21 and thinning bad, advice but no finasteride or minoxidil

[ScarletKnights]

Okay so Im turning 21 in a couple days but all I can think of is my hair loss. It has been the only thing on my mind since i got home for school for the summer. Its thinning bad and my scalp can be seen through my hair with certain hairstyles. My dad is almost bald on his crown and I dont want the same thing.

I was wondering what you all suggest using other than finasteride and minoxidil. I dont want to deal with the side effects of finasteride especially since im so young. I cant handle sexual disfunction and I've read that some people worry about being able to have children after. I dont want to use minoxidil because im deathly afraid of the shedding period as that will be embarrassing during my senior year of college.

Ive read that 5% spironolactone cream along with revivogen is pretty good. I also read up on tricomin and it sounds pretty good too. I am gonna get some nizoral shampoo soon too. Anything you suggest I do for my treatment.

 

[bigentries]

It seems you have made your homework, so you must already have an idea of what everyone is going to answer.

You are closing yourself to the only real treatments against hair loss. No matter what else you try, it's not going to be as effective as minoxidil or finasteride.

I could understand the finasteride fear, but why minoxidil?
The shedding phase is really short and at least for me, it wasn't even noticeable. I'm losing more hair in my finasteride shedding.

My suggestion is to at least try minoxidil.

 

[sergiotahini]

I know this may not be what you want to hear, but everything aside from finasteride and minoxidil is really just a shot in the dark. Many would even say minoxidil is sort of pointless without finasteride to halt further hair loss, which is why finasteride is the backbone of so many regimens. Sure, nizoral, spironolactone, revivogen, tricomin, and the like are probably better than nothing, but I don't think anyone can say whether any of that stuff will really have a substantial impact on your condition, especially if you have an aggressive form of male pattern baldness.

What you do with your body is your decision, but the short of it is that all of the people on here would not be taking finasteride if there was something else that was anywhere near as effective, and many finasteride users do not experience any side effects whatsoever. Sorry for the bad news, but what you're asking for (i.e., a proven regimen that does not include finasteride or minoxidil) just doesn't exist. You can read on these forums for days about guys figuring out "the natural cure" for male pattern baldness, but you'll find that there is never any proof that any of these crackpot ideas actually work.

Whatever you do, don't bother with saw palmetto and other so-called natural DHT blockers, as they do basically the same thing as finasteride and thus ought to have the same side effects. The thing with herbal DHT blockers though is that their manufacture is totally unregulated, so who knows what it is you're actually getting, or in what concentration. If you go down that road you may as well just take finasteride.

Hope this helps.

 

[Nene]

From one Rutgers man to the next, if you want to fight your hair loss you need to at least try finasteride and minoxidil. I understand finasteride is a bit scary but minoxidil is nothing to be afraid of.

 

[ScarletKnights]

Ive heard many horror stories about shedding on minoxidil and I cant imagine going to school with people actually being able to see my scalp. As for finasteride, the side effects really scare the sh*t out of me. Does anyone know if liquid rogaine has less shed than the foam, ive read this a couple places but i dont know if its true.

 

[Nene]

I personally didn't shed when starting minoxidil (or at least didn't notice) and I think most guys here didn't experience any drastic sheds, just try it. I think the horror stories about minoxidil are blown way way out of proportion. As far as I know there is no difference in shedding with foam or liquid. I understand finasteride is scary, my advice is just start out with minoxidil and nizoral. If you feel you need something more down the road you can consider taking .25 mg of propecia daily or you can try spironolactone. I don't thnk spironolactone works but I guess it's worth a shot if you refuse to take finasteride. Also, you don't want people to see your scalp but if you do nothing in a few years that's all they will see!

 

[nickypoos]

The problem is, with the thousands upon thousands of men who take finasteride, the guys who get side effects are obviously going to post on here, which people don’t seem to realise. The reality is, 1% of people taking finasteride will experience short-lived side effects which will disappear when discontinued use.

You are basing your regime on a disproportional view, i.e. just listening to the very minute number who experience side effects.

Basically in my opinion topicals are a waste of time and money. And I personally don’t take minoxidil, on the fact I don't care for any re growth. There is no sufficient evidence any topical will give any substantial results compared to the effectiveness of finasteride or dutasteride. Period.

