Hoping for good results - Record of my treatment

[bumblebeewang]

My hair loss started about 5 years ago. I tried Minoxidil a while ago and gave up after a month or so. It was probably because I decided that I was okay with being bald and that I would just let nature take its course. Well, I ended up changing my mind and here I am :woot:. I officially started my treatment using the big 3(minoxidi 5%l, generic finasteride 1mg, nizoral 2%) today.

Minoxil
-Started yesterday
-2.0 ml to cover crown and both temples

finasteride
-I plan on taking this everyday.

Nizoral
-I actually started using it 5 days ago.


The top of my head is really itchy. The crowns are not itchy at all for some reason.
I took a shower today and noticed a lot more hairs falling off and it's only been a day since I first started using Minoxil!
I never count the number of strands of hair that I loose in the shower because it's so little that I don't even notice.
I would guess about 10 strands of hair or less. Today, I was loosing about 30-50.
Is it working that fast already? I am personally looking forward to a big shed because I know that is a very good sign.

I'll post an update every week or so.
Here are some pictures of my hair after the shower.
I have really thick hair, so my hair loss is not noticeable but it's a dead give away when it's wet.



- - - Updated - - -

 

[bumblebeewang]

UPDATE

It has only been 6 days since I started my treatment. I don't if I am seeing things but I am already seeing growth in the temple areas.
Of course, I am looking forward to other people's brutal honesty. Let me know what you guys think. It hasn't even been a week, but it's hard to contain my excitement. :woot:


Routine -

Minoxidil - Morning and night (0.5 ml each for the crown, left temple, right temple)

finasteride - 1mg per day, before bed

Nizoral - I ended up using it every 2-3 days

No side effects whatsoever. I got a few minor headaches in the morning after putting on Minoxidil, but it went away within an hour or so.
I just took a shower now and no shedding whatsoever. Here are some pics after the shower and with my new shorter haircut.
There does not seem to be any difference in the crown area.



I will give an update again in 3 weeks!!!!

- - - Updated - - -

Btw, I am in my 20's

 

[bumblebeewang]

Update -

This is a picture taken 3 days ago(9 days into the regime).
The angle is a lot better than my original picture.
My temples are looking better and better.

 

[bumblebeewang]

UPDATE - 1 month :jump:

I ended up using two bottles in 1 month. I was fortunate enough to have enough time on my hands, so for about 10 days I applied minoxidil 3 times a day.

Side Effects
On 5-7 occasions, I was shedding about 30-50 hairs on top.

Here are some pictures taken with my wet hair.
Growth in the right temple has been extraordinary. The left side is catching up. This makes a lot of sense to me because I first started loosing hair on the left side of my temple, and the right side followed a year later. The crown looks worse.

I will continue to apply minoxdil 3 times per day.
When I first tried applying it 3 times per day, I noticed rapid heartbeat on my 2nd application of the day which was around the afternoon. My heart beat was around 80-85/per minute. It was not an issue later one as I assume that my body adjusted to it.

I also had extremely vivid dreams for 4-5 days. I would wake up in the middle of the night, go back to sleep and then wake up again with a detailed memory of my dream. I am not sure if it is a side effect of finasteride but I always feel more revitilized when I remember my dreams.

Left= at 0 day, Center & Right = 1 month later

 

[ohmanohno]

looks like you caught it early, nice on you.

 

[bumblebeewang]

UPDATE - 2 months

I am officially 2 months into my treatment.
I am extremely happy with the results and I think I wil probably be back to N0 in a couple of months.
For the past 31 days, I applied minoxil 4 times a day for (5 days), 3 times a day for (25 days), and 2 times a day for (1 day).
This was only the case for my temples. I only put minoxil on my crown 2 times a day.

The right temple is growing lots of new hair, especially on the vertical portion of my hairline. The hairs are growing thicker. There are no more bald spots on the right side, but some of the hairs there are still thin or still in the process of growing. The left side is still lacking behind as usual, and there is definitely a bald spot there. The area is covered by hair in the process of growing. I probably need 2 more months on the left until I can reach N0.

I found some older pictures of my hair. I used to shave my head to make the hair loss less noticeable. It is from 3 years ago.



Here are some pictures taken today after the shower.
I tried spiking my hair up as usual in order to get a clear view of the temples.










Note: The only reason why I apply minoxil so many times per day is because I can see a visible difference in the hair growth with more applications. If time permits, I will apply it 4 times a day.

 

[I.D WALKER]

It appears it's made a noticeable difference. Congratulations. Are you able to tell us how many total mL's per day that equals for you. A friendly tip for the next time you get a hair cut that matches your before picture, that is if and when it's convenient, try and take a follow up picture. This way we can definitely evaluate your progress better.Thanx for sharing.

 

[bumblebeewang]

I ended up using 2.5(60ml) bottles for this month.

 

[bumblebeewang]

2 months and 4 days

I got a hair cut today. I keep cutting it short to make minoxidl easier to apply and also because I am setting myself up for lots hair growth, so I don't mind the temporary balding. lol
It will be easier to assess my progress a month from now.

Here are some pictures with dry hair.

 

[I.D WALKER]

Thanx for update. It looks like you're well on your way to a full recovery.

 

[bumblebeewang]

3 months

My routine is still the same. I am not sure if there is any difference with the right temple. However, as you can see from the picture taken on the right side of my face, the vertical part of my hairline is filling in.

