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Well, yes, considering the horror stories you read online about libido and ED, either temporary or permanent side effects are very scary. I don't find it that surprising, although it is exagerated probably.

Yeah, that's one of my fears, because at that point even shaving it won't look great with all the scarring, unless you go the SMP way. At this point I'm more interested in medication and what results I can expect.

I'm 26, started blading around 16.I don't really mind shaving my head, that's what I used to do, although lately I just go to a barber and I'm kinda liking the look, even if it's not perfect. I've actually come around to at least trying medication though, but I'm not sure if I can expect drastic results. I wouldn't really bother if all I can expect is not to get any worse. The risks aren't really worth it to me at that point.

Thank you, may I ask why you think I wouldnt get much mileage out of fin, as well as what you mean by that?

Half a year ago I posted some photos of my buzzed head, asking whether I would be a good candidate. You can read the post and see th epictures on my profile. I have some retrograde alopecia, a receding hairline and crown thinning so I got a few comments telling me that it would not be a good decision. There were some, however that told me to hop on fin and other medication. Because of my fear of finasteride specifically, I decided to give my hair a few months of growth to see what it would look like when it reached a normal length. My hair is still far from healthy, but I have to say I am a bit surprisd by how much better it looks (to me at least) than when it was buzzed. I am posting again with the updated pictures to hopefully get some new perspectives. I'd like to know what I could expect by taking medication, or getting a HT. Is my situation actually more salvagable than I thought?

Wow I wouldnt know there was a scar there, incredible! If I understand correctly, you shave your head and have done SMP to the crown and top? Looks incredibly realistic.

Thank you! What you're saying alligns pretty well with my thoughts. I've thought of getting SMP many times, but it requires many sessions with months in between so traveling for it is not an option, and in my country I haven't seen any great results from any professionals, so I've avoided it. I actually recently came across some pics that I liked, though and have arranged a meeting to get a feel of whether the person who does it is legit.

I don't think I would be satisfied with onlt a frontal third. Unless I could get good coverage all around I'd probably prefer to shave.

I will try the regimen you proposed and will reconsider after the year has passed. I might post some results once I start. I already have some money saved up, so if I decide to get a HT I'll have that. Also, it's not that I actively imagine myself getting a miracle result, it's just that unless I can see a significant change with medication, I think I would probably need one.

No need to be sorry. In the first place, what I was hoping to get from here was a definitive answer on whether what I want is achievable or not. Once I have the answer I'll be good whatever it is. And it seems that so far it's leaning towards no, but I'll maybe give medication a try for a while and see how that goes. If there's a signficant difference I might reconsider. Otherwise if it stays as is, it's probably a no-go. And yeah, my head shape is the saving grace in all of this, I look pretty good with a shaved head (it's what I usually do, but I let it grow to get a look of what my hair looks like right now), and have been hitting the gym for a while now so I can pull off the bald look. It's probably not as good as a full head of hair would be, and I look a bit older and that puts me off a bit, but what can you do?

That has been my gut instinct as well for the past couple of years. You see a miracle transformation every now and then and think that maybe there's hope, but if it's too much of a gamble,or if that kind of result is unrealistic, I'd ratheravoid it alltogether.

Thank you for your input! My expectations were always that I would try to get a mature hairline, but it would also be important for me to have full coverage. If I udnerstand correctly your opinion is that this wouldn't be possible, or that the hair on the crown would be very thin and the scalp would be visible, correct?

I also have a very serious vitamin D deficiency that I actually only noticed and started treating a month ago, but that I suspect has been there for years. I didn't know of its effect on hair but thinking back it could be another reason how I got here. I had like 8ng/mg which I think is like 1/4th of the lowest levels of what is considered "normal". You have picked my interest a bit on what will happen if I take medication seriously. I wonder what results I could see in a year. Obviously nothing mind blowing, but I wonder if I could go around without shaving my head. I guess it will depend on how I respond to minoxidil, since I have messed up using it. I imagine I cant regain long lost hair, like I had when I first used it, but hopefully there will be some progress.

Thank you for the advice, seeing as many people have recommended this route I will look into starting taking fin and tapering to a normal dose. One question i have though, do you know of cases that have had side effects appear years after they started taking it? That is what really worries me, that I'll have to stop using it after getting a HT.

Thank you @Bandit90, I've been snooping around hair loss forums for years now, so I have seen some of these amazing results you mention. The thing is I don't remember ever seeing anyone who has achieved those having my level of retrograde alopecia. This does bring my expectations quite a bit lower than what they would be. If I were to get it done it would be by a reputable surgeon with experience with similar cases, because I do think I would need every bit of help I could get. Finasteride is a touchy subject, like I mentioned previously. I do worry about its side effects, but even more than that I worry about them appearing after I've had my HT, and having to stop using it then, which would mess up the whole transplant. Even if they never appear though, I'm doubtful of whether my RA (assuming it doesn't get better somehow, but I doubt it because I understand fin mainly restores and maintains the crown area) would allow me to have satisfactory results, even with beard hair in the mix. Edit: I realize I might sound like I'm in denial about some of the advice I get here. That is not the case, I am considering everything I read. I just have a lot of doubts of the kind of results I can achieve.

@NARMAKI am open to trying this, if maintaining my current hair state, or making it slightly better (which is the most I can hope for from what I understand) puts me in a good place for a HT that will look healthy and full. I'd honestly prefer not to put myself through some of these risks if all I can hope for is a subpar result. I am not going to lie and pretend some of the stories about post finasteride syndrome haven't scared me, but I understand the research isn't that conclusive on this.

That is a worry of mine @JoeMan, on a scale of 1-10 it would be: 1-botched transplant 2- HT that looks thin and unhealthy (which is very possible given what I have), 3-having to shave with scars from HT 7.5-shaving 10-good HT results if the last one is impossible or too much of a gamble, I'd rather stick with shaving. It's not the best, but that's the hand I've been dealt.

I am comfortable shaving it @JoeMan, I've tried the look and it looks decent on me. It's just that because of my age I do thing that hair would look better. If anything I just want to get some closure on this, so that if there's nothing to be done I can shave without any second thoughts.

@NARMAKI have been on and off of minoxidil for about 7 years now. There have been 4-5 times where I completely stopped applying it for months or years at a time and my situation worsened, and any application after that didn't really seem to help that much. Right now, I've been using it 1-2 times a day for a few months, but I'm convinced there's no difference, and that there probably won't be any either. I've been told I could try fin, but my worry is that if I manage to get a decent hair state with it, and then get a HT I will be dependent on continuing to take it. If there are any side effects and I have to stop taking it, and then my RA worsens, leaving no donors left, while my transplant area thins as well... I am scared of being left with a bad looking result. I am open to changing my mind on this, it's just a fear of mine. I haven't tried microneedling, I might look into it if it's going to give me results.

There's a lot of area to cover, especially considering I'm only 26, and the donor area looks very thin, probably because of retrogade alopecia. I just want to know if there's any possibilities of getting a healthy hairline and healthy looking hair with what I have. If not, I'm comfortable shaving it. I've come to terms that it's probably not in the cards for me, but I'd like some opinions before writing it off completely. Thank you!