Considering Throwing in the Kitchen Sink

[Man in Space]

I am a 28 year old NW2 who until a week or so was planning on getting a hair transplant this summer to reverse some neglible but definate hair loss in my hairline/temples. I am receding, but it is noticable mainly only to me, my hairdresser and keen Norwood observers. Last year I began on the big 3, I have taken these religiously for 9 months and they have had good effect, I have regrown and thickened up my hair all over. However hair greed is now kicking in.

2 highly reputable drs quoted me in the region of 1000-1800 grafts to restore my natural hairline so as you can see i have discernable but not massively advanced loss. However, When it came to booking it a calm came over me, I suddenly realised I can go that route anytime, but im already having some success in the front with the big 3. I should at least give them another year or so for the results to mature out. Then something dangerous happend, I started to thinking!

Is there anything I can do to max out my gains? Maybe a stronger minoxidil (currently using 5%), what about topical spironolactone? If Im pill popping anyway then why not switch to dutasteride instead of finasteride? Revivogen? Copper peptides? (not into RU etc, im lazy and instinctively dont trust things without brand names due to idiocy) Aside from a daily multi-vitamin i have taken throughout life i dont take supplements, I understand it doesnt regrow anything but what about some Biotin for healthier hair?

Or.......

Are all these things a complete waste of time and stick with the 3 meds that work for you?

There is a temptation to switch to a stronger regimen but also im a big believer in the if aint broke dont break it mentality.

Any advice, experience with these meds or a stronger regimen welcome or anything you have used to suppliment the big 3 which has helped or not?

 

[Kristen92]

Hey ... Wat about your diet! arent you working with that as well. For regrowing its important to strengthen hair follies more then anything else and a extra protein diet has proved out to be good for me. Its good that you are taking supplements but I think you should even try some natural sources as well.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Man in Space, from my experience nothing has helped my restore my hairline. I have tried everything except RU and dutasteride and nothing helped. I need about the same amount of grafts as you do to restore my hairline back to where I would like it. I was going to have a hair transplant about 4 years ago but so far I have learned to live with my current situation as no one notices anything wrong.
Honestly, I think the hair transplant is really only going to be the most effective at giving the results you want.

I know eventually I am going to have to give in if I continue to lose at the hairline. My choice is without a doubt Rahal. I really don't want to have to shave my head for an FUE but I will do it just knowing I will have something better in the future. I don't want a strip scar to worry about for the rest of my life. In my area, most people wear a buzz cut so I would fit in just fine for that one time I would have to do it. Who knows maybe I might like sporting a buzz cut.

 

[Man in Space]

Thanks for the responses so far

Exodus Im 28 approaching my 30's and i must admit as someone who started receding at 16 i would have been delighted if id known i was going to have almost all my hair left by this age. Im pretty fortunate in that respect. However, I am greedy, its important to recognise this! I can either go through some cognitive behavioural therapy for the rest of my life or wap some new hair on! Life is too short, always go for the easy option!!

Kristen, i have no idea what your talking about...! Me suspects malfunctioning spambot! For the record though i have a iet very high naturally in protein, low in fat an carbs, no sugary or fatty processed foods...i could of course do better though but i dont think it is effecting me.

Dr House, thanks for relating. Im obviously not expecting to regrow the same amount as if i had a hair transplant, I know that wont happen, Im just thinking that as I am experiencing regrowth in the hairline, and in the bald areas below and to the sides of it, whether or not i would benefit from ratcheting it up a little. Im pretty certain that at some stage I will end up having a hair transplant but for me, the longer you can go without the better. I appreciate your admiration of Rahal, his results are very eye catching but i personally would probably go a little more conservative, I like Feriduni, ******** or Shapiro but each to there own hey?! Im not looking forward to the shaving either, I did it once before and it does not suit!

 

[Primo]

I don't know how long ago you were a NW1 man, but if it was more than 3 years ago , then I would have thought it'd be impossible to restore your original hairline at 28, even with a kitchen sink regimen.

The area that you're looking to gain back, NW1-2, is the area that every man loses eventually in life, even longterm finasteride users who were 20yo NW1 to begin with.

male pattern baldness is just so aggressive in that juvenile temple region, that I think only a hair transplant could bring it back for you, but then you gotta ask yourself... do you really want juvenile looking temples in your mid 30s when a lot of your friends will heading into NW2/3 territory??

 

[Man in Space]

Thanks for that Primo, I was actually a NW1 last when I was about 14, by 16 i was an NW2 and still am, its thinner now.

To be clear I have no intention of trying to restore an NW1, it wouldnt be possible without a hair transplant and I wouldnt want to anyway, hence me not being particularly enamoured with the likes of Dr Rahal and favouring the natural looks of surgeons such as Shapiro, it is extremely important to me that a hair transplant look natural and age well, plus i dont mind temples receding over time, this is life, i just want my hairline to be a little more solid. I understand why people like Rahal so its no slight on Dr House, Rahal is a top quality Dr, its just his aesthetics are not for me.

My loss in my temples doesnt bother me, its the tip of my hairline, its a density issue, i have restored hair in that region I have gone from a U back into a V, but i want to thicken it up in the areas i have restored as a lot of the regrowth remains thin. Id also like to get a few more hairs poking there head out if i could. Like I say, the big 3 is working its magic, but id like a little more, which is why im thinking of chucking in some extras and just wonder if anyone else has any recommendations. Or whether or not the best addition to my regimen is a little more patience, i understand results on meds can peak at 2 years, if I kept going how i have in the last nine months up to month 24 then I would be ecstatic with that.

Perhaps my original message came off as a bit too hair greedy. Im not trying to get a juvenile hairline at all.

