month and minoxidil on and off for a few years. Hairline has had good months and bad months. Currently thinning all around. I let it get frizzy enough people don't know. And also bad on the sides as the pic shows. Currently I'm worried about fin side affects, and about getting punished for ever dropping the minoxidil spray or forgetting for a bit. Has your guys' hair gotten really bad from stopping the spray? Did it come back when using the spray? Does anyone have any home remedies? And to people with similar stories, did you get your hair back or was it just a "what's done is done" situation?

I started balding at 18, now I'm 20, and basically I have the standard balding pattern, from the crown, to the middle of the top of the head, to the sides slightly, 2 months ago I started drinking Finesteride 1mg tablets, actually 1.25mg due to cutting the tablet in 4 halves.

My main question Is:is Finesteride only enough? I have pets in my life which I wouldn't want to accidentally make sick with the minoxidil spray, and I don't think we have oral minoxidil in my country? Does minoxidil help that much? Or is being 2 months on Finesteride too late to even start now?

36 male here, 2 years since my HT, i have been on fin 1 mg and kirkland tropical min consistently.

This sudden hair loss started a month back, i can’t think of a good reason why this is happening.
It’s been obvious since my last hair cut.

Has anyone experienced this? Anything i may be missing?

Llevo 14 meses tomando 0,5 mg de dutasteride y 5 mg de minoxidil oral para la alopecia androgenética, durante este año he notado una mejora en mi cabello pero desde hace una semana estoy notando que caen mas pelos al ducharme, cada vez que me paso la mano… sufrí un fuerte efecto shedding al principio del tratamiento y me está recordando a ese momento… ¿alguien ha pasado por lo mismo? ¿Es normal? Gracias.

Hello!

I'm 27 years old, and I recently visited a dermatologist who prescribed 5% minoxidil. The main reason for my hair loss seems to be genetics. I first noticed it last year, but this year, it seems to be getting worse.

I've seen a lot of posts here about people using both finasteride and minoxidil. Should I consult another dermatologist to get a second opinion about whether I should consider finasteride as well?

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Si usas productos tópicos, sobre todo el Minoxidil pero fumas cualquier cosa pierdes el tiempo, sobre todo Minoxidil que es un vasodilatador, mientras que la nicotina es un vasoconstrictor, es decir se anulan, por lo menos debes dejar 3-4h sin fumar nada y lo mismo después de aplicarlo para que funcione al 100%, y lo mismo con Fin/Dut tópicos, si hay vasoconstricción no va a poder llegar bien al folículo.

Consejo final, no uses tópicos 3-4h antes y después de fumar cualquier cosa

I started taking 1mg in early August when i noticed my temples went from norwood 2 in january to 3 by july. I didnt have any thinning yet luckily.

The good :

Not only has it stoppes receding, im actually already starting to see small hair regrowth. I couldnt believe it at first but looking at old pictures i do have a few new baby hair.

The bad :

Sadly side effects hit me after a week in. At first it was everything (worse mood, head fog, weaker erections and lower libido, watery sperm). While the mental stuff went away after a bit the physical ones related to libido and erections have not.

For now, i think i will continue with it for 2-3 months and see if they go away, if not i think i will drop it.

Im not getting any results with topical finasteride. Ive been thinking about asking my doctor for oral but im worried about developing ED. How common is it and does anyone have any experience developing ED from fin?

My bald spot used to be completely smooth. Through HRT, minoxidil, fin, keto I have got it to shis point. Should I start growing out or keep it should while I continue treatment?

I emailed Koshine about shipping KX-826 to India, but their minimum order quantity is 60 bottles, which costs $3,000 even with a discount. I just want one or two bottles to try, leaving me with the impossible task of organizing a massive group buy or convincing a local pharmacy to invest. I don't know why it costs so much for a medicine which has to be applied every single month. Hair transplant costs less money than one year supply of kx-826. The image has the price quoted by Koshine.

I've been looking at my hairline for a few months now, but as much as I dread the idea of losing my full head of locks, I dread the side effects of DHT blockers more. I tried to get confidence through more research and reading your experiences, but nope, didn't work. I just simply can't imagine taking the risk with those side effects, but I also can't do nothing. So I went and looked for experiences with minoxidil only, but (almost) every post sooner or later comes to the line "and last year I also got on fin" or something similar. Is there anyone here who only uses (topical) minoxidil and stuck with it? If so, how are your results so far?

Just wondering if any diffuse thinners have managed to hold on without losing ground long term. I’m 21M and while my hairloss isn’t too severe at the moment, the pattern is fairly aggressive (pretty much all over the top of my scalp and crown). Wanted to see if I have any hope for the future haha. Experienced sides on 0.5mg dutasteride every day so dropped it to 3x a week aswell as 2.5 oral minox daily. Wondering if this sort of regimen would be enough or if I need RU/Pyri (if this stuff even works). Any anecdotes/suggestions welcome!

3 month mark today. Really happy so far, starting to be noticed by friends and family. Keep it up all and good luck, see you in another 3 months.

It looks like we might have a newly identified hair growth stimulant; a protein called PTN (pleiotrophin).

Normally, supporting stem cells near the dermal papilla, the structure at the base of the hair follicle that helps regulate growth, release signals that communicate with nearby hair-making stem cells. PTN appears to be one of these growth-supporting signals.

In a September 2026 study, researchers found that PTN signaling was reduced in aging and balding scalp.

When they used PTN on the isolated human hair follicles in the laboratory, it stimulated hair growth and even reversed the growth suppression caused by testosterone over six days. In reality it wasn’t testosterone that was causing this hair loss. We know from bigger papers it’s still DHT. It’s just that the focus of this paper was not on 5AR action and it was easier for the authors to just use testosterone given how expensive the other aspects of the study were to conduct.

We know from previous studies that people with androgenetic alopecia still retain their baseline hair follicle stem cells in balding scalp regions. You can read more here : https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3026732/

However, the stem cells struggle to activate them.

PTN could potentially act as a replacement growth signal when the follicle’s natural signaling environment becomes impaired.

Study (Wei et al., 2026, preprint):
https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.22.753364

Doctor said I can take finasteride at 20 but I would have to get a blood test every six months. Problem is I have a crippling fear of needles. I would rather take pills that made me throw up blood than get a blood test. My hair is the only thing that’s ever made me somewhat attractive and every ounce of my self worth is tied to it. It’s to the point where I think people are starting to be able to tell and I am petrified to leave the house let alone my room. I want this medication but I feel immobile at the thought of a blood test. I’ve been trying to get myself to get a blood test since August and every day I just can’t do it.

I don’t know what to do I can’t be bald this early I just can’t. I am so incredibly insecure and being bald would ruin me. I don’t care about girls, I don’t care about anything I just can’t be bald.

Been on oral minoxidil and finasteride for almost 2.5 years now and it genuinely saved my life. Just sharing my results from early 2024 till now. I’ve been balding since I was 16-17 and am about to turn 27 in a couple weeks and have better hair now than I did in high school. Personally I’ve seen zero side effects and had blood work done as well, everything has been consistent and healthy. If you’re considering hopping on, just do it.

Started Fin 1mg around a year and a half ago. Caught it decently early so that helps. Very pleased with the results thus far. Also, my hair texture is back to how it used to be in my early-mid twenties which is great! Take the pill and forget peeps!