Hi all,
Bit of backstory first: I last posted on this forum a long time ago. I am currently just about to turn 24 years old. I started losing hair at about age 15, when my hairline began to rise uniformly (possibly the "mature" hairline). It's progressively risen for the last 9 years, but I felt it has accelerated more than ever in the last two years. My dad is a NW7 for what its worth, and my mum and sister both have female pattern hair loss. It runs on both sides of the family quite a lot.
My history of treatments are as follows:
- Sporadic use of keto shampoo and minoxidil 5% up till about age 21, stopped latter due to heart problem (unrelated).
- Between 21 and 22, I went the "natural route" of mega doses of Immortal Hair's supplement routine. Didn't do anything and left my wallet emptier.
- At age 22 in 2013 I jumped on the big three. Stopped all of it about 9 months later to stupidly try to combat it only through a Ray Peat inspired diet and misguided hormone manipulation.
- About 6 months later I jumped back on finasteride again after my hair began to thin out, then re-introduced minoxidil about 3 months after that.
Current regimen since February this year onwards has been:
- 0.5mg dutasteride every day
- 12.5% minoxidil cream with 5% azelaic acid
- 50mg of RU58841 on the hairline only
So, since resuming the treatments after my 6 month gap in which I lost ground, I feel things have gotten a bit better in some ways (general thickness), but i'm unsure about my hairline.
What Hamilton Norwood level am I at? I am guessing about a NW2? And how does this compare to my "baseline"?
I have included some pictures, some comparing today with pics from both February 2014, while I was still on finasteride. Also some from mid-2013 just before starting treatments (my "baseline"), and my hair at about age 16. I had a shaved head then so the hairline does not lie in those pics. Also included a few of how I wear my hair normally.
Given that it's still early days on the dutasteride/RU/minoxidil, is this a fairly bulletproof regimen and am I likely to see more improvement over the next year onward? I get minimal side effects from this regime. Slightly reduced sex drive, but I still rub one out 2-3 times per day, and boners are just as good if not better due to exercising more. Some tiny wrinkles under eyes, but that's likely more of an age thing and i'm combating that with Retin-A.
Thanks for reading all this if you did.
Full size pics:
Age 16:
http://abload.de/img/age16lzr3d.png
Hair style today:
http://abload.de/img/hairstyleeqq0s.png
Hairline close up:
http://abload.de/img/hairlinecloseupxyoye.png
Right temple early 2014 vs now:
http://abload.de/img/hlh21fo95.jpg
Shaved right temple mid 2013:
http://abload.de/img/shavedrightg2rhe.png
Left temple mid 2013 vs now:
http://abload.de/img/leftsidecombedoveru8p24.png
Left temple 2014 vs now:
http://abload.de/img/leftside99oxi.png
Lost ground mid to late 2014:
http://abload.de/img/lostgroundmyoqo.jpg
Bit of backstory first: I last posted on this forum a long time ago. I am currently just about to turn 24 years old. I started losing hair at about age 15, when my hairline began to rise uniformly (possibly the "mature" hairline). It's progressively risen for the last 9 years, but I felt it has accelerated more than ever in the last two years. My dad is a NW7 for what its worth, and my mum and sister both have female pattern hair loss. It runs on both sides of the family quite a lot.
My history of treatments are as follows:
- Sporadic use of keto shampoo and minoxidil 5% up till about age 21, stopped latter due to heart problem (unrelated).
- Between 21 and 22, I went the "natural route" of mega doses of Immortal Hair's supplement routine. Didn't do anything and left my wallet emptier.
- At age 22 in 2013 I jumped on the big three. Stopped all of it about 9 months later to stupidly try to combat it only through a Ray Peat inspired diet and misguided hormone manipulation.
- About 6 months later I jumped back on finasteride again after my hair began to thin out, then re-introduced minoxidil about 3 months after that.
Current regimen since February this year onwards has been:
- 0.5mg dutasteride every day
- 12.5% minoxidil cream with 5% azelaic acid
- 50mg of RU58841 on the hairline only
So, since resuming the treatments after my 6 month gap in which I lost ground, I feel things have gotten a bit better in some ways (general thickness), but i'm unsure about my hairline.
What Hamilton Norwood level am I at? I am guessing about a NW2? And how does this compare to my "baseline"?
I have included some pictures, some comparing today with pics from both February 2014, while I was still on finasteride. Also some from mid-2013 just before starting treatments (my "baseline"), and my hair at about age 16. I had a shaved head then so the hairline does not lie in those pics. Also included a few of how I wear my hair normally.
Given that it's still early days on the dutasteride/RU/minoxidil, is this a fairly bulletproof regimen and am I likely to see more improvement over the next year onward? I get minimal side effects from this regime. Slightly reduced sex drive, but I still rub one out 2-3 times per day, and boners are just as good if not better due to exercising more. Some tiny wrinkles under eyes, but that's likely more of an age thing and i'm combating that with Retin-A.
Thanks for reading all this if you did.
Full size pics:
Age 16:
http://abload.de/img/age16lzr3d.png
Hair style today:
http://abload.de/img/hairstyleeqq0s.png
Hairline close up:
http://abload.de/img/hairlinecloseupxyoye.png
Right temple early 2014 vs now:
http://abload.de/img/hlh21fo95.jpg
Shaved right temple mid 2013:
http://abload.de/img/shavedrightg2rhe.png
Left temple mid 2013 vs now:
http://abload.de/img/leftsidecombedoveru8p24.png
Left temple 2014 vs now:
http://abload.de/img/leftside99oxi.png
Lost ground mid to late 2014:
http://abload.de/img/lostgroundmyoqo.jpg
