Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Between the side effects, the "shedding" and the low success rate and long timeline of good progress....

dont even know if I want to try it.... any success stories here?

I was on Rogaine for a year and it did nothing for me. It seems to have worked for some people though, but as you stated the reviews behind it are very mixed. The general understanding is that if your male pattern baldness started very recently (within the last year or so), Rogaine can often bring back some---but not 100%---of your lost hair. If you've lost your hair for two years or longer, more often than not that hair will not grow back for a lot of people. There have certainly been success stories, but it seems they are often the exception rather than the rule, just like successful voice feminization surgeries.

I outweighed the pros and cons behind Rogaine and came to the conclusion that further use of the drug is simply not worth it for me. Having to deal with greasiness for periods during the day, having to schedule your showers around Rogaine (you can't shower within a few hours of using it) rather than being able to shower whenever I wanted, having to be a slave to the expensive product most of my life and having to commit to it big time... all for very little return and benefit. So I decided to stop.

My advice for you is to simply prevent any further hair loss. Another alternative to Rogaine is people take finasteride/propecia. Propecia doesn't promise to grow back your hair, but it does prevent, or at least dramatically slow down, the hair loss process. Trans women on HRT are often prescribed that same drug too in order to battle DHT and testosterone levels, so it works out!

Edit: Also the good news? You don't need to have visited a gender therapist or be approved for HRT to start Propecia. It is typically prescribed by endocrinologists for any genetic male. You can ask your endo (or even dermatologist, that's who prescribed it to me actually) to get you on propecia, and you will have effectively also started HRT!

Thanks Roni, you been very helpful to me in my recent posts. Thanks for taking the time ;D

If you are on HRT it might make a difference. By and large it comes down to how advanced your MPB is; if we're talking totally or mostly gone then no, it will be a waste of your time and money. Better to invest in some good quality wigs.

Quote from: RitaChans on October 29, 2015, 04:53:56 PM
Thanks Roni, you been very helpful to me in my recent posts. Thanks for taking the time ;D

You're welcome girl! :)

I returned it this morning....

Ive bought it before, maybe 6 years ago.... same thing, returned it without even opening it

Its depressing ....  but i do not want to be a slave to that chemical, if the success rate was higher and the shed rate lower.... I would try it. But when the box flat out tells you it wont work for you.... thats a good sign it may not

Im having a rough, male / sir day.... hate these days!

I use it and have no idea if it's working. I've been trying to keep a time line of pictures to see if it's working. It seems like it kind of sort of is regrouping some things but then I wonder if it's just my hair growing out. If I put together my pictures in imgur, would anyone want to look at it?

sure! pics are good ;D

I am only 31, and I had very little if any hair loss, but I did have typical male hair shape high curves at each side of the forehead, I take a typical hrt regimine, spiro, estrogen, progesterone, I started taking finasteride about a year ago, since then hair has started to grow in the areas were it didn't used to. Giving me a more feminine hairline, not saying this is anyway typical, just my experience

Quote from: KatelynBG on October 30, 2015, 12:26:17 PM
I use it and have no idea if it's working. I've been trying to keep a time line of pictures to see if it's working. It seems like it kind of sort of is regrouping some things but then I wonder if it's just my hair growing out. If I put together my pictures in imgur, would anyone want to look at it?

http://imgur.com/yN10D1K,SjkV5R6,3Mthasy,8JWkwDc,mupztKc,W7VAunx,qf61rcb,7rDVkRe,x6FVFx9,zPnFkzx,qaNr5oB,jrxFtbp,PG0vf1c,2L5UqBN,Fi9MluC,ERZUk7Q,GtiUKGF,QZZ7K9i (http://imgur.com/yN10D1K,SjkV5R6,3Mthasy,8JWkwDc,mupztKc,W7VAunx,qf61rcb,7rDVkRe,x6FVFx9,zPnFkzx,qaNr5oB,jrxFtbp,PG0vf1c,2L5UqBN,Fi9MluC,ERZUk7Q,GtiUKGF,QZZ7K9i)

So here is my Rogaine timeline. I think my hair is thicker? I've also grown it out a bit over time. There's 18 pictures there so I've linked to them. Hopefully this will show an average Rogaine result.

So I've been using Costco's minoxidil for a couple of years, just 2%.  I've also been on dutasteride for 10 months now.   I've also been using a Derma Roller twice a week.  My baldness was pretty bad, probably level 5. 

Rogaine alone was not doing anything.  Since I started dutasteride things have slowly been improving.  It's no miracle yet but it does seem to me that my individual hairs are much thicker, I'm just not sure I'm getting a lot of new growth.  I think it may be the hairs that were there are starting to go back to normal hair instead of the wispy thin hair you get with baldness.

I'm hesitant to stop the Rogaine because it might be doing something.  I've heard you really need to be on dutasteride for more than a year, maybe two, to see the full results and it does seem to be getting better.   If I feel like it has plateaued for a while I'll probably stop the Rogaine.

If I can't get all my hair back, which is unlikely.  I would like enough to make a hair transplant more viable.

Take care,
Paige :)

Quote from: Ms Grace on October 29, 2015, 05:37:57 PM
If you are on HRT it might make a difference. By and large it comes down to how advanced your MPB is; if we're talking totally or mostly gone then no, it will be a waste of your time and money. Better to invest in some good quality wigs.

Hi Grace,

I've been meaning to ask you why you haven't had a hair transplant?  Is there just not enough donor hair to make it viable or is it the expense?   I really hate wigs, especially when it's hot, but I've never bought a really good one.  The few I've bought have been around $100.   

Just curious.  Thanks,
Paige :)