First Post. Trying Natural Ingredients After First hair transplant

[Mat1123]

Hi guys. I am now 30 years old and had my first hair transplant in April 2017 with Dr Harris Haseeb in Nottingham. He implanted 1400 grafts to the front of my hairline with the FUE method and has done a good job.
Stupidly I ignored Mr. Harris’ advice until June 2019 and I didn’t take any medication to stop further hair loss other than regaine 5% foam morning and night, as I just thought i would have another transplant. (I realise now this was a silly mistake)
Hair further back towards the middle of my head is now starting to fall out and thin.

I wanted to tell you all what I am taking and see if you have any advice or information we could all share each other and try fight baldness!
I tried 1mg finasteride for 2/3 months from June 2019 but found it was affecting my libido and I am also thinking about trying for a baby at the end of 2020 and i have read finasteride wouldn’t be good option when trying to conceive therefore I have steered away from it.
So since about October 2019 I have currently been taking:
1. Biotin from Holland and Barrett 1000ug per tab x 2 tablets a day
2. Saw palmetto from Biovea 160mg per tab (85-95% fatty acids and sterols) x2 tablets a day
3. Stinging nettle root by Swanson 500mg per tab x 1 tablet a day
4. Pumpkin seed oil with zinc by Holland and Barrett 1000mg pumpkin seed and 15mg zinc x 1 tablet a day
5. Pygeum by biovea 100mg per tab x1 tablet a day
6. Ecklonia cava extract by Swanson 53mg per tab x 2 tablets a day.
I take the tablets individually throughout the day but follow the same routine for when I actually take them.
Since June 2019 I have also used nizoral shampoo every other day.

Would taking finasteride every other day be a good idea?
Are all these natural remedies a waste of time? I did do as much research as possible to try get a good feel for what I need in my system.
I also drink nettle tea 2/3 times a day.

Sorry for the long winded message but any help or advice I’m an open book guys, cheers!
I will upload some pictures of my hair transplant tomorrow they are on my old phone.

 

[thickhaironhead]

Have read about both stinging nettle and pygeum some time ago. Seems like they are a pretty good combo when used together.
They are the equivalent in the hair regimen to they saying both having the cookie and eating it. They are good for the hair AND the libido wich is pretty unusual.

 

[Derelict]

ditch the natural dht blockers, just a waste of your money, try finasteride for a year, if you are not maintaing jump on dutasteride, give that a year, if you are not getting regrowth then hop on minoxidil. Of course you should look at having kids out of the way first.

 

[Mat1123]

ditch the natural dht blockers, just a waste of your money, try finasteride for a year, if you are not maintaing jump on dutasteride, give that a year, if you are not getting regrowth then hop on minoxidil. Of course you should look at having kids out of the way first.

Hi mate, I tried finasteride but was sure it was affecting my libido. But that could just have been inside my head. I was hoping to try a few more natural products and see what happened but I know that is a risk.
Might go down the PRP route and see what that does ....

 

[Mat1123]

Have read about both stinging nettle and pygeum some time ago. Seems like they are a pretty good combo when used together.
They are the equivalent in the hair regimen to they saying both having the cookie and eating it. They are good for the hair AND the libido wich is pretty unusual.

Hi mate, where did you read this? I’m determined to try keep off finasteride but might have to get back on it soon if I don’t see results by March / April next yearz. Thinking about trying PRP treatment but I need to research it more first

 

[Derelict]

Hi mate, I tried finasteride but was sure it was affecting my libido. But that could just have been inside my head. I was hoping to try a few more natural products and see what happened but I know that is a risk.
Might go down the PRP route and see what that does ....

Yeah sorry i missed that part of your post, if you were getting unbearable sides from finasteride then you could try RU or CB instead for maintenance just now.

 

[Mat1123]

Yeah sorry i missed that part of your post, if you were getting unbearable sides from finasteride then you could try RU or CB instead for maintenance just now.

Sorry to sound a blag but what is RU and CB?
Thanks

 

[Ikarus]

I used to take a particular HSN vitamin, but it was difficult to keep up with the monthly costs, especially since it's shipped from the US. It did include some of the ingredients you are mentioning (e.g. saw palmetto, biotin). It didn't do much, besides help my hair grow faster and make my skin produce slightly less acne. If you are trying for a baby, don't bother with finasteride until your significant other is further into her pregnancy (although, I'm not sure with how finasteride effects sperm production).

 

[thickhaironhead]

Hi mate, where did you read this? I’m determined to try keep off finasteride but might have to get back on it soon if I don’t see results by March / April next yearz. Thinking about trying PRP treatment but I need to research it more first

"Pygeum is more effective than nettle. Nettle and pygeum combined are more effective than pygeum alone.
Other studies seem to confirm these effects: when pygeum was studied in relation to nettle root extracts, researchers found that they significantly blocked the action of 5 alpha reductase and aromatase, which caused a decrease in DHT. When nettle root and pygeum effects were compared against each other, pygeum extract was the one showing higher efficacy even in low doses, but the best results were seen when they were used together. (Ghorbanibirgani et al., 2013; Hartman et al., 1996)"

"
Pygeum compared to Finasteride, saw palmetto and Tamosuosin
Pygeum: 43.3% improvement. Finasteride: 57% improvement. Saw palmetto: 42.7% improvement.

