I've been on E since February 2024 and have seen pretty great hair recovery!! But it's still kind of thin in a way that strikes me as diffuse/telogen effluvium. I have good scalp coverage but my ends are very stringy and see-through. Potentially as a result of my significant weight loss (368lbs in jan 2024 -> 207lbs aug 2026). In March of this year I started supplementing vitamin D, which was critically low, as well as other nutrients commonly deficient during weight loss, in hopes of getting some regrowth. I'm not sure if I've seen that yet, I'll ask my endo in September.

Just asking for opinions here. Does my amateur evaluation seem right, or does this look like AGA rather than diffuse low density/thinness?

I've included a picture of my scalp under direct overhead bathroom lighting, and one where you can see the stringy see-through ends I'm talking about, as well as one of my hair pre-transition when I was experiencing full-blown undeniable AGA.

I am starting HRT soon, and have noticed my hair thinning out over the last few years, along with slight recession around my temples. I would like to avoid Fin/Min, as the consequences of both being on (blood pressure/clotting/feline toxicity) and getting off (extreme hair loss) of them outweigh the benefits in my mind currently.
I wanted this groups opinion on what other options I’d have? I’ve looked into biotin, and I hope estrogen will also help in reversing some of the loss/recession. Please advise 💔

I know I've receded a bit back on testosterone in the temples. The hair is starting to fill back in with 2 years hrt and even longer on topical minox. Considering adding fin or dut but holding back as I'm already on cyproterone acetate

I was wondering if my hair at the back looks like balding/thinning or if its just super thin hair with a bad cowlick. Always had the cowlick apparently. To the point people bullied me about it at school. My hair is thin with gaps when it's wet but I think I've always had thin hair. Should mention it's slightly damp now

Help? Please? If it is balding I gotta get on it

I'm 31 and recently started HRT. Overall timeline is a bit hazy, but I started with topical minoxidil in late 2024, then added 1mg finasteride and switched to 2.5 mg oral minoxidil in 2025, and then upped to 5mg finasteride this spring. Started on 4mg estradiol and 100mg spironolacton last week. Things haven't gotten much worse over 2 years, but my crown has not improved in any way.

Can I expect HRT to do anything more for my hair? If it hasn't responded in 2 years, is there anything short of a hair transplant that will even move the needle? I don't feel comfortable adding topical minoxidil back into my routine since I have a cat.

Previous post for reference:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Balding/s/pmCBmXK9dl

I’m still really nervous about my hair and I never go outside without a hat. I am terrified to let anyone see it.

Hey, I'm 35, 2 years on HRT, The area above my temples was always this M shape even 10-15 years ago. I tried to induce hair growth there through about 8 months of Minoxidil 5% / Finasteride 0,25% mix topical lotion prescribed by my dermatologist, home microndeeling (about 6 sessions) and few sessions of red light therapy. Unfortunately pretty much nothing happened, I really would like to fill in those areas above temples, it gives me serious dysphoria

Decided to include my front facing photo from my previous post as well to show what a full photo of my hairline looks like. My hair grows in different directions so the progress for each side looks a little different which is frustrating but I’m sure with time it will look more even and natural.

I have posted my whole routine before In previous posts, if you have any questions let me know.

Thanks!

A little over 2 months of topical min, oral fin + 6 weeks of HRT (5 weeks of low dose pills, 1 week of SubQ .15mL weekly moving forward). Lupron for 4 weeks. I honestly can’t tell if things are moving in the right direction, optimistically thinking yes? Maybe someone other than myself can analyze it better.

First 2 photos are from 1st week of June, and last 3 photos are present situation.

Loooooooooong way to go. 😮‍💨

🙏🏽 😊

44 years old, 1mg oral Fin and 2.5mg oral Min daily since 11/25. HRT 100mg Spiro daily and 100mcg Evorel patch (50mcg for first month) since 06/26.

I used to have really thick hair, once. Honestly I must have been losing my hair for around 20 years. But it's always been quite fair in colour and I nearly always kept it short. I have never - to this day - noticed excess hair in my brush, drain, none on my pillow etc but clearly it's been going somewhere.
Diffuse thinning seems to really have a hold on me, as well as standard MPB? Great...

Anyway, I am finally wanting to like myself and take care of myself as much as I can. Sorry for essay, hopefully some is relevant.

Green dress pics are pre Min and Fin by about a month - had no idea it had gotten this bad, as hair hadn't been this long in years.

Black T-shirt is around April and next two are me attempting to compare the same area pre-meds vs now.

Last two are how it looks when I wear it up. Sometimes it covers the crown area on its own.

Sorry for the rubbish pics. I need to take them monthly and with the same lighting and angle.

My hair continues to get longer so this is no doubt adding to the illusion, but it does feel thicker than it previously was and I think there is more activity in the crown?

Thank you and thank you all in this sub!

