Dat hair!

[ford]

I'm curious to hear how people experienced head hair changes on T...

My hair is falling out. It's been going on about a month. At first I thought it was just from the hair line...but naah, it's coming out from the sides, back, top, you name it!

I understand genetics play a lot into it. The men on my mom's side have full heads of hair into their 80's and beyond... My dad is pretty bald, but didn't start thinning until his late thirties/early forties (I'm 28). So I wasn't really expecting to be losing my hair right off the bat, and was thinking perhaps  some slight thinning like I'm experiencing happens with the hairline shift.

Those of you on T: did you experience any overall thinning with your hairline shift? Does the rate of loss subside after awhile? Should I buy more hats? 

[chuck]

Thinning on th top front - not noticable unless I have my hair cut short. FFFFFUUUUUUU.  i cut my T dose back a bit. My options - micro pigmentation, FHT or mr. clean it. Good luck buddy. I am 29. I might consider topical meds but i heard there are some bad interactions, i would rather have a bald head than a limp penis.

[spacerace]

I've heard more than a few guys say they have had success with Finasteride - especially when they catch it early.

Some people say you have to weigh it against the chance it could affect body hair growth changes. However, this is anecdotal.

Call me vain, but I am going to take it starting at 4 months regardless. Every male over age 25 on both sides of family is balding.

[ford]

I've heard more than a few guys say they have had success with Finasteride - especially when they catch it early.

Some people say you have to weigh it against the chance it could affect body hair growth changes. However, this is anecdotal.

Call me vain, but I am going to take it starting at 4 months regardless. Every male on both sides of family is balding.

Yeah that's something to consider. Does Finasteride require a prescription, do you know?

[spacerace]

Yeah that's something to consider. Does Finasteride require a prescription, do you know?

Yeah it does. You might be able to get it from the doctor prescribing you T, or you could ask your primary care doctor.

[Magnus]

Well I still can't quite figure my situation out with this. It's too early to tell. What I can discern at this point is that I never really used to lose much hair at all on a brush or comb but now I get a nice wad of it. I'm hoping this is just a side effect of changing "gene expression" concerning the "shedding" cycle of my hair. But it does seem rather a lot to me, coming from barely nothing into the multiple digits. I do definitely have a proper "M" hairline now, unmistakably. What makes this much more difficult to figure is that I started growing it out from a 1" buzz so its all in layers (which I prefer, more shaggy) and seems a little more thinned out because of that. Otherwise, I don't notice any bald spots that should not be there for my age (going on 24), which include the barren "widow peaks" (age-appropriate for "M" hairline IMHO).

Pretty much if its coming out to the point of there being balding or actually bald areas other than within the hairline itself (the typical "M") or else in the back (example, the "V" tail, which I also now have) then that's a clear and present development of MPB. Some even consider an "M" hairline itself the first stage of MPB but I'm calling BS because men can have that their entire lives and never actually go bald so... yeah.

Keep an eye on it. Oh but, the hairs I'm losing are coming from all over not just my hairline however I think that's due to the changed "shedding" cycle as I said. Still far too early to tell. My mom did notice my hair has in fact thinned more than it used to be but I don't yet think that's any cause to panic and think I'll wind up barren up top. My dad has a full head of hair so that's definitely a ray of hope. On the other hand I seem to have inherited my maternal grandfather's hair genes (even right down to color [going from dark brown into the more black-brown since T], including body hair pattern from what I can discern from old family photos anyway) overall and he did have MPB...

Last thing, my hair seems to grow a whole lot slower than it did before which I find quite interesting. It's taken over a year just to get a little past my shoulders. It used to grow uncontrollably and extremely fast. Now it's like pulling teeth. Convenient but kind of annoying seeing as I want it to grow now. >.>

[ford]

Keep an eye on it. Oh but, the hairs I'm losing are coming from all over not just my hairline however I think that's due to the changed "shedding" cycle as I said.

Yeah that's what I keep optimistically telling myself is going on... however it would have been reassuring if a few more people reported similar experiences.

I feel like if it is MPB, I might as well catch it early and start finasteride. I'm not too worried about side effects on body hair...more worried about monetary cost.

[Danielle Emmalee]

Doesn't finasteride work by converting testosterone into something else?  So you would be taking something that artificially reduces the testosterone in your body that is there artificially in the first place....

I may be wrong that's just my understanding.

[ford]

Doesn't finasteride work by converting testosterone into something else?  So you would be taking something that artificially reduces the testosterone in your body that is there artificially in the first place....

I may be wrong that's just my understanding.

Yes there's an effect, but it isn't like it's 'cancelling out' the T one is taking.

In all the anecdotes I've read, FTMs on F continue to masculinize, but see a slow down in the development of body hair, for the most part, and a weakening of sex drive (two things I couldn't care less about, incidentally).

[Simon]

I'm right at 9 months and am thinning on top a bit and it's receded at the temples more. The weird thing is I'm not sure if my hairline is just changing but I have a fingerprint sized spot right in the front that is going first. I was keeping my hair buzzed completely but am growing it out just a bit right now...while I still have some, lol.

Another thing to look into about Finasteride is shrinkage. That is my #1 fear with it. I'd hate to lose the growth I've had downstairs.

