If you have started Finasteride, Minoxidil, or any other hair loss treatment, you are probably worried about the hair shedding phase. I know this personally from when I started losing my hair, but there are many simple tricks you can use to reduce the shedding phase and start regrowing your hair as soon as possible.
So today, I will show you the shedding phase I had, how long it lasted, and tell you the things that worked for me to reduce it and start regrowing my hair sooner.
Shedding phase of the hair after starting a hair growth treatment.
Hi, if you're new to the channel, my name is Alvaro. The shedding phase is probably the scariest part of starting any new hair loss treatment. I mean, if you're already balding, it's terrifying seeing your hair starting to fall faster than it did before. It's also scary because you don't know if this is temporary and your hair will eventually grow back or if you're just continuing to go bald.
But don't worry, because we are going to talk about this and the best solutions to make sure you get through the shedding phase as quickly as possible.
Before I tell you the remedies to avoid a long shedding phase, let me show you what my shedding phase was like. This was me before I started using Minoxidil, Finasteride, and the derma roller. As you can see, I had significant thinning, especially in the temple area. My hair was already looking bad.
My hair results on the big 3 (before and after).
I started these treatments, and if you're curious, the first shedding phase usually occurs after the first four weeks of starting a new hair growth treatment. So during the first four weeks, nothing really happened. Then, in week four, you will notice a rapid increase in hair fall, which is exactly what happened to me. You can see it here in week four compared to week one, where my hair was looking much worse and much thinner. I remember seeing hair everywhere—on my pillow, in the shower, and in the sink. Every time I ran my hand through my hair, I would find three or four hairs.
The worst part was the itching. My scalp was unbearably itchy, and I had to scratch it all the time. So you might ask yourself, "Who in their right mind would go through this just to lose more hair than they did before?"
Well, it turns out that it all worked out in the end because four weeks later, in month two, I started to see some hair regrowth. Month three was even better, as you can see here compared to month one. That's the whole idea behind using these hair growth treatments.
Unfortunately, there's nothing you can really do to completely avoid the hair shedding phase. It's going to happen whether you like it or not, but there are many things you can do to reduce the time you're shedding hair.
These are the things that worked for me:
1. Start all hair treatments at once:
The big 3 for hair loss
If your plan is to start a combination of treatments, such as Finasteride with Minoxidil or Minoxidil and a derma roller, don't use them separately. In other words, if you're starting Finasteride, you will go through one shedding phase. If you later decide to start using Minoxidil, you will go through a second shedding phase because each treatment works differently. So if you begin these treatments at different times, you will go through several shedding phases, which is something you will want to avoid. It's better to start all the treatments simultaneously. That way, you will have one big shedding phase, and that's it. After that, you can expect your hair to continue growing.
2. Use a ketoconazole shampoo:
Ketoconazole Shampoo for hair shedding (Nizoral)
Ketoconazole shampoo, also known as Nizoral, is without a doubt one of the best hair loss treatments today. The reason is that it has some anti-inflammatory properties, which is essential because it can help shorten the shedding phase after starting a new hair loss treatment. Not only that, but remember how I mentioned the intense itching during the shedding phase? The ketoconazole shampoo is a game changer for that. It helps calm the itching significantly—kind of like submerging your head into cold water. I highly recommend it because it will make your hair journey much easier. I've left a link in the description to a ketoconazole shampoo you can buy on Amazon.