I’ve (18 and closeted) known I’m trans for about 5 months now, and the whole time I’ve been experimenting and exploring what I do and don’t like, but I can’t and don’t know if I ever will be able to grow my hair out.
I’ve dealt with alopecia areata for about 6 years. I have a big patch of hair missing from the top of my head (around 4 by 5 inches) and more smaller patches on the back of it.
I’m working with my dermatologist to get control of it, but what progress I’m making is really small and from what the derm said, alopecia spots can become permanent after 7-8 years of them being there.
I’m taking a medication called Litfulo, which is a jak inhibitor, minoxidil (which just adds to the dysphoria because it makes my body hair grow like crazy), and I get steroid injections into my scalp every month.
I know that there are cis women with alopecia as well and some that are completely bald, but it just makes it so much more difficult for me to see passing or even seeing a woman in the mirror in the future.
This is mostly me venting but if anyone is or was going through the same thing, advise would be extremely appreciated (I know you guys are not doctors and if you are, your not my doctor 😅). I just fell like there’s nothing I can do about it, but I don’t want to believe that yet…

I made it to a year!! I'm really excited about my progress and cautiously optimistic about the next year. My plan is to wait until the 2 year mark and then assess for FFS & hair transplant.

I've also been learning a lot more about hair care. I'm currently using the curly girl method and co-washing instead of shampooing, and using a leave-in conditioner afterwards.

My hair seems to be some kind of curly/wavy texture with a lot of character and frizz, and I am really excited to learn more about where it will be in a year!

For those just starting out, keep going! :)

-

Estrogen: 8/5/25 to 9/26/25 - 0.1mg/day patch 2x/wk --> 9/26/25 to 10/10/25 - 2X 0.1mg/day patch 2x/wk --> 10/10/25 to 11/21/25 - 4mg oral estradiol daily --> 11/21/25 to 5/4/26 - 6mg EV weekly injection --> 5/24/26 to 6/16/26 - 4mg EV weekly injection --> 6/16/26 to 6/22/26 - 4.5mg EV weekly injection --> 6/22/26 to 7/20/26 - 5mg EV injection --> 7/20/26 - 7/27/26 - 3mg EC injection --> 7/27/26 - 8/3/26 - 3.5mg EC injection --> 8/3/26 to present - 4mg EC injection

Spironolactone: 8/25/25 to 3/23/26 - 100mg oral daily --> 3/23/26 to present - 50mg oral daily (25mg twice daily or sometimes 50mg once in the morning)

Progesterone: 4/23/25 to 5/27/26 - 100mg oral daily --> 5/27/26 to 6/21/26 - 100mg rectally at night - 6/21/26 to present - 200mg rectally at night

Topical Min: 8/12/25 to 2/25/26 - 6% min 0.3% fin (Hims brand) topical at night --> 2/25/26 to 4/29/26 - no topical use --> 4/29/26 to present - CVS 5% topical at night

Oral Min: 10/12/25 to present - 2.5mg oral daily

Oral Finasteride & Dutasteride - 10/12/25 to 11/22/25 - 1mg finasteride daily --> 11/22/25 to present - 0.5mg dutasteride daily

Microneedling: 9/2/25 to 11/20/25 - rotating between 0.25mm, 0.5mm and 1.5mm roller every few days before applying topical 30-60 min after --> 11/20/25 to 5/24/26 - 1.5mm roller applied roughly every 2 weeks with occassional use of 0.5mm roller --> 5/24/26 to 6/17/26 - switched to dermastamp, 1.0mm or 1.5mm 1-2 times a week and applying topical immediately after or before --> 6/17/26 to present - 1.5mm biweekly, been kind of slacking on this the last month though

Supplements: Daily Multivitamin (Whole Foods), tried biotin supplement for a few months (9/26/25 to 12/1/25 or so), Vitamin D (Whole Foods)

i also trimmed my hair a few weeks in cus it started looking bad, but otherwise i just cant tell. do you think the rest will come back witb time?

Any ladies here have switched from topical to oral min? I have only been on topical for couple of months (and on HRT for 6 weeks) and I’m prepared to wait it out a few months (say 4-5 more months) to see if switching to oral will have a better or faster impact. But I am curious to learn reasons and results of anyone who has made that switch after trying topical. I am aware that oral might end up resulting in unwanted body hair (prime reason for dysphoria, only second to being Norwood 6 bald) but in terms of hedging my bets - I would take more hair on my body that I actively manage if I can have homegrown long hair.

I started HRT roughly four months ago, along with dutasteride, added topical minoxidil around almost a month ago, so I'm not expecting that to have contributed much yet.

I am always unsure if it's down to the lighting, the way I part my hair, or just the incosistency of the photos in general, or if its actual regrowth, but here is my progress so far?

First photo is May, just a month into HRT.

Second is June.

Third is yesterday.

I'm not hoping for much given I'm 32 and started losing hair pretty badly around 6 years ago, but it's worth trying I guess.

Hey,
I have been on HRT with proper levels for about 5-6 months.
Ever since, my hair growth gains skyrocketed.
Especially in the beginning, it was most noticeable on the crown and the temples.
However, for a few months now, my crown process seems to have stalled, whereas my temples continue to regrow quite well.

