background: hair has been thinning slowly, i think, for probably 1-2 years, but didn't become noticable until the start of this year and became REALLY noticeable after a haircut at the end of may.

i just started finasteride (it's very likely this is genetic but i do suspect it possibly coincided with some TE this year that made it VERY sudden), and i've had minox foam sitting in my house untouched for over a month now.

my two big hangups have been 1. i have 2 cats and a bathroom vanity that isn't behind a closed door. i've done a lot more reading into this and have found there's been very few documented cases of cats getting sick despite its lethality because they need to ingest it, and that generally only happens from getting it on their fur and licking themselves. i would probably either apply once a day in the morning so i can rinse my hair at night to prevent it getting on my pillows, or maybe invest in a silk cap for sleeping.

but the other big one is that it's so hard to imagine doing it every day for the rest of my life. i struggle with any habit (i have ADHD), and i worry about how my hair will look on days i'm styling it for stuff with it in my hair.

i'd love to just use oral minox, but my PCP did not want to prescribe it due to concerns over side effects. i'm looking into seeing a dermatologist but the soonest appointment anywhere is 2 months out.

i know the deal with minox is that you have to use it forever, but if i'm on fin and my hair follicles recover (i really only want the last year of thinning reversed, my hair was great a year ago!), would i really need to? wouldn't my hair keep growing back on its own? i'm really struggling with the loss rn but i feel like it'll just make it worse when i inevitably give up on the routine :(