Advice for newbie please !......

[magic_orange]

Hello everybody....

Quick overview : 34 years old, English man. Been receding at the temples and thinning at the front for a good few years. There's no loss on the crown whatsover - thick hair there, thankfully. Pay good money to have it styled in such a way my hair kind of lifts off my head, and keep the sides kept longer. Looks good and am pretty much free (for the moment) of comments regarding hair-loss. Infact, people don't seem to realise I'm losing it at all......

Oh, but I am and I notice. Must be somewhere between Norwood 1/2 at the temples. It p*sses me right off. Not at all fond of the shaved head idea because I genuinely believe it won't sit well with my baby face.

Basically, in a nutshell I don't have a lot of money to commit to a regimen, so I'm looking for advice re: my best starting point. I could live with the amount I've lost now - but don't want to lose any more, and ideally I'd like to see some regrowth, particularly (and rather obviously) at the temples.

Just on another issue - from what I read Minoxidil is a right bugger to apply. Normal hair procedure for me is as follows :-

1) Every two days, wash hair using popular cheap thickening shampoo for men (L'Oreal Elvive For Men - does work). Use hair dryer to dry it.

2) Apply styling products.

So, another question is : how can I continue with a 'style' if Minoxidil is really such a pain to use ? Anyone had similar problems !?!?

One more question : I didn't notice I was losing hair. I've always checked for clumps in the shower, but have never noticed losing excess hair. Is this normal !?

Much thanks in anticipation.....

 

[Kramer3]

Magic_Orange:

It sounds like your one of the fortunate few that receeds very slowly beginning at an older age. If i were to guess I would have to say it will probably be many years before you lose all your hair and your hairline could hault at a Norwood 2 and just remain for many years. Most people with more aggressive regression notice extreme amounts of hair loss. I personally notice tons with myself.

Since you sound like you want to prevent further regression immediately I would suggest that you give propecia a try. Statistically it's the most effective and for someone with a mild case such as yourself, it should do the trick.

I percieve minoxdil as a little more of a volatile product that can elicit incredible results or none at all. With your schedule it could become a real pain in the *** for you. If your taking minoxdil its almost a neccessity to wash your hair daily or your going to itch like you have never before.

In conclusion if i were you i'd give propecia a try and see how that works. To save money get proscar and split it into fifths. Its the same thing and it'll make it much affordable.

 

[magic_orange]

Cheers Kramer......i may well just do that. Isn't cutting proscar into 5 pieces one hell of a tricky op though ? I know what you mean about those who recede a bit and then never seem to decline any further. It seems remarkably common infact. I would put myself in the same boat if it weren't for visible thinning on the frontal patch. I'll take thickening that up and keeping the rest......

I noticed on another post someone suggested he'd never seen someone who had worse hairloss than their father. Well, allow me to introduce myself....

My Dad has a full head of hair - no obvious sign of recession or thinning and barely any grey - and he's 53 ! I'm not paranoid - it's clear for all to see : a definite and pronounced u-shaped hairline on my head !

 

[artvandaley]

I'm thinkin about getting that Loreal Elvive shampoo for men, it seems like people here are giving it alot of good feedback.

Do you shampoo with it everyday like a normal shampoo? Does it make your hair thicker after the first use, and does it keep your hair thicker until the next time you shampoo? And how much does a bottle cost?

 

[The Gardener]

Cheers magic orange, how do you do.

You have the same thinning pattern I did, exactly... but I'm quite a bit further along the way than you are.

I think your first step is to pick up some Nizoral shampoo, and use it every 2-3 days. Cycle it in with the other shampoos you use. Nizoral has a slight anti-male pattern baldness effect and helps create a scalp climate optimal for growing thicker hairs.

If you do decide to try a medical option, Finasteride would be a good choice from a lifestyle perspective. The down side of finasteride is that it can be expensive unless you find a good generic.

Another option would be to use minoxidil, but use it only once per day. Even though the minoxidil documentation instructs you to use it twice per day, the 2x/day application is really to stimulate the regrowth. Using it once per day has been anecdotally documented by many to be a good 'maintenance' regime, and minoxidil is cheap.

Anyways, I would definitely start with the Nizoral.

 

[jblig]

Artvandelay, Yes Loreal Vive is an excellent thickening shampoo, I have been using it for a couple of weeks, I suggest using the 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner. It cost under 4 dollars, its pretty cheap. Yes you can use it everyday, it is a gentle shampoo. But also you want to be sure to continually rotate between shampoos, as one's hair can become resiliant to the benefits of one shampoo after a while. I rotate, nizoral, loreal vive and infusium and once in a blue moon head and shoulders. best of luck bro

 

[NilesTilden]

Here's another vote for minoxidil once per day. I never saw any benefit up front from 3+ years on propecia alone. Actually my front got alot worse during this period.

After 2 months on minoxidil, I could tell it was working in front, esp. on the temples. Been on it one year now and it's given me far superior results than finasteride.

Of course, everyone's experience with these treatments is different, but minoxidil is the simplest first step for someone new to hair treatments (IMO).

I do use minoxidil twice per day, but I've heard of guys not just getting maintenance, but some regrowth from using once per day. I've even heard using twice per day isn't a whole lot better than once in terms of results.

Generic minoxidil is cheap, there's a seller on ebay who ships it worldwide for around $35 for 4 month supply incl. ship. You won't be screwing with your hormones, and it's just a short commitment before you know if it works. 6 months or so, with finasteride they say to wait a year or more to assess it's effectiveness.

I'd say give the minoxidil a shot for 6 months, if not satisfied try propecia. Putting on minoxidil once a day before bed shouldn't be too much trouble. Nizoral every 3-4 days couldn't hurt either.

 

[artvandaley]

Thanks for the response Jblig.

Will it make your hair thicker after using it the first time, or do you have to use it for a little while before noticing the benefits?
And how long will it keep your hair thicker for, until the next time you wash your hair?

 

[magic_orange]

art.....

it thickens up your hair straight away - of course, it's a concoction of all sorts of strange sounding stuff & obviously has nil effect on arresting hairloss, but it does a good job of thickening up what you've got - and it's very very cheap (£1.60 in the UK)

well, so far I'm definitely going for the Nizoral every 3 days & am tempted by the minoxidil - is it okay to slap on another shampoo after i wash it out !?

by the way, does anyone know if there's any link at all between forms of arthitis and hairloss ? i've something called ankylosing spondylitis, which - apart from being an absolute b**ch - is grouped in with the rheumatoid arthitis 'family'