Need Advice on Regenepure DR Application (New Member here!)

[Bigsby]

Hey all!

I've been a long time lurker on this forum. I'm 25 years old and can't remember the last time I've posted on a forum! But seeing how some of the men in my family's hair is, I thought I'd make a post. I've been on Finasteride for about 4.5 months now. However, I realized that my scalp has been kinda itchy. I feel like it's always been like that but, as you may know, your head starts playing tricks on you when you start obsessing over a problem too much. And this is especially so with my hair.

As for my hair itself, I have some diffuse thinning that is only really noticeable when I get out of the shower. Besides a whorl on the back (that has always been around the same size since I was a lad...quite unfortunate...), my hair covers up my scalp well (long or short). When it bunches together when I wake up in the morning, you can see a little more scalp but I can live with it. Basically, I'm just trying to maintain. I can live with what I got now.

Thanks to my countless hours on this forum, I've decided to get Regenepure DR for my hair. I initially used it once every three days. However, some nights my scalp would just get suuuuper itchy. And so I decided maybe I needed to use it everyday. I always get some itch relief for a little bit after I let it soak in my hair for five minutes or so and thus I started using it everyday for the past week or so. Everytime I get out the shower and dry my hair, it looks great and full and it seems to really complement my hair (which is naturally very wavy and somewhat curly)!

However, before I started using Regenepure DR, I wouldn't really wash my hair everyday. When I did wash my hair, I did get some hairs on my hand but since hitting the four month mark on Finasteride, it hasn't been that bad.

But lately (the past two times), when I've washed my hair with Regenepure DR, I've gotten hair on my hands that is reminiscent of my Finasteride shedding days! I was just wondering: Is this normal? Should I not be using it everyday? It helps with the itch (and maybe even that is psychosomatic given how neurotic we can be!) and it makes my hair look really nice.

I know for Nizoral, you shouldn't be using it everyday. But, based on my research here, Regenepure DR seems different. And I don't use thaaat much and I don't leave it in for a long time.

Any suggestions?

As an aside, I don't really have hairs falling out outside of the showering process. Any advice would be great!

I've also attached some pics of my hair, including hairline. Please let me know if you have any comments on it. I didn't do any styling. All I did was flatten it when I got out of the shower. Also, pardon my shirtlessness haha.

EDIT: Not sure why some of these pics "flipped." Oops! Only really affects the hairline pic.

EDIT 2: Deleted pics after I got my analysis. Thanks!

 

[Agustin Araujo]

You can use Regenepure DR just like a regular shampoo, I even use the product myself. Apply a generously small amount and massage on the scalp, usually for 3-5 minutes. Rinse out and you're good to go! Don't worry about it too much, I use it daily and I haven't had any problems with it.

 

[Bigsby]

Great! Thank you! I'll not look into the sheds too much then. Any comments on my hair pics? I kinda wanna keep to just Finasteride and Regenepure DR. Tried Minoxidil initially and hated it, especially since I didn't wanna shave my head to apply it. Also, my hairline was receded a bit on the sides so I put it there. Ultimately, I just couldn't be bothered. I'd be more than happy keeping what I have now. But if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

 

[Agustin Araujo]

Great! Thank you! I'll not look into the sheds too much then. Any comments on my hair pics? I kinda wanna keep to just Finasteride and Regenepure DR. Tried Minoxidil initially and hated it, especially since I didn't wanna shave my head to apply it. Also, my hairline was receded a bit on the sides so I put it there. Ultimately, I just couldn't be bothered. I'd be more than happy keeping what I have now. But if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Your hair looks pretty decent actually, I do see some minor thinning on your crown and some recession of the hairline, but other than that, all looks good. Finasteride will need to be the main part of your treatment, so it's good that you are taking that medication since it inhibits the underlying cause of genetic hair loss, which is dihydrotestosterone. I wouldn't use Minoxidil if I were you and just stay with using Finasteride since that itself can allow some good regrowth. And of course using a Ketoconazole shampoo is a helpful addition. If your hair loss is very recent and hasn't been that way for a long time, then getting good regrowth should be more than likely to happen.