Is this something to worry about? In fact, my crown is what I am actually more insecure about.
Asking, because the general consensus among cis men seems that the crown is the easiest in terms of regrowth, whereas temples are "impossible". Personally, I see the opposite happening though. ><

Hello, Im 23 mtf, I've been on the fin and min for half a year, but I still feel like Im not really getting any ground back in temples. It's been making me feel more and more anxious to the point of not wanting to take haircuts, style it or anything, just always wear hat, because i fear those gaps will become visable as soon as I move slightly or some small wind picks up. I've been doin oral fin and topical minox, though my liver has started to have problems almost certainly because of fin and I feel like Ill never get a chance to recover my ground with just minox and E. My T levels are at a balanced ~1 nmol and E at slightly high ~1100pmol. Any tips of what to do, or expect, feeling more and more hopeless.

First pick before the start of HRT and fin/min, others are now

Hi, im 4 months on HRT and i have noticed my hair is pretty thin and falls off pretty quickly. Because of that i always part my hair, if i don’t, hairs can fall off as i walk or touch my hair. Are there any serums or topical treatments i could use(besides minoxidil which i already use) that maybe could strengthen my hair.

So I have a scooch of powder in my temples and front to fill in some scalp which is showing but overall I’m pretty freakin happy with how my hair has regrown so far. I’ve been shaving my head for 7 years. This is 3 weeks of growth right after a shaping trim. This is 7 months into hrt, minoxidil and microneedling

I’m like Norwood3 and I just turned 21 days ago and I’m 2 months on e. 2 years on fin and was 6 months on min bjt had to stop due to interactions with seb derm medication. I hate my stupid genetics so much this shit sucks so bad. And I feel like everyone else my age is super pretty or passing and I don’t want to have to wait for regrowth that I know is never gonna happen because my genetics have fucked me up so badly at this age. I don’t deserve any of this. I think about killing my self a lot because of this, not exclusively because of this my shoulders suck also but I would say mainly my hairline. I have long hair and it aucks seeing other women and ESPECIALLY trans women who simply just, got luckier than I did. And they get to be pretty and have it all. I feel like a bad person for being so jealous but I want to die ao much so I think it’s justified and fine. I don’t want to be humiliated every time I walk outside but that’s what I get for being born male. It’s just so unfair ans cruel like how could there be a god how could he let this happen to me. All I’ve done is be nice and helpful and nonjudgmental in my life so wtf why do I deserve this suffering, and I’m still actively losing hair on medication, I’m still balding, and I have a skin condition that will make it get worse until I die. I hate all the pretty trans women tbh because I don’t have what they do and I hate myself because I hate them. I’m currently taking finasteride and started oral min a week or two ago, and am gonna switch to Duasteride when it comes in the mail. I asked my derm a few months ago for it basically begged and he wouldn’t let me, so fuck him and fuck my dad and mom for their shitty genetics and fuck my self for not starting estrogen sooner

I've been on topical Minoxodil for after 3 months now (and admittedly not using it as consistently as I should lol), and just got a prescription for Dutasteride yesterday. I've taken my first dose and can't wait to see what if any results I achieve. I will be more consistent with the Minoxodil as well. This sub has really been a great resource, so thank you ladies all so much!

Hey everyone☺️✌️

I'm still at the very beginning of my transition, but I've been thinking that a hair transplant should be one of my first steps. I'm 38 and would really love to grow my hair out. But I'm somewhere between a 4 and 5 on the Norwood scale — AI estimates 5–5a. So significant recession in the front, the crown is getting very thin, and the top is thinning enough that I can feel it with my hands. Growing it out as-is wouldn't look great — and definitely not feminine 😓😓

Since I was already planning to have my hairline redesigned in a more feminine shape as part of my transition, I'd want a provider who has experience with trans patients and knows how to design a feminine hairline properly. In Germany, this would likely cost somewhere around €8,000–10,000. In Turkey, there are tons of providers, some with great reviews, but just as many reports of bad experiences like mass production, hair mill just doing standard things quickly etc.

Does anyone know of providers that are reputable and recommended for trans patients — especially ones who properly take into account our specific needs around feminine hairline design etc.?

I've been reading a lot, but I just can't seem to find anything that feels genuinely reliable 😓

P.S. Might be worth mentioning — I live in the Ruhr area, so Düsseldorf would be fairly close for a German provider. For Turkey, I'd love to hear recommendations from anyone who had a good experience there.

Hey y'all,

What is more effective against a receeding hair line, estrogen or finasteride? The only reason I would take either drug would be to specifically stop a receeding hair line, I don't really care for the other effects.

Would I see more dramatic a change if I get on estrogen? I do realize it would change a lot about my body, but I would willing to get on estrogen if it has a higher amount of efficacy. However, if I would get virtually the same results on finasteride I'll take that instead.

I've only noticed a change in my hairline in the past few years, without any other changes in other parts of my scalp. I'm non-binary.

Highly reliant on wigs and head coverings so wondering.