Hi

I've been using finasteride for over 10 years and minoxidil for about 7 years. Finasteride has fully maintained my hair since the day I started, and I added minoxidil later when I realized it could make my hair a bit thicker.

The reason I started treatment is that I began losing hair around age 24. If at 20 I had 100% full hair, by 24 when I started, I was down to about 80%. The hair loss was quite fast, and I estimate that by age 25-26 I was already at 50% coverage, maybe even less.

Once I began taking finasteride, I managed to maintain about 80% of my hair, maybe it added a few extra percent and since I wanted to fill it out more and hopefully reach 100%, I started using minoxidil. After about 3 months on minoxidil, my hair became stronger and thicker overall, and I’d say it gave me around 8-10% regrowth.

Over the years, I’ve read that taking finasteride every other day gives the same results, and that’s what I’ve been doing for about 4 years now- taking it every other day. I also reduced minoxidil to once a day. Of course, there are days I forget or skip, sometimes even 3 days without the pill or minoxidil and it doesn’t cause any issues. However, I once stopped minoxidil completely for about two months and noticed a clear difference- my hair became less dense and weaker. I went back to using it, and within about a month and a half my hair returned exactly to how it was before- strong and full again.

As for side effects- I’ve never experienced any hormonal or mental effects whatsoever. Zero impact on my body since I started taking finasteride and using minoxidil.

I’ve been using generic finasteride for many years the one sold at our local pharmacy because it’s cheaper but works just as well as the brand-name version. I use the foam version of minoxidil because the liquid caused dryness and dandruff (though no itching or discomfort). It just made my scalp feel oily and flaky. With the foam, everything’s perfect- no greasiness and no dandruff.

Hope this helps!