Considering minoxidil - yes or no?

[Draco88]

So i'm into my 3rd month of propecia (1mg every day so far, recently reduced to 0.5mg, plus nizoral every third day), and while i don't see any difference to my hair (and don't expect to until the end of the year, going by others' experience) my somewhat deeply receded temples are starting to really bug me. Before i could easily cover them, even when i'd have a short hair cut, they weren't as obvious, but these past few months, it's been rather difficult to hide them (mainly the right side it's the worst) and i hate having to apply hair spray to make it all stay in place (since my hair also becomes a bit curly).

So i've been thinking a lot about starting minoxidil, however i'm unsure if i should since many guys go through sheds, plus others seem to get wrinkles/bloated faces/eye bags/etc, and since i've already begun a regimen of my own, and am my 3rd month into, i'm not so sure if starting a new product would be a good idea since if propecia alone does the job down the track (along with nizoral) i won't need minoxidil. However, i still have a lot of tiny hairs along the region where i'm receding, and i'm confident these will grow back out with minoxidil, and thus get some nice coverage in my already deeply receded temples. Is it true that once they become vellus hairs, then they can't grow back? Since i also have a lot of those in the same area.

Anyhow here are the obligatory photo's. What do you guys think? Should i ride it out with propecia and nizoral for 9 more months (and hence risk more temple hair loss?) or try out minoxidil in a month or so? (btw if i do get onto minoxidil, i only plan on applying it at night before bed)

Here you can tell how my crown is starting to thin, although it's been like this for a year i'd say
[attachment=6:3cizve3g]1.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

Right temple (worst hit)
[attachment=5:3cizve3g]2.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

Again
[attachment=4:3cizve3g]3.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

Left side (not so bad)
[attachment=3:3cizve3g]4.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

Again (sorry about the quality, best i could do)
[attachment=2:3cizve3g]5.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

Better photo of my right temple (you can make out the smaller hairs)
[attachment=1:3cizve3g]IMG_3081.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

Left temple again
[attachment=0:3cizve3g]1.jpg[/attachment:3cizve3g]

And finally, you can see that the front part is receding/thinning too, the middle part. I can cover it for now, but if i leave it untreated, it would look awful in the future.

 

[Mr. P]

Here's my take: it really depends on whether you're satisfied with your current hair. By that, I mean I think it's smart to assume that finasteride is going to halt/slow down your hair loss, but not necessarily regrow much. If you're looking to regrow, it would seem minoxidil is necessary.

I joined the forum back in January. Until then, I had never considered a need for minoxidil. After lurking and seeing some of the success stories and reading up on the facts, I realized it was probably going to be necessary to try minoxidil.

Like you, the sides and need to keep using it forever put me off at first. But like finasteride, I think it's too easy to focus on the possible downsides of minoxidil use. I don't doubt some people get sides, but the fear of sides is likely overblown.

In retrospect, I knew pretty early after joining HairLossTalk.com that I was going to need minoxidil if I was going to get to a stage of satisfaction with my hair. But I kept putting it off. I finally bought some Kirkland minoxidil earlier this month and have been using it for the last two weeks.

So far, I haven't noticed any sides. I think drinking lots of water and getting quality sleep are going to prevent/remedy the face bloating and dark circles. I can't speak to the medication's effectiveness yet obviously, but I haven't found two-a-day applications of the liquid to be nearly the burden I thought it would be.

 

[Draco88]

^^Thanks for your input. As it stands, i'm not satisfied with the state/condition my hair is in. I guess i should be 'grateful' for what i have, but it's becoming harder to hide my temples. If i could get my hair to the way it was in 2008 (back then i'd say i was a NW1.5) then i'd be more than happy since back then i didn't have to focus as much on styling my hair. As you said, many success stories involve minoxidil, and i would really like to get some regrowth

 

[joshua88]

I'd buzz it off to # 1 or 0, continuously for about 3 or 4 months, and apply minoxidil to the front and midscalp area.

 

[grove12345]

ya get rogaine. Maybe the foam.

Your hair looks thick and strong, i think you might be a good responder to rogaine actually. You just seem like you have that hair.