Who I am / Initial response to Nizoral Shampoo after a week
Hey there friends, I'm new to the forum here and came here after doing some research and reading on general hair loss related topics, etc. I found Hairlosstalk.com to be a terrific site and I believe that they're objective in the information they're giving people. Like anyone else interested in the subject, I've come across alot of hype and garbage out there that doesn't seem to be worth much. From what I can tell here, this seems to be one of the best resources out there.
I'm 31 years old and have been wearing long hair off and on for about 10 years now (I started growing my first long main in '93 when I was 20). In about that amount of time (10 years or so), I've noticed a very, very gradual recession of the frontal hairline around the temples. Looking at the Norwood classifications, I'm about a Norwood 2 or so. Here's a picture of it from about April 2003 time:
http://bdc.cyberosity.com/pictures/OldP ... 150213.JPG
It's nothing serious as there's no thinning on the top or crown anywhere, yet I'm missing hair at the temples that I used to have in my late teens and early 20's and my hairline is definitely very gradually marching its way upward from the temples. The recession doesn't seem to be speeding up although I'm beginning to notice it. Since I'd like to keep the hair on my head (I'm sure like most men on here), I decided to do some research and experiment with some products. Last week, I purchased Nizoral shampoo 1% OTC. I've used it a few times. Here's the list of things I've noticed with it:
- I've had constant psoriasis-like flaking, inflammation, and itching at the temples and frontal hairline (as well as behind the ears) for several years. After just a week, it's all but gone. I've usually had problems with itchy scalp for the past few years but I haven't itched one single time since using this. In particular, the areas at the frontal hairline and top of the temples, as well as the back of the ears, where there's been this heavy inflammation and itching, there's a cluster of shorter hair (about an 1" long or so) remaining.
- My scalp is nowhere near as oily as it used to be. After about a day, my head looks like it's been dipped in an old oil change pan. Now, however, it's not anywhere near as oily or greasy looking or feeling.
- The first time I used Nizoral, I noticed a rather profound amount of dandruff flaking off after I got out of the shower. I'm not sure if this is normal or not.
- This is entirely subjective, and I can't put my finger on it, but my scalp _feels_ better. I don't know why but it feels like the way it did when I was 20 years old. It's not itching, it's not 'stiff' or tight, and it just feels plain good. I can definitely tell a difference. I'm not sure if it's a placebo effect knowing that I'm using a medicated shampoo or not, but I can definitely feel a difference.
- My shedding rate has decreased dramatically. Infact, I was quite shocked and surprised after the first couple of times of using this shampoo. My hair seems to feel better, also, and is more resilient to falling out as far as I can tell (my hair is quite long so I can surely see it).
It's almost as if this shampoo is exactly what I needed. I haven't noticed any regrowth of hair as I believe that will probably take months to accomplish if that's in my cards so to speak. However, I do have small, non-pigmented, vellous hairs in the temple areas that I can see fairly well.
Has anybody had the same effects from using this stuff? How efficacious is it long-term? What can I use to remove the presumably left-over flaky, dead skin from my scalp?
Very satisfied Nizoral customer,
B