Big 3 Shedding. Would Like Some Opinions.

[Gary Oak]

Hey, first post here so I'll just get right into it.

I'm a 29 yr old male. I got a lot of brothers and about 60% of opted for full bald. My mom side of the family is from another country and I literally have zero pics of them so can't compare. Father doesn't have a full set of hair either, balding in the frontal area.

Two of my brothers are unaffected majorly by balding. Just a mature hairline, both much older than me.

So me... My hairline receded by age 18. I used to wear tight styles that probably damaged my sides permanently. It receded early but the rest of my hair has always been super thick and long and I looked mostly fine. I have thick but slightly soft curly hair, long enough to be put in ponytail.

Women always complimented my hair. Very unique texture and naturally very dark.

Anyways about 1.5 years ago I noticed thinning in the frontal part of my hair. A year later and I started seeing the scalp in the frontal area now. I never noticed it fast enough because of the texture of my hair. My hair is long / course enough to completely cover it though which is convenient.

I started taking 1mg of Finasteride daily about 8 months. I have not lost hair since I started taking it. I did lose hair after I added Nizoral. I used Nizoral every day for about 6 weeks which is completely overkill and I started shedding badly. I heard stories of overusage of Nizoral so I decided to take a break from it.

Now the point of this post really.

I started using Minoxidil 5% (Kirkland's) once a day at night, full cup.

In just 4 days, every single area the Minoxidil touched started shedding almost immediately. Even areas that were completely fine. I'm okay with the shedding but I'm concerned areas that were unaffected will become Minoxidil dependent. I also put just a small bit on my hairline and it has also started shedding too.

I'm actually laughing at how fast I started shedding. The general consensus is that shedding is good right?

I feel like Minoxidil is very harsh on my hair and dries it out. But once I wash my hair out and add some conditioner my hair becomes very very thick. I'm having issues managing the extra thickness (never need that).

I'm very optimistic because I have a VERY low tolerance to almost any drug thanks to me genetics. Almost all drugs work on me as intended with zero resistance from my body haha.

For example, I get super high off of Tylenol 3 alone. I don't smoke or drink because of the nature of my body.

Thoughts?

 

[Roberto_72]

Go on. After the shedding comes the growth.

 

[Gary Oak]

2 Month update up in this b**ch:

This maybe long but it's detailed because lack of photos! It also details exactly what I've been doing.

My 2 month supply of 5% Kirkland Minoxidil is almost done. I'm actually afraid it will run out before I receive my next batch. Sometime this week hopefully! Pray for Mojo.

Anyways! My progress... It's been great. I've been applying Minoxidil on my bald spot, areas around my bald spot. Lets rewind, I started August 18th. Prior to that I was already taking Finasteride since last January. I don't use much maybe 0.5mg. I'm weary of Nizoral because I loss my hair WHILE using it (over using tbh). So I only use it once a week if that.

Application of Minoxidil:
As far as applying Minoxidil. I have been applying Minoxidil once a day at night. I knew for a fact 2x a day wasn't feasible for me, too annoying. I have been applying it to areas following the pattern my siblings hairloss have. Most of my siblings have hairloss in the frontal area that slowly creep back to vertex (some are uneffected, others got the short end of the stick). I guess I'm lucky to at least see the hairloss patterns my family has.

I apply about 60-75% of the minoxidil on the frontal area bald spot and surrounding areas. Even unaffected areas, but I don't over do it in those areas. I apply the rest of the minoxidil on my hairline. Oh, also I have always been somewhat self conscious about my eyebrows. They have never been full and I think full eyebrows are super attractive. So, I have also been applying the residue Minoxidil I have on my eyebrows.

Oh I also wait maybe 2 minutes and apply 100% pure emu oil over all areas I applied Minoxidil (except eyebrows, sucks there).

I don't over do it just enough to feel some slip. I know it's absorbing well because I get a slight headache for a minute or too haha.

Nightly Shampooing:
I use Biotene H24 Shampoo nightly. Don't use the conditioner it's trash.