Basically you have two options. Go on finasteride, or go bald.

 

[Nene]

The problem is, with the thousands upon thousands of men who take finasteride, the guys who get side effects are obviously going to post on here, which people don’t seem to realise. The reality is, 1% of people taking finasteride will experience short-lived side effects which will disappear when discontinued use.

You are basing your regime on a disproportional view, i.e. just listening to the very minute number who experience side effects.

Basically in my opinion topicals are a waste of time and money. And I personally don’t take minoxidil, on the fact I don't care for any re growth. There is no sufficient evidence any topical will give any substantial results compared to the effectiveness of finasteride or dutasteride. Period.

Basically you have two options. Go on finasteride, or go bald.

That's ridiculous. I have gotten great results from minoxidil in the past, and just look at zeroheat's story.

 

[nickypoos]

That's ridiculous. I have gotten great results from minoxidil in the past, and just look at zeroheat's story.

I never said minoxidil didn't work.

And I personally don’t take minoxidil, on the fact I don't care for any re growth.

Nor did I say topicals don't work, I clearly stated there isn't sufficient evidence to suggest topicals will yield results equivalent to finasteride.

There is no sufficient evidence any topical will give any substantial results compared to the effectiveness of finasteride or dutasteride.

Maybe my statement take finasteride or go bald was rather blunt, but as a long-term solution it certainly isn't far from the truth. No intention to offend the topical only guys, as it certainly will have a positive effect on hair loss, but to what extent is questionable.

 

[Nene]

That's ridiculous. I have gotten great results from minoxidil in the past, and just look at zeroheat's story.

I never said minoxidil didn't work.

And I personally don’t take minoxidil, on the fact I don't care for any re growth.

Nor did I say topicals don't work, I clearly stated there isn't sufficient evidence to suggest topicals will yield results equivalent to finasteride.

There is no sufficient evidence any topical will give any substantial results compared to the effectiveness of finasteride or dutasteride.

Maybe my statement take finasteride or go bald was rather blunt, but as a long-term solution it certainly isn't far from the truth. No intention to offend the topical only guys, as it certainly will have a positive effect on hair loss, but to what extent is questionable.

My bad, I shouldn't have said ridiculous. I just don't think you should steer him away from trying minoxidil as I thnk it can really work wonders and is worth a shot. I can see where your coming from though with not wanting to get involved with topicals.

 

[nickypoos]

Yeah no problem . I didn't intend to steer him away from minoxidil, it certainly can yield nearly miracles for some, and it’s certainly worth a shot if you want the extra hair (which is basically most people who are on here). I'll just make it clear the reason I don't take minoxidil is simply because I don’t care for any re growth at this stage in my hair loss, but if it were to progress further minoxidil is definitely a viable option.

 

[kthxbi]

here man, check this out regarding the propecia sides.

 

[timbo]

I was wondering what you all suggest using other than finasteride and minoxidil. I dont want to deal with the side effects of finasteride especially since im so young.

Are you really completely ruling out the only two FDA approved hair-loss medications because of safety? Step back and think about that for a second... Look, you can't believe everything you read on the internet. If I were you, I would trust published medical data rather than anonymous forum posters on the internet. These drugs are proven and tested to be safe and effective.

The fact that you are losing hair at the age of 20 (maybe earlier?) should raise some red flags about your future. Severe hair-loss almost always starts early. If you take Finasteride and Minoxidil out of the picture, you won't need a crystal ball to see where you're headed.

 

[ddongkko21]

if you don't want no finasteride nor minoxidil....SHAVE IT!

 

[Todd]

Fluridil. Marketed under the name eucapil.

Seriously, if this drug was around and available 5 years ago, when I was 21 and started propecia, I would have jumped right on it- and nothing else.

The more I read on the articles and hear from reviews, eucapil's ability to rapidly halt shedding, thicken and MAINTAIN existing hair without any systemic side effects what so ever, seems virtually unmatched. Of course, finasteride has the advantage of having a proven maintaining effect for over 5 years, and a 60% chance of regrowth in addition of maintaining...

BUT: if you catch the male pattern baldness early, stop the shedding and maintain and thicken the existing hair, there really is no need for regrowth is it?

IMO: the ideal first choice preventive treatment