I am 31 and have been on finasteride 1mg for 1.5 years and microneedling around my hairline for about 6 months. However, what I have noticed is that finasteride has never helped me improve my hair density. Two years ago, I had good density in the frontal portion of my scalp, but since being diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia after massive hair loss and taking finasteride every day without missing a single dose, the density is still quite rough, and one side of my temples has started to slightly recede.
I am now confused about what should be my next course of treatment. Should I replace finasteride with 0.5mg dutasteride or start using minoxidil?
If fin hasn’t helped much with density, you might consider adding min instead of switching meds right away. Min can help with regrowth and might work well with your current routine. If you switch to dut, it could be more effective for blocking DHT, but giving min a try could be worthwhile to stimulate new growth. Check the beginner’s guide for more details: The Beginner’s Guide.
The only reason i did not use minoxidil was i wanted to see what each drug could do individually. Fin was working fine for 1.5 years but after shower i noticed that one side of the temples is receding now even after 1.5 years on fin. It’s crazy how just a few years back i had so much hair density and no sign of hair loss and suddenly the DHT wrecked everything. Even if i start minoxidil, it will be an attempt to mask the underlying dht issue which the fin was supposed take care of. I thought i will start minoxidil once my hair gets stabilized but fuck man, i am back to square one.