Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

Reversing male pattern baldness?


RachelSB

Recommended Posts

Hi, I'm almost 58, and have a pretty significant bald spot at the top of my head (the typical 'monk's tonsure' spot), as well as receding from my forehead.  I'm not on HRT (may never be, not sure yet).  Is there a commercial product that can restore the hair loss I've suffered?  Will I need to go on testosterone blockers first?  

If I need to look at wigs, how long should my hair be to allow for securing the wig (or should I ask a hair stylist/wig shop consultant about that)?

 

Sorry for the barrage of questions, I'm new and impatient. ?

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

So yeah, I'm only 50 but I got alopecia universalis for my 39th birthday so I feel your pain.

 

To restore the hair on your head... see a hair restoration specialist. I've been the recipient of everything from ancient potions (I had to go to a mixing pharmacy, that's a thing) to lasers. Absolutely nothing worked. Some people see some regrowth with just T-Blockers, but others don't. I didn't see results from anything, so I use wigs. I can't talk about specific treatments, but a hair specialist can poke around, maybe take a biopsy, and give you a regimen with the best chance of success. It might be a commercial product. It might be something you can only get from a witch. It'll depend on your doctor and what they see when they prod your scalp.

 

I'm a wig newbie compared to some people on the site, but I use a wig (well, wigs now) with a built-in cap. I put it on, adjust so it's straight and go about my business. When I don't want to wear a wig (like to the gym), I use the same kind of headscarf you see chemo patients with. A wig cap is more for hiding your natural hair to keep it from poking out the edges.

Your solution will depend a lot on how much money you want to spend. I'm currently spending about $60 every nine months or so to get a good-enough synthetic. Which, when you think about it is silly because I could probably be getting something pricier and billing my insurance because of my alopecia diagnosis. I did want to practice on a cheaper synthetic before I went for human hair though. I'd rather make my mistakes in wig care before they get costly.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment

In both my personal experience and from what I've read, the older you are, the more difficult it is for products like minoxidil (Rogain) to provide positive effects (and there isn't a product that I know of to address a receding hairline).

 

Sigh.

 

Astrid

 

 

Link to comment

Thanks to both of you for your responses, even though they're not what I wanted to hear.  Sigh.  Oh, well.  Time to consult a hair stylist for appropriate lengths - I currently have bottom-of-the-neck hair, and that's probably too long for a wig to conceal well.

 

Link to comment

There are more aggressive treatments like hair transplants/plugs. If you have testosterone and are losing hair, it will continue unless you go on blockers.  Blockers won't regrow lost areas but will stop the progression (usually). I have just a bit of thinning on the top but definitely have receding "widow" peak happening.  I started HRT so don't expect it to get worse and my curly hair can hide it unless I pull it back.  My plan for dealing with the front is to have some scalp transplanted to round out the front when I have FFS.  

If you go the wig route, shorter hair is easier because not as much has to be tucked. Depending on the wig they can be fastened in with bobby pins, adhesive on forehead or just a "snug" fit.  Learning to wear a wig is a skill and you get what you pay for in them.  Good, natural looking ones can be expensive and they do wear out.  

Link to comment

@RachelSB I am here too unfortunately. I am turning 46 next week and have the George Costanza style, only much less and thinner hair Lol. It sucks. It actually was emotionally painful for me when I first started accepting myself as trans because I felt like a fraud and that I was not nor ever would be a real woman. I have since agreed with a message I received from @Jackie C. that it is fun trying new wigs and I have decided when the time comes I will choose to find the joy in my circumstances and I'm gonna rock whatever wig I get. You will too girl! ❤️

Link to comment

Alas, me too.   I wear what hair I have fairly long, but use a scarf to cover the lack on top.

I have resisted going into the world of spare-hair, but I am just going to have to face reality.  It's kinda hard for me to cross this line, but…

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Last year I noticed my hair thinning in a couple spots. Last year is also when my shell finally cracked. So I started Minoxidil and Finasteride. I have noticed some hair growth. I was 36yo when I started both. It is not a quick process either. As recommend above I would consider seeing a doctor about it. None of these treatments may work but probably couldn't hurt either.

I also started a shampoo that has some ingredients that can help the Minoxidil work and added Hair and Nails vitamins to my daily routine. I wanted to do all that I could to help it along. 

