Help from veterans regarding a regrowth strategy.

[SE-freak]

I started thinning in two spots above my two crowns, probably a long time ago- when I had long hair and didn't give a sh*t about hairloss. After buzzing my hair(just for the sport of it) around 22 I had two blonder areas in the vertex that left a fringe of healthy hair in between.

Hairloss started troubling me about 2 years ago(I am now 28 ). Denial can be a great drug, I know... The thing is that my loss progresses reeeally slow and the crown area is ideal for self delusion. You have to check- if you dont you can see a great hairline and this is it.

To cut a long story short, now I shed minimum amounts of hair but I have come to realize it is cosmetically unacceptable. My hairline is pretty much ok, so is my density, but the vertex area would not let me chose any other way than buzzing destroying my styling options.
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Now the question is:

Is there any significant benefit from getting on finasteride for a year and THEN adding minoxidil? (keeping in mind that I have no current progression).

Or it would be better to combine the two treatments simultaneously?

I already use nizoral and T/Sal combined for some time now.

I am tempted to ask questions like" Is it possible that my crown will fill in ?" or is "it easy to get vertex regrowth ?" but I will spare you that, as it is basically to boost my shitty morale and noone knows.

Thank you for reading.

 

[hair_tomorrow]

SE -

I always hear about the great "1 - 2 Punch" provided by combining minoxidil and finasteride - minoxidil to help regrow your hair and finasteride to help keeping it from falling out in the first place.

I'd recommend both.

The first time I went on the Big 3 - my crown filled in entirely.

 

[wangho75]

I started thinning in two spots above my two crowns, probably a long time ago- when I had long hair and didn't give a $#iT about hairloss. After buzzing my hair(just for the sport of it) around 22 I had two blonder areas in the vertex that left a fringe of healthy hair in between.

Hairloss started troubling me about 2 years ago(I am now 28 ). Denial can be a great drug, I know... The thing is that my loss progresses reeeally slow and the crown area is ideal for self delusion. You have to check- if you dont you can see a great hairline and this is it.

To cut a long story short, now I shed minimum amounts of hair but I have come to realize it is cosmetically unacceptable. My hairline is pretty much ok, so is my density, but the vertex area would not let me chose any other way than buzzing destroying my styling options.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now the question is:

Is there any significant benefit from getting on finasteride for a year and THEN adding minoxidil? (keeping in mind that I have no current progression).

Or it would be better to combine the two treatments simultaneously?

I already use nizoral and T/Sal combined for some time now.

I am tempted to ask questions like" Is it possible that my crown will fill in ?" or is "it easy to get vertex regrowth ?" but I will spare you that, as it is basically to boost my shitty morale and noone knows.

Thank you for reading.

You and I have acknowledged that our vertex hair is pretty similar, going by description (my temples had receded kind of far back though) and at 4 months, alot of the thin vellus is now thick, longer vellus.

I swear if and when this vellus turns dark, I will have a hard time spotting any scalp on the vertex. I use a handheld mirror against my bathroom mirror to inspect the vertex and I can see that I have alot of hair back there, just the majority is transparent. This all popped in about 1 month ago.

I think that strip of hair acting as a division between those two diffused spots seems to suggest better recovery than one bald spot right in the middle. Of course, im just basing this on my own experience, but i have noticed that new hairs coming in seem to be triggered by existing hairs close by.

 

[SE-freak]

Hair Tomorrow, wangho,

thank you so much for your replies.

Let me provide some pics so that you know how funny it looks.


4 months ago(I think). (crappy res-there is hair in those areas with a "bridge" of terminals playing Moses)

http://img321.imageshack.us/img321/9351/sefreak1wv.jpg

current:
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/1874/crown18tc.jpg

 

[hair_tomorrow]

Hair Tomorrow,

thank you so much for your reply.

Let me provide some pics so that you know how funny it looks.

...

That is an different kind of progression. On the Up side - the hair you have looks great.

 

[SE-freak]

I know. This strange pattern and the extremely slow progression(this could be happening slowly from my late teens time) left room for denial.

 

[SE-freak]

Any persuasive argument for the 1 year just finasteride, then minoxidil strategy?

 

[sublime]

:$

 

[SE-freak]

Have you gone to a doctor to see if it could be anything else?

It is male pattern baldness alright. My next follow up is in one month. I cannot figure out why my derm wanted to monitor me for those months without prescribing finasteride at once.

 

[SE-freak]

Any persuasive argument for the 1 year just finasteride, then minoxidil strategy?

 

[Solo]

Hey SE-freak, your thinning is similar to mine with some differences.


I think you should get on finasteride and min right now. For me they are working, slow pace, but working. And I mean thickening of the hair and cosmetical improvement.

