- Reaction score
- 10
diffuse thinner here. I was able to regrow my hair back pretty decently with a once-per-day topical solution of minoxidil/finasteride/retinoic acid, which lasted about 2 years. during these years i would go through and use the dermapen about once every month or two, not really sure how effective it was in the long-run but it started out working real good, so i continued. however, fast-forward to 5 months ago and i think i might've f***'d up my scalp. i think i might've used the dermapen too abrasively, used too long a needle length, or applied the topical treatment too soon after, but my scalp hasn't been the same since. idk if it got an infection or what, but the last 5 months have been hell. constant shedding, scabs, pimples, redness, itching, flakey dandruff... for 5 months straight. i stopped dermapen completely but continued using the topical solution as it hasn't ever been a problem for me before, but this scalp problem just kept persisting. i used ketoconazole 1% shampoo and everything, deep clean scrub every day, nothing changed... eventually i switched to regular generic brand minoxidil + oral finasteride, and although the scabs and pimples went away, i haven't stopped shedding. in fact i'm shedding more now, and the flakes/drandruff seems to have gotten worse.. i upgraded to a 2% ketoconazole shampoo and that seems to be helping a bit. now that my scalp has been healed up for a couple weeks, i decided to try the dermapen again just to see what would happen, but using half my usual needle length this time, so just enough to cause redness but not draw any blood. and it was actually such a relief, it got rid of the itchiness completely, albiet temporarily. the shedding/dandruff continues to persist. tonight i just said f it and shaved all my hair off. the majority of my head feels smooth and normal skin texture but the top scalp area has the texture of dry leather, and flakes galore. i'm going to continue generic treatment of regular minoxidil + oral finasteride and see if i can track any actual growth from a new baseline. i'm growing new random hairs below my hairline now but the top keeps shedding, which is really freaking weird. anyway, does anyone here know what's going on? i've never had a problem with dandruff before this incident.
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