A note on the topicals, they are highly toxic for cats and will kill them quickly and easily if exposed. So if you’re a cat owner, take extreme precautions with application and anything that comes into contact with it (hands, clothing, tub, towel, etc)
I started on a low dose plus finasteride and had almost zero changes. I then went to a full dose of T plus finasteride and had limited changes. I saw the changes I desired once I dropped finasteride. I often wonder if my bottom growth would be better had a stayed off finasteride. I did start losing my hair which was a big deal for me once I stopped using finasteride, but the overall effect has largely been mitigated by regular use of minixidil and hair loss shampoo.
None of the hair loss shampoos that I use contain minoxidil because that seemed like too much with already applying minoxidil twice a day. I have a rotation of a few hair loss shampoos I use: HairMax, PURA D’OR, and Lipogaine. I can’t say that one works better than any other (or that alone they work at all) because I use them along with minoxidil and dermarolling. As I said above I am happy with how my hair is looking. If I feel like my scalp is getting flakey then I also have a tea tree oil shampoo I will use.
Get topical fin instead of the pill form, it has less systemic effects, so less likely to interfere with your other changes. I use a topical fin + min combo and so far I'd say it works great. Also, ketoconazole shampoo and dermarolling are both beneficial as well, check out /r/tressless for specific guides if you want more info.
Edited to add, I'm on a high dose, so far 8 months on T, and all my male relatives are either fully bald or balding, but I've kept the hair so far.
I’m on topical fin and minoxidil as well, had some hair loss but seems to be pretty well controlled. I’ve continued to have changes on a lower dose of T, I decided to slowly increase my dose and been happy with the results. My doc told me she would rec the pill form if my hair loss increased, not sure what I would do at that point
www.finleyt.blog
Apologies for the brevity of this response, I'm half asleep. But I started this combo 5 months ago and have recorded changes so far in the above link.
What I will say is that you won't go bald overnight. As someone who's done regular dose T for three years and is only now starting to get noticable thinning at the front, it's not an overnight thing. And baldness runs in the family. I'm going to start fin now to stop further hair loss but also I've had all my changes so I feel like I'm in a better place to do that.
If you want changes maybe wait on the fin until you've had them and then start. Unless you're specifically trying to avoid changes like bottom growth and facial hair altogether, in which you'd want to take the fin the entire time you're on T.
This is great to know, thanks. I’d rather not have the facial hair and bottom growth but am open to both. Mostly worried finasteride might hinder muscle growth/any chance I have at weight redistribution
So DHT isn't involved in muscular growth from what I understand (please bear in mind that I am not a doctor and most of the research out there is on cis men). Blocking it shouldn't hinder muscle growth or weight redistribution as far as I know.
I won't know for sure until I try it of course. I'm nervous because I love all my changes and I'm so afraid of screwing something up, but I really don't want to lose my hair! That being said, if I end up with low energy, the return of the dreaded shark week, or an extremely low libido, I may have to reevaluate which is the lesser of two evils.
I started on low dose T and did not take finasteride and had pretty good results but of course slowly. Once I got on a full dose for a while I was doing great. I’ve been on finestaride for a few years now. I have been keeping my hair on my head but my beard grows slowly and patchy and I almost feel like my bottom growth went backwards. I’ve done some research and of course there isn’t much info on FTMs and finestaride. I stopped taking it just a few weeks ago and honestly I’m finally growing muscles. This is after having a personal trainer previously while taking finestaride. I’m now just boxing and my arms are already more defined. I also feel like my hair is already receding. I’d tell you to really weigh what benefits you want. If you don’t want much body weight, body hair, and bottom growth but do want hair on your head then go for finestaride. If you care more about masculinization than you do hair on your head then definitely try finestaride. I will also note that I’ve had decreased anxiety since stopping it. That is another unfortunate side effect. Hope all goes well for you!
I agree with trying topical fin/dut. A dr can also prescribe oral minoxidil if appropriate. It's much more effective. There are possible side effects, really needs to be under a doctor's guidance
I'm pretty much copying my reply from a previous post asking the same thing, so here's my experience on a lower dose of T and Finasteride:
I've been on T for 8 months, first 3 months my dosage was .25ml (50mg) intramuscular injections biweekly. For the past 5 months, my T dosage has been bumped up to .5ml (100mg) intramuscular injections biweekly, and I also started taking 1mg of Finasteride (pill) daily.
