I'm super worried about my hairline regression
Makes me feel super dysphoric - currently I already have a discernible M shape on my forehead (short-medium hair ATM, growing it out) -.- Any tips on what I can do before going on hormones? Could that hair grow back once I'm on them? Any hairstyling advice?
The rough rule of thumb is that once HRT takes care of your T levels, your hairline can regrow to approximately where it was 7 years prior. There are no guarantees, and it's a very rough rule of thumb, but regrowth is a thing :)
Finesteride?
I have no experience with HRT (just an old cis dude that likes my long hair) but I've been using topical minoxidil for a couple of years and it has arrested and to some degree reversed my pattern baldness.
It's not an amazing difference, but it is a difference.
If anyone tries it - look for the off brand/generic, it's way cheaper.
EDIT: it does have a warning for male use only so in the mtf area it might be a bad Idea. Do the research, ask your doc, and I hope you get a badass head of hair.
EDIT: it does have a warning for male use only so in the mtf area it might be a bad Idea. Do the research, ask your doc, and I hope you get a badass head of hair.
Nah, if anything Finasteride is better for transfems than for cis men: A lot of the potential negative side-effects become potential pleasant surprises for us; some of the concerns regarding depression remain, but generally speaking it’s a relatively safe bet for people who don’t want to take T-blockers (yet).
That said: Proper T-blockers are the much more comprehensive solution and usually make Finasteride superfluous, so the primary argument against it in our case is honestly, that it tends to be a better choice to go all the way from the beginning. Even for people who can’t get a prescription, DIY (→ /c/diyhrt) is usually still the better decision.
I was in a similar spot at the beginning of my transition. Visible M and thinning up to a few inches back. I am now just over a year on HRT and my hairline has improved significantly. I still have the M, but its much less pronounced and the thin parts are filling back in nicely.
I also had major dysphoria about my hairline, but now its way better and I barely think about it anymore. The way it works as far as I understand is that damaged hair follicles will repair themselves but destroyed follicles will stay destroyed. When you start T blockers the damage should stop getting worse right away and then begin to recover slowly over time.
the hair follicles become damaged by DHT which your scalp wll make from testosterone. There are over the counter and prescription formulas that will reduce the DHT on your scalp and preserve the follicles you have until the anti androgens in your HRT reduce your testosterone.
I was super worried at first also but now that my hair has grown out you can't really tell unless it's wet and brushed back so i just avoid that. My stylist taught me how to brush my hair backwards over my bald spot and conceal it and that works really well.
I wear puffy headbands and barrettes i find it helps feminize my hair up a lot!