Need advice on when to start/what to start with

[GoodToGo]

Hi,

I'm 25, have a receeding hairline and now I think I am starting to see my hair thinning on the top as well. I went to a free consultation with the Hair Club for Men last year, when I first noticed an actual receeding hairline. The woman I spoke with said I was at an early stage of NW2. Now, a year later, hair loss is still very much on my mind. I would like to put it off as long as possible, hopefully until I'm 30 at least.

I was on the fence for a long time about starting the $1895 + tax reduced to $1695 + tax 6 month EXT hair treatment program they offered. It included shampoos with a DHT fighting ingredient, minoxidil and vitamins.

I'm glad I found this forum and saved myself $2K. I've pretty much made up my mind that I want to start some sort of regimen. I'm thinking about starting with proscar and sticking with that for a good while.

1) Should I consider adding anything else to the regimen? I've read to start with 1 product then add more. Should I consider rogaine, or should I wait for a year?

2) One thing I couldn't find was how long a regimen can prevent balding. I'm worried that if I start now, the products will lose their effectiveness in a couple of years, and I'll end up going bald by 30. Judging from the change in my hairline and thinning over the past year, I could probably go another 6 months to 1 year before it becomes really noticeable. Should I wait, or should I start a soon as possible.

A few more details in case people are wondering about specifics. I have a receeding hairline in the corners, my crown is fine. I get my hair cut very short, 1/2 an inch of hair on the top. I do it myself with a buzzer at home. The most recent time I did it was early december, and I've noticed now that as it is growing in, it is not as thick as it used to be on the top.

The males on my dad's side have most of their hair even now. My dad is 61, his brother 65, and my grandfather all have/had a great head of hair. Norwood 4 or 5.
My mom's side is terrible. Grandfather on her side was bald at 25, all my uncles ar pretty well bald or balding now, Norwood 5-7.

So to sum up, my questions are when should I start, and what should I start with?

Any opinions and advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[evolutionary]

Most people start out on at least 1 of the big 3, but usually 2. Nizoral should be on your list no matter what, as most on here use it without any sort of side effects. Your choices are then either minoxidil or finasteride. People on here generally say finasteride is for maintenance, though some get regrowth as well, whereas most say minoxidil is for regrowth, but be mindful that any hair regrown by either is dependent on its continued use. Nevertheless, whether you get hit with the side effects associated with finasteride is almost impossible to predict, as it hits everyone differently. Same goes for whether you'll experience a shed or not as far as I know. Beyond the Big 3 there are several other products that lack the extensive testing of finasteride and minoxidil, but appear to help some people -- see the HairLossTalk.com Product page for info on these options. FYI there are probably hundreds if not thousands of posts on your exact question, so I'd do a search for more info.