Cheers!

 

[Bigsby]

Great! Thanks!

EDIT:

Sorry, I had one more question for you.

So, when I use the Regenepure DR, it really helps subside the itch for about 5 hours. And then it comes back. Since I think I have diffuse thinning, it kinda itches in random places.

Do you think I should go to 2% Ketoconazole? If so, what shampoo do you recommend and how often should I apply it? Do you recommend anything else, like Emu Oil (never used it but I hear about it often on this forum).

I'm wondering if this actually is male pattern baldness? Could it be anything else, like dry scalp? Because I get this itch everywhere, even in the back of my head and sides where there is definitely no balding and the hair is very thick. Who can I consult to really check what's going on? I'm just wondering because I have the itch but my hair doesn't seem to be falling out a lot. But mayyybe that's why I'm getting more hair than I'm used to on my hands when I shower.

I don't remember itching this much before a couple days ago. But then again, I might just be more self-conscious about it now. But if that's true, and the itch is 'coming back,' what does this mean about Finasteride's effectiveness? Is it waning?

 

[Agustin Araujo]

Great! Thanks!

EDIT:

Sorry, I had one more question for you.

So, when I use the Regenepure DR, it really helps subside the itch for about 5 hours. And then it comes back. Since I think I have diffuse thinning, it kinda itches in random places.

Do you think I should go to 2% Ketoconazole? If so, what shampoo do you recommend and how often should I apply it? Do you recommend anything else, like Emu Oil (never used it but I hear about it often on this forum).

I'm wondering if this actually is male pattern baldness? Could it be anything else, like dry scalp? Because I get this itch everywhere, even in the back of my head and sides where there is definitely no balding and the hair is very thick. Who can I consult to really check what's going on? I'm just wondering because I have the itch but my hair doesn't seem to be falling out a lot. But mayyybe that's why I'm getting more hair than I'm used to on my hands when I shower.

I don't remember itching this much before a couple days ago. But then again, I might just be more self-conscious about it now. But if that's true, and the itch is 'coming back,' what does this mean about Finasteride's effectiveness? Is it waning?

Ketoconazole is a mild anti-androgen and mildly disrupts DHT pathways when applied topically to the scalp, the medication is also a powerful anti-inflammatory compound and is why it helps treat the itching associated with Androgenic Alopecia. Using a 2% Ketoconazole shampoo won't be any better and is recommended to stay with using the 1% OTC shampoo.

Sometimes, the itching just isn't always associated with male pattern baldness. I take Dutasteride and use a Ketoconazole shampoo daily and I still get itching sometimes, nowhere as much nowadays before I started any legitimate treatments. The itching is not always correlated with treatments failing. The itching can also be associated with Prostaglandin D2, which is a pro-inflammatory lipid hormone-like compound that inhibits hair growth and is elevated in the scalp that suffers from Androgenetic Alopecia than one that doesn't. Prostaglandin D2, often shortened to PGD2, may also be partially responsible for Androgenic Alopecia, and a treatment to inhibit PGD2 is being developed. A medicine called 'Setipiprant' may potentially be a PGD2 inhibitor that will help treat genetic hair loss, and is the one that is under development.

 

[Bigsby]

Thank you again.

I'm just troubled still because I'm definitely getting a renewed shed because of the Regenepure DR. I wash my hair everyday with it and get sheds reminiscent to that of when I started Finasteride (and when I used Rogaine for a little bit). I know this to be the case because, before I started using Regenepure DR, I would wash my hair once every three days with Finasteride (this was when I was 4 months into my Finasteride treatment and the Finasteride sheds had stopped), and I wouldn't get as many hairs as I do when I use Regenepure DR everyday.

Should I just ride out the sheds? I've done it before so I can do it again...but I just hate taking that leap of faith that it's gonna grow back again...