Fool of Hair
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Hey Everyone,
First time on the forum and I wanted to share my story like so many others. I have also modified my regimen and wanted some opinions on what's been going on with my hair as of the last month or so.
Starting when I was almost 20 years I old I began to notice my hair falling out. I did the whole denial routine thinking that it had to be anything besides what it really was, male pattern baldness. The denial phase lasted about a year before I got my act together and once I stopped viewing my hair as a death sentence for good looks I started to treat the issue, not the person. What I mean by that is losing my hair is a challenge in my life that I won't let define me as who I am as a person, but rather understanding that this is like any other adversity that people have to overcome in their lives. Even though all the things I do to keep my hair takes up a large portion of my time, I look at it as a way of overcoming the obstacles in front of me.
At 21 I started my regimen that to this day I still use. I am now 25 and for the last few years it has slowed my hair loss substantially but never stopped it. minoxidil twice daily w/ vitamin spray and a douse of stronger minoxidil, propecia 1 mg once daily, and the laser every other day. This worked well up to when I was 24, at which time I started seeing a little more hair falling out.
So, I started making my own caffeine shampoo after reading an article on its potential effectiveness. I noticed for the first 4 or so months I used it that there appeared to be less hair falling out and it might be helping a bit. But in the last month or so (after 5 months of use) I noticed tons of hair coming out - anywhere from 4-5 times the normal amount. Now, the hair appears to be pretty close to full sized hairs, about 3/4 in length of the full terminal hairs. Some of them are thinner hairs but most are dark hairs. Here's the question - should I keep using the shampoo and look at this current shedding as a good sign that the shedding will lead to thicker hair, or should I consider this as a hair loss symptom and that if a shed were to have occurred it should have done so 3-4 months ago instead of now? I'm just concerned that my new routine leaves my hair with out the minoxidil for 4-5 hours as I let the caffeine have some alone time with my follicles. Maybe this lack of minoxidil is catching up to me?
One last interesting factoid is a year ago I started upping my propecia intake and started taking an extra pill every other day so it would act as if I were taking approx. 1.5 mg of finasteride daily, instead of the 1 mg that is in propecia. I stopped about 6-7 months ago taking the 1.5 mg and I am back down to the regular 1 mg. Could the 1.5 mg have saved a lot more hair that I am now shedding 6 months later?
I can't figure out which one is the culprit, and if I should stick out the caffeine in the name of science and all wishing to see it's effectiveness potentially proven.
Please feel free with all opinions on the matter.
And nice meeting you all!
FOH
First time on the forum and I wanted to share my story like so many others. I have also modified my regimen and wanted some opinions on what's been going on with my hair as of the last month or so.
Starting when I was almost 20 years I old I began to notice my hair falling out. I did the whole denial routine thinking that it had to be anything besides what it really was, male pattern baldness. The denial phase lasted about a year before I got my act together and once I stopped viewing my hair as a death sentence for good looks I started to treat the issue, not the person. What I mean by that is losing my hair is a challenge in my life that I won't let define me as who I am as a person, but rather understanding that this is like any other adversity that people have to overcome in their lives. Even though all the things I do to keep my hair takes up a large portion of my time, I look at it as a way of overcoming the obstacles in front of me.
At 21 I started my regimen that to this day I still use. I am now 25 and for the last few years it has slowed my hair loss substantially but never stopped it. minoxidil twice daily w/ vitamin spray and a douse of stronger minoxidil, propecia 1 mg once daily, and the laser every other day. This worked well up to when I was 24, at which time I started seeing a little more hair falling out.
So, I started making my own caffeine shampoo after reading an article on its potential effectiveness. I noticed for the first 4 or so months I used it that there appeared to be less hair falling out and it might be helping a bit. But in the last month or so (after 5 months of use) I noticed tons of hair coming out - anywhere from 4-5 times the normal amount. Now, the hair appears to be pretty close to full sized hairs, about 3/4 in length of the full terminal hairs. Some of them are thinner hairs but most are dark hairs. Here's the question - should I keep using the shampoo and look at this current shedding as a good sign that the shedding will lead to thicker hair, or should I consider this as a hair loss symptom and that if a shed were to have occurred it should have done so 3-4 months ago instead of now? I'm just concerned that my new routine leaves my hair with out the minoxidil for 4-5 hours as I let the caffeine have some alone time with my follicles. Maybe this lack of minoxidil is catching up to me?
One last interesting factoid is a year ago I started upping my propecia intake and started taking an extra pill every other day so it would act as if I were taking approx. 1.5 mg of finasteride daily, instead of the 1 mg that is in propecia. I stopped about 6-7 months ago taking the 1.5 mg and I am back down to the regular 1 mg. Could the 1.5 mg have saved a lot more hair that I am now shedding 6 months later?
I can't figure out which one is the culprit, and if I should stick out the caffeine in the name of science and all wishing to see it's effectiveness potentially proven.
Please feel free with all opinions on the matter.
And nice meeting you all!
FOH