2 Months Of "progress", Possibly Salvageable........?

[kenny91234]

Hey guys,

Long story short, im a 28 year old male dealing with hairloss. a bit of a background on me. I was always overweight in my teenage years and took a TON of weightloss supplements. I got addicted on caffeine and used it excessively for the past 10 years. I worked full time for many years after high school and just last year, was when i started university. i was overwhelmed with the workload from university and i was able to obtain adderall (not perscribed) and took that on and off for the past year. my sleep schedule was horrible, diet was crap, and not to mention i was taking a ton of stimulants which caused my always highly elevated cortisol levels. I did a ton of research and have changed my life in order to hopefully grow back my hair. im trying to do this with all natural methods so im trying to avoid taking rogaine and minoxidil.
How is my progress looking so far? The first pic was taking on July 31st and the 2nd pic was taken today. I realize that the lighting is different. I was moving around for a while and dont have access to the room i originally took my first picture in.

 

[justbeconfident]

Sorry mate, but hair loss is genetic, there are homeless bums, who are stressing daily and havent washed their head for few years with full head of hair at 70. There are people who have been through auschwitz and havent balded or got grey hair, because it's in your DNA.
The sooner you start treatment by one of the 2 available method - finasteride or minoxidil, the lesser is your chance to end up slick bald during next year.
Denial part sometimes lasts very long, but it's in your direct interest to speed it up as much as possible.

 

[whatintheworld]

Agreed, if it was stress related it would not be in the classic male pattern baldness pattern. We've all been there in denial, so don't feel bad. Get on treatments if you wish to do something about it.

 

[Yoadrian]

Hey guys,

Long story short, im a 28 year old male dealing with hairloss. a bit of a background on me. I was always overweight in my teenage years and took a TON of weightloss supplements. I got addicted on caffeine and used it excessively for the past 10 years. I worked full time for many years after high school and just last year, was when i started university. i was overwhelmed with the workload from university and i was able to obtain adderall (not perscribed) and took that on and off for the past year. my sleep schedule was horrible, diet was crap, and not to mention i was taking a ton of stimulants which caused my always highly elevated cortisol levels. I did a ton of research and have changed my life in order to hopefully grow back my hair. im trying to do this with all natural methods so im trying to avoid taking rogaine and minoxidil.
How is my progress looking so far? The first pic was taking on July 31st and the 2nd pic was taken today. I realize that the lighting is different. I was moving around for a while and dont have access to the room i originally took my first picture in.

You should get a haircut as well.. Trim it all Telogen Effluvium way down.. Too much of a difference between top and sides

 

[Who Farted]

Sorry man, there is no stopping hairloss naturally. Hair loss in and of itself is natural; this is why it can’t be cured in the traditional sense and why the only reliable way to slow it is to unnaturally alter your bodies hormonal balance.

Absent this action, the amount of hair you will lose and the rate at which you lose will be naturally dictated by your DNA. I’m not telling you to use Min or finasteride, but you need to consider how important keeping your hair is to you.

This is most definitely male pattern baldness and it will continue to progress regardless of your diet or routine. Telogen Effluvium doesn’t look like that, nor does it last 10 years. The hair hasn’t come back because the follicles are dead. There is no way to reverse this; once a follicle stops producing hair of any kind, it will never produce again.

The best I can say about the new picture is that , based on the areas that can be compared, it doesn’t look worse than the older one. Though it doesn’t show what you were hoping for, it does show that your male pattern baldness isn’t progressing rapidly, which is still a good thing. That being said, there is no way of knowing whether it will remain this way...

Everyone starts off in denial; the sooner you move past this, the better. It will give you the time you need to consider your options, make an informed decision, and allow you the opportunity to save more of what you have left.

 

[kenny91234]

Thanks for the honest replies guys. while i do want to try drugs to combat this. i might just go with a FUE hair transplant. im starting to do extensive research on it and finding a good surgeon in San Diego, but willing to drive as far as LA.

 

[whatintheworld]

Thanks for the honest replies guys. while i do want to try drugs to combat this. i might just go with a FUE hair transplant. im starting to do extensive research on it and finding a good surgeon in San Diego, but willing to drive as far as LA.

I'm afraid FUE will not be enough without finasteride, as your transplanted hair may still be susceptible to DHT, and your native hair will continue to fall around it.

 

[Who Farted]

If you aren’t going to take finasteride, but you opt for a transplant, you need to be 1000% sure your male pattern baldness has run it’s course or you could end up looking like a medieval monk...

 

[kenny91234]

I'm afraid FUE will not be enough without finasteride, as your transplanted hair may still be susceptible to DHT, and your native hair will continue to fall around it.

Really? i didnt know that transplanted hair will be susceptible to DHT. I did a ton of research many are claiming that since the hairs on the back on your head isnt affected by DHT, after it is transplanted to the affected areas, it wont be susceptible to DHT.

If you aren’t going to take finasteride, but you opt for a transplant, you need to be 1000% sure your male pattern baldness has run it’s course or you could end up looking like a medieval monk...

Very true, based on the pictures i provided, it doesnt look like i have male pattern baldness? i did do to a trichologist a few months ago and she confirmed that i had male pattern baldness or "androgenic alopecia. do you suggest using finasteride and seeing how it affects me to be 100% sure that i have male pattern baldness?

 

[Who Farted]

Taking finasteride or dutasteride wouldn’t allow you to confirm male pattern baldness if you are a responder; if you take one or both of them (not recommended) and your hair stays the same it would either indicate that the medication is working or that you didn’t need them to begin with. Unfortunately, there isn't surefire way to determine which is the case while you are taking it.

