Need some guidance on what to do

[TD500]

I'll summarize my regime/experience so far

• 0.5mg finasteride since Jan 2015
• 1ml liquid minoxidil since Feb 2015 (once a day)
• No changes in those 6 months (no regrowth)
• Moved to 1mg finasteride in August 2015
• Think my bad case of seb derm started probably in june/july 2015 (only occured in the places where I was applying minoxidil)
• Got real bad and essentially let it kill my head/scalp
• Went back to dermatologist in mid October 2015
• Gave me 1.25 proscar also told me to switch to foam and use nizoral
• Foam didn't change anything probably worsened it
• Dumped minoxidil all together in mid/late December 2015 which seemed to help no more flake/pain/redness/ still get pimples around half my hairline which is weird

Within the last couple months I've lost a great deal of density from all over my head. I figure some of that is from the cessation of minoxidil, but could it be possible that the 1.25 proscar is kicking in as well causing a shed? I got a script for it in mid October but probably didn't start it until early November so I can run out my 1mg finasteride first. Also noticed after a couple weeks I got some pretty bad testicle pain which I never got from 1mg finasteride. If what I'm going through currently is a shed then I never got one back when I first started. I almost lose exclusively minaturized hairs.


What do you guys think? Ride it out a little longer and see what happens or move to dutasteride?

 

[g.i joey]

def ride it out, the fact that it took you this long to feel the famous "testi ache" means that you're body is feeling a change with ur new prescription. besides that one side have u felt anything else change? i know my dose of finasteride works when my face is dry and smooth, if i go a day or 2 without it i get oily in the face

 

[Agustin Araujo]

I think stopping Minoxidil wasn't the best idea to be honest, it could have been helping your hair a lot more than you thought. Minoxidil promotes maintenance of existing hair, it doesn't only help to regrow what's been lost. I'd give Minoxidil another try if I were you TD500, I know this hair loss curse is hard to deal with but it's something we all need to be patient about.

Give Finasteride more time, do ride it out. You can switch to Dutasteride if you need to go a little stronger, though don't expect a large difference if you take that path.

 

[TD500]

Thanks for the response joey/agustin

I would but my scalp gets really irritated by it, the seb derm I was experiencing was exclusively in the area I applied minoxidil. Tried lowering the amount, switching to foam, nizoral, EOD nothing helped. Aside from the flakes/rough skin texture/itching it was the pain that made me stop. I'll def give proscar some more time and probably buy some dutasteride now and just have it ready.

 

[Norwood One]

There's minoxidil versions out there with different solvents, you might want to look into that. You may be having an allergic reaction to the contents of it.

 

[TD500]

There's minoxidil versions out there with different solvents, you might want to look into that. You may be having an allergic reaction to the contents of it.

Ya I figured it was the propylene glycol in liquid minoxidil that was causing my scalp irritation, so I tried kirkland foam which I believe has no propylene glycol unless its under a different name. Same results unfortunately. Don't even think I'm allergic to propylene glycol because I've tried vaping before and never had any side effects.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

TD500, I hope you're using products to help keep your hair and scalp moist, otherwise the alcohol in the Minoxidil vehicle will be drying and irritating if not kept hydrated. In your case, I recommend to stay away from using products that contain any amount of Propylene Glycol. My scalp isn't even that sensitive but when I use something with PG I get a lot of flaking of my scalp since the compound itself has such a drying effect.

 

[TD500]

TD500, I hope you're using products to help keep your hair and scalp moist, otherwise the alcohol in the Minoxidil vehicle will be drying and irritating if not kept hydrated. In your case, I recommend to stay away from using products that contain any amount of Propylene Glycol. My scalp isn't even that sensitive but when I use something with PG I get a lot of flaking of my scalp since the compound itself has such a drying effect.

I looked on the ingredients for kirkland minoxidil foam and didn't see any PG unless it was under a different name. Only thing I ever used while using minoxidil was nizoral/shampoo. What would be some good scalp moisturizes to use in conjunction? It's becoming very tempting to pick up minoxidil again.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

I looked on the ingredients for kirkland minoxidil foam and didn't see any PG unless it was under a different name. Only thing I ever used while using minoxidil was nizoral/shampoo. What would be some good scalp moisturizes to use in conjunction? It's becoming very tempting to pick up minoxidil again.

Kirkland Minoxidil foam doesn't contain any PG, the liquid version does however. A good moisturizer that you can put on your scalp is 100% argan oil, I use it on my face and it's a really nice thing to have, and it's not a greasy oil either. You can also try using a good quality leave in conditioner, but I've never tried one before and I'm not familiar with any decent brand.

 

[TD500]

Kirkland Minoxidil foam doesn't contain any PG, the liquid version does however. A good moisturizer that you can put on your scalp is 100% argan oil, I use it on my face and it's a really nice thing to have, and it's not a greasy oil either. You can also try using a good quality leave in conditioner, but I've never tried one before and I'm not familiar with any decent brand.

Thanks agustin

Restarting minoxidil foam on a clear scalp. No signs of seb derm or anything. Also got some argan oil and wondering how often do you use it.