Hey everyone, looking for some advice because I’m honestly pretty confused and a bit stressed about this.
I’m 21M and I’ve been using Rogaine 5% foam since around September 20 (so ~7 months now). I usually apply it once a day, pretty consistently.
The issue is… I’m not really seeing any improvement. If anything, my hair loss seems worse:
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My crown is way more visible now
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Overall thinning across my scalp has gotten more noticeable
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My hairline is also receding
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Shedding has been ongoing pretty much the entire time
I know people talk about a “shedding phase,” but I didn’t expect it to last this long. I thought it was supposed to be like a couple months max, not basically the entire time I’ve been on it.
For context, I was taking oral finasteride before but stopped (not currently on it). Also, on the genetics side — my mom’s brothers are bald (not fully, but bald), but my dad and his brothers all still have hair, so I’m not sure what to expect there.
I also live in Arizona where the water is pretty hard, so I’m not sure if that could be making things worse or affecting my scalp/hair in any way.
So I guess my questions are:
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Is this kind of long-term shedding normal on minoxidil?
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When will I see some good results?
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At what point do you decide it’s just not effective for you?
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Would restarting finasteride make a big difference here?
Just trying to figure out if I’m doing something wrong or if I need to be more patient. Any input or similar experiences would really help. Thanks.