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

I'm 37 and I had a lot of thinning and recession up front. When I went on HRT a year ago I got regrowth, and with Rogaine (minoxidil) max. strength 2x a day, I have had some good success with it. It takes about a year to work good and I am about 7 months in. My hair on top is thicker but I still have the receded spots, they are filling in tho and it is easy to style my hair to cover them. The only bad thing about the Rogaine is that it makes your hair kind of crusty, so it actually looks worse when you have the rogaine in. After a few hours it dries and you can use a comb and blow dyer to make your hair look decent. 

Having said all that, I also went into this knowing that I may have an issue with my hair and was prepared to rely on wigs. For about the first 4 months of my transition I did wear a wig, because my hair had been buzzed short.

Link to comment

I am 65 and thought my receding hairline was permanent. I am on a T Blocker, Finasteride, Minoxidil 2X day along with Hair & Nails vitamins and mine has started to regrow.  I wasn't even going to try and now I am glad I did. The hair at the back of my head started to grow at about 2 months. The front just started at 3 months. I don't know how much it will eventually fill in. YMMV

 

Hugs,

Mike

Link to comment
  • 9 months later...

Hair confuses me.  I dislike wigs they make me feel fake but as you see from my picture I suck it up and wear them when required 🙂.  I'm bald have the classic male pattern baldness the horseshoe of hair.  However with Finasteride I have noticed that I started with a sort of fluff that is developing into longer hair.  Its thin and sparse but as I'm only 4/5 months into treatment I'm curious as to what happens.  I'm not thinking it will ever be a thick head of hair but may make having hair plugs or something more feasible in the future.  Well depending on what a specialist may say when I get to that stage.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Bepending on age and genetics and of course the dreaded T, hair loss can be tough. I am late 60's and started HRT 1-1/2 years ago. I do take finasteride and it helped slow things down. I take a biotin and collagen supplements and it has helped a little but it depends on so many factors. I wear wigs but am trying to let hair grow as long as possible and either considering extensions, weave or special topper designed for my thinned out bald spots. Hope this helps answer your question.

Link to comment

Hello Heather.

 

Well like everything regarding Transition its a step at a time and see how it works out.  I'm at the early stage with my HRT but do find great encouragement  with the way things are going.  Hair well that's just something else to keep an eye on.  As I let what hair I have grow out I will watch what happens and work round it. 😄

 

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Like others here I am taking Finesteride and using Minoxidil 2x day as well as taking biotin and collagen.  After several months of this I did get a small area at the top front of my receding hairline to grow back fairly well, though it wasn't nearly a large enough area.  Lately I have been trying home micro-needling using a Dr Pen I purchased off Amazon.  Now a lot of sites will tell you that you should go to a doctor for the depth of micro-needling you need for hair growth...so do your own research and make your own decisions.  There are risks of infection or scaring so be warned, I'm just telling you what I have done, not recommending that you do it.  I have been micro-needing the scalp area where I want to see growth about every two weeks and after two month I seem to be seeing a bit of growth.  Too early to be sure, but I am hopeful.

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...

Hi Heather

yes it makes you feel so awful when your losing your hair and just accepting yourself as a woman, I’m hoping that a wig will help to help me look more feminine 

hugs

Stefi

Link to comment
  • 9 months later...

I know a few cis-gender woman with hair challenges on their scalp - very thin hair, bald spots, and/or receding hair line.  I don't feel as bad about my situation because of theirs.

Link to comment
  • 11 months later...

Many cis women have serious alopecia.  Think about it, wigs are made for cis women,  many wear them for life. So, I am seriously bald but have two identical human hair wigs with lace front.  I glue the front and tape the rest.  They look totally natural and many folks are surprised when they find out it’s a wig.  
 

with good glue, I can wear it for a week straight, just like I had hair.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
On 2/20/2021 at 12:57 PM, rainflower said:

I'm 37 and I had a lot of thinning and recession up front. When I went on HRT a year ago I got regrowth, and with Rogaine (minoxidil) max. strength 2x a day, I have had some good success with it. It takes about a year to work good and I am about 7 months in. My hair on top is thicker but I still have the receded spots, they are filling in tho and it is easy to style my hair to cover them. The only bad thing about the Rogaine is that it makes your hair kind of crusty, so it actually looks worse when you have the rogaine in. After a few hours it dries and you can use a comb and blow dyer to make your hair look decent. 

