My regimen, and a question or two...

[Freestyle]

Hey guys

I'm a NW3 -- thinning and recession at front / thinning on vertex. I'm 26, and this has been happening since I was 22, so I'm to understand that I'm in a good position to regain and/or maintain.

Here's what I'm using in my daily routine:

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Morning: Xandrox15, applied before gym, Propecia 1mg

Shower (afer gym): Revivogen Shampoo & Conditioner, + Nizoral on Monday and Friday

After shower: Folligen cream on temples and receded spots, Tricomin lightly sprayed over the rest, and a few drops of emu oil to pentrate

Before bed: Minoxidil 5% allowed to dry a little, then 5% spironolactone cream

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Questions:

- Is this maybe a little excessive?

Money's not really an issue, but it does appear like a lot of different stuff now that I've written it all down. The routine is quick and easy though, now that I'm used to it.

- If/when I achieve my desired regrowth, can I cut back on this routine -- maybe doing it every second day?

I was kinda thinking I could get where I want to be, then stick to just the Propecia every day, and the topicals etc. every second day. See how that goes for 6 months or so. Then if maintenance seems fine, cut back the topicals to every third day.

Or is that not how it works? Can you really damage your progress that much by skipping a few days with these things once you're at the desired level?

Like I said; money's not an issue -- but I would like to maintain a quality of life where I don't have to be soaked in hair products all day, every day. Is this achievable in the way I've outlined?

I've been on my routine for 3-4 months and I'm noticing the recession is slowly reversing, and I'm filling out in a few places where the thinning was getting bad.

Any help/advice would be awesome, guys.

Cheers

 

[Freestyle]

anyone?

 

[Def]

Howdy

I would respond to your questions as follows:

Excessive? In my opinion, yes – you are, as they say, throwing everything including the kitchen sink at your hair loss at once.

Cutting back? You could cut back but then you would be at risk of losing the results you have achieved. I certainly wouldn’t cut back on the Finasteride, apparently Revivogen and Minoxidil you can cut back after 12 to 18 months of usage to once every other day and once a day respectively. You can damage progress by cutting back, hairs become dependant etc etc.

Money not an issue? Good stuff – you have a better chance of success than those without.

My advice?

I’d need pictures to give you the best advice I can, but cut right back down to only a few treatments. In my opinion, you should give 1mg Finasteride and 1ml Minoxidil twice/day and Nizoral shampoo twice/week a go for at least a year. See how it goes – more likely than not you’ll see results. After a year if things still aren’t looking the way you want, perhaps substitute Xandrox for your evening minoxidil application. If you get irritation add in some Cu peptides.

The reason everyone advocates a staged approach to this is to give your regained hair maximum longevity. I’m not sure if that actually is the case, but it’s better to start out with less products than more for a whole host of reasons.

Good luck

Def

 

[Freestyle]

Thanks for the reply.

Could I actually be doing damage to my hair in the long run by using all of these?

Or is it more a case of "You'll become dependent on all of them, and that's a lot of money to spend for the rest of your life..."?

I know that a lot of people reccomend just minoxidil and Finasteride daily to maintain -- but all the men on my father's side were a NW5 by the time they were 30. All the pictures of my Dad at my age show a similar recession to mine. So you can see why I'd be a little nervous about where my hair loss is heading.

But I definitely don't want to be overloading on these products if they're going to do more harm than good...

 

[Freestyle]

I should also have added that I only use the Xandrox on my temples and hairline -- and mainly because I wanted something that sinks in very fast, so I can shower when I get home from the gym, and not have to worry about washing away the benefits of regular minoxidil before it had a chance to sink in properly.

If that makes sense.

 

[Def]

As I said previously, it’s more a matter of longevity than harm.

Logic being that as each treatment begins to wane (Finasteride after a few years, Minoxidil after a few years etc) you add stuff in to boost your existing regimen.

If you only want to keep your hair for say another 3 years, by all means use everything you can right now. Who knows? You may even get 10 years more of hair if you’re lucky. However, the conventional wisdom on this board says that noticeable Finasteride effects last for about 3 – 5 years and then begin to wane. Add in minoxidil at this stage and you might get 3 more years. Add in Cu peptides and Revivogen at this stage you might 3 more years etc. etc…

It’s all a bit of a gamble. I don’t think you’re doing your hair any harm though. Just watch out for your scalp health.

Def

 

[Freestyle]

What about cycling this stuff?

What if I just use the Tricomin/Folligen/spironolactone for 3 months at a time, with a 6-9 month break in between? Would that effectively give a 'boost', without building up a tolerance?

Then I'd be sticking to the Propecia and Minoxidil for the rest of the time.

 

[mvpsoft]

What about cycling this stuff?

What if I just use the Tricomin/Folligen/spironolactone for 3 months at a time, with a 6-9 month break in between? Would that effectively give a 'boost', without building up a tolerance?

You would lose hair during the "off" periods, and when you start treatments again, you risk a shed each time.

 

[Freestyle]

Are you also of the opinion that I'm over-doing it on my current regimen?

 

[mvpsoft]

Not at all, check out my regimen. <g>

Actually, although my regime looks imposing, it's really just the big three, plus copper peptides and spironolactone.

 

[petemitchell]

What's the condition of your hair mvpsoft after using all those products? Can you style it?

 

[Freestyle]

Well, my regimen is also based on the Big 3, plus the copper peptides.

I suppose I could cut out the spironolactone until I've given the minoxidil a proper chance -- and I could probably lose the Folligen and just stick to Tricomin and see how it goes.

I'm using the Xandrox15 mainly on my temples and receded spots, because I heard it was better for those areas.

The Revivogen I use mainly because I have to use a shampoo to wash out the Xandrox, so why not use a proven hair loss shampoo, right?

The whole thing with adding the Tricomin/Folligen to my regimen is that it increases the health of the scalp and lowers the irritation caused by minoxidil (which I get mildly).

I know I'm only 6 or so months into my total treatment, but the threat of my father's and grandfather's NW5 by 30 really scares the crap out of me.

I want to give myself the best chance possible until something better/more permanent comes along -- but I don't want to be overdoing it if just regular old Propecia and Rogaine would be sufficient.

I may stick to Propecia and the Minoxidils daily, and use the spironolactone/Tricomin/Folligen/Nizoral on Mondays and Fridays.

 

[mvpsoft]

What's the condition of your hair mvpsoft after using all those products? Can you style it?

I have curly hair and don't need to do any styling. I wash it, towel dry it, and then later maybe pick it out, maybe not. I have sort of a white man's 'fro, it styles itself. My hair doesn't curl tight, it's more wavy, but no styling is necessary.

My schedule allows a regimen like this to be possible. When I get up in the morning, I apply the 2% spironolactone, wait 10 minutes, apply minoxidil, then apply the 5% spironolactone cream on my receded temples, wait a few more minutes, then apply copper peptides all over the top of my head, then finally apply emu oil. Then I do some office work (I work out of my home office), do my morning workout, then finally shower at about 10:00, which means I've had the topicals on my head for 2-3 hours. Then at night, I apply Proxiphen on the receded area, 2% spironolactone and 15% Xandros on my vertex and crown where my hair is thin (where I applied the 2% spironolactone and minoxidil in the morning). That dries before I go to bed.

So I never go out with all that stuff on my head. On days in which I have to go out earlier in the day, I skip my morning application. This happens 1-2 days a week.