[spacerace]

I will just stop taking it at the first sign of a unacceptable side effect.

[Exus]

I love my hair....I just hope I don't go bald once on T.

[Kreuzfidel]

I've read that T levels that are either too high or too low can cause thinning hair.  I don't know about that for sure.

I've had only a small amount of thinning at the front, but not that is very noticeable.  I'm in my 30s, too, so it was a worry that I may lose my hair straight away.  Luckily I haven't yet and I'm nearly 2 years on T - still time will tell, I suppose.

[Natkat]

my hair used to be very thick and now it what I consider normal thin.
I began to worry more about it ex I start eating beer yeast powder in my yoghurt.

[chuck]

I'm right at 9 months and am thinning on top a bit and it's receded at the temples more. The weird thing is I'm not sure if my hairline is just changing but I have a fingerprint sized spot right in the front that is going first. I was keeping my hair buzzed completely but am growing it out just a bit right now...while I still have some, lol.

Another thing to look into about Finasteride is shrinkage. That is my #1 fear with it. I'd hate to lose the growth I've had downstairs.

Didnt know this.  I am looking into some sort of product to stop my hairloss. I mean im not freaking out about it. It's part of being a man, and Im about to turn 30 so its not like im 18 and thinning. Still would be nice to stop it where it is. Do you have any resources specifically geared towards guys on testosterone and fin or minox? On the other hand I would much rather prefer something that will not cause long term side effects (I am really into sex so any interruption on that end would be a massive detterrent for me)

[ford]

I'd be open to hair loss if I'd been on T at least a year or two, and had had some time to establish my male identity a little more. Or if it was hairline recession only, that I'm fine with.

The fact that I've been on 5 months - don't even have noticeable facial hair yet - and am already rapidly losing head hair all over...to me that's a very demasculinizing process for someone who hasn't even had a chance to masculinize much yet. I admit it, I'm not ready for it. It was unexpected considering my genetics.

I did make an appt with my doc next week to discuss this though. There's a chance it's not MPB, but actually something wrong with my levels.

[chuck]

I'd be open to hair loss if I'd been on T at least a year or two, and had had some time to establish my male identity a little more. Or if it was hairline recession only, that I'm fine with.

The fact that I've been on 5 months - don't even have noticeable facial hair yet - and am already rapidly losing head hair all over...to me that's a very demasculinizing process for someone who hasn't even had a chance to masculinize much yet. I admit it, I'm not ready for it. It was unexpected considering my genetics.

I did make an appt with my doc next week to discuss this though. There's a chance it's not MPB, but actually something wrong with my levels.

hey there
im willing to bet it's not mpb. 5 months on T is such a short period of time. If you are seeing alot of your scalp through your hair, that is a decent indication. If you are just noticing more shedding, that means very little. You should check out some pictures of mpb. I feel like you will know for sure (I do) I can visibly and easily see my scalp on the top of my ead and I can also see that the sides of my head have much thicker hair. But ive been on testosterone for 10 years. Not too happy about it though still.

[ford]

Figured I'd update this...

So I've been shedding massive amounts of hair for about 2 months. Been on T 5 months or so. I'm losing about 300 hairs a day and I can now see my scalp on the top and sides of my head. I'd say I've lost about 1/4 of my hair, overall.

I have found this very alarming, to say the least. Definitely not the gradual recession of the hairline that I was anticipating (and kind of looking forward to, tbh). This is more equivalent to what I was seeing when my mother was on chemotherapy for cancer...

So I talked to my doc, who has dealt with lots and lots of transmen. When I first told her about the hair, she told me that perhaps I was meant to be a bald guy. Which I totally get...if I had been on T a couple years and the thinning was gradually happening. But then she conferred with another doc there that has a lot of transmen patients, and they both agreed that my hairloss is really rapid for this short of a time on T.

She prescribed finasteride, but warned me that most transmen (especially younger guys)  hate the side effects, and that it might not help in my case at all - but I could take it if I want. She suggested I first try cutting my T to 3/4 or 1/2 a dose. So this past shot, I did 3/4 of my usual dose. Not sure how many weeks of this it will take to see if it's helping.

I'm an otherwise healthy guy. The rapid progression from thick hair to thin scraggly hair all over in a matter of weeks has been really stressful, especially not knowing whether it really is mpb or just some drastic shedding. I'm leery of low dose T (or Finasteride) when I haven't even remotely had the masculinization I was hoping for yet...I haven't even had a half year, sheesh!

So that's where I'm at. If anyone wants to share any Finasteride stories or shedding stories or happy thoughts about going bald, please do! (Just don't mention how hot vin diesel looks because I don't remotely look that masculine and badass, lol...apples and oranges!)

[spacerace]

She prescribed finasteride, but warned me that most transmen (especially younger guys)  hate the side effects, and that it might not help in my case at all - but I could take it if I want.

Gah, not good news. Did she say what the side effects they hated were?

[ford]

Gah, not good news. Did she say what the side effects they hated were?

Mostly the sexual side effects (including decreased libido and shrinkage), and also inhibited body hair (which I don't mind), and decreased facial hair/slower facial hair growth.

eta: before someone says: aren't those all the things you take T to get...I wanted to point out that things like mood, muscle development, fat distribution, and obviously voice seem unaffected by F.