Exploring options beyond finasteride - what happens when you *stop* an intervention?

Hi all,

I (31 M) am currently on 2.5 mg finasteride. My hair loss is a pretty classic "sharp M" recession - just marching straight backwards. I naturally have a sharp hairline, so I wasted years telling myself I was imagining it creeping further and further back. I started when I realized the "M" was curving inward. I was at 1mg for about a year, then had to stop, then went back on at 2.5, and in the past year (and since starting a statin in March), I've seen new hairs marching forward.

As of right now I think I'm still seeing positive progress, but I'm considering what I might want to add as the next step if what I'm currently doing isn't enough. Currently I'm more interested in dermarolling, rosemary oil, or dermatological approaches than Minoxidil, but that's partially because of how I think minoxidil works.

My understanding is that finasteride "reverses the clock". So if one year from now my hairline is where it was when I was 25, then if I stopped it would just age forward from there. 25 and one day, 25 and two days... One year from stopping, my hair is "at age 26".

But it's different with Minoxidil, right? Let's say instead I start adding Minoxidil to my regimen, and one year from now my hairline is back to where it was when I was 20. And then I stop minoxidil but stay on finasteride. Actually, let's run the same thought experiment with dermarolling and rosemary oil.

For each, once you stop would a) the clock 'unfreeze' and just start creeping backwards from 'age 20', or b) would all the hair between the "age 20" line and the "age 26" line essentially disappear over a handful of big shedding events?

For Minoxidil it's B, right? because the minoxidil is essentially putting dead follicles on life support? And then for dermarolling and rosemary oil.... I have no clue, tbh.

If anyone could provide insight, either through "accepted knowledge" or their personal experience, I would appreciate it.