Further, I wouldn’t touch finasteride/dutasteride unless you are 100% sure you need it and have determined that a chance at saving your hair is worth the risk. It’s a heavy drug that permanently alters your body’s hormonal balance and has some horrific possible side effects. The most common of these is varying degrees of sexual dysfunction. Plenty of people take it and have minimal effects or are willing to accept living with the sides of it means they can keep their hair.

That said, with your diagnosis being confirmed by a doctor, it’s something you should consider. I’m not sure you should take mine or another’s opinion over a doctors diagnosis, but if you asked my opinion of it without that knowledge, I would say this is 100% male pattern baldness based on the pattern alone. This kind of loss pattern is textbook male pattern baldness and I don’t think there’s a realistic alternative given what we are looking at. While we can’t see your hairline in the pictures, I suspect it would reveal one of the Norwood variants that goes along with this type of crown loss. I wish I could tell you otherwise or suggest there might be a realistic alternative, but that wouldn’t be honest, would likely cause you to delay treatment, and ultimately lose more hair than you have to.

Before you decide to go in anything I would research the medications involved and, if possible, work with your doctor to find your best way forward. Unfortunately, there are only 3 proven treatments for male pattern baldness they all require a lifelong commitment to maintain the effect.

finasteride and dutasteride inhibit DHT and allow you to keep the hair you have, Min in some areas allows for fuller hair to grow from existing follicles, which gives the appearance of more density.t. If you were to stop taking them you would not only lose the benefits of the treatment, but will experience rapid hair loss as your body catches up to where you would be at the present time had you never taken anything.

If you want to keep as much hair as possible, it’s in your interests to take finasteride as soon as possible, doubly so if you are serious about pursuing a transplant. Just be sure you take a hard look before you jump to be sure you’re comfortable with what you are getting into.

 

[stachu]

Im just curious - Were you abusing adderal ? Were you high on this?

 

[kenny91234]

Taking finasteride or dutasteride wouldn’t allow you to confirm male pattern baldness if you are a responder; if you take one or both of them (not recommended) and your hair stays the same it would either indicate that the medication is working or that you didn’t need them to begin with. Unfortunately, there isn't surefire way to determine which is the case while you are taking it.

Further, I wouldn’t touch finasteride/dutasteride unless you are 100% sure you need it and have determined that a chance at saving your hair is worth the risk. It’s a heavy drug that permanently alters your body’s hormonal balance and has some horrific possible side effects. The most common of these is varying degrees of sexual dysfunction. Plenty of people take it and have minimal effects or are willing to accept living with the sides of it means they can keep their hair.

That said, with your diagnosis being confirmed by a doctor, it’s something you should consider. I’m not sure you should take mine or another’s opinion over a doctors diagnosis, but if you asked my opinion of it without that knowledge, I would say this is 100% male pattern baldness based on the pattern alone. This kind of loss pattern is textbook male pattern baldness and I don’t think there’s a realistic alternative given what we are looking at. While we can’t see your hairline in the pictures, I suspect it would reveal one of the Norwood variants that goes along with this type of crown loss. I wish I could tell you otherwise or suggest there might be a realistic alternative, but that wouldn’t be honest, would likely cause you to delay treatment, and ultimately lose more hair than you have to.

Before you decide to go in anything I would research the medications involved and, if possible, work with your doctor to find your best way forward. Unfortunately, there are only 3 proven treatments for male pattern baldness they all require a lifelong commitment to maintain the effect.

finasteride and dutasteride inhibit DHT and allow you to keep the hair you have, Min in some areas allows for fuller hair to grow from existing follicles, which gives the appearance of more density.t. If you were to stop taking them you would not only lose the benefits of the treatment, but will experience rapid hair loss as your body catches up to where you would be at the present time had you never taken anything.

If you want to keep as much hair as possible, it’s in your interests to take finasteride as soon as possible, doubly so if you are serious about pursuing a transplant. Just be sure you take a hard look before you jump to be sure you’re comfortable with what you are getting into.

Thanks for your time and well put reply. I did research on finasteride side effects and would rather not take it, if possible. I'm under the assumption that if i were to get a hair transplant, that it wouldnt be affected by DHT. i realize that the already affected DHT hairs will eventually fall out, but the newly implanted hairs would be able to grow, without the use of finasteride.

Im just curious - Were you abusing adderal ? Were you high on this?

I was giving myself an "edge" by taking it due to being in university full time.

 

[whatintheworld]

Really? i didnt know that transplanted hair will be susceptible to DHT. I did a ton of research many are claiming that since the hairs on the back on your head isnt affected by DHT, after it is transplanted to the affected areas, it wont be susceptible to DHT.


Very true, based on the pictures i provided, it doesnt look like i have male pattern baldness? i did do to a trichologist a few months ago and she confirmed that i had male pattern baldness or "androgenic alopecia. do you suggest using finasteride and seeing how it affects me to be 100% sure that i have male pattern baldness?

Your donor area can definitely be affected by DHT. It is called retrograde alopecia, and happens more commonly than people think in high Norwood cases. If you already did tons of research as you claim, I would recommend you do some more and look at cases where people's transplanted hairs thinned over time.

Transplants are best suited for people who aren't destined to lose a lot of hair, maybe only have some hairline recession, and then you fill in the bald areas and you're good to go. For people who are going to Norwood 6 or 7 (which might be your case, one can never know), it is a very risky proposition without an anti androgen.