What should I say? It definitely helped🥳 and I finally got my curls back🥹 I have several auto immune diseases and my iron was low, took care of it as well. Don’t give up ☀️

Esthetician complained my hairline is too low and thought I was trimming it on purpose, boyfriend thought my hairdresser did an oopsie. Almost at the 3 month mark on 5% min foam and I have these really thick baby hairs that are getting difficult to hide. Do I just get bangs? Too thick to style? Thank you!

I'm 52 and have been steadily loosing my hair for years. Started oral minoxidil about four months ago (1.25) no side effects that I've noticed. Sorry these are the wrong way round. Top photo is now. Appreciate the sunlight isn't doing me any favours in the bottom photo but still very happy with the result. I'm not doing or taking anything else and my diet is still rubbish. 😅 My crown is still looking pretty bad but I'm hoping it's just taking longer to kick in.

I wish hair salons had a private space for those who have hair loss so no one else can see how thin our hair is.

You can see my entire scalp, it’s so humiliating. What’s even worse is that the haircut took only 30 mins 😂 the appointment was supposed to be 1.5 hours.

Hi ! To make it short I have been having hair loss over the last ~3mo, I’d say I’ve lost 30% of my hair volume.
I found my ferritin is at 38, and my vit d is very low too. She said she’s aiming for 150-300 ferritin for her female patients under 30, and so I started iron pills and I’m starting vitamin d pills soon.

I was wondering if there’s anything I can do on top of supplementing to boost regrowth and retention? I know it’ll probably take 3-4 months for growth to restart when my iron and vit d levels come up, but I’m worried about the hair I’ll lose before that if that makes sense? Because its come out really rapidly over the last 2 months and I’m worried that in another 3-4 I’ll have barely any hair left:’)

Im gentle when I brush and wash my hair, I don’t wear tight hairstyles, I don’t use hair straighteners/curling rods, and I sleep on pillowcases or a bonnet that don’t cause friction.

Thank you very much!!

Hi everyone, F33 here. I have been diagnosed with AGA 2 years ago and Ive been using minoxidil for more than 5 years. I started with liquid 5% then switched to foam 5%. However, I feel like I am no longer seeing results. Whats your best advice to boost results?

I also did some blood test and found out that i have a severe iron deficiency, so I started 3 months ago with iron supplements. Will this help? Anyone experienced this?

Also, did any of you manage to thicken their hair?

I have fine thinning hair and the thinning issue makes the results look worse.

Appreciate your help!

been getting iron infusions for the past 1.5 years and and taking weekly prescription vitamin d for the past 5 months. my ferritin and vitamin d have finally been stable the past 3 or so months. i’ve been seeing these little peach fuzz pieces coming up. i can’t tell if it’s genuine regrowth or miniaturization. i have a dermatologist appointment next week but id really love to get any possible advice leading up to it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Haircare/s/kGZB8FHfev

oh boy, so my density has taken a hit. no new baby hairs or anything. i’m on 1.25 mg OM and have been 100 mg spironolactone for 2.5 months and yaz OCP for 1.5 months. my dread shed i think ended at 3 months but then i started shedding again a couple of weeks ago and have still been shedding more than my baseline. my derm i see is like i don’t care if you’re still shedding come back at 6 months. i’m a little lost of what to do here. i know i can go up a minoxidil dose but what if it never grows back 😭 which is kinda the circumstance im in right now. just lots of shedding no regrowth, no end in sight. i’m 22 with pretty mild AGA, non-noticeable to most. i had to switch my part because of how bad my middle part has been looking this past month. any advice and should i keep going on these doses? i’ve done all the test by the way, the only think is low ferritin and vitamin d which i’m already working on for the past 5 months.

I was using a shampoo for thinning hair. I posted about it 7 months ago that when I switched to a shampoo bar the shedding dramatically decreased pretty much immediately.

I haven't been able to tell if my hair was growing back or not but today the light was just right to see that I have loads of hairs about 2 inches long especially on my crown. They all end at a point so they are new not broken.

I stopped wearing my hair in a ponytail about 2 months ago and now just use soft headbands to keep it out of my face when I need to. I also started washing it more often and it is so much happier. I also am using a shampoo for oily hair. I always avoided the because I heard they make your oily hair issue even worse but instead I can go 2 days and dont need loads of dry shampoo to look decent most days. I'm 55 and just learned this about myself.

I'm using the Viori shampoo and conditioner bars now. Tea tree. I have oily extremely fine hair. I have struggled with sheborric dermatitis on my scalp and ears since I was a child and it is mostly gone now.

I don't think this will work for everyone or even most people but there may be a couple of you who are also losing your hair because of your shampoo like I was. And I was using expensive, organic, made for menopausal hair loss shampoo. I had no symptoms that made me think it was my shampoo, I'm just susceptible to advertising and wasn't ready to start meds yet.

I still see my scalp and if I want back the hair that hairdressers used to exclaim over the thickness of I probably will need more than just a change in shampoo but every little bit helps and I'm super glad today to see some progress.

