Don, to answer what you asked me................
No, I do not think that is a good regimen. minoxidil. 2x per week would probably do nothing at all. You would be wasting your money. Most experts recommend 2x per day. I have spoken with some users who say that once a day is effective. Nobody can always stick perfectly to a regimen. This has to be taken into consideration. I have "waxed and waned" with my treatments over the years. On some occasions doing nothing for months. Lazy sometimes, forgetful sometimes, and other times just said f*** it. I am going to try and be more consistant this time around.
Back to your regimen - with the products you have chosen to use I would recommend the following:
Nizoral 3 to 4x per week
a mild shampoo w/out sulfates on non-Nizoral days
Try and use the minoxidil. (I would start on 5%) twice a day
(If you don't like the greasy feeling from it get a propylene glycol free version from a reputable supplier like Dr. Lee.....
www.minoxidil.com - I find his minoxidil. causes me no scalp flaking or irritation and acts as a styling aid as it dries quickly and leaves your hair a little stiff, which I like a lot.)
Again, DITCH the Head and Shoulders shampoo......stop reading my post right now and go put it in the trash!
Propecia once per day (I believe finasteride has a half life of 24 hrs., so if you want to maintain a more consistantly higher blood level of the drug cut it in half and take half in the a.m. and the other half in the p.m. - I am not convinced this is necessary but a lot of people do it.)
I would also consider using oral L-Cysteine, vit. C and Biotin (won't grow hair on its own or stop hair loss but can help your body with what it needs to grow hair.)
Now that is a good start point to hit the bricks with young man! Listen to your elders. Keep asking around too. There are plenty of folks around here with lots of knowledge about hair loss. I'm currently trying to get someone to answer the question I posted about B6. So far no one seems to know. I'm sure someone around here knows though. Probably just a matter of time before they find and answer my post.
Oh, yeah, your cut...............well, of course it is a personal decision but I remember hearing a female writer and commentator make the remark that a flat-top hair cut makes ANY man more attractive. Just figured I'd toss that bit of female thinking out there for you. I don't know exactly what areas of your head are affected by your loss so it's hard for me to say if it would have enough hair to create a decent looking flat-top. Consult with a Barber not a stylist at the Hair Cuttery. Believe it or not, flat-tops are one of the harder cuts to do. A "Detroit" I'm told is the absolute hardest to do. If the barber does not think a flat-top will take, ask him to suggest another short cut to minimize the appearance of thinning. I get the top of my flat-top done with a double aught guard sometimes....................with it that short on top it would be hard for someone to distinguish between someone with no hair loss and someone with a lot of it. From the way you described your loss I am going to guess that for now you would be better off with a very short cut. Just make sure an experienced barber does it. One who does a lot of military and police cuts. You did inquire, I believe, about it growing back thicker. Ha!, we all wish. Not so. Cutting your hair short or shaving your head will have ABSOLUTELY NO effect on how it grows back. Remember your just cutting or shaving dead cells. Period. Hair formation occurs below the skin. The follicle that produces hair is alive, not the hair you see. What a short cut will do for you though is allow better application of the minoxidil
and allow it and your shampoos to last longer. Personally when my hair is short I don't concern myself that much with hair loss. With a double aught cut I'm practically bald anyway. That's me. Some would probably not like that at all for themselves. Like I said, it's a personal decision. If it's already only 2 inches and your doing a comb over, I don't think you can go wrong with going for it. I don't know of any females who think a comb-over is sexy. Personally, I would much rather go with a super short cut than do a comb-over. I even like a shaved head. I haven't ever shaved mine but a buddy of mine who was thinning real bad did and he gets more *** now than either one of us ever did combined. He said if he knew he would have gotten that kind of reaction he would have done it years ago. He grew a cool gotee, shaved his head, lifted a lot, and combined with his always good sense of style when it comes to clothes, he now has women literally nipping at his heels. I am not embellshing here at all. I told him when he gets a kick *** tan this summer he will be a virtual pussy god. Just thought I'd share that with you. Gave me hope. I figure if worse comes to worse with my hair I'll go that route. Face it, bald is in. Look at some of the male models and actors. Even some of the "horse shoe" guys are found attractive now. For instance, my ex-wife who was very hot when I was married to her thought that ole' Captain Jean luke Piccard was extremely handsome. Again, more inspiration for those of us that are follicularly challenged!
Anyway, I think I answered all of your questions. I believe you are on the right track. Keep this in mind when dealing with all of this........Sun Tzu advised in the book "The Art of War", that it was important to always turn misfortune into advantage. Use this experience to your advantage. Your goal should be growth, and I don't mean just hair.
