Changes in Hair Growth

Facial Hair

Your facial hair will likely start to become coarser and darker around 2-3 months, but it is very variable how long it takes for hair to start filling in.
- How much facial hair you end up with can range from from minimal patchy bits to a thick beard
- The best indicator is to look to your father and any brothers you have, but even then there can be significant variation within families.
If you don’t want to grow facial hair, it is possible to take finasteride which blocks DHT, which drives the growth of facial hair. However, taking finasteride will also block any other changes which rely on DHT, such as sex drive increase, bottom growth and body hair growth.
If you want to speed up/increase your facial hair growth, you can use minoxidil, which can be purchased without a prescription. Many transmascs speak very highly of it, including those who used it whilst not being on T but still experienced an increase in hair growth. It comes in liquid form which you apply directly to the area you want to increase hair growth in, and requires application twice a day for best effect.

Will my facial hair growth revert if I stop taking T?

Facial hair will continue to grow even if you stop taking T, but it may thin out somewhat. If you wanted to remove your facial hair entirely, you could use laser hair removal or electrolysis if you are a suitable candidate for how they work.

Body Hair

Your body hair will begin to become thicker, darker and coarser typically around 2-3 months in, and may continue to thicken– and grow in new places– for many years.
Similar to facial hair, how thick it grows and which areas of the body it covers varies hugely between people, and looking to your family can be a helpful indicator to some extent.
Just as with facial hair, you can use minoxidil to increase body hair growth by applying it wherever you want to increase hair growth, or use finasteride to lessen it (with the same caveat about finasteride stopping or seriously limiting some other effects).

Will my increased body hair go away if I stop taking T?

If you stop taking T, your body hair may thin out slightly, but in order to remove the new thickened/new/darkened hair entirely, again you would need to seek out laser hair removal or electrolysis.

"Male-Pattern" Hair Loss/Balding

When you are taking T you experience the same likelihood of balding as cis men
The likelihood of experiencing will vary from person to person based on genetics, as will how long into being on T it begins happening (if it does at all)
Anecdotally, people suggest the best predictor as looking to your maternal grandfather for an indication for what degree of hair loss you may experience and when, but there is no guarantee this will be true for you.
Many people find that when they begin taking T, they lose some hair in such a way that it leaves them with a more stereotypically "masculine hairline", and then the hairloss stops after this initial hairline change.

Addressing Unwanted Hair Loss

One option to consider is taking finasteride, as this blocks the conversion of T into DHT (which is what causes the balding).
- However, as previously mentioned, this will also block bottom growth, facial hair growth, increased body hair growth, and may have other effects, such as on sex drive.
You can also use minoxidil on the areas you are losing hair to stimulate hair regrowth, which many people have found successful for addressing the effects of balding. However, you must continue applying minoxidil regularly in order to maintain any improvements, but unlike finasteride it won't affect any other aspects of your transition.

Will I stop balding if I stop taking T?

Yes, you should stop losing hair fairly soon after stopping T, and it is common for people to see a regrowth of hair lost due to balding if they start taking oestrogen or revert to having oestrogen as the dominant hormone in their body through stopping T.