The hairs on my left temple are getting darker and new hairs are popping up.
I don't pay too much attention to my crown, but I think it is back to the way it was years ago.

The pictures were taken with flash with dry hair.


Both of the pictures above were taken today. The second picture looks better because I was not pulling my hair back as much.




My head was itchy for maybe 3 days for the entire month. I am still using 2 bottles of minoxil per month. I have also started rubbing olive oil on my scalp and hair 2 times week. It gets especially dry when I use Nizoral. I l applied minoxil 3 times mostly everyday. There were probably 1 or 2 days when I only put it on twice.

As you can tell, I got a haircut a week ago but I only cut the sides.

 

[bumblebeewang]

4 months

Wow, I can't believe it has been 4 months already. Nowadays, I am trying to cut down the amount of minoxidil I put on my head(not the frequency) because most of the time it ends up dripping down my face anyways. The left temple has made some major improvements this month.

CHANGES
I am putting coconut oil in my hair instead of olive oil. It is less oily and smells a whole lot better. I have started taking multivitamins a couple of weeks ago and iron supplements(note: too much could cause a copper deficiency). Erections have improved greatly and I have getting hardons at random times.

I was on vacation again last week, so I was not able to keep up with my 3 times/day application.

Summary: (3 days)(1 application/day), (8 days)(2 applications/day), (Rest of the days)(3 applications/day)








- - - Updated - - -

NOTE: The attached thumbnail at the bottom is from one month ago. I'm not sure how it got there and I do not know how to get rid of it. Please ignore.

 

[BigTexasSexy]

Dang man, congrats looks like you're winning against male pattern baldness

If I can ask, what were you using the olive oil for and how long were you using it before switching..?

 

[bumblebeewang]

It is because I have always had really dry hair. I was using it for about 2 months, maybe 1-2 times per week. Now, I am putting coconut oil on my hair 2-3 times per week.
My hair also gets especially dry each time I use Nizoral.

 

[bumblebeewang]

5 months

The left side has finally started catching up. The hair on the left temple are getting longer and new strands of hair are popping up.


NEW
-I put on minoxidil 3 times a day 70% of the time this past month. I am trying to cut it down to 2 applications/day as I may not be able to keep up with 3 applications per day in the future.
-I am putting on about 0.5ml on the crown, 0.7 on the left and right temples for each application.
-Started taking Biotin (600mcg/day)
-I am only washing my hair two times a week.
-Cut down Nizoral use to once/week. Many people say that you have to use it 2-3 times per week but it makes my hair so dry that it can't possibly be healthy for my hair.

Note
-Since I started my regime, I had ordered a 3 months supply of Kirk's minoxidil (6 bottles) and a 12 months supply (12 bottles). I currently only have 1 bottle left, so that means I ended up using 17 bottles (60ml each) for the past 5 months. In the beginning I went overboard and put it as much as possible and just ended up dripping down my face.

I think it is pretty clear that "minoxidil works on the temples". I do attribute my growth in the temple area to minoxidil, but for all I know it could have been all because of finasteride. I started both at the same time, so I do wonder whether I would have got the same results with finasteride alone. Either way, I will definitely continue to use both.

Here are some pictures taken today along with pictures before I started my hair loss treatment. I am slightly pulling back on my hair in the first picture.






Here are some before pictures.
(Left) - From two years ago. My hair looked like crap, so I decided to keep it short. As you can tell, I used to style it to the right and kept the front long so that I could compensate for the bald spots on both temples.

(Right) - From a year ago. At some point, I realized that if I grew my hair longer then I could fool myself into believing that I wasn't balding. Just 5 months ago, before I went outside I would spent 10 minutes or more fixing my hair so that I could cover my receding hairline. My hair looked like crap here. I think this is how many guys go bald and then before they realize it it is too late. Cut your hair short and face reality. That's what I did and it gave me motivation to put minoxidil 3 times a day and sometimes even 4 times a day.





(Today) - With a bit of hair paste. I am now showing off my hairline with a hairstyle that goes back and not down like before.

 

[bumblebeewang]

6 months!!!!

NEW
I started taking higher does of Biotin two weeks ago. I am went from taking 300mcg to 5000mcg daily. I am primarily taking it to make my hair grow longer. But, frankly I am not sure if it is actually helping at all.

I stopped taking multivitimins two weeks ago. I don't really feel like I need it and would rather focus on eating a lot more fruits and vegetables.

Minoxidil
I am only applying it 2 times/day. There was one day where I only applied it once and where I did not take finasteride.

Coconut oil
I wash my hair two times per week. On one of those days, I would use Nizoral. Before I take a shower, I would always put coconut oil on my hair and scalp, and leave it sitting on my hair for 2-3 hours. I think this is why my hair no longer becomes really dry after using Nizoral.

For my 6 month update, I would like to post all of the pictures from previous months here and compare it to my pictures for this month.

 

[bumblebeewang]

 

[bumblebeewang]

 

[bumblebeewang]

Note: I did not take a picture of my crown last month. I didn't find it necessary and now that I look at my pictures, I don't think that I was ever balding at the crown. It looks pretty much the same too me. They were all taken with flash after taking a shower, so the scalp is very visible.


Taken today with a bit of wax.

 

[albionlad]

Incredible and inspiring recovery my friend, thanks for sharing