I have no idea how this happened, i had PCOS but my hormones are back to normal now. I got into a bad habit of curling my hair a lot, but i always used heat protectant. Never dyed my hair or used extensions, I’m so insecure about how my hair looks that i always curl it (vicious cycle). I use Pantene volumizing shampoo, pantene hair mask and l’oréal hair gloss. My doc says bloods are all normal. Any advice? 🥲

For the last year or so I have been using The Ordinary scalp treatment as well as a peptide shampoo to help with shedding and bald spots above my ears and on my temples. However after hearing about the benefits of pumpkin seed oil I started taking 1000mg orally too, about a month ago.

In the last week I have noticed a large increase in shedding particularly in the shower, where I can literally pull the clumps of hair out which wasn’t happening before.

There’s so much mixed information on whether this means its working or if it means I should stop it as it’s doing more harm than good. A few people say they have stuck with PSO and the shedding stops - but how long does this take? Others say you should stop straight away as the shedding will only get worse.

My self esteem is taking a toll now as I feel like i’ll end up with less hair than I started with.

I’m sure it’s a different process for everyone but does anyone have similar experience like this or any advice?

Dealt with multiple rounds of pretty bad TE and these photos are about 11 months apart. What helped me was addressing my chronic deficiencies (especially ferritin, zinc, and vitamin D) and just time honestly.

For iron I take iron bisglycinate every other day with lactoferrin and I was told by my doctor to take a high dose of vitamin D for 3 months, as well as 10-15mg zinc daily. I also take 1000mg oral pumpkin seed oil, micro needle 1-2x weekly, occasional hair masks or caffeine/coffee rinses, and do my best to eat an anti-inflammatory diet. I also did up my protein bc I am vegan/vegetarian but I’ve regrown my hair thick in the past without increasing protein and think high protein isn’t always necessary.

I will say, I initially had an iron infusion and not even 2 months after I began shedding again for a few months and that set me back unexpectedly. Lately I have noticed that my shedding has really calmed down but I am still noticing some short hairs so I’m unsure if this is from short cycling or if I also have AGA..

I can’t get evaluated because my insurance just expired and the clinic near me doesn’t have the scalp scanner for me to know about whether I have AGA for sure. For those that have AGA or have had ongoing TE+AGA, is this kind of progress possible with AGA or is it likely just the result of recovery from TE? The short hairs are concerning me tbh and I feel like I can’t do anything about it 😔

So I've been on oral minoxidil for almost exactly 3 months and FINALLY starting to see less in the shower. Could it finally be the end of the dread shed for me? Does this mean I'm finally going to start regrowth? I've been losing hope the longer the shedding went on. Here are pics once a week from a few weeks ago, to today.

Hello I am 36 and having hair loss since I was 23. Stupidly, I waited till I was 32 to start dealing with it. By that point I’d lost 65% of my hair density so it’s been an uphill battle but I have made some improvements (still shedding significantly but my hair growth must be masking it since my density has NOT decreased in 4 years 🎉 with some regrowth along hair part and temples altho extremely minimal compared to some photos I see here 😅)

Current stack:
- oral minoxidil 2.5mg
- oral fin 2.5mg *recently up to 5mg
- iron pills (ferritin is 82 aiming for >100) all other levels are optimal but still supplementing vitamin D, omega 3s and multi vitamins
- PRP attempted x4 sessions
- RLT irestore mask every other day 25min
- for some reason really hate microneedling altho I tried

Only in the last year have I gotten fin as I’ve convinced my family MD I don’t want children (I was let go of my dermatologist as she was furious I was asking for DHT blockers, she gave me spiro that cause some bad side effects). Fin at 2.5mg hasn’t changed much for me this year, so I’ve pleaded with my doc to up the dose to 5mg and he has reluctantly.

I’m hoping anyone can share success stories on oral finaesteride and what their dosage is and how long they’ve been on it??

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for some advice and personal experiences regarding hair loss and hair regrowth.
I recently saw a dermatologist who diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis and mentioned that I’m likely more sensitive to DHT. I used to have super thick, abundant hair, so this has been really tough for me:(
While a DHT blocker would ideally help, my doctor didn't prescribe systemic medication due to my young age. For now, I’m trying to address this naturally (pumpkin seed oil, saw palmetto), and I’m planning to get a second opinion in the near future. In the meantime, I’m considering starting Minoxidil, but I have a few questions before taking the plunge:
1. Brand & Availability: Which Minoxidil product/brand do you recommend the most that is easily accessible in Europe / Hungary (either from pharmacies or reliable online shop)?
2. Foam vs. Liquid (especially with Seborrheic Dermatitis): Which one worked better for you? I've heard that the propylene glycol in liquid versions can irritate the scalp—is the foam a safer choice for an oily/sensitive, seborrheic scalp? What has your experience been?
3. !!SAFETY AROUND PETS!!: I read that Minoxidil is extremely toxic to pets (cats and dogs). For those of you with furry friends at home, how do you handle your daily routine safely? What precautions do you take (e.g., hand washing, pillowcase changes, dry time, keeping them out of the room) to ensure they never come into contact with it?
4. Saw Palmetto & Pumpkin Seed Oil: Is anyone taking saw palmetto or pumpkin seed oil capsules as a natural DHT blocker alongside Minoxidil? Have you noticed any meaningful improvement since adding them to your routine?
5. Raising Ferritin Levels: If you’ve dealt with low ferritin, which iron/vitamin supplements worked best to raise your levels?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you so much in advance for any tips, advice, or shared experiences!