Having said all that, I also went into this knowing that I may have an issue with my hair and was prepared to rely on wigs. For about the first 4 months of my transition I did wear a wig, because my hair had been buzzed short.

Thank you for this information. I was going to ask my provider about minoxidil for my receding hairline (probably from using Testosterone in my early 20s for a low T level). I've never considered wigs because I never felt quite at that "trans" if that makes any sense. I'd love to grow my hair for the first time since..ever.  I loved braiding my cousins' hair as a kid so maybe i can finally do it to my own hair.

How's it going since you started the minoxidil? I just realized your post was from 2021. Any tips on how to manage the topical minoxidil? thank you

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   4 Members, 0 Anonymous, 158 Guests (See full list)

    • Abigail Genevieve
    • MaeBe
    • VickySGV
    • Stefi
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.6k
    • Total Posts
      768k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,014
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Quillian
    Newest Member
    Quillian
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. l.demiurge
      l.demiurge
  • Posts

    • Davie
      Except for this thung thwister: Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now if, Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, how many thistles can'st thou thrust through the thick of thy thumb . . . in sifting a sieve-full of unsifted thistles? Success to the successful thistle sifter!
    • VickySGV
      You have given you and us a big clue right there.  I hope you have shared this observation with your Endocrinologist and are willing to take their advice about changing that behavior.    Non prescribed herbal or animal supplements can have a negative effect on your body's use of your available hormones.  Also, your genetics are going to be controlling what your body is going to do with your hormones, and again, that is for you to consult with your Endocrinologists.  On this site none of us are licensed medical personnel and we cannot give you advice on your health more than what your doctor can.  We have rules that we enforce against our members advising about "Folk Remedies" because we have had members who have gone that route and badly damaged their health and quality of life.  Only thing I can go anywhere on, is that maybe if you change your expectations of what should happen, you will at least not be in danger of harming yourself from anxiety.
    • Timi
      Hi @violet r!    Thank you so much for sharing. I'm so glad you found this place. I hope you find as much comfort and support here as I have.    -Timi    
    • marysssia
      Hi lovely people,   I'm a 25 yo MtF woman, and I've been suffering from low estrogen issues since October 2023. I completely lost my feminine libido, my breast completely stopped growing, my estrogen levels dropped by a lot (despite NOT decreasing my E dosage) and thus my dysphoria drastically increased. I think it is worth mentioning that, for my health issues, I had been taking ----- Lamotrigine for months & had been on ketogenic diet, and these things seem to be a culprit of my current issue. I weaned off Lamotrigine some time ago and gave up on keto diet, but it still doesn't seem to help. My estrogen is still low (44 ng/ml) and my libido hasn't come back yet. In general, I struggle with my dysphoria so much because of that and, to be honest, I don't know what to do. I've tried so many dietary supplements, yet I didn't get any effects from them. My endocrinologist didn't know how to help me. She only suggested to increase my daily estrogen dose (to 3x per day ------sublingual estrogen tablets and 3x per day ------ estrogen gel applied to armpits or thighs), which I did, without any effect.   Please, help me. Prior to keto diet & Lamotrigine treatment, I'd never had experience like that. I'm basically helpless and have no clue what to do. Having to deal with low estrogen is a horrible experience to me and it affects my life severely.   BTW, my T levels are always within female range.   Do you have any clue what exactly I should do?
    • April Marie
      I love wearing a jeans skirt!! That looks like airport carpet. Safe travels if you're flying!!
    • Maddee
      Flight faraway forthcoming Fabulous forum friends 😊😊🎸🦂
    • Maddee
    • KathyLauren
      One of our cats is polydactyl.  He has 7 toes on each front paw and 5 on each back paw, for 24 toes total.   Another one, an ex-feral who, at the time, was free to roam, climbed 50 feet up a tree without having any thought about how he was going to get down.  His pal climed down backwards, but he couldn't.  He ended up coming down by leaping from branch to branch.  Which nearly gave us heart attacks, because he only has one eye and therefore has no depth perception.   The other ex-feral (both are now indoor cats) obviously does not have those soft pads on his feet.  At night, when we are in bed, we can hear him stomping around the house.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      The two o'clock Onshoring meeting was going well.  