pictures - sadly not a significant progress

[techprof]

Dear fellow sufferers:
As I said in my story, I have been using xandrox 5 for close to 12 months, xandrox 15 for around 10 months. finasteride at low dosage from sept 2004 (3 times a week 0.625), around 3 months at 1.25 per day, for the last 3 months 2.5 every other day.

Based on what I saw on the mirror, I was thinking that I was making good progress. My brother in law visited us after 18 months. He said my hair looks much better. today, I asked my wife to take pictures (front, top and back). Obviously, I am not making significant progress.( I am not complaining though). With flash, my head looks completely bald (not true). I have lot of baby unpigmented hairs all around the scalp (except the crown). If I dye my hair, it looks good. Sadly the color stays for one week only.
The link is http://photos.yahoo.com/makingslowprogress

I have attached four different pictures (without flash, with flash, combovernoflash, comboverwithflash). In my community (indians in US), very few people are bald.(Probably I am the only one bald in my town). No one knows anything about Norwood, combover etc. That is why I combover. It helps to add topik for functions/parties.
I want the answers for the following questions. If you can't answer all, please answer as many as you can.

1. Is my hairline too bad, what Norwood is it?
2. Am I Norwood 7 already? What Norwood you would call me?
3. If I have to go for Hairtransplantation how many grafts would I need
4. Are my hairs on the sides too short?
5. Will I benefit by taking 2.5 g finasteride every day.
6. Believe it or not, most of the hairs in the front and midscalp are new hairs after the treatment. will I benefit by adding more xandrox/minoxidil per application. I feel that I am responding to xandrox, but might need more minoxidil for the scalp.
7. Am I a good/bad candidate for hair transplant?
8. Would you suggest a different hair style? (Please don't say shave your head, that doesn't work for me. I have tried it)

These pictures were taken immediately after the shower (after towel drying).
My advice to all of them out there, get on finasteride as soon as you can. take pictures regularly. don't believe what you see in the mirror in dim light.

But the fact that the situation has improved slightly compared to before the treatment means that I made the correct decision. I will stick to the treatment for one more year. I will probably add proxiphen-Rx in six months. I will post my pictures after the hair-dye after my next appointment with my barber. It looks much better with the dye. I am also hoping that 18 months after the start of in finasteride, more hairs will fill in.

If you guys have any suggestions on taking pictures, please share them with me.

 

[marsbtchsx]

its late and i dont kno about answering all ur questions but id just like to say that i see balding indians everywhere in my neighborhood..... so u shouldnt feel singled out or anything

 

[20sometingtoo]

First, you definitely need to stop the comb-over.

I'd say you were hovering around NW4 to NW5. Not as bad as you think.

You should pump up the finasteride to 1mg a day - might bring some solid growth out of those little hairs you've got all over the top.

 

[Vega]

1. Is my hairline too bad, what Norwood is it? - Norwood 3-5 i'd say
2. Am I Norwood 7 already? What Norwood you would call me? - no
3. If I have to go for Hairtransplantation how many grafts would I need - maybe 2000 on the hairline, 1000 at the crown
4. Are my hairs on the sides too short? - if you grew your hair it would look better
5. Will I benefit by taking 2.5 g finasteride every day. - difficult to say probably, yes
6. Believe it or not, most of the hairs in the front and midscalp are new hairs after the treatment. will I benefit by adding more xandrox/minoxidil per application. I feel that I am responding to xandrox, but might need more minoxidil for the scalp.
7. Am I a good/bad candidate for hair transplant? - good candidate because you still have hair so you could get a much better coverage and your donor area seems to be ok
8. Would you suggest a different hair style? (Please don't say shave your head, that doesn't work for me. I have tried it) - yes grow it longer, see how you feel with that, im not a fan of shaved head i think it makes you look more bald than you are (look at antony and craig in bigbrother!)

hope this helps

 

[Cornholio]

If you are using xanadrox twice a day (which contains minoxidil) that is great, as minoxidil twice a day is your best chance for regrowth. You might try alternating the Xanadrox 15 in the am with the Xanadrox Night-time at bedtime (which is like xanadrox 5 with retin-a) as some people believe that retin-a might have it's own hair growing properties. (That is less proven and Dr. Lee would say dont do it because too much minoxidil might be absorbed due to the retin-a/xanadrox 15, but it might help : ) This would be pretty harsh though, and you'd have to watch for scalp irritation.

There is a chance you might do better with more finasteride, and taking at least 1mg a day would probably be worthwhile. (You are only taking less than 2mg a week... Normal dose is 7mg a week).

Nizoral shampoo may help thicken those fine hairs, and is easy to do.

That is a good foundation, but of course the list of things you could use is endless... limited only by your bank account and desparation. Good luck.

 

[TheBaldingMenace]

1. Is my hairline too bad, what Norwood is it? I'd say a 4

2. Am I Norwood 7 already? What Norwood you would call me? Ok, the good news is you are NOT a Norwood 7, the bad news is the pattern has set in but your sides and parts of your top are looking better

3. If I have to go for Hairtransplantation how many grafts would I need? I'd guess, quite a few but the good thing is, your horseshoe area is looking good.

4. Are my hairs on the sides too short? Nope

5. Will I benefit by taking 2.5 g finasteride every day. My guess is yes

6. Believe it or not, most of the hairs in the front and midscalp are new hairs after the treatment. will I benefit by adding more xandrox/minoxidil per application. I feel that I am responding to xandrox, but might need more minoxidil for the scalp. My advice would be to not overdue it but to allow time to see what is working best for you. I can see that you're freaking out :freaked2: :freaked2: :freaked2: just a bit But at least you're not at a Norwood 7 but as I mentioned before, a 4

7. Am I a good/bad candidate for hair transplant? I'd say so though of course a consultation with a reputable hair transplant Doctor would be the better judge of that. My gut that you would be comes because it looks like you've got very good donor hair in the horseshoe area!

