What results really look like
The typical result of each treatment, next to the dramatic before-and-after photos you see online, and how to tell them apart.
What trials actually measure
When a trial says a treatment "works", it usually means this: researchers marked a small area of scalp, counted the hairs at the start, counted them again months later, and compared the change with a group that used a placebo or another treatment.
That is a fair way to measure, but it hides what you would see in the mirror. A gain of 15 hairs per square centimetre may be visible as a fuller crown in one person and hardly noticeable in another. And part of the difference between groups often comes from the placebo group getting worse, not only from the treatment group getting better.1
So "it works" usually means "on average, people kept more hair and grew some back". It rarely means a full head of hair.
Typical results, treatment by treatment
These are averages from trials. Some people do much better, some do not respond at all.
| Treatment | What trials found | Over |
|---|---|---|
| Finasteride (men) | About 107 more hairs than placebo in a 5.1 cm² circle on the crown, where men started with about 8761 | 1 year |
| Minoxidil 5% (men) | About 15 more hairs per cm² than placebo2 | 24 weeks |
| Minoxidil (women) | Nearly twice as likely as placebo to report moderate or marked regrowth3 | Varied |
| Finasteride spray (men) | About 20 more hairs in the target area, against 7 with placebo4 | 24 weeks |
| Red light comb (women) | About 20 more thick hairs per cm², against 3 with a sham comb5 | 26 weeks |
| Microneedling with minoxidil | More hair than minoxidil alone in pooled small trials6 | 3 to 6 months |
To put the finasteride figure in perspective: 107 extra hairs out of about 876 in that circle is roughly one in eight. For many men that is the difference between a crown that keeps opening up and one that looks stable or slightly fuller. It is a real result, but not a transformation.
How before-and-after photos mislead
Most photos online are honest in intent. But a few simple things can make a big difference, and it is easy to do them by accident:
- Light. Overhead light or flash makes the scalp shine through. Soft light from the front hides it. The same head can look thin or full depending on the lamp.
- Wet or dry hair. Wet hair clumps and shows much more scalp. A "before" photo straight out of the shower and an "after" with dry, styled hair is not a fair comparison.
- Haircut and styling. Longer hair, volume products, fibres and a different parting all change how full hair looks.
- Angle and distance. A camera held higher shows more of the crown. Closer photos exaggerate gaps.
- Selection. People post their best results. Those who saw no change rarely post at all.
- Several treatments at once. A routine that combines medicines, devices and supplements cannot tell you which part worked.
When you look at a before-and-after, ask: is the light the same? Is the hair the same length, dry, and unstyled? Is the angle the same? How many months apart are the photos, and what else changed? If the answers are not clear, enjoy the photo, but do not treat it as evidence.
Where to see fair photos
Published trials. Many open-access trial papers include standardised photos, taken by researchers under the same light and angle at each visit. Good examples:
- The red light helmet trial in women shows the same marked patch of scalp before and after, for women with the real helmet and with the sham one. It is a useful reminder that the sham group changed a little too.7
- The finasteride spray trial shows one man's crown at the start and at 24 weeks.4
Trial photos are usually chosen to show a good response, so read them together with the average results above.
Long progress threads. Communities such as r/tressless on Reddit have thousands of public progress posts. The most useful are long timelines that show every stage, including the early shed and the slow months, and that say exactly what the person used. Treat them as stories, not data, and remember that people who did well are more likely to post.
Doctors who explain their photos. Some of the doctors on our who to watch page go through patient photos and explain what changed and why.
Your own before-and-after
The most reliable before-and-after you will ever see is your own, taken the same way each time and compared after six months. It is free and it is about you. Read how to take progress photos and start before your first dose.
Sources
Numbered in the order the guide first cites them.
- 1
In 1553 men, finasteride 1 mg gave about 107 more hairs than placebo at 1 year and 138 more at 2 years in a 5.1 cm² crown area, while hair loss kept getting worse on placebo.
Kaufman KD, Olsen EA, Whiting D, et al. (1998). Finasteride in the treatment of men with androgenetic alopecia. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;39(4 Pt 1):578–589
- 2
Across 23 studies in men, dutasteride, finasteride 5 mg and topical minoxidil 5% added about 15 to 19 hairs/cm² over placebo at 24 weeks, but the evidence was rated low quality for several comparisons.
Gupta AK, Venkataraman M, Talukder M, et al. (2022). Relative Efficacy of Minoxidil and the 5-α Reductase Inhibitors in Androgenetic Alopecia Treatment of Male Patients: A Network Meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatol 2022;158(3):266–274
- 3
Across trials in women, minoxidil nearly doubled the chance of moderate or marked regrowth compared with placebo, 2% and 5% did about the same, and finasteride 1 mg did no better than placebo.
van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Schoones J (2016). Interventions for female pattern hair loss. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;(5):CD007628
- 4
In 458 men over 24 weeks, a 0.25% finasteride spray added about 20 hairs in the target area against 7 with placebo, close to the finasteride tablet (21), while lowering blood DHT less (about 35% against 56%).
Piraccini BM, Blume-Peytavi U, Scarci F, et al. (2022). Efficacy and safety of topical finasteride spray solution for male androgenetic alopecia: a phase III, randomized, controlled clinical trial. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2022;36(2):286–294
- 5
In four sham-controlled trials, laser combs added about 18 to 26 terminal hairs/cm² in men and about 20 in women over 26 weeks, against about 2 to 9 with sham devices.
Jimenez JJ, Wikramanayake TC, Bergfeld W, et al. (2014). Efficacy and safety of a low-level laser device in the treatment of male and female pattern hair loss: a multicenter, randomized, sham device-controlled, double-blind study. Am J Clin Dermatol 2014;15(2):115–127
- 6
Pooling 12 trials with 631 patients, microneedling plus minoxidil raised hair counts more than minoxidil alone, but results varied widely and side effects, mostly mild, were more common.
Ahmed KMA, Kozaa YA, Abuawwad MT, et al. (2025). Evaluating the efficacy and safety of combined microneedling therapy versus topical Minoxidil in androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Dermatol Res 2025;317(1):528
- 7
In 42 women, the same red-light helmet gave 37% more hair growth than a sham device over 16 weeks, with no side effects reported.
Lanzafame RJ, Blanche RR, Chiacchierini RP, et al. (2014). The growth of human scalp hair in females using visible red light laser and LED sources. Lasers Surg Med 2014;46(8):601–607
What changed
- Last updated
- November 10, 2026
- Next review
- May 10, 2027
First published. No changes since.