Pics of the loss

[coffee]

Howdy friends,

I've been reading posts here for a few weeks now and I feel I've know quite a few of you already even though we've never had a conversation!

Here are some pics of where I stand:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ilovedahl2000

I'm now 28 and I started losing hair when I was 22. It wasn't too bad at first. I felt I was lucky at having only a bit of recession at the temples and a general thinning of the front hairline. Scared shitless? Nah. At the time I was willing to take one for the team - I could accept my new 'mature' hairline as long as the rest of my hair stayed ungodly thick and black. Over the past 2 years however, the diffuse thinning has kicked in. My hair has gotten thin everywhere. Moreso on the top and vertex.

Now I'm scared shitless. I got a prescription for Proscar a few weeks ago and I've been splitting fourths since then with no serious side-effects (a few pimples here and there are doable). I want to stop further loss and reverse the thinning. I'm contemplating adding some minoxidil to the mix so as to thicken things up but I'm a little hesitant to add anything to my regimen....I don't want to have a regimen!

I'm going down. I think these pics show the start of what I expect to happen to me when I look at my 35 year old brother. He's been sporting a progressively bigger and bigger cueball since he was in his early 20's. The happy horseshoe awaits me my friends.

So whaddya guys think? suggestions? offerings?

I'd love to write some more but since this is my first post, I'll keep it short. HairLossTalk.com, this site is a great site and I think a very real form of refuge for those struggling with this very shitty sh*t.

 

[tpeter]

damn looks like my hair except dark not blonde and you look like you have a strong hair line. I would use some minoxidil in the thinning in the middle and some nizoral shampoo as well as your propecia and you will be good. YOu have hair like mine that if you comb it right you cant tell anything.

 

[Cassin]

Were it me, I would just stay on the Proscar and add minoxidil later if need be. Give the finasteride a shot first alone, try to keep it as simple as possible. Your hair still looks good!

 

[The Gardener]

I think you have decided to start finasteride at JUST the right time. You have a good base to work with. As you know, any time you start a hair treatment you can expect some shedding, so be prepared and just ride it out if you get some.

As far as adding minoxidil, I would hold off for now. If you are a good finasteride responder, then hopefully you can contain your problem with that alone. Give the finasteride some significant time to show effects before adding anything else it. You have thinning hairs in the front and center, but if the finasteride works for you, hopefully it alone will improve hair quality there and you would not need a regrowth agent such as minoxidil.

I'd suggest giving the finasteride 4-5 months. You need to remember that the resting stage of hair lasts 100 days or so... so you will not see stronger finasteride-enhanced hair for at least three months. At that point, reevaluate. If finasteride does not work, you could then begin minoxidil or xandrox and the minoxidil shed would not compound a potential finasteride shed that you might have coming your way.

 

[Guest]

Your in good shape.

I would recommend

Nano Shampoo
Folligen conditioner

Xandrox 5%
Nizoral 2%

 

[The Gardener]

Youngguy, although Xandrox is an excellent product to recommend, I think you also have to approach what we baldys call our 'regimen' from a lifestyle perspective as well. Start simple, and only add products as needed, as each added element means an added level of time and money needed to continue the treatment. If someone can treat their hairloss with finasteride alone then why add the extra monthly cost of Xandrox so early? Given that this gentleman has thinning, but excellent coverage, I'd think he might be a very good candidate for a potential finasteride-only solution.

 

[coffee]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice folks. Most of the replies echo my reservations about adding more treatment to the mix. I'm prepared to ride out finesteride for a while and see where that gets me but I'm anxious to start filling in the thinning spaces too.

I've given my hair a good buzz since those pics and that seems to help a bit. If it wasn't for my pear shaped melon, I'd giv'er on the shaved head without a second thought.

Here's to stage 2 of my long term, 7-stage comb over plan.