mires's story

[mires]

Hi everyone! I've been a long time lurker, I've read a lot of very useful information on these forums. So a big thank you to all forum members

Long story short; my balding process began when I was about 18 years old with typical male pattern baldness frontal thinning and declining hairline. For a long time I refused to "face the facts" and I didn't honestly think that I would ever go completely bald (yeah, right :shakehead: ). I did use Rogaine 5% twice a day for a while when I was around 24 and at first it DID help with my hairline but I got sloppy with sticking to the regimen and my hairloss got more aggressive and so I began experiencing massive shedding. As a final effort I got a subscription for Propecia but I didn't take it for more than a few months due to it being so expensive and me imagining and being afraid of all kinds of side effects of finasteride.

So back in 2007 I decided to completely stop with all treatment and just embrace my balding head. The balding process quickly got so bad that I had to start buzzing my hair down to just a few mm's. Basically I haven't had any hairs longer than 1cm since 2008.

But now in october 2011 I have decided to try fighting the balding process one last time and this time I'm hitting it with everything I've got. Money isn't anymore an issue like it was before and nowadays you can get a lot of the drugs and supplements a lot cheaper than you could back in 2005 (at least here where I live). Excessive sebum/oily scalp has always been one of my major problems and I've now decided to wash my hair twice a day.

So my regimen since 10.10.2011 is:
Rogaine Foam 5% in the morning (after washing my scalp)
0.625mg Finasteride (5mg pill cut in 8 pieces, trying to avoid sexual side effects)
Priorin twice a day (hair supplement, probably useless)
2.5mg Biotin daily
Rogaine 5% in the evening (mixed with some Finasteride, just in case)
Nizoral 2% shampoo every day
Nizoral 2% topical cream (I apply it just before I go to bed)
Power Grow Laser Comb daily for 15 mins (yeah I know, most likely useless)

I am also planning on starting needling and taking 3000mg of MSM daily. Any suggestions and improvements to my regimen are welcome

 

[mires]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

Looking at your PICS this really is the last chance saloon. You still have hair in your thinning areas, so a bit of regrowth could get you back to a NW3.
I think your hair is probably about the same as mine was when i started my regimen in JAN 2011, if i shaved my head (i probably had a little more at the front). I got back to a NW3 with a thin crown, but a bit of concealor covers that up.
Don't forget to apply the minoxidil all over the top of your head and not just the slick areas and good luck!

Thank you Captain Combover, I appreciate your input

I am now just 10 days into my regimen and I'm already seeing some regrowth, or at least I think I am. Might be just psychological, I have been staring at my hair in the mirror for like 10 minutes every day even though I know that it's a waste of time. It is, however, obviously a lot easier to see regrowth and the overall condition of your scalp and hairs when you have it buzzed down to just a mm or two. It makes applying any topicals very easy too and I get insanely fast absorption.

Anyway, pictures will tell the ultimate truth. I will photograph my scalp again at the one month mark with my hair buzzed to 2mm again.

My scalp and hair have been feeling a whole lot better after I began washing my head twice a day with Nizoral 2% and applying Nizoral cream 2% every night before bed. I know that the amount of Nizoral may sound excessive but my scalp seems to like it so far at least.

 

[Michael84]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

10 days can't give you any result in any way. Possibly, you see "results" because of washing frequently that gives you additional volume of your combover.
By the way, how do you fight oily scalp? Did you consult doctor about it?

 

[mires]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

10 days can't give you any result in any way. Possibly, you see "results" because of washing frequently that gives you additional volume of your combover.
By the way, how do you fight oily scalp? Did you consult doctor about it?

What combover? WYSIWYG on those pictures, I'd rather be 100% bald than seen with a combover

Like I said, with having all the hair buzzed down to 1/2mm you can see new or better growth immediately. I have practically been counting the hairs I see on a specific area and it has increased but that might not be due to the meds and supplements I've been using.

I fight my oily scalp by washing it twice a day with Nizoral 2%. I have tried all kinds of shampoos and I have even tried NOT washing the hair for a long time in an effort to reduce oilyness. But no, I have not talked about it with a doctor or any other specialist.

 

[Michael84]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

I fight my oily scalp by washing it twice a day with Nizoral 2%. I have tried all kinds of shampoos and I have even tried NOT washing the hair for a long time in an effort to reduce oilyness. But no, I have not talked about it with a doctor or any other specialist.

I tried different methods too but also got no results. It drives me mad, even more than baldness itself. Although I have to wash my head like one time in 2 days. But earlier I needed only like once a week...
I read that this oiliness is most probably the result of testosterone. So theoretically it should go away if you take finasteride. Keep us updated from time to time.