I got a male pattern baldness strike when I was 18, since then things didn´t change much, except they were slowly, slowly going thinner til it reached a point that I just HAS to start tratments before it would get innaceptable.

It is stated that thinning in those areas have a much potential for thickening using meds.

You should consider getting it without prescription via web if you feel that you can accept the risk.

 

[Def]

Howdy SE!

Dude – I hear ya. I am a fellow “Friar Tuck†male pattern baldness sufferer!! You are so right in saying it eliminates hair possibilities… I would much prefer to be a receder…

Here’s a picture of my crown as it presently is – the bane of my hair-life – while hairline is still perfect. Unfortunately I don’t have any baseline pics (can’t find them) but if my memory serves, nothing has changed at all for the worse. It may in fact be better after about 2 years and 8 months on a regimen of Proscar (1.25mg once/day), Minoxidil (1.5ml once/day) plus Nizoral and Crew Peptides whenever I remember.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4738/imgp12233rt.jpg

I’ve recently changed the way I apply my Minoxidil by massaging it in more and applying a dose of Cu peptides once it’s dry – will post if that changes anything. I will also soon experiment with either the Lasercomb or Revivogen for 6 months to see whether I can get any extra benefits. Have not yet decided which to try. At the moment, hair loss is undetectable when styled so I’m at least happy about that.

Start off with Finasteride (1.25mg once/day), Minoxidil (1ml twice/day) and Nizoral (twice/week). Your crown is a bit further progressed than mine, so hopefully you will experience some good regrowth and thickening by hitting the Minoxidil twice a day.

I note you’ve been trying to avoid the drugs this far. There’s nothing to be afraid of and the majority of us can use these products without any apparent side effects. As I’ve said, I’ve been on this regimen for over 2.5 years now, with total maintenance. I’m sure I’d be a Norwood 5 by now otherwise. My maternal grandpappy was a chrome dome by 24 and went the Friar Tuck way too!!

Good luck, mate.

Def

 

[Solo]

How did you take this hi-res close pic??


I would like to take pics like those of my own hair for comparing.

 

[SE-freak]

Solo, Def,

thanks for the feedback here.

Def, really appreciate the photo-I doubt your crown was as bad as mine, ever.It is nice to hear that after nearly 3 years things are looking good.

Solo, are you really getting cosmetic improvement? I just want to reduce the contrast between THICK TERMINAL HAIRS and a forest of less pigmented ones.

 

[Def]

Solo – I just used the macro setting on my Pentax Optio S5 digital camera. It’s a great little camera, 5 mega pixel, 3X optical zoom, credit card sized and very user-friendly. The flash makes the hair-situation look worse than it is, but here’s a wider angle shot (a little out of focus though):

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/89/imgp12278zj.jpg

SE – no, I don’t think I was ever as thin as your thin spots, however, that just means you have more potential for regrowth! You still have the thinning hairs up there, they just need a leg up. I’m sure you will see a big change when you start using the Big 3 proven treatments.

Keep your head up (both of them! :wink: ) and your spirits high. Eating well, exercising and basically good health is also essential.

Go for it while you still have the chance!

Def

 

[SE-freak]

Def:

thanks for trying to show me that the glass is half full. Positive attitude is a basic ingredient and I seem to be lacking it at present.

 

[Solo]

Def- You got almost the same pattern as me. I haven´t got a digi cam, though. I take my photos with a stupid mobile phone camera. For example:

This is at month 6 on finasteride:

http://us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/42b1ff6c ... DBl_1KdxWl



SE-Yes, my hair is thicker after almost 8 months. By month six hair returned to baseline and since then it´s improving, but quite slowly.
I´m near to the point of accepting my hair as it is. I haven´t been that good since I was 20. I firmly believe that you are going to get benefits if you start the big 3 now. The vertex area is where treatments seems to work better, and, remember, the sooner, the better.

 

[SE-freak]

Solo:

If I could get half of your crown density, I would be a new man.

 

[thylax]

SE-freak your hairline is great and i would also kill for it :lol: . Regarding the crown, If I were you, I would have proceed to a minor hair transplant. Nobody could understand it because it wouldnt have to do with the hairline. Dont mess up with medicine, its not worth it. Besides, I have lost in 2 years half of the money I would spend on a hair transplant, buying minoxidil every 20days... (and finasteride and dercos and nizoral and... and...).

 

[SE-freak]

OK my hairline is NOT that great. Density at the temples is not as good as the center.

Anyway,

thylax- thanks for your input. I think that considering a hair transplant would be a leap in strategy. Reasonably, one should try the medical route first. Besides, I believe that a hair transplant by itself does not solve any problems but temporarily, not being combined with a treatment against further progression.

The question still unanswered, is if staying a year just on finasteride and nizoral and then adding minoxidil would give any additional benefits in terms of regrowth.

thanks again, all of you.