Taylor was leading, inviting other people up to speak on their specialties. Aerial photogrammetry and surveying, including the exact boundary, were out for contract signature  Gibson had handled that - Manufacturing was supposed to, but somehow hadn't happened.  Legal issues from Legal. Accounting reported on current costs, including all upkeep, guard salaries, etc.  Manufacturing was supposed to give those numbers, but they hadn't.   The downside was the VP of Manufacturing.  He had arrived at the meeting red-faced, his tie askew, clutching a bottle. It smelled strongly of vodka. He had never done anything in his twenty years of being VP of Manufacturing, and he did not like being asked now.   "Mr. ----, do you have the inventory we asked for?" Taylor asked politely.  VP Gibson had asked him to have his people go through the plant and not only inventory but assess the operational status of every piece of equipment.  They needed to know what they had. "I'm not going to take any f---- orders from a g-d- tra---," he snarled. "God knows what kind of perverts it has dragged into our fair city and bangs every night." "That is completely out of line." That was Gibson.  Taylor controlled herself.  That was a shot at Bob, not just at Taylor.  She was glad Bob was not there to do something stupid.  Had Mrs. McCarthy been talking? What had she said?  Was she given to embellishment?  Taylor took a deep breath. "I'm not sorry.  You f--- can take this stupid onshoring --- and shove it up your -" "That is quite enough."  This was the head of HR. "You can take your sissy ways and sashay -" "You are fired." "You can't fire me." "Oh, yes I can," said the office manager.  The VP took another swig from his bottle. "Try it."  He looked uncertain. "I will have you removed.  Are you going to leave on your own?  I am calling the police to help you leave." And he dialed the number. He stomped out cursing. They heard him noisily go down the hall.  This was the front conference room.  He actually went through security and out the door, throwing his badge on the ground on his way.  The guard picked it up. They could see this through the glass wall. "Can you fire a VP?" "The Board told me that if anyone gives me problems they should be shown the door. Even a VP.  I can fire everyone here. I won't, of course. Those were problems." "Are you alright, Taylor?" She nodded.  "I've heard worse.  Shall we continue?" And they did.   The last item was that certain business people in China had been arrested, and the corporation that had been supporting them all these years had been dissolved.  They were on their own, and the Board was dead serious on straightening things out.  After this meeting, Taylor believed it.  She did not attend the meeting to discuss how to distribute the few duties the VP of Manufacturing had done.  That was ultimately up to the Board.    
    • Abigail Genevieve
      Lunch was at Cabaret, still free.  The place was quiet: it was the sort of place you took a business client to impress them, and the few other people were in business suits.  Most of the legal profession was there.   She told him of the morning's frustrations, breaking her own rule about confidentiality.  She asked Karen how the branding was going, and Karen had snapped back that she had not started on it yet - they had all these proposals.  Taylor had explained that it was important, for the two o'clock meeting, and Karen told her to do it herself.  Karen pointed out that Taylor could not touch her - her uncle was on the Board and her brother was VP of Manufacturing.  Nor would the two computer guys go out to the plant - they were playing some kind of MMORPG and simply not available. If she wanted the pictures, she should go.  Mary prayed an Ave Maria, but both she and Brenda were racing to get the proposal out. The client wanted it Friday for review.   She didn't bring up what Mrs. McCarthy had told her.  She wasn't sure how to approach it.  She thought of telling her of a 'something more comfortable' she had bought in case he ever DID show up at her door. It was in the bottom drawer of her dresser, ready to go.  Instead she talked about moving to a place with a garage.  Several of the abandoned houses had one, and they had been maintained well with China cash.   Bob had finally realized that when he was introduced as Bob, Taylor's boyfriend, that was just how things were done here. Other people had introduced each other in terms of family relationships, which were strong.  Long before you found out anything else about someone, you knew how they were related.  Family kept people from leaving Millville.    "What is the real name of this town, anyway?"   She laughed.  "I am trying to find that out.  It's 'Welcome to Millvale' when you come into town from the north, and 'Welcome to Millville' on the south.  I have counted two other variants."   "What a town. Roosevelt is like that, with the families, but there is only one spelling."  
    • Ashley0616
      Nothing wrong with that. I'm glad that you found what makes you happy! Just curious what does your wife think? If it's too personal I understand.
    • Ashley0616
    • Ashley0616
      – According to a recent survey, the most popular name for a dog is Max. Other popular names include Molly, Sam, Zach, and Maggie.
    • Ashley0616
    • Ashley0616
      Either new environment/ not potty trained
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...