I dealt with some pretty aggressive male pattern baldness for years OP, here's my two cents:
- Finasteride and Minoxodil (Hims, Keeps, Rogaine, Propecia, etc): These are the only hair loss options clinically proven to work (besides a transplant). I think the big thing to remember here is that they work... but only to some degree. How helpful they are is really dependent on your situation up top. They can prevent future hair loss and restore recent light hair loss. So if you are just starting to thin but not majorly serious yet, these can help. But if you have been aggressively balding for a while... these wont be the silver bullet. I did both of these for over a year and I could tell it was restoring some hair kinda, and it stopped getting worse. But I still looked thin up top overall and wouldnt have considered the battle won. I'd still be considered "thinning" if someone took a snapshot
- I finally went with the nuclear option and did the hair transplant. This worked, super happy with it. And now I follow it up with the finasteride and minoxodil to keep it from falling out again and to keep the hair that i did have strong haha. But even then with this one, if you are truly like bald bald bald, it might not help because youre going to have so much ground to cover you might still look thin up top and its a pretty expensive procedure to not like your results. I was fortunate that when I did this I still had some hair up top despite some general thinning going on and the power alleys above the temple.
Cliff notes: That stuff does work to some degree but wont restore you to full. If you do have some hair up top... give it a shot. If youre are really bald bald though, its probably not going to get you the results you want.
I also use a daily shampoo called "Grow MD" to just help with daily maintenance, but its not medical grade and probably wouldnt be helpful for restoring hair, its more preventative or very light restoration.