23 y.o. Getting some results but sides from minoxidil as well

[I love my hair :)]

Hi mates!
I'm 22(soon 23) years old guy loosing hair for about 5-6 years. I noticed very early signs of hairloss in high school but since it was barely noticeable I didn't pay much attention. male pattern baldness is well represented in my family history - my father currently in his mid 50's and my grandfather in his early 80's are completely bald. Both of them began balding when they were my age or a bit older and by the time they were 30 they had already lost a lot of hair. Therefore I have always known that someday male pattern baldness will affect me too and I was somehow prepared. Actually, after I fist noticed it in ~2006 nothing happened until January 2009 and I really forgot about the problem. Then I noticed a small bald patch above my left temple. Ever since I've been loosing hair, however, I've never experienced a massive shed. Before starting treatment at the end of February, I was between NW1 and NW2 which many will say it's not that bad but the hairs became thinner over my scalp. The hairs are too thin for a haircut. My left temple is NW2 while the right one is NW1 which makes hairloss ever more obvious. At the end of 2011 I noticed small bald spots at the crown area which really made me start treatment. I bought 5% liquid minoxidil which I apply for about a month but I started Nizoral at the beginning of the year. However, I am still unsure about propecia.

The good thing is that I'm already getting results. Very thin hairs started growing appoximately after the end of the 2nd week. Initially there were only a few of the them but now, after 2 more weeks, I can see at least 20 on each temple and they are getting longer. I can't say that these tiny hairs are visible because I'm able to see then only when starring at the mirror but I guarantee you that they weren't there a month ago. I don't know whether they will grow further and become darker and thicker but definitely they are definitely result of the treatment.

So far so good BUT I'm getting sides too....... My eyebrows are getting thicker and the the same little hairs are growing in the area between my eyebrows and my hair. Even wose is that I noticed several hairs on my forehead from the side of my right temple.

Let's be honest guys, all of us or at least the overwhelming majority are afraid that hairloss will affect their social life in a negative way, make them less attractive and won't be as successful with women as when had a full scalp. Similar thoughts went through my mind 2 years ago and really made me feel bad for a while but I overcame it long time ago. I have never had the boddy of Peapoddy (big respect) but I'm in a good shape as I've always been and don't suffer from the lack of female attention. That's why I don't take propecia though I may give it a try in case minoxidil help me regrow my hair.

I'd like to ask if somebody dealt successfully with such side effects because I googled the problem and found plenty of people complaining from it. According to some of them, the hairs on the forehead will disappear in time but not until minoxidil use is over.

The low resolutions pictures below was taken with my mobile phone. The quiality isn't good but you can see my current situation. I am going to update the topic monthly or every two weeks. I will appreciate your comments, especially if you can give me some tips about the side effects.

 

[I love my hair :)]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

Mate, as you can see I'm not a native speaker and because of that I don't always express myself in the way I wish. What I want to say is YES, I seem to be a very good reponder BUT the side effects will force me stop the treatment because I can live without hair as many other men but I definitely can't live with hairy forehead. Unless I solve the problem with the side effects, I will discontinue the treatment.

 

[discursively]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

The situation with hair removal treatments is exactly the opposite of hair growth treatments: there are many highly effective hair removal treatments (some permanent, some temporary). Just search online for info. No reason at all to stop your treatment.

 

[Going2beBald?]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

Just do your eyebrows... I have had always thick eyebrows which does growth kind of wildly so I've been doing my eyebrows for last 5 years or so... it's not gay if you want to look good imo. At least girls haven't complained.

 

[I love my hair :)]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

It's been about two weeks since I last posted and it's time for a small update. I've some good and some bad news. The small hairs around temples which I mentioned in my previous posts increased their number and some of them are becoming longer and daker but not as fast as I expected. On the other hand the crown area is looking worse and what I said for the tiny hairs around the temples is in force for the hairs above my erybrows. My hair is entering a transitional phase between Norwood 2 and Norwood 3V

The first pic was taken today while the second 3 weeks ago. It's not easy to make any difference from here but when I zoomed both pics, I noticed the small hairs which I'm talking about.

