So I have been thinking lately about how the men in my family go bald, like a lot of men. My hair is the best part about me and I'm absolutely scared to death about losing it all. I've been thinking a lot about hormones but didn't know if they would help me stay together with my hair. Do they help?
Once you stop/block most testosterone (and the variant DHT) in your body it should deal with it. Once it starts falling out regeneration starts getting harder.
Yup, get rid of the testosterone and DHT and the baldness stops. Getting on a MtF hormone regimen would do the job. If that's out of reach right now, you can mop up plenty of the DHT with finasteride, and minoxidil seems to work too.
The key is to stop it before it starts. It's much harder to put back after it's gone - as I'm finding out right now, much to the dismay of my wallet. :'(
By the time I started HRT a few months ago I'd already lost about an inch of hairline at both of my temples. Shortly after starting HRT I actually began shedding and lost even more and began thinning at my crown which freaked me out but apparently that's a normal part of hair restoration. Sometimes it needs to get worse before it can get better. I can't remember the sciencey reason why though and I'm too lazy to look it up. Since then it has thickened at the crown and it's growing back at the temples and not just where it shed either. At first the hairline regrowth was just white fuzz but that's almost normal hair now and more white fuzz has appeared in what looks like a completely female hair pattern. Judging from what happened to the earlier white fuzz that may become normal hair too. *fingers crossed*
I'm not sure how much you already know about hormones and male pattern baldness (MPB) but the abridged version is that testosterone (T) converts to DHT which causes inflammation at DHT receptor sites on hair follicles causing the hair shaft to get thinner until it "dies". So to slow/stop/reverse MPB you can inhibit T production which means there will be less to convert to DHT, you can use a DHT receptor antagonist so that DHT can't reach the hair follicles or use a DHT blocker that inhibits the enzymes that convert T to DHT. Personally I take spironolactone, Avodart (dutasteride), Estrace (estradiol) and Prometrium (progesterone) which apparently covers all three methods.
Taking spiro and Estradiol together (or high doses of just estradiol) lowers T production and spiro also always acts as an DHT receptor antagonist. Avodart (dutasteride) is a DHT blocker like finasteride except it's far more effective. It may potentially have more long lasting side-effects though due to a massive half-life of 5 weeks. Prometrium is the controversial wild card but despite rumours that it may increase T (spiro helps stop P from producing T though) it hinders DHT production and pregnant women who are full of P tend to have great hair. Either way it hasn't stopped my hair from regrowing but I mostly take it to assist with breast growth.
It's my personal belief that Avodart is the single most effective drug for resisting MPB as it reportedly lowers DHT by over 90% but I'm not a medical professional so don't take my word for it. Maybe read some research papers about it and talk to a doctor or endo. You'll find that most trans women who've taken it will agree that it's very effective though.
Edit: I don't think you need to be officially diagnosed with gender dysphoria to get a prescription for Avodart but it's official use is for treating enlarged prostates and it hasn't been officially cleared as hair restoration medicine yet. If you can't get a doctor or endo to prescribe it to you then you'd have to settle for finasteride or... the black market, I guess... but I don't know anything about that at all.
How often do you have to take Avodart? Considering its half life is 10x longer then finasteride id imagine you could get away with taking it once a week.
I take a small dose every day. I've heard it claimed that even a low dose just a few times a week is more effective than taking high doses of finasteride every day but then due to the long half-life that might still give more side effects. I can't discuss doses in detail though since it's against this forum's rules... probably for good reason since few of us have PhD's and none of us have access to each others blood test results. I will however say that taking a low dose every day seems to be the standard method and it works for many of us. I feel very well and I'm getting results. I really have no idea how much is too much for my system but I get blood tests done every few months and as long as we have support we seem to stay very safe.
Do something quick & do not wait around GF.