I can't recommend this shampoo enough. It makes your hair ridiculously thick, shiny, and amazing. Especially while you wait for regrowth. I stop using other shitty shampoos with 300 different sulfates. Personally, it's gentle enough to use daily. The bottle says that too but that's not why I use it daily . It actually feels fantastic and reduces appearance of my hairloss. I shampoo nightly to prevent Minoxidil build up and to remove hair product from my hair before Minoxidil application.

You do not need to apply much of this shampoo. Wet your hair, apply it to your scalp and surrounding hair around the top of your head. Rinse your hair under cool water for 2 minutes to ensure you wash it all off.

I wait about 1-2 hours before applying my nightly Minoxidil.

Morning routine:
My hair while using Minoxidil is nice but far too dry. I use Minoxidil at night. In the morning, I apply a self prepared concoction of emu / coconut oil / jojoba / argan oil (with a bit of silicone) to the ENDS OF MY HAIR. I then jump in the shower let water run through my hair (back facing shower head). I turn around and flip the back of my hair forward and let the remaining bits of the oil run through the front of my hair. I never apply the oil directly to my scalp (besides emu oil for absorption at night) because it's overbearing and the oils will get on my face. The residue of the oil is enough and works perfectly. Whole process takes literally 5-6 minutes. The oils make it so my hair dries faster some how.

I do not use any shampoo while showering anymore. I only shampoo at night as mentioned above.

Why do I use oil prior to showering? To combat hair dryness caused by Minoxidil. As you know the foam dries the sh*t of your hair. I have ethnic hair so it's worst for me. The small bit of silicone I add to my oils SEALS in moisture. It coats and protects my hair from everyday life and helps when I wear hats. So far this combination has been fantastic. Shampooing nightly and applying oil in the morning shower has been an excellent combination to both remove minoxidil and moisturize my hair.

Best of all... I have absolutely ZERO problems with itchiness, inflammation. It feels fantastic!

1 month in results:
What were you really expecting here haha?

2nd month results:
Areas started filling out. The scalped looked more filled if that make sense but honestly I was not really satisfied enough.

I ordered a 30ml bottle of Peppermint oil based off of the user's Stachu results. I've been adding a bit of peppermint oil to my shampoo before I shampoo at night for the last two weeks.

Holy sh*t the results have been a magnitude better. After just 2 weeks of using Peppermint oil (3-4 drops or so) daily... the hair around my balding area is 3x thicker. The bald scalp turned from scalp color to completely black like it's filling in. The results are amazing. I literally have to shift hair around to completely expose my bald spot. And even I do it looks filled in I can't explain it. Since I haven't been taking pictures to track my results, I can't 100% specifically see my scalp fill in but when I look at my bald spot now it looks way better. I'm not as self conscious

Regrowth is coming in. My bald spot is filling in. I can't specify clearly but I know for a fact that the surface area of the bald spot is smaller. I'm an idiot for not taking pics but it is!

Where I received a significant regrowth is my hairline. I have a better hairline now than my early 20s. Makes no sense haha. I have baby hairs the length of a few MM sprouting out across my entire hairline. My sides are significantly thicker and my hairline is inching closer to my face.

Oh and my eyebrows. Fellows, I got thick eyebrows now. My sisters been wondering what my secret is.

I have been very optimistic through this short journey. It's been less than 2 months so I'll give an update after my next two month supply of Minoxidil finishes.

I'm thinking of grabbing a can of Dermmatch and maybe some hair fibers because I'm gonna cut my hair soon. I just want to make sure the whole process of regrowing my hair is seamless.

Guys, add peppermint oil to your routine. This stuff is magical and I only wished I started with it.

 

[L.I.O.N]

4 months update?

 

[Gary Oak]

Hey L.I.ON

Unfortunately I found out I was taking a dud for Finasteride. A friend of mine was supplying me but apparently he told me it was legit trash (he bought them online). I lost more since I started Minoxidil than I gained. But I'm 100% positive Minoxidil was helping. It's just male pattern baldness was too strong. In my family, most of us go bald fast age 30+. I turn 30 next month.