Now you can see my crown area which looks as if I've been shot several times in the head. It would be good to mention that initially I was applying minoxidil only at the temples and at top of my scalp. That's why if I experience results at the crown they should come a bit later.

Last but not least, I experienced about a week of massive shedding approximately 15-20 days after I started the treatment. There were 20-30 hairs on the pillow each morning which has never happened before. I was probably loosing even more when taking a shower. Fortunately, this period is over and now I almost don't see hairs falling.

I'm encouraged about my hairline but the pictures of my crown area left my with mixed feelings. A new update of my progress will be posted in 2 or 3 weeks but feel free to express your opinions or ask questions.

 

[I love my hair :)]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

On 25.02 it was the first time I applied minoxidil, so it's two months now. I can't say that there is a dramatic improvement but hair is slightly better in comparison to the end of February. I used two cameras and the light is different but the angle is almost the same. It's a bit strange that the progress on both temples is not the same. As you can clearly see, I have regrown more hair on my left temple(your right). Two months ago my right temple was better whilst they look the same now.

Here is the picture:

Click on it to open in a new windows if your display is not big enough.

In my earlier posts I mentioned about the side effects I was getting. Fortunately, no more hairs are growing on my forehead. Actually, I start thinking that I had hair in these places several years ago. The bad thing is that my eyebrows and in particular the area around them is getting thicker. As I was advised by Going2beBald?, I did my eeyebrows(just very, very slightly and carefully) but the skin above the eyebrows is still inflamed and there are some small pimples(not sure if this is the exact word). I remember that the first time I waxed my chest happened the same thing, so I hope that this won't be permanent.

I intend to get prescribed Proscar. From what I read in the success stories, it is the only long term solution. minoxidil only makes new hair grow but doesn't stop the procedd of balding. It can just give me some time to find permanent solution as hair transplant for example.

edit:
The bald spots at the crown area seem to be result of some king of infection - opinion of a doctor. This or next week I will visit a dermatologist, so that this statement is confirmed or denied and I start a treament for it too.

 

[discursively]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

If those bumps you have above your eyebrows don't go down after a day or two, try to put some gentle BHA gel on (here's a good brand on sale: http://www.paulaschoice.com/product/one ... ng/on-sale)

This will also get rid of bumps after waxing.

Cheers

On 25.02 it was the first time I applied minoxidil, so it's two months now. I can't say that there is a dramatic improvement but hair is slightly better in comparison to the end of February. I used two cameras and the light is different but the angle is almost the same. It's a bit strange that the progress on both temples is not the same. As you can clearly see, I have regrown more hair on my left temple(your right). Two months ago my right temple was better whilst they look the same now.

Here is the picture:

Click on it to open in a new windows if your display is not big enough.

In my earlier posts I mentioned about the side effects I was getting. Fortunately, no more hairs are growing on my forehead. Actually, I start thinking that I had hair in these places several years ago. The bad thing is that my eyebrows and in particular the area around them is getting thicker. As I was advised by Going2beBald?, I did my eeyebrows(just very, very slightly and carefully) but the skin above the eyebrows is still inflamed and there are some small pimples(not sure if this is the exact word). I remember that the first time I waxed my chest happened the same thing, so I hope that this won't be permanent.

I intend to get prescribed Proscar. From what I read in the success stories, it is the only long term solution. minoxidil only makes new hair grow but doesn't stop the procedd of balding. It can just give me some time to find permanent solution as hair transplant for example.

edit:
The bald spots at the crown area seem to be result of some king of infection - opinion of a doctor. This or next week I will visit a dermatologist, so that this statement is confirmed or denied and I start a treament for it too.

 

[TheLastHairbender]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

edit:
The bald spots at the crown area seem to be result of some king of infection - opinion of a doctor. This or next week I will visit a dermatologist, so that this statement is confirmed or denied and I start a treament for it too.

