I noticed in the shower there are roughly 25 or so hairs after I shower. When I put rogaine in my hair I notice 10 or so hairs. Is this part of the natural daily shed of 100-150 hairs or is propecia not working for me?

It's hard to say. Of course there's shedding when you begin to use either of these products, and it can take up to a full year to discern the effectiveness of Propecia. I know when I shower there's a few hairs, but I haven't lost any density in about a year. I don't think counting hairs does anything but make you worry. Even if you are still losing hair, you may be losing it at a slower rate, know what I mean. Try not to think about it, but if after a year your hair loss is rampant and hasn't leveled off at all then you're wasting money. That's a personal call.

I forgot to mention that I have been on propecia for 9 mos.
Thanks

Shedding is actually a good sign . It means the hairs are cycling through the growth phases. Did you recently start Minxodil? That could easily start the shedding process.

I have been on minoxidil for 3 years.

mrkneed,

As others have said, it's not really possible to tell.

As one forum member put it in another post (I believe it was HLBD), do NOT count hairs in the shower worrying about whether or not you are losing your hair. It will drive you crazy!

If you are already on Propecia and Rogaine, all you can really do is wait it out and see if there are visible signs of loss. You can add Revita or Nizoral shampoo to your regime to see if that helps, but after that, apart from using the laser comb (which may or may have any level of efficacy), there is nothing else you can do nonsurgically.

My advice would be to use what you know works and take quarterly pictures to see if you've lost anymore hair. Do that instead of stressing over hair in the shower.

However, as a guide, take a look at the hair that is shedding. If it is thin and short, it could be hairs being lost due to male pattern hair loss. If they are thick and a similar length to your normal hair, it's probably just hair shedding per the normal hair growth cycle.

Falc

RE: Shedding

I thought that MPB basically is the shrinking of the little pores that grow hair on your head. I thought that having MPB will not see your hair fall out at a more rapid rate etc. - it falls out as it normally would, the only problem is, follicles dont regenerate new hair, thats all.

Hence why I find it a bit confusing that people say 'oh I started using propecia / rogaine / whatever, and now I only count 10 hairs instead of 37 hairs'. I think this is entirely psychological.

It falls out normally, balding or not. The problem with us here is, it wont come back, as per the cycle.

So my advice to everyone - if you see hair on he pillow, on your hands in the shower, falling on your desk at work etc, no big deal. Its normal. Dont stress over that crap, and just keep your eye on your head a few months after using medication - then see if your having good regrowth.

Hair will always fall out, regardless of genes, treatment, drugs, whatever.

I was on Propecia and Minoxi for 8 months and then for last two months i didn't use them.Now i am back on them it has been close to 4 weeks,what i have noticed is that hair fall has increased to abnormal level,moreover i have lost my crown area to a large extent,few months back only crown top was visible,now whole crown is clearly visible,I have no idea wheather it's a normal shedding or what?