I re-stumbled upon this site when I was clearing out links from my 'Favorites' folder in IE, so I thought I'd drop back in with an update.
As some of you may know, I was a NW2 recession with NW3 thinning in the hairline and the crown. I assaulted my hair with absolutely everything from early 2005-early 2006, including:
Propecia, Nisim, Provillus, Nizoral, Rogaine, Tricomin, Folligen, ApplePoly, Procede
By March 2006, I had enough of worrying constantly about hair loss, so I shaved it off and trimmed my regimen down to something less expensive and more manageable.
1/4 Proscar (morning)
5ml Minoxidil (morning)
Folligen Spray (morning)
Rogaine Foam (night)
Apple Poly Spray (night)
Nizoral (2x weekly)
Still sounds like a boat load of stuff, I know, but it's basically the Big 3 with two assists from a couple of products I have had good results with. And it's simple -- takes me 3 minutes every morning and 2 minutes every night.
Anyway, after 6 months of a #0 buzz cut, I grew my hair back out for a couple of weddings and trips in the tail end of 2006. The first few weeks, I was worried about my hairline, which was still obviously a little 'mature' for my liking. But by about week four of growing it back out, I was astounded by the coverage I had. My hair had thickened up all over. I grew it some more and there was enough to sweep forward fashionably to disguise the recession.
I used a bit of Kerasome every now and again, but the coverage from regrowth was enough for the most part. People at the wedding, whom I hadn't seen in about 6 years, made the comment that I actually looked better than I did when I was younger. I made a joke about my maturing hairline, but the consensus was that it suited me well and made me look 'dignified'. That could come across as an insult if used in jest, but it was sincere and appreciated.
So I was happy with the regrowth. The mature hairline was fine by me if it stayed at a reasonable level of thickness.
But then I got complacent.
I'd heard many stories in my research about guys who regrew their hair and then stopped taking their treatments, because they believed they were cured. And I just didn't get that at the time. I didn't understand how guys who once flirted with baldness would let the results slip away.
But it happens. It happened to me. I got lazy with my treatments. I took Proscar whenever I remembered to -- which went from once a day to once every few days to maybe 2-3 times a fortnight. I got really lazy about the topicals, because I didn't want to mess up my hair -- they went way down to maybe once a week applications.
By December, I was shedding big time. The front got thinner, the crown was reversing and my temples began receding again, where I once had them halted in their tracks.
Needless to say, I have learnt my lesson. I'm back on treatments full time, but this time around I am very optimistic about the effects I can expect. I've buzzed my head back down again for another 6 months to make it easier to apply. Plus, it's summer here and the lack of hair is in vogue and necessary for the climate.
So, you can all take heart from my success, whilst heeding my warning about being complacent. This stuff really works, but you need to keep at it, no matter how much ground you reclaim.
If you're lucky enough to have a good shaped head, my strongest advice is to buzz it all off for 6-12 months.
This is a two-fold advantage;
1. Topicals are quicker, easier and less messy to apply to a shaved head. You don't have to worry about them messing up your hair, because you don't have any.
2. You'll get very quickly used to your appearance in the worst case scenario. If your treatments fail completely (highly unlikely), you're not going to look any worse than you have for the last 6-12 months with a shaved head. Family and friends quickly accept you with a shaved head, and it will actually be rare for them to see you with any hair up top.
Also, the great thing about having a shaved head is how freeing it is. People are a lot less superficial. Girls you meet are interested in you with a shaved head, so you know they're not eyeing off your thinning hairline. I felt less self-conscious with a shaved head than I have at any other time in my life.
And a 6-12 month break without hair will make the results much more dramatic when you let it grow back in. Like working out for 8 weeks, but only weighing yourself at the beginning and end. You need time and distance to be objective about your results. It's the only way to do it without becoming obsessive.
So; stick with it!
As some of you may know, I was a NW2 recession with NW3 thinning in the hairline and the crown. I assaulted my hair with absolutely everything from early 2005-early 2006, including:
Propecia, Nisim, Provillus, Nizoral, Rogaine, Tricomin, Folligen, ApplePoly, Procede
By March 2006, I had enough of worrying constantly about hair loss, so I shaved it off and trimmed my regimen down to something less expensive and more manageable.
1/4 Proscar (morning)
5ml Minoxidil (morning)
Folligen Spray (morning)
Rogaine Foam (night)
Apple Poly Spray (night)
Nizoral (2x weekly)
Still sounds like a boat load of stuff, I know, but it's basically the Big 3 with two assists from a couple of products I have had good results with. And it's simple -- takes me 3 minutes every morning and 2 minutes every night.
Anyway, after 6 months of a #0 buzz cut, I grew my hair back out for a couple of weddings and trips in the tail end of 2006. The first few weeks, I was worried about my hairline, which was still obviously a little 'mature' for my liking. But by about week four of growing it back out, I was astounded by the coverage I had. My hair had thickened up all over. I grew it some more and there was enough to sweep forward fashionably to disguise the recession.
I used a bit of Kerasome every now and again, but the coverage from regrowth was enough for the most part. People at the wedding, whom I hadn't seen in about 6 years, made the comment that I actually looked better than I did when I was younger. I made a joke about my maturing hairline, but the consensus was that it suited me well and made me look 'dignified'. That could come across as an insult if used in jest, but it was sincere and appreciated.
So I was happy with the regrowth. The mature hairline was fine by me if it stayed at a reasonable level of thickness.
But then I got complacent.
I'd heard many stories in my research about guys who regrew their hair and then stopped taking their treatments, because they believed they were cured. And I just didn't get that at the time. I didn't understand how guys who once flirted with baldness would let the results slip away.
But it happens. It happened to me. I got lazy with my treatments. I took Proscar whenever I remembered to -- which went from once a day to once every few days to maybe 2-3 times a fortnight. I got really lazy about the topicals, because I didn't want to mess up my hair -- they went way down to maybe once a week applications.
By December, I was shedding big time. The front got thinner, the crown was reversing and my temples began receding again, where I once had them halted in their tracks.
Needless to say, I have learnt my lesson. I'm back on treatments full time, but this time around I am very optimistic about the effects I can expect. I've buzzed my head back down again for another 6 months to make it easier to apply. Plus, it's summer here and the lack of hair is in vogue and necessary for the climate.
So, you can all take heart from my success, whilst heeding my warning about being complacent. This stuff really works, but you need to keep at it, no matter how much ground you reclaim.
If you're lucky enough to have a good shaped head, my strongest advice is to buzz it all off for 6-12 months.
This is a two-fold advantage;
1. Topicals are quicker, easier and less messy to apply to a shaved head. You don't have to worry about them messing up your hair, because you don't have any.
2. You'll get very quickly used to your appearance in the worst case scenario. If your treatments fail completely (highly unlikely), you're not going to look any worse than you have for the last 6-12 months with a shaved head. Family and friends quickly accept you with a shaved head, and it will actually be rare for them to see you with any hair up top.
Also, the great thing about having a shaved head is how freeing it is. People are a lot less superficial. Girls you meet are interested in you with a shaved head, so you know they're not eyeing off your thinning hairline. I felt less self-conscious with a shaved head than I have at any other time in my life.
And a 6-12 month break without hair will make the results much more dramatic when you let it grow back in. Like working out for 8 weeks, but only weighing yourself at the beginning and end. You need time and distance to be objective about your results. It's the only way to do it without becoming obsessive.
So; stick with it!