 

[mires]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

I've started eating MSM last friday (21.10.2011) and I've been taking ~3 teaspoons/day of the stuff until now. I've had a little bit of headache and general fatigue along with gut (or liver) discomfort and some nausea after I began taking MSM. Today I also noticed a small new bald spot on the right side of my head, in other words alopecia areata :sobbing: . It is a spot well away from the usual male pattern baldness.

It has to have something to do with my regimen, I don't remember having sudden bald spots ever before. My hair and scalp was quite dry and itchy during the weekend so I guess that I've been using too much Nizoral.

I will now reduce the amount of MSM per day and I will also probably completely stop using 2% Nizoral cream. I'm quite scared now and I'm afraid that I'm doing more harm than good with all the drugs, supplements and topicals I've been using to fight hairloss.

Here is a close-up of the affected area (you can't see it in the picture but there is healthy and strong hair all around the affected area):

 

[mires]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

Another update:

The nausea and headaches associated with MSM are now gone and I've reintroduced Nizoral Cream 2% into my regimen (every other day max) now that my scalp has recovered from the itchiness and dryness. I've now also added needling twice a week with a 0.5mm roller.

I am quite excited and optimistic at this point because I am seeing a nice amount of regrowth all over my male pattern baldness-affected scalp. It's just tiny and thin hairs at this point but they are brown like my normal hair. It is quite encouraging to see some results just 3 weeks into treatment! unk: I don't know if you'll be able to see it in pictures yet though, I'll post new pics at the 1-month mark. I'm assuming that any gains at this point are due to minoxidil (?).

I've even seen some minor regrowth in my temples in areas that have been completely bald (except for vellus hair) for over 5 years already. I am obviously not expecting to regain my NW1-hairline or even anything close to it, but I will be happy if I can get my crown to fill in.

 

[mires]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

Week 5, 10.11.2011

As promised, here are two fresh pictures (taken today) of my progress. I had been hoping for more progress in the pictures because my hair has felt and looked a lot better but it's still better than nothing. I really wish that "the island" would join the mainland, the area in question has been filling in a bit but it still looks bald.

Things to note; the MSM and biotin seem to have kicked in because my hair and nail growth seems a bit faster now. Also, the hair on the top of my scalp has been growing almost as fast as the non-male pattern baldness affected hair on the sides of my head. That in itself can be seen as some sort of success I guess

Oh and I *know* the lighting is not exactly the same and neither is the angle etc. but it's the best I could do at the moment :whistle:

 

[mires]

Week 8 - 1.12.2011

So this is the 8th week and I'm still sticking religiously with my regimen but with a few minor changes. I've added daily emu oil and needling with a dermaroller EOD, the laser comb I haven't bothered much with. Oh and I'm doing scalp exercises whenever I remember/can be arsed. I am also experimenting with Nivea's Hair Recharge Tonic by adding it to my left temple only, you can read more about it here: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=48938&start=10

I think my hair looks a bit better and it definitely feels better, but some days it seems like I haven't made any actual progress when it comes to the big picture. I am seeing a nice amount of regrowth with pigment in my temples but they're very thin and fine hairs at the moment, almost invisible. I am letting my hair grow out a bit longer now (3mm at the moment) probably because I think it looks better or then I'm just more confident with my looks. Can't really say whether I've been shedding or not, my hair is just too short to grab.

Current regimen:
Rogaine Foam 5% in the morning
Kirkland minoxidil 5% in the evening
Nivea Hair Recharge Tonic on my left temple every morning and evening
Nizoral 2% topical cream every other day
Emu oil daily

0.625mg Finasteride daily
Priorin twice a day
2.5mg Biotin daily
3 grams MSM daily (morning, afternoon, evening)
Fish-liver oil capsules twice a day with 650mg Omega-3, 10ug D3, 250ug A and 10mg E in total

Nizoral 2% shampoo every day, with one to two days off every week
Priorin shampoo (supposed anti hair loss product) whenever I don't use Nizoral

Needling EOD
Scalp exercises

 

[mires]

Week 9 - 9.12.2011 (2 month mark)

I've been on my regimen for 2 months now and in my opinion you can already see some improvement even in the pictures. The change is more dramatic in real life. My hair has been looking a lot better and I've let it grow to 3-4mm during the last couple of weeks. Today i buzzed my hair down to 2mm again for the sake of better comparison between my pictures. The dreaded "horseshoe" is still visible, especially under harsh lighting, but it's not as bad as it was 2 months ago.