As of December 18th I started 1mg Finasteride, prescribed my local doctor haha. Day 1 of Finasteride, scalp itch is 100% gone. I paid about $89 CAD for 2 months supply. After this runs out I'm going to Proscar and start splitting it in 5ths. I do not shampoo as often. I stop using shampoo mostly I don't need it and it's a pain applying Minoxidil while waiting for my hair to dry enough. I do a total hair wash twice a week. I only use Nizoral once a week, I might bump it up to twice a week but the Nizoral I use is 2% and I find it too strong.

Minoxidil effects has gone up at least 50% in the 5 days I used it while using Finasteride. My hair way WAY thicker. It finally looks like how it did before hair loss began. Only I lost a lot of hair in the front, I have to use other hair on my scalp to hide the pretty large bald / thin spot. There's hair across the whole bald spot but it's miniaturized. This is why I'm hopeful with the Big 3 can save it.

I hated my hair with Minoxidil foam. Dry, brittle, scalp itch, ugly, white residue. This was why I washed it so often. I would be able to just snap my hair off my hair by the ends. Lets just say I was shedding for most of the duration I was on foam. The shedding didn't bother me as much as the miniaturization.

The shedding slowed down 2 weeks ago. It 100% stopped when I got on proper Finasteride. It's insane how effective it is. If I was on Finasteride when I said I was 8 + 4 months ago... I wouldn't be on this forum. All of my hairloss coincided with Minoxidil usage. It was thinned a bit but my scalp was never exposed. It's insane how much hair I loss. But truth be told, I lost hair in areas I would have lost hair anyways in the future. The hairs that fell coincided with hair my family members lost first (frontal) due to DHT / Genetics.

So who knows, this could all be a good thing. Need to lose hair before it regrows stronger right .

I'm quite optimistic though. I noticed some regrowth for sure from Minoxidil alone despite male pattern baldness + Foam shed. There were hairs half the length of my normal hair (these must have grown in in the last few weeks) that were dark but kind of thin. They grew in the frontal area. Some of them are falling out again when I'm applying minoxidil. I inspected them, they look good dude, just a bit thin. If my whole frontal filled in these with these hair I wouldn't be mad at all. If they grow in even thicker that would be a dream.

Now that I'm on Finasteride legit, I'm hopeful I can fill out my scalp. I react really well to drugs in general as I mentioned.

Problem areas so far:

Frontal hairloss: Similar to female male pattern more than male pattern baldness... The third image but it doesn't go all the way to the back. It's mostly in the front....

https://mygermanshepherd.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/male-and-female-pattern-baldness.png

Sides Hairline Hairloss:

Left side looks good. Right side got WAY worse. There was hair there but all my baby hairs there shed. It's completely different than my left side.

Backside:

I never even knew I was balding here. I should have considering I was pulling hair out here for months. Yes pulling, could just be me tbh. It was also the most itchy here. All my hair tends to knot up in this area. I also did NOT apply minoxidil here. The back balding area isn't really that big, but it's by far the worse area. It's what happens when male pattern baldness is untreated. My frontal area is much larger hairloss but there's much more min hair there. Tbh Idc about the back that much. I have enough hair for coverage. I have been applying Minoxidil there for about a month now. Looks much better.

My hairloss is so weird. Despite all the areas I have hairloss. I have full coverage because of the length / thickness of my hair. So I can't complain. Some guys have no hair. Now that I'm on treatment. I have a much better chance of recovery. It's just hilarious how taking finasteride months sooner would have prevent almost all of this hairloss LOL.

Oh about Finasteride sides. It was god awful day one. But I have strong mental fortitude. I just ignored it for now. Day one watery semen, it was kind of hilarious of the overnight change in ejaculation consistency. Went from huge load to meh, watery sh*t. It got better in a few days. I'm assuming it would get better over course of weeks / months. If not who cares, I want my hair back.

If Finasteride sides get worse, I'll have to get off it though. At the moment I feel better actually on it. I'm usually horny as sh*t most days. I'm benefiting from not wanting to f*** all the time. Been working out because I heard Finasteride shoots up tests up to 20%. Going to use that for gains on my muscles.