This is what I'm thinking too. You might be diffuse thinning over your entire scalp, but those little isolated bald spots on the vertex suggest some other cause than male pattern baldness. Definitely something a dermatologist should take a look at, and I'd heed his or her advice from there; that type of alopecia is more rare on the hair loss forums, so much of the usual talk of anti-androgenic treatments may not be best suited to your particular needs. The possibly diffuse thinning all over the scalp is a different story, and may benefit from the standard male pattern baldness treatments (finasteride, minoxidil, etc), but I don't think it's been demonstrated that you are diffuse thinning yet, I'd like to see pictures from a while ago or over a period of time to tell if you are truly thinning all over.

Let us know precisely what the dermatologist tells you, I think many would benefit from having that information recorded here.

 

[I love my hair :)]

Re: 23 y.o. and getting results but side effects as well

edit:
The bald spots at the crown area seem to be result of some king of infection - opinion of a doctor. This or next week I will visit a dermatologist, so that this statement is confirmed or denied and I start a treament for it too.

This is what I'm thinking too. You might be diffuse thinning over your entire scalp, but those little isolated bald spots on the vertex suggest some other cause than male pattern baldness. Definitely something a dermatologist should take a look at, and I'd heed his or her advice from there; that type of alopecia is more rare on the hair loss forums, so much of the usual talk of anti-androgenic treatments may not be best suited to your particular needs. The possibly diffuse thinning all over the scalp is a different story, and may benefit from the standard male pattern baldness treatments (finasteride, minoxidil, etc), but I don't think it's been demonstrated that you are diffuse thinning yet, I'd like to see pictures from a while ago or over a period of time to tell if you are truly thinning all over.

Let us know precisely what the dermatologist tells you, I think many would benefit from having that information recorded here.

I haven't answered until now because I was waiting for the results from my tests and the opinion of a second dermatologist. It's important to say that these (relatively) small bald spots appeared on my mustache and beard as well. Both dermatologists agree that I have androgenic hairloss but the second one told me that I have alopecia areola(not sure about the English name) which is similar to alopecia areata but the bald spots are smaller and is (probably) easier to treat. I did a blood test and everything is fine with it but I've to visit two more doctors because the problem could be an autoimmune disease. This is going to take a week or two.

As for my androgenic alopecia which precedes the bald spots by several years, the dermatologists were a bit surprised when I told them that I am thinning all over my scalp because they haven't seen old pictures of my hair but both told me that diffuse thinning is not something unnatural. Some men have receding hairline and others lose hair all over the scalp. The former is more common but the latter happens as well. Also, I was told that it's possible the hairloss to accelerate which is most likely my case. However, both derms are unwilling to make conclusions until I have the results of all my tests and the opinions of all other doctos I have to see. I have spent a lot of money and I have to spend more but health should always be on first place.

And one more thing, I started Proscar at the beginning of the month and there are absolutely no sides but the unwanted facial hair(side from minoxidil) increases. What really made me ask myself a few questions was the statement of the second derm. She told me that all the men who she treated with proscar (she is not a big fan) had sides from it and it usually happened between the 3rd and 6th week.

This is the first time since I started my story when I can't say whether my hair is improving or not because the bald spots appeared at the front too and make my hairline look worse. They are smaller and not easy to be noticed on the pictures. What is certain is that I have currently two types of hairloss which are not related and just coincided in time. I will post a picure from today but the hair length and the angle are slightly different, so these pictures might be misleading for my progress. My general impression is that my temple slightly improved while the opposited thing happened to my temple.

 

[I love my hair :)]

The day after I wrote in my previous post that I have absolutely no sides from Proscar, the sides appeared. My semen is watery and I feel testicular pain. Also, my sex drive has been much lower in the last 10 days and I haven't had morning erections, though I am able to have erection. No more of this sh*t, enough is enough. I'm staying only on minoxidil and I may consider adding S5 but certainly I'm not gonna risk my health.