DAMNIT HAIR!
New Member
- Reaction score
- 0
Ok, quick background. I'm 32 yrs old. I have been thinning since about 25. I had a massive hair loss in my early 20's when I used to dye and bleach my hair think I messed up my scalp. Hair fell out for about a year. I am pretty sure it all grew back in time and the real thinning started around 25. It was only in the temple area for a few years and very slight, and about 2 years ago I noticed slight thinning on my vertex which has steadily progressed. Looking back at pictures when I thought it was bad, now look like nothing was thinning at all. So there's that. I might have just seen it that way from the dyeing fallout. So its hard to place when it really started exactly. But in the past few years it has become obvious. The itching in the past year has been awful, and sure enough, the places that itched are the spots most affected now. I can tell the process has switched to high gear recently.
So finally last month I have started to do something about it. I started Rogaine Foam 5% and Nizoral(3 time weekly), so I'm about a full month use of those products. I have an appointment with a dermatologist to talk about Finestride coming up next week.
So the good news is, first of all. The itching has completely stopped. Not sure if its due to the Rogaine or Nizoral. My hope is that since the most extreme hair loss has been in the past couple years I will have a good chance to have some serious regrowth. I'm being cautiously optimistic, hoping for the best, but expecting to not get anything out of it. There has been some shedding, but not extreme as some folks say. I've still got a decent head of hair and it doesn't affect my confidence of social life, but it can definitely be improved
Now. What I've observed so far. The itching has stopped. And I can tell the Nizoral is thickening my hair like I've heard it does. There has been some shedding, but not extreme as some folks say. I haven't paid much attention to my scalp because I know it takes months to see any results, but I decided the other day to take a look. I looked real close and notices a bunch of vellus hairs ALL OVER my scalp, especially within the hairline, not just on the temples. I also noticed a few stray short dark hairs popping up along the hairline, which I swear were not there a month ago. I then angled the light to really take a look and it is a forest of vellus hairs. Grabbed my iPhone and took a few snaps as close and as in focus as I could get, and low and behold I can see way more activity than I could see with my naked eye. Lots of longer vellus hairs, an quite a few tiny tiny darker hairs poking up. (can't see them with the naked eye).
So the main point of this post is to get opinions of those of you who have been here before. I do realize it takes months to see results so I don't need to hear that. My theory is that the hairs you see months from now have to start somewhere, why not now?
I've posted them to IMGUR because you will really be able to zoom in close. Just click the image itself to zoom in a couple time. Most people don't post pics as detailed as this, but since I'm a super early user, its the only way to show anything.
FRONT
http://i.imgur.com/VOLLfuJ.jpg
- lots of short dark hairs along the hairline and a bit in.
- tough to see the vellus hairs up front in this pick but they are there.
LEFT TEMPLE
http://i.imgur.com/woPWplF.jpg
-a bunch of tiny hair that weren't there before, especially the one in the middle of no where to the right of the freckle
-if you zoom in a look closely you can see the tiniest dark hairs poking out of the scalp. These are invisible to the naked eye.
-you can also kind of see the amount of clear vellus hair along and in the hairline
RIGHT TEMPLE
http://i.imgur.com/HuI5223.jpg
-Again, lots of tiny black hairs, lots of longer vellus hairs
-I'm also pretty sure some of the longer black hairs on this side weren't there before either. Pretty sure it was smooth up to the main hair line
VELLUS HAIRS (left temple)
http://i.imgur.com/tOBz5j1.jpg
-This pic really shows the vellus hairs in the temple as well as the one further in. The are tough to get on camera. Make sure you click the image a few times to really zoom in. you can also manually zoom in after that.
So basically, my questions are simple.
Is this early evidence of results/activity? (not asking for aesthetic reasons, more of motivational reason)
Are the tiny black hairs always there or something new? (have no before pics, so obviously I don't know)
Also, I'd love to hear any other thoughts or observations you may come up with. I've been lurking on this site for a while and this is my first post. The collective knowledge here is amazing. Hopefully results will start happening and I'll be able to update this thread in the future.
Thanks!
So finally last month I have started to do something about it. I started Rogaine Foam 5% and Nizoral(3 time weekly), so I'm about a full month use of those products. I have an appointment with a dermatologist to talk about Finestride coming up next week.
So the good news is, first of all. The itching has completely stopped. Not sure if its due to the Rogaine or Nizoral. My hope is that since the most extreme hair loss has been in the past couple years I will have a good chance to have some serious regrowth. I'm being cautiously optimistic, hoping for the best, but expecting to not get anything out of it. There has been some shedding, but not extreme as some folks say. I've still got a decent head of hair and it doesn't affect my confidence of social life, but it can definitely be improved
Now. What I've observed so far. The itching has stopped. And I can tell the Nizoral is thickening my hair like I've heard it does. There has been some shedding, but not extreme as some folks say. I haven't paid much attention to my scalp because I know it takes months to see any results, but I decided the other day to take a look. I looked real close and notices a bunch of vellus hairs ALL OVER my scalp, especially within the hairline, not just on the temples. I also noticed a few stray short dark hairs popping up along the hairline, which I swear were not there a month ago. I then angled the light to really take a look and it is a forest of vellus hairs. Grabbed my iPhone and took a few snaps as close and as in focus as I could get, and low and behold I can see way more activity than I could see with my naked eye. Lots of longer vellus hairs, an quite a few tiny tiny darker hairs poking up. (can't see them with the naked eye).
So the main point of this post is to get opinions of those of you who have been here before. I do realize it takes months to see results so I don't need to hear that. My theory is that the hairs you see months from now have to start somewhere, why not now?
I've posted them to IMGUR because you will really be able to zoom in close. Just click the image itself to zoom in a couple time. Most people don't post pics as detailed as this, but since I'm a super early user, its the only way to show anything.
FRONT
http://i.imgur.com/VOLLfuJ.jpg
- lots of short dark hairs along the hairline and a bit in.
- tough to see the vellus hairs up front in this pick but they are there.
LEFT TEMPLE
http://i.imgur.com/woPWplF.jpg
-a bunch of tiny hair that weren't there before, especially the one in the middle of no where to the right of the freckle
-if you zoom in a look closely you can see the tiniest dark hairs poking out of the scalp. These are invisible to the naked eye.
-you can also kind of see the amount of clear vellus hair along and in the hairline
RIGHT TEMPLE
http://i.imgur.com/HuI5223.jpg
-Again, lots of tiny black hairs, lots of longer vellus hairs
-I'm also pretty sure some of the longer black hairs on this side weren't there before either. Pretty sure it was smooth up to the main hair line
VELLUS HAIRS (left temple)
http://i.imgur.com/tOBz5j1.jpg
-This pic really shows the vellus hairs in the temple as well as the one further in. The are tough to get on camera. Make sure you click the image a few times to really zoom in. you can also manually zoom in after that.
So basically, my questions are simple.
Is this early evidence of results/activity? (not asking for aesthetic reasons, more of motivational reason)
Are the tiny black hairs always there or something new? (have no before pics, so obviously I don't know)
Also, I'd love to hear any other thoughts or observations you may come up with. I've been lurking on this site for a while and this is my first post. The collective knowledge here is amazing. Hopefully results will start happening and I'll be able to update this thread in the future.
Thanks!