I have a whole lot of tiny regrowth, even in my temples (!), but even though the hairs have pigment they aren't really visible except for very close range. I am guessing that at this point all of my "success" is down to minoxidil but it does seem like my regrowth and general thickening of hairs kicked into high gear after introducing Emu Oil into my regimen. It might just be wishful thinking, though.

All in all things are going well and I will continue with my current regimen for a few more months at least.

 

[mires]

Week 10 - 15.12.2011

A few things to report:

I tried dyeing the pretty much invisible vellus hairs in my temples and I can confirm that it works, somewhat at least. 99% of the dye did end up on my scalp and removing it was a pain in the behind but I did end up making the tiny hairs a lot more visible. My temples had been slick bald for ~6 years so it was really neat to see the results of dyeing the new minoxidil hairs. I used dark brown dye meant for grey hairs/beard, I figured that it would work well for colouring vellus hairs .

I have also begun taking daily Resveratrol (250mg trans-resveratrol), mainly due to the numerous health benefits. Some claim that it helps to prevent hair loss and also that it lowers estrogen and boosts libido, which would be nice since I am on finasteride.

Also, the alopecia areata I mentioned earlier seems to have disappeared during the last couple of weeks.

 

[mires]

Week 14 - 10.1.2012

Today marks the 3-month mark and I am quite pleased with the results so far. After all the time and effort (and money!) I've put into my hair I had wished for more regrowth and general thickening but I did have quite advanced male pattern baldness to begin with. I'd say that I was almost a NW5 when I started treatment and right now I'm probably something like NW4.3. I have also noticed that I haven't been trimming my hair as much as of late as I used to due to it just looking better and thicker by itself. You probably can't see much difference in the pictures though, the difference is more apparent when I let my hair grow out a little bit.

The obvious downside of having longer hair is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to apply rogaine and other topicals to the male pattern baldness-areas.

Oh and I have at least temporarily been reducing the amount of supplements I've been taking due to some issues with my stomach and my general well-being. I am though still religiously needling, applying the topicals and eating finasteride. The laser comb I haven't touched in a long time now.

 

[mires]

I don't know if you have ever considered this, but it's just a thought. My hair loss is very similar to yours, except for the fact that I'm a little younger. I went with the shaved look for a short time, and it never worked for me at all! Receding with hair an inch long is so much better for me than the shaved look!

It wasn't until I discover concealers that it changed a lot for me. It looks like you've gotten a little regrowth, and who knows how good it might look if you grow it out and add a little concealer to it. Just a thought, but I had to mention it to you because I've never been happier since I first started putting a little concealer on the top. It looks better, and better everyday that my hair gets longer.

Never thought I'd ever consider a concealer in my hair, but at the end of the day it works, and I've always told myself I'd do anything. There's some picks of my results on my page. Good luck to you buddy!

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=70476&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Thanks for the reply, I actually have purchased HairSoReal-fibers and dermmatch some time ago. You seem to be having nice results with concealers . I didn't like the fibers much, the colour wasn't a perfect match and it just didn't look all that great with short hair. I'm thinking that the fibers work best with longer hair. Dermmatch, on the other hand, works great even with very short hair.

The problem with concealers is that you'll have to stick with them once you start and I'd hate being caught wearing them. My goal is to first try and regrow as much hair as possible with my regimen and then add concealers when I reach a level where it starts to look like I'm just maintaining or losing ground again.

 

[TMNK]

Are you from Denmark?

 

[mires]

Are you from Denmark?

I'm sorry, but I'd rather not share my location.

 

[RecedingAt19]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

I've started eating MSM last friday (21.10.2011) and I've been taking ~3 teaspoons/day of the stuff until now. I've had a little bit of headache and general fatigue along with gut (or liver) discomfort and some nausea after I began taking MSM. Today I also noticed a small new bald spot on the right side of my head, in other words alopecia areata :sobbing: . It is a spot well away from the usual male pattern baldness.

It has to have something to do with my regimen, I don't remember having sudden bald spots ever before. My hair and scalp was quite dry and itchy during the weekend so I guess that I've been using too much Nizoral.

I will now reduce the amount of MSM per day and I will also probably completely stop using 2% Nizoral cream. I'm quite scared now and I'm afraid that I'm doing more harm than good with all the drugs, supplements and topicals I've been using to fight hairloss.

Here is a close-up of the affected area (you can't see it in the picture but there is healthy and strong hair all around the affected area):

How do you take close-up pictures like that? Do you need a special camera?