 

[shivers20]

Don't do it man! I remember when I was in my mid 20's and freaking out about my hairloss, I was on propecia at the time and it maintained most of my hair. I also thought about getting a hair transplant to fill in my temples but I decided not to go through with it in the end. Ten years later and I am so glad I didn't get the transplant done. I personally would never get a transplant done if I only had receding temples (Norwood 2-3 or less) but thats just me.

 

[Nene]

I'm in a similar situation. I started receding at about 16 and now at 27 I'm advanced Norwood 2 pushing 3. I seem to have stabilized at this point in the past few years, so I got frustrated and recently tried to beef up my regimen to gain back a thick Norwood 2 or some semblance of Norwood 1. I used folligen, took biotin and miconizole but they all just made my regiment way too complicated and expensive and didn't seem to help. I even was on dutasteride for a few weeks but nothing seemed to help although admittedly I took it for a very brief time.

I think that guys like us should just be happy with our norwood 2s for now. As others have pointed out, the Norwood 1 is almost impossible to get back unless you lost it recently. I was able to get my Norwood 1 back in my early 20s with rogaine because I had only just lost it. But at this point I know it isn't coming back. My advice is keep using the big 3, I think most other treatments including folligen, miconizole, topical spironolactone or high % minoxidils are a waste of money for the most part. dutasteride isn't a waste of money but I think the potential side effects of dutasteride offset the modest increase in efficacy it has over finasteride. Based on anecdotal evidence from this site I would also say that RU is potentially helpful but I question the safety and legitimacy of some chemicals from some lab in China. So ultimately unless you wanna roll the dice with dutasteride or RU, I'd say just stick with the big 3 and maybe if your it into your mid 30s with minimal increase in hairloss look into a transplant if you still care.

 

[Man in Space]

Shivers thanks for chipping in, there is a lot of sense in what you say, hair loss is so unpredictable and so it is inadvisable to go down a hair transplant route if you dont know what the future brings. They may look good now but who knows what the future would bring, plus i would have to commit to them, for life along with meds and thats a big deal financially. This is one of many reasons i postponed.

Nene thanks also for helping out, its interesting to hear your story. I agree we should be happy, and part of me not going for a hair transplant is me trying to live in a less perfectionist mindset, something that has been very counterproductive for me my whole life. Still its difficult to change a mindset overnight though i am trying. I think you offer good advice in cautioning against a hair transplant for a few years, I have got that voice in my head fighting with an impatient and vain one and i do try to listen to the voice that preaches caution.

Back to altering my regimen, I think the higher percentage minoxidil's and dutasteride, along with spironolactone were my main points of interest. I wear my hair medium length and thus i am able to tell a huge discprency in the hairline where i have lots of new grown vellus hairs in the last few months and my desire is to try and make them go terminal. I think considering that an oral DHT inhibitor is essential long term then finasteride is the safer option so will probably stick with that over dutasteride, however a little topical spironolactone or stronger minoxidil is something that still interests me. I have seen so very few results with spironolactone an stronger minoxs though...

Decisions decisions

 

[Man in Space]

Hey finasteride, im interested to know what you had in mind, at this stage im all ears.

 

[Kirby]

Hey finasteride, im interested to know what you had in mind, at this stage im all ears.

^ Me too, the more treatments in our personal armouries, the better.

 

[Man in Space]

Definately Kirby! When applying minoxidil this morning I was looking in the mirror and i could see tens of tiny little new hairs poking out that i hadnts seen before, in between my minoxidil hairs that have been growing from 6 months. Theres obviously some action to be had there. However about half of those hairs arent coming through terminal yet and I was just thinking if i could ensure that they all went terminal i would have better hair than when i was 20...

I can but dream, I wonder if when they all cycle out they will cycle back in stronger using the big 3 or if they are just ghost of hairs past haunting my hairline. Anything I can do to bring them back to full life and avoid having to ship in hairs from the back of my head would be ideal

 

[WillNotLetItHappen]

My friend I strongly suggest you to wait out the full effect finasteride+minoxidil will have for you.

hair transplant is always an option and you're only 28. You will want to look good into your 30s, trust me

I myself am on my 9th month on finasteride+minoxidil and I'm getting back parts of my hairline that I've lost a long time ago (I'm close to 35). There was no hair there for years. It is still early in the game but I KNOW that things will become better. Lots of small black hairs on my temples.


Check out this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y2KkO9ILOw

Propecia does not stop working at 1yr, you may not even have seen its full effect most likely. I strongly advise you to be patient and happy with what you got. I added a Dermaroller and Emu oil and some things here and there but I'm not sure they're helping all that much. But finasteride+minoxidil is, that's for sure. And it is a damn slow process. I would wait two years at least. And it is really cool, you're not losing ground!

Good luck!

 

[Man in Space]

Thanks finasteride I wil be sure to read through that

Wil not let it happen, thanks for your input, I certainly understand what you are saying! I saw your thread and am pleased that you are also experiencing a good response with finasteride and minoxidil. It certainly is a buzz filling in the hairline, each month its getting better and better but it is undeniably slow, im not one of those people experiencing explosive regrowth. I think on reflection i will certainly be staying on finasteride, still tempted to use a stronger percentage minoxidil and then maybe another topical of some sort. I ruled out experimenting with things like RU and CB in my first post but that was a bit ignorant, so i will research those now before deciding.

Anyway, best of luck to you as well dude, it is good to be going in the right direction

 

[gh05]

maninspace do you have pics?

 

[Man in Space]

Hi Gh05, i have been maintaining pictures from 6 months which show definate improvement. I stupidly didnt take baseline pictures. I have been contemplating putting them up but I wont deny to you, its a privacy issue, at this stage Im simply not comfortable with the possibility of revealing my indentity. I am aware it would be much better for people who use the forum for research to be able to see my progress, so im still wrestling with that voice.