Peace

 

[Gary Oak]

Btw I'll eventually post pics of my start (now) and will give an update eventually.

 

[Gary Oak]

So it's getting closed to a year now. I'd thought I would make an update. I don't think you need to read that wall of text in the other posts.

here's a TLDR: I got minoxidil foam August 18th 2016. Applied it once a day (frontal, vertex, hairline for 2 months, so about until October 18th. Applied it twice to Decemeber 18th. Between October I lost more hair on my front and vertex that has not grown back. I lost my hair so fast it was really funny.

December 18th I got 65 tablets of 1mg finasteride. I used it religiously, daily since. My hair still didn't grow back. The only thing I noticed with foam minoxidl the hair I did have was a bit thicker. But only times? 2-3 weeks good, 2 weeks bad. On and off.

April's 2017 Update:

Just to preface, I have never stop taking finasteride since December 18th.

Okay, so, I had enough and near the end of March (March 28th) I received like 60 tablets of 100mg Spironolactone. For 5 days I took one tablet (100mg) daily. I upped the dosage to 200mg daily on the 6th day. Around the same time I switched to liquid minoxidil. I used foam in the morning, minoxidil at night. Some days I use liquid twice a day instead of foam / liquid combo. Same areas, hairline, frontal (worst part imo), and vertex. There's a minimum purchase requirement from the place I purchased the Spironolactone so I got 2mg of estradiol as well. I barely use that, once every 2-3 days.

In approx 13 days, my entire scalp feels 10x different. Keep in mind I'm not actively paying attention to it. I bought a limited supply of spironolactone so I'd have to think if I wanted to purchase more (shipping time, it's not instant). What did I notice? Hairline way thicker. I see black sprouts all over areas I had no hair. They are thick, they aren't weak valus hair. This is literally the only time I have been truly convinced my hair is growing back in. In the past, minoxidil foam felt cosmetic. Like the foam only kept my hair looking thick if it was in my hair. Now when I wash my hair out it's the same state as when it's thicken from minoxidil.

My sides on my hairline look much more filled. I never had good hairline in years. It's has been weak for like 8 years. It's much thicker now so it's defining my face features better. Overall, my face looks clearer? I broke out original after the first week but now my face is clearer than even before I started using spironolactone.

I'll keep you updated. I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Side effects: I don't notice anything from spironolactone. I guess a sense of calm? I used to suffer from anxiety. I don't feel any of that anymore. I do admit I'm a lot more hungrier nowadays. As for libido, the million dollar question, it's basically the same. I'm at times really horny. Finasteride changed my libido more than spironolactone imo. Like, I still have weaker ejaculation and I'm not as horny as in the past. As for firmness of my guy? It's probably the same. It takes slightly longer to get fully erected. Any thought of sex / visual stimuli will get me hard still. I don't really suffer from ED. It's just that my orgasms aren't as satisfying. Not as consistently like before finasteride.

Long term plan:

Good or bad, spironolactone at 200mg daily is not a long term plan. 30-45 days is the maximum amount of time I'll use it at that dosage. Any negative symptoms I notice will make me discontinue it's usage. If I reach the full 30-45 days with no symptoms, breast growth, or libido change... I'll consider dropping the dosage to 100ish if I'm see hair results.

I drink 3-5 liters of water a day. I work out daily. I'll continue to do this as well, more so than ever.

 

[stachu]

I would never ever touch oral spironolactone. spironolactone is tottaly reversing male functions and besides regrowing hair you actually growing your boobs.


btw, i am on finasteride also. And my semen is not super watery as some people claim, but i have a lot of load on finasteride and my gf enjoy it. And yeah, the one thing... My penis is less sensitive which i found great since i couldnt hold c*m longer than 10-15 mins now can easly hold long as i want. I dont know if its related to finasteride or that i am gaining experience but still my erections are hard, and they are long, also i can reload after 5 mins like i always could so.

You should look up on derma roller

BTW2. Where did i used pepermint oil ? Anyway thanks for highlight.

I was 5 months off from regimen, and i let myself recede from NW1.5 to NW2.5(baseline)