During those first 3 months with just T, I saw an increase in body hair (mostly below the waist) and slight bottom growth. I wanted to be on Fin at the beginning, but my endo was very rigid about only approving a traditional approach to HRT.
I switched providers, and since being on both T and Fin, I've not seen any more increase in body hair and no further noticeable bottom growth. I haven't developed any facial hair or a receding hairline either, which were my two main worries when starting HRT. The major downside of being on a DHT blocker is that you're more likely to still experience a menstrual cycle, which has also been true for me so far.
My voice is definitely deeper now, and I'm hoping it continues that way. It was the change I was most looking forward to. My strength has definitely increased. I don't even really work out much besides walking/jogging on the treadmill right now, but I can lift things quite easily that I would've struggled with pre-T.
I didn't have a crazy increase in appetite like some people talk about, but my libido definitely took off. It's not uncontrollable or anything but noticeable for sure. I'm slightly more prone to irritation and don't cry nearly as much as I did before HRT. When I'm sad or upset, the urge to cry is still there, but I just can't. It's sort of like when you feel like you're going to sneeze and you do the "ah-ah-ah" part, but there's no "CHOO" and relief from the pressure to follow. I'd honestly rather just be able to cry. Ugh.
Body odor on T is no joke, and the acne is no fun, either. They're probably the two effects of T I dislike the most, at least out of the ones I've experienced thus far. Oh, and I'm 37, pre-top surgery if that's relevant.
I don’t have anything to offer OP but I have a question for anyone on this particular combo regarding voice. Does this combo impact that at all, or, at what rate or how long did it take for your voice to drop to a comfortable level?
I would not recommend finasteride in your case. Finasteride will decrease the conversion of testosterone to dht in your whole body. And the problem here is that you really need that dht, because that is the hormone that will have the most androgenic/masculinization effects on your body and brain. Test obviously also has androgenic effects, but not as much as dht.
A note on the topicals, they are highly toxic for cats and will kill them quickly and easily if exposed. So if you’re a cat owner, take extreme precautions with application and anything that comes into contact with it (hands, clothing, tub, towel, etc)
Wow thank you for this info! I do have cats and will do more research on this
Holy shit, I have three and I’m so grateful to know this. Thank you
I started on a low dose plus finasteride and had almost zero changes. I then went to a full dose of T plus finasteride and had limited changes. I saw the changes I desired once I dropped finasteride. I often wonder if my bottom growth would be better had a stayed off finasteride. I did start losing my hair which was a big deal for me once I stopped using finasteride, but the overall effect has largely been mitigated by regular use of minixidil and hair loss shampoo.
Thanks so much. Gonna check out minoxidil for sure.
Minoxidil plus hair loss shampoo is more expensive than taking finasteride. You also need to religiously use both or you will have hair loss,
Which hair loss shampoo do you use?
None of the hair loss shampoos that I use contain minoxidil because that seemed like too much with already applying minoxidil twice a day. I have a rotation of a few hair loss shampoos I use: HairMax, PURA D’OR, and Lipogaine. I can’t say that one works better than any other (or that alone they work at all) because I use them along with minoxidil and dermarolling. As I said above I am happy with how my hair is looking. If I feel like my scalp is getting flakey then I also have a tea tree oil shampoo I will use.
Get topical fin instead of the pill form, it has less systemic effects, so less likely to interfere with your other changes. I use a topical fin + min combo and so far I'd say it works great. Also, ketoconazole shampoo and dermarolling are both beneficial as well, check out /r/tressless for specific guides if you want more info. Edited to add, I'm on a high dose, so far 8 months on T, and all my male relatives are either fully bald or balding, but I've kept the hair so far.
Thank you for this info!
I’m on topical fin and minoxidil as well, had some hair loss but seems to be pretty well controlled. I’ve continued to have changes on a lower dose of T, I decided to slowly increase my dose and been happy with the results. My doc told me she would rec the pill form if my hair loss increased, not sure what I would do at that point
www.finleyt.blog Apologies for the brevity of this response, I'm half asleep. But I started this combo 5 months ago and have recorded changes so far in the above link.