 

[mires]

Re: 28 with a NW4/(5?), starting treatment

I've started eating MSM last friday (21.10.2011) and I've been taking ~3 teaspoons/day of the stuff until now. I've had a little bit of headache and general fatigue along with gut (or liver) discomfort and some nausea after I began taking MSM. Today I also noticed a small new bald spot on the right side of my head, in other words alopecia areata :sobbing: . It is a spot well away from the usual male pattern baldness.

It has to have something to do with my regimen, I don't remember having sudden bald spots ever before. My hair and scalp was quite dry and itchy during the weekend so I guess that I've been using too much Nizoral.

I will now reduce the amount of MSM per day and I will also probably completely stop using 2% Nizoral cream. I'm quite scared now and I'm afraid that I'm doing more harm than good with all the drugs, supplements and topicals I've been using to fight hairloss.

Here is a close-up of the affected area (you can't see it in the picture but there is healthy and strong hair all around the affected area):

How do you take close-up pictures like that? Do you need a special camera?

I took it with my USB microscope, I don't think any regular camera can take close-ups like that. You can order cheap chinese USB microscopes online, it's what I did at least .

 

[mires]

Week 15 - 16.1.2012

I took today some new pictures with my USB-microscope to show you all what the situation on my right temple looks like right now. I did dye the vellus hairs on my temples two days ago to make them more visible and you should be able to see in the pictures that all the hairs appear black. The hairs are very fine and short and they were pretty much invisible to the naked eye before I dyed them.

The point here is that the first picture is from the edge of my teenage hairline in my right temple, I have been slick bald in this area for over 8 years! Sure, I dyed the hair to make it visible even to the naked eye, but it is hair that had not been there just one month ago. The third picture is pretty much what my temples used to look like before I started treatment; slick bald. Also, my temples are the last places to react to treatment, there were no hairs in this area in the beginning of december.

The second picture is of normal, non-male pattern baldness affected hairs to give you a point of comparison.

This in itself is already a nice success but I would of course want to see those vellus hairs regaining pigment, thickening up, and growing longer than the current ~1-1.5mm.

 

[mires]

Here is one more picture of my right temple, this time taken with my digital camera. The hairs are not quite as visible in real life as they are on this picture but almost. That's my teenage hairline right there, didn't think I'd ever see it again .

In my opinion at least the saying that finasteride/minoxidil doesn't work on the hairline is bull. Sure, it will take longer, but clearly there is an effect even on follicles that have been dormant for years. This also shows how it's true that male pattern baldness miniaturizes hair follicles but it does not kill them, at least not in the time span of 10 years of constant DHT assault.

It is doubtful, though, that the hairs will ever become proper normal non-miniaturized hairs again with the treatment options available today.

 

[agent00]

I don't know if you have ever considered this, but it's just a thought. My hair loss is very similar to yours, except for the fact that I'm a little younger. I went with the shaved look for a short time, and it never worked for me at all! Receding with hair an inch long is so much better for me than the shaved look!

It wasn't until I discover concealers that it changed a lot for me. It looks like you've gotten a little regrowth, and who knows how good it might look if you grow it out and add a little concealer to it. Just a thought, but I had to mention it to you because I've never been happier since I first started putting a little concealer on the top. It looks better, and better everyday that my hair gets longer.

Never thought I'd ever consider a concealer in my hair, but at the end of the day it works, and I've always told myself I'd do anything. There's some picks of my results on my page. Good luck to you buddy!

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=70476&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Thanks for the reply, I actually have purchased HairSoReal-fibers and dermmatch some time ago. You seem to be having nice results with concealers . I didn't like the fibers much, the colour wasn't a perfect match and it just didn't look all that great with short hair. I'm thinking that the fibers work best with longer hair. Dermmatch, on the other hand, works great even with very short hair.

The problem with concealers is that you'll have to stick with them once you start and I'd hate being caught wearing them. My goal is to first try and regrow as much hair as possible with my regimen and then add concealers when I reach a level where it starts to look like I'm just maintaining or losing ground again.

That's interesting you find that DermMatch works with short hairs. I use both a fibre (Toppik) and DermMatch. DermMatch will look like that you've "painted your scalp" on short hair. I have medium length hair and I usually apply dermmatch for a base then fill it in with Toppik. Works great, although I think it's important to always carry a hat especially if it's windy.

Have you tried scalp micropigmentation? I saw a report on it and it may be good if you like to buzz your hair like that. I'm sure there are pluses/minuses to it like everything else but it could work.