Topic: Hair loss solutions?

[Rachel Montgomery]

I am just about completely bald.  Does anyone know what the best solution is for me?  I doubt there is enough hair to transplant.  I assume I would need a hairpiece or wig.  I have seen commercials where people swim in their hair pieces.  Does anyone here have actual experience with prosthetic hair replacement options?  What do you recommend I look into?

[ChrissyRyan]

Finasteride may help to a small degree.
If transplants are impractical then I guess maybe wigs would be another way to go.

Chrissy

[Rachel Montgomery]

Finasteride may help to a small degree.
If transplants are impractical then I guess maybe wigs would be another way to go.

Chrissy

I think I am beyond the point of Finasteride.  I am more asking about weaves, hair pieces and extensions. 

[Jane.Shannon]

Hi Rachel,
A weave or extensions require some hair to attach too, so they might not work.  Many surgeons who perform hair restoration offer free consults, so they would only take your time.  Lowering your testosterone level can stop hair loss and restore some hair, have you started HRT yet?
Take Care,
Jane

[LaRae]

I think I am beyond the point of Finasteride.  I am more asking about weaves, hair pieces and extensions.

These are real results:



Not everyone has this much effect but it's possible. Even without the Finasteride, just with Estrogen & T-blockers. Don't write yourself off.

 I personally have had significant regrowth. I was never bald, but I went from thick ringlets to quite thin & wispy. I had already been on HRT for a few months, but in this pic you can kinda see how wispy & thin it was:



Within about 6 months of estrogen, my hair looked like this:



Still not the thickest, but a huge improvement.  6 more months & added finasteride & now I'm here:



I'd say it's about 85 to 90% where it was before it ever started thinning. It is possible. I was considering the wig route myself before all this.

[Maid Marion]

Hi LaRae,

That is pretty amazing.  Is you hair naturally wavy?
My hair is thick and wavy.  It becomes more manageable as it gets longer.

Marion

[Chloe M]

I am just about completely bald.  Does anyone know what the best solution is for me?  I doubt there is enough hair to transplant.  I assume I would need a hairpiece or wig.  I have seen commercials where people swim in their hair pieces.  Does anyone here have actual experience with prosthetic hair replacement options?  What do you recommend I look into?

Etsy.com do a range of gym and swim wigs, Think it cost me 40 pounds or there abouts.

[kaygee]

I think I am beyond the point of Finasteride.  I am more asking about weaves, hair pieces and extensions.

My understanding is that Finasteride will not increase your hair volume, but will slow down your hair loss considerably.

My experience jives with that.

[LaRae]

Hi LaRae,

That is pretty amazing.  Is you hair naturally wavy?
My hair is thick and wavy.  It becomes more manageable as it gets longer.

Marion

Yep, it's naturally ringlets. It gets hard to handle once it hits about ear level. It's finally past that point now, so it's mostly easy street. In previous pre-thinning attempts, I almost always cut it before it got this long, but this time I stubbornly rode out the awkward phases, as there was a long time I didn't even consider this possible.

The morning tangles are hell, though, let me tell ya. 

[AnonyMs]

Here’s what 2 months of a magic potion does

https://imgur.com/gallery/1mE3GOV

Hard to believe it’s possible.

[Rachel Montgomery]

Here’s what 2 months of a magic potion does
  <edit>
  <removed LINK>

Hard to believe it’s possible.

Is that the doctor in Farmington Hills, MI?

[AllieSF]

Interesting!  I used to live about 5 miles or so from Farmington Hills, MI in Livonia just south an Farmington Road.  I should have stayed there to get trans health care close to home.

[AnonyMs]

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI

[Jenny_Oh]

The morning tangles are hell, though, let me tell ya. 

I have super-fine hair that breaks super easily. I used to just sleep on my regular cotton pillow and let my shoulder length hair do what it wanted during the night. I'd loose a handful of hair every morning just trying to get the tangles out. Now, I have a silk pillowcase and put my hair in a loose bun with a silk-scrunchie before bed. I sleep cooler and my hair just doesn't get messed up at night. A silk turban is another option if you don't want to splurge on a set of silk-pillowcases.

[TSL_NB]

I know this thread is a little old, but I wanted to share my insight/input (I have lost a good amount of my hair due to the horrid effects of DHT).

I haven't been able to start HRT as of yet, but, from everything I am reading on it, while it can possibly reverse the effects of DHT, that apparently isn't a guarantee, especially if you have lost it for a long time...the same goes with Finasteride and Minoxidil (although, it likely will preserve what hair you have left).

My planned approach will hopefully look something like this:

 - Undergo hair transplants to restore the hairline and frontal area as best as I can.  I likely won't have enough for the crown area.

 - Once that is in place and growing, that hair will be more useful as a means to clip in hair toppers....I just got a really awesome topper from Jon Renau which has an 11-inch cap, which I'm really excited about.

I thought about the possibility of body-hair transplant to the scalp, which, would be a really good use of excess body hair instead of lasering it off, but I decided against this (the consistency won't be the same....but more so, if I actually did undergo a BHT procedure, and then after starting HRT, that hair may end up thinning as well, so I'm back to square one).

Anyhow, that's my general plan.  Hopefully, maybe this will inspire ideas for others here.
I think there's always hope, but it may require some creativity.

[Rachel]

Hi,

I take 30 grams of hydrolyzed fish collagen each day (this really helps with skin, hair and nails). I am post op so DHT is not an issue. Before GCS I was on finasteride and used minoxidil. I had 2 rounds of hair transplants for 6000 graphs. I will eventually go back for a little more for the part area. 

[Julielynn]

I have some of that Magic potion as well.   It's not bad.   Slow results, but results.   I had a transplant, but it was still sparse even after that.   It's slowly filling in now. 

It's just a version of Minoxidil with a much higher percentage of it than normal Rogaine.   

[TSL_NB]

Hi,
What are peoples' thoughts on saw palmetto?

Has anyone had good experience with it, or is just another snake oil product?

[Rakel]

Hi,
What are peoples' thoughts on saw palmetto?

Has anyone had good experience with it, or is just another snake oil product?

Saw Palmetto is a herbal product that is sold as a nutritional supplement in the US. It is available all over the world as well. This plant does contain compounds known as phytoestrogens. These are very weak compounds that do mimic Estradiol somewhat. These are commonly used by older cis women who are experiencing mild menopause symptoms.

If you are considering Saw Palmetto for the purpose of MTF transition, a few people have said limited things about this product, but the majority of us feel that it is too weak for complete MTF transition. 

For hair loss, this product is not effective. You may lower your Testosterone and DHT a little, but to stop hair loss, you need to greatly lower your DHT blood levels. This is just not strong enough to do much of anything.

[Kate.claire]

Has anyone tried PRP or microneedling to get any additional growth? There's some success in the literature for men and that's in the presence of continuing high levels of DHT for them. Still the papers are few and far between and not in the most respected peer-reviewed journals.

I've thought about giving it a try, in a "it can't hurt" category, other than my wallet.  Then maybe a transplant.

-Kate