Hello Madison, I have pretty good knowledge in this area as I too have suffered from hair loss on multiple occasions. First thing first, you must understand how hair loss and how growth cycles work before you start gauging the effectiveness of hormonal treatment, and hair loss medications.
So first thing, hair has three phases in it's cycle. The first is the anagen phase, this is the active growth phase for a hair follicle and it can last between 2 to 6 years on average. The second is the catagen phase, this is the transitional phase where the follicle detaches themselves from the papilla cutting the strand from the blood supply. This phase normally lasts about two weeks. Finally there is the third phase which is the telogen phase, this is where the hair follicle becomes dormant. This can last anywhere from 1 to 4 months. 10 to 15 percent of your follicles on your scalp are in this phase at any given time.
Hair loss can be the result of many different ailments but most commonly is the result of DHT attacking the follicle which causes hair miniaturization over time. When this happens, the hair becomes thinner at each cycle, the anagen phase becomes shorter in duration, and the telogen phase becomes longer.
The second most common form of hair loss is thankfully temporary, but can be very aggressive in nature. This is called Telogen Effluvium and it can put 30% or more of your follicles into the telogen phase. This condition can be caused by many different ailments as well and generally manifests itself 1 to 4 months after a trigger event. One of the main triggers for a telogen effluvium are abrupt hormonal changes which is something we commonly experience as we start HRT.
That said, hair grows on average a half inch a month or 6 inches a year on average. This is a very slow process when you look at it, and will have to take that into account when you are starting treatment. So looking back at when you started Finasteride, this causes changes to your DHT levels, then the Spiro a month later which decreases Testosterone, you are looking at a recipe for telogen effluvium. Also note, that it does take time for these drugs to take action, and that they don't instantly work with the first dose. Give them time to work, don't stress over it as you are way to early in the process.
So now that you kinda understand how the growth cycles work, your hair grows on average
