Hi ladies!

As I continue to work up the confidence to seek out HRT I've been thinking a lot about my hair situation, or more specifically my lack thereof...

I inherited the baldness curse from my dad's side of the family. Hairline started receding around 16, started losing a lot more in college. By 23 my crown was so thin that I was kind of forced to buzz it short and have kept it that way ever since. Few years later and I'm sitting at around a Norwood 4...

Being relatively young and still having some hair in the bald areas I'm hopeful that I might be able to regrow some of it, but realistically I doubt regrowth alone would be enough to allow for fem hairstyles. Hair transplants are the obvious answer but that shit's expensive ;-;

So I have a few questions for the lovely folks here:

1. Has anyone attempted hair regrowth from a similar position? If so, what did you use and how did it go?

2. I've read that minoxidil is highly toxic to cats which makes me hesitant to use a topical formulation, but then oral route requires a prescription and has side effects that aren't particularly enticing. Is it possible to safely use topical minoxidil while living with a cat?

3. Assuming wigs end up being my only option, do you have any wig recommendations?

Thanks 🩷

I'm not an expert in the slightest, but as someone facing a similar curse I can tell you that the standard treatment for this type of hair loss is finasteride (brand name Propecia). Most dermatologists/GPs will prescribe it. My derm has had me on finasteride and oral minoxidil for years at this point after telling me that those meds are pretty well-tolerated by and large, and anecdotally, I've had no problems whatsoever. I'm very much in the closet, but my understanding is that HRT helps many people as well.

Finasteride was close to a miracle drug when I started taking it. I had noticeable thinning in my crown and it filled it back in. I've still lost some ground so I'm looking at bumping up to dutasteride if my derm will prescribe it, but finasteride is a great first step.

I wish you luck! This shit can be hard to deal with and is so demoralizing at times <3

Appreciate the input! I'll need to book a derm visit soon for sure

i hadnt heard of dutasteride before... now i really want to get on it. oral finasteride and minoxidil along with the estrogen have worked wonders for me, its hard to imagine what my hair would be like on dutasteride. the wikipedia said its much better than even really high dose finasteride 🤩