In another study (Hutchinson et al., 2007), 2559 patients suffering from BPH and following a various set of treatments were compared with patients that were simply supervised without following any treatment. The treatments followed by the first group included: finasteride, saw palmetto, tamosulosin, and pygeum. After a year, there was a significant improvement registered for the group that received treatment when compared to the untreated group but the results varied according to the type of treatment received. Those who were taking a treatment involving pygeum had 43.3% improvement, comparable to the results for finasteride (57% improvement). Also, the patients that were receiving pygeum africanum had a slightly better improvement rate when compared to those who were treated with saw palmetto (42.7 %)."
https://www.nicehair.org/pygeum-hair-loss-better-saw-palmetto/

 

[Mat1123]

"Pygeum is more effective than nettle. Nettle and pygeum combined are more effective than pygeum alone.
Other studies seem to confirm these effects: when pygeum was studied in relation to nettle root extracts, researchers found that they significantly blocked the action of 5 alpha reductase and aromatase, which caused a decrease in DHT. When nettle root and pygeum effects were compared against each other, pygeum extract was the one showing higher efficacy even in low doses, but the best results were seen when they were used together. (Ghorbanibirgani et al., 2013; Hartman et al., 1996)"

"
Pygeum compared to Finasteride, saw palmetto and Tamosuosin
Pygeum: 43.3% improvement. Finasteride: 57% improvement. Saw palmetto: 42.7% improvement.

In another study (Hutchinson et al., 2007), 2559 patients suffering from BPH and following a various set of treatments were compared with patients that were simply supervised without following any treatment. The treatments followed by the first group included: finasteride, saw palmetto, tamosulosin, and pygeum. After a year, there was a significant improvement registered for the group that received treatment when compared to the untreated group but the results varied according to the type of treatment received. Those who were taking a treatment involving pygeum had 43.3% improvement, comparable to the results for finasteride (57% improvement). Also, the patients that were receiving pygeum africanum had a slightly better improvement rate when compared to those who were treated with saw palmetto (42.7 %)."
https://www.nicehair.org/pygeum-hair-loss-better-saw-palmetto/

Thanks for that mate. Appreciate it

 

[Mat1123]

I used to take a particular HSN vitamin, but it was difficult to keep up with the monthly costs, especially since it's shipped from the US. It did include some of the ingredients you are mentioning (e.g. saw palmetto, biotin). It didn't do much, besides help my hair grow faster and make my skin produce slightly less acne. If you are trying for a baby, don't bother with finasteride until your significant other is further into her pregnancy (although, I'm not sure with how finasteride effects sperm production).

Thanks for the info. I’ll stick to my regime for a few months and see how much progress I make. I am going to knock the finasteride on the head it wasn’t for me

 

[BMax]

Why not another transplant?

Have you tried topical finasteride?

 

[Mat1123]

Hi. I am thinking about another transplant but I don’t think my hair has thinned out enough yet to go down that route. I aren’t sure where to buy topical finasteride? Is this something you have used?

 

[Mat1123]

not posted for a while but thought I would give an update and see if anyone was interested.....
Hopped onto finasteride 1mg per day from Superdrug since March 2020, and have experienced no sides. However the problem I had was that it didn’t re grow anything in the front/mid section region of my head where I had lost ground.
I then decided to have a hair transplant with Dr. Raghu Reddy at his Harley street clinic in London. He has implanted around 1200 grafts to thicken up the existing hairline from the previous transplant and to thicken up the balding areas i had in the mid scalp. Ive added four photographs from before the hair transplant with Dr Reddy as well as one photograph two days after the op.
Any questions or discussion please feel free to get in touch

 

[Mat1123]

My current regime is simply the 1mg of finasteride per day. However I have multi vitamins, cod liver oil and pumpkin seed oil everyday.
I have seen a topical finasteride / minoxidil mix that I am thinking of using and wondered if anyone else had tried it, or anything similar? It is 0.04% finasteride with 5% minoxidil and 2% azelaic acid.

 

[Mat1123]

Oh yeah forgot to add, I use nizoral twice a week (leaving it on for around 5 mins) and Gro-md shampoo the other 5 days (leaving on for 3-4 mins each time I use it) has anyone tried the gro-md shampoo before? I’ve been using it for around 2 months now. Spex does plug it on his social media platforms etc and seems a trustworthy guy so I thought I’d give it a few months trial to see what i thought

 

[DoctorHouse]

Oh yeah forgot to add, I use nizoral twice a week (leaving it on for around 5 mins) and Gro-md shampoo the other 5 days (leaving on for 3-4 mins each time I use it) has anyone tried the gro-md shampoo before? I’ve been using it for around 2 months now. Spex does plug it on his social media platforms etc and seems a trustworthy guy so I thought I’d give it a few months trial to see what i thought

I use Gro-MD shampoo and I like it. My hair seems more healthier with it. I bought it based on Spex's recommendation as he is rather trustworthy and has a great head of hair for his age.

 

[MDL999]

Oh yeah forgot to add, I use nizoral twice a week (leaving it on for around 5 mins) and Gro-md shampoo the other 5 days (leaving on for 3-4 mins each time I use it) has anyone tried the gro-md shampoo before? I’ve been using it for around 2 months now. Spex does plug it on his social media platforms etc and seems a trustworthy guy so I thought I’d give it a few months trial to see what i thought

May i ask why you dropped your natural treatments? They didnt work?

 

[Micky_007]

May i ask why you dropped your natural treatments? They didnt work?

@Mat1123 did your natural approach not have any regrowth or at least maintenence?