Hi everyone,
So I went to a dermatologist the other day for the first time and they confirmed that I have male pattern baldness. I've been shedding 50-150 hairs a day, but they said I have very good hair density on the top of my head. The only place where I'm visibly losing hair is my temples. BTW I just turned 19.
I was prescribed Propecia and was also given a prescription for Betamethasone Valerate .12% to apply twice a day for 14 days to my scalp (I guess it's for inflammation?). However, my doctor told me that he recommends I get on Rogaine and apply twice a day to my ENTIRE scalp (front, top, crown).
I'm just very confused by this because I've read a lot about minoxidil and I understand it's mainly for regrowth, and I haven't really lost any hair up top. I've also read that it can induce massive sheds if you stop using it and you might not get that hair back. I've also read that your hair can become dependent on it so if you stop using it then you will lose that hair.
Now, I told my doctor that my brother is a few years older than me and he's starting to thin up top (he's not on any treatments), so I don't know if he wants me to apply it over my entire scalp to prevent that kind of loss or if it's just a standard thing for him to tell patients, because he did say that he tells all his patients to just apply it everywhere.
So right now I'm confused with what I should do. I started taking propecia 1mg daily yesterday and I use nizoral twice a week, but I'm not sure if I want to start using minoxidil because if it's a lifetime thing I don't know how I feel about using it twice a day for the rest of my life.
Additionally, the only hair I really have (and want) to grow back right now is on my hairline because there are little miniaturized hairs that might be helped if I apply minoxidil there. I have some random hairs that are like half an inch below my normal hairline just randomly chilling there! If I could regrow some of my hairline I'd be so down.
So, should I apply minoxidil all over my head? Is there anyway I could end up worse if I use it and then quit than if I just didn't use it at all? What do you guys think about applying it to just the temples?
Thanks, I appreciate all your help. btw here is a link to my thread with some pics
So I went to a dermatologist the other day for the first time and they confirmed that I have male pattern baldness. I've been shedding 50-150 hairs a day, but they said I have very good hair density on the top of my head. The only place where I'm visibly losing hair is my temples. BTW I just turned 19.
I was prescribed Propecia and was also given a prescription for Betamethasone Valerate .12% to apply twice a day for 14 days to my scalp (I guess it's for inflammation?). However, my doctor told me that he recommends I get on Rogaine and apply twice a day to my ENTIRE scalp (front, top, crown).
I'm just very confused by this because I've read a lot about minoxidil and I understand it's mainly for regrowth, and I haven't really lost any hair up top. I've also read that it can induce massive sheds if you stop using it and you might not get that hair back. I've also read that your hair can become dependent on it so if you stop using it then you will lose that hair.
Now, I told my doctor that my brother is a few years older than me and he's starting to thin up top (he's not on any treatments), so I don't know if he wants me to apply it over my entire scalp to prevent that kind of loss or if it's just a standard thing for him to tell patients, because he did say that he tells all his patients to just apply it everywhere.
So right now I'm confused with what I should do. I started taking propecia 1mg daily yesterday and I use nizoral twice a week, but I'm not sure if I want to start using minoxidil because if it's a lifetime thing I don't know how I feel about using it twice a day for the rest of my life.
Additionally, the only hair I really have (and want) to grow back right now is on my hairline because there are little miniaturized hairs that might be helped if I apply minoxidil there. I have some random hairs that are like half an inch below my normal hairline just randomly chilling there! If I could regrow some of my hairline I'd be so down.
So, should I apply minoxidil all over my head? Is there anyway I could end up worse if I use it and then quit than if I just didn't use it at all? What do you guys think about applying it to just the temples?
Thanks, I appreciate all your help. btw here is a link to my thread with some pics