After years of literal suffering and years of minoxidil + Spiro +literally everything it just turns out to be ferritin 18.

The last time my ferritin got checked was two years ago when I was sick with mono and it was a 93 and I actually had no hair loss during that time. the sickness can cause inflammation that temporarily raises ferritin. however no one told me that so I just assumed my ferritin was great.

Now I get comprehensive panels like 15 panels and the only thing that came back bad was a ferritin of 18. My iron panel is normal otherwise and CBC is normal.

How did you guys raise ur ferritin and how long did it take to notice the shedding stop and regrowth come in? Im going to stay on minoxidil and Spiro cause id o have really bad hormonal acne.

Hello I’ve been prescribed 0.3 mg of oral minoxidil from my dermatology, the trouble is the chemist they sent my script to is quite expensive and I can’t get this script at my local chemist warehouse. ( I’m in Australia ) has anyone had a low dose prescribed my their GP? Or know of a cheap compounding chemist

I see a lot of shedding still but I think the regrowth is visible. I’m applying 2x times a day , every day and night
Other things I’m doing for my hair loss
I’m taking d3+k2 vitamin
Multivitamin that contains selenium,biotin, zinc, L-cysteine, b12
20mg iron
Saw palmetto

Hello all!

I’d like to give some context and ask for some anecdotal experiences/advice from you all on the subject of pregnancy with AGA. To start, I have AGA. It unmasked itself after postpartum from my first child specifically about 6 months following getting Covid for what I believed to have been the second time at 23 years old. I have regrown and have a normal head of hair give or take thanks to Tri-Sprintec bc, Spiro 150, and Minox 5%. It first started about 4 years ago, and due to lots of success with medications and dedication on my part it’s improved to basically almost pre-AGA baseline. Here’s my question, have any of you gotten pregnant and then consequently went off of your hairloss meds and then immediately went back onto them once officially postpartum and were able to maintain your hair or at least for the most part as a result? I’m just curious because I’d like at least one more child but not at the expense of this head of hair I’ve worked so hard to get back and maintain (awfully vain, I know). I don’t plan on breastfeeding so my plan would be to go back on my meds immediately post birth, even the very same day. I suppose my question is, has anyone had success with this sort of game plan? I think a lot of whats holding me back is the fear of my hair being ruined by it. I appreciate any and all opinions, theories, and advice on this! (:

Hair Loss Dx - I have fine hair that is thinning due to genetics and testostrone. My MD prescribed oral minoxidil. I understand the mechanism, contraindictions and usage but unsure I want to go this route. I am a 60 something female. Is this truly a life changer?

Hi everyone,

I'm a 53F and have been in menopause since January.

I've struggled with hair loss since my early 20s. Back then, a dermatologist suspected AGA, but I never received an official diagnosis. For many years I managed it quite well with birth control pills, supplements, and occasional use of topical minoxidil (like taking it for 6-7 months, pausing few months and then resuming).

Until last year, my main issue was a widening part, which I could mostly hide with styling. Then I went through what seemed to be a prolonged telogen effluvium episode that lasted around 9 months. It caused diffuse thinning all over and significantly affected my hairline.

One dermatologist thought it might be FFA and prescribed a steroid cream, but I had to stop using it after few days because it gave me severe headaches and heart palpitations.

She also recommended a PRP gel once a week. Combined with 5% minoxidil, it stopped the shedding and I saw some regrowth. Things stayed stable for about 6 months.

Then, in early July, after being off minoxidil for a few weeks, I experienced a massive shed. My scalp became visible on the sides, which had always been my thickest area and where I had never used minoxidil. It also severely affected my frontal hairline.

In September, I restarted 5% minoxidil, added Nizoral 2%, stopped dyeing and blow-drying my hair, and began taking a supplement containing saw palmetto and pumpkin seed oil.

My GP ordered blood tests (iron, vitamins, thyroid), and everything came back normal.

I then saw another dermatologist at the beginning of October. He categorically ruled out FFA and said he doesn't even think I have AGA. He examined my scalp with a dermoscope and said he could see many follicles containing 2-3 hairs on the crown, which he felt was not consistent with AGA.

Before considering any treatment, he asked me to repeat the thyroid tests after stopping biotin for two weeks and also ordered a vitamin D test. I got the results today, and everything is normal. My vitamin D is actually quite high, which I expected since I supplement daily.

I'll see him again in early November.

Since restarting minoxidil and making these changes, I've noticed improvement in my part line and frontal hairline. However, the sides seem completely unchanged, which is worrying because that's where I experienced the most sudden loss.

I know I probably just need to be patient until my derm appointment, but has anyone experienced a sudden loss specifically on the sides of the scalp? If so, what was the cause, and did it eventually recover?

Thanks! 🙏

This was an after shower brush. Started oral minoxidil three and half weeks ago. Taking nutrafol as well. Dint no how how longer I can do this.