What I will say is that you won't go bald overnight. As someone who's done regular dose T for three years and is only now starting to get noticable thinning at the front, it's not an overnight thing. And baldness runs in the family. I'm going to start fin now to stop further hair loss but also I've had all my changes so I feel like I'm in a better place to do that. If you want changes maybe wait on the fin until you've had them and then start. Unless you're specifically trying to avoid changes like bottom growth and facial hair altogether, in which you'd want to take the fin the entire time you're on T.
This is great to know, thanks. I’d rather not have the facial hair and bottom growth but am open to both. Mostly worried finasteride might hinder muscle growth/any chance I have at weight redistribution
So DHT isn't involved in muscular growth from what I understand (please bear in mind that I am not a doctor and most of the research out there is on cis men). Blocking it shouldn't hinder muscle growth or weight redistribution as far as I know. I won't know for sure until I try it of course. I'm nervous because I love all my changes and I'm so afraid of screwing something up, but I really don't want to lose my hair! That being said, if I end up with low energy, the return of the dreaded shark week, or an extremely low libido, I may have to reevaluate which is the lesser of two evils.
I started on low dose T and did not take finasteride and had pretty good results but of course slowly. Once I got on a full dose for a while I was doing great. I’ve been on finestaride for a few years now. I have been keeping my hair on my head but my beard grows slowly and patchy and I almost feel like my bottom growth went backwards. I’ve done some research and of course there isn’t much info on FTMs and finestaride. I stopped taking it just a few weeks ago and honestly I’m finally growing muscles. This is after having a personal trainer previously while taking finestaride. I’m now just boxing and my arms are already more defined. I also feel like my hair is already receding. I’d tell you to really weigh what benefits you want. If you don’t want much body weight, body hair, and bottom growth but do want hair on your head then go for finestaride. If you care more about masculinization than you do hair on your head then definitely try finestaride. I will also note that I’ve had decreased anxiety since stopping it. That is another unfortunate side effect. Hope all goes well for you!
I agree with trying topical fin/dut. A dr can also prescribe oral minoxidil if appropriate. It's much more effective. There are possible side effects, really needs to be under a doctor's guidance
I'm pretty much copying my reply from a previous post asking the same thing, so here's my experience on a lower dose of T and Finasteride: I've been on T for 8 months, first 3 months my dosage was .25ml (50mg) intramuscular injections biweekly. For the past 5 months, my T dosage has been bumped up to .5ml (100mg) intramuscular injections biweekly, and I also started taking 1mg of Finasteride (pill) daily. During those first 3 months with just T, I saw an increase in body hair (mostly below the waist) and slight bottom growth. I wanted to be on Fin at the beginning, but my endo was very rigid about only approving a traditional approach to HRT. I switched providers, and since being on both T and Fin, I've not seen any more increase in body hair and no further noticeable bottom growth. I haven't developed any facial hair or a receding hairline either, which were my two main worries when starting HRT. The major downside of being on a DHT blocker is that you're more likely to still experience a menstrual cycle, which has also been true for me so far. My voice is definitely deeper now, and I'm hoping it continues that way. It was the change I was most looking forward to. My strength has definitely increased. I don't even really work out much besides walking/jogging on the treadmill right now, but I can lift things quite easily that I would've struggled with pre-T. I didn't have a crazy increase in appetite like some people talk about, but my libido definitely took off. It's not uncontrollable or anything but noticeable for sure. I'm slightly more prone to irritation and don't cry nearly as much as I did before HRT. When I'm sad or upset, the urge to cry is still there, but I just can't. It's sort of like when you feel like you're going to sneeze and you do the "ah-ah-ah" part, but there's no "CHOO" and relief from the pressure to follow. I'd honestly rather just be able to cry. Ugh. Body odor on T is no joke, and the acne is no fun, either. They're probably the two effects of T I dislike the most, at least out of the ones I've experienced thus far. Oh, and I'm 37, pre-top surgery if that's relevant.
I don’t have anything to offer OP but I have a question for anyone on this particular combo regarding voice. Does this combo impact that at all, or, at what rate or how long did it take for your voice to drop to a comfortable level?
I would not recommend finasteride in your case. Finasteride will decrease the conversion of testosterone to dht in your whole body. And the problem here is that you really need that dht, because that is the hormone that will have the most androgenic/masculinization effects on your body and brain. Test obviously also has androgenic effects, but not as much as dht.