8. Would you suggest a different hair style? (Please don't say shave your head, that doesn't work for me. I have tried it) Hey, and I've been there and done that too! Instead, keep your hair short and don't do the combover as it attracts attention to your thinning believe it or not.

 

[explife157]

5. Will I benefit by taking 2.5 g finasteride every day. My guess is yes

Why? Is success with finasteride direct dose-dependent? What can be expected for dosage over 1mg?
Thanks.

 

[techprof]

mars, 20somethingtoo, karate kev, cornholio,baldingmenace thanks for your response.
I didn't include my current regimen
finasteride - 2.5 every other day.
xandrox 5 in the AM, xandrox 15 in the PM. Retin-A separately twice a week in the evening. copper peptide (folligen) twice a week.
alternate between nizoral (Dr. Lee's) and Nano shampoo.
oil massage once a week.

20something and Baldingmenace, I am thinking of stopping the combover. In the sides I ask my barber to cut it to grade #2. (1 is the lowest grade, 0 is the skin). should I say #2 for the top also? or should I say #4?

 

[wangho75]

mars, 20somethingtoo, karate kev, cornholio,baldingmenace thanks for your response.
I didn't include my current regimen
finasteride - 2.5 every other day.
xandrox 5 in the AM, xandrox 15 in the PM. Retin-A separately twice a week in the evening. copper peptide (folligen) twice a week.
alternate between nizoral (Dr. Lee's) and Nano shampoo.
oil massage once a week.

20something and Baldingmenace, I am thinking of stopping the combover. In the sides I ask my barber to cut it to grade #2. (1 is the lowest grade, 0 is the skin). should I say #2 for the top also? or should I say #4?

sides and back a #2 and dont even use a grade for top and front, grow it out longer.

 

[techprof]

wangho, thanks for the reply. did you see my pictures. I use some of my hair for combover. To avoid combover how much should I cut these long hairs to (close to 6 inches now I guess).

 

[Shinyscalp23]

i thought i was a 4..but judging from your pictures im not--or..maybe i am its just the areas im losing are smaller---those comb overs are too obvious--while i cant style my hair anymore either--unless i wear toppik...and its extremely short--ill do the emo look--like all combed forward then up in the front--but it only looks good if its no longer than half an inch spiked and better shorter--the longer your hair is when you spike it, for ex, the more you can see thru to your scalp-----get a military crew cuttish style --- and sometimes its better to just comb your hair in the direction that it grows as opposed to trying to hide anything or if u must--only a very slight combover--sometimes it makes your balding look less worse, when you dont try to hide anything, ironically--if i were you..id either completely shave it off on a one---or go on a one on top and a point 5 on the sides..or a 2 on top and a one on the sides--have your barber do it ofcourse-those combovers are just too obvious--dont take it personal--im telling you this so you can look good---get a crew cut--go the shortest possible--even if your balding spots show it will look much smarter and more dignified than that--but ofcourse youre married what do u care--im single--you already have someone lol--maybe i didnt look at the pictures well enough, but to me it appears you are an extremely diffuse thinner and it would probably be better to get a procedure done than waste your money on these irritating topicals that offer limited results--i think youre too far gone for it to do much more but then again i could be wrong...not trying to hurt your feelings, just being honest and trying to point you in what i would consider the right direction--and im not knocking the topicals either--theyve done me well--but theres only so much hair they can (re)grow

 

[wangho75]

wangho, thanks for the reply. did you see my pictures. I use some of my hair for combover. To avoid combover how much should I cut these long hairs to (close to 6 inches now I guess).

The bottom 2 pics look pretty good. I'd go 4 inches on the top and keep the sides like in the last 2 pics. Short enough so not to have to comb over and add a bit more thickness and long enough to provide some coverage on the vertex.

 

[SE-freak]

I would avoid combing over no matter what. It shows weakness and drows attention. The feeling of nudity after that will go away after some parties with your friends.

 

[techprof]

shinyscalp, wangho and sefreak thanks for your responses.

Shingyscalp, thanks for being frank. My hair looks slightly better than the withflash pictures. I will give it one more year after which I am planning to go for the transplant. I am not sure if it is a good idea to continue the treatments anymore.

The a**h** who commented in a party earlier said yesterday that I have grown some hair. Yes, we are very a*** about hairloss, combover, scars etc.

For regular NW1 people, they don't know much about hairloss, thinning, combover etc. The next time I go to the barber, I am planning to cut those long hairs to 4 inches and see how it feels.

Petermac in the other forum mentioned in a thread that for NW5 and NW6 finasteride can take upto 4 years to restore diffuse hair loss and deminiaturize. I have been finasteride regularly only for 8 months or so. I am hoping those baby hairs might thicken up in one more year after which I am getting the hair transplant.

 

[Shinyscalp23]

up to 4 or 5 years for finasteride..why wait so long when you can get results from a cosmetic procedure thats much faster? theres always the option of a good quality hair system that gives you results in real time if you want to avoid the inconvenience and discomfort of surgery..and if the results look great, who cares if anyone knows..when people tell me my hair looks really good, I tell them most of it washes off in the shower lol ( toppik)...and the expenses of taking finasteride forever versus a quick procedure must be taken into consideration..look at it this way---at least youre not 23 and have a severe hair loss problem like me..and it is true--you have grown some hair but theres only so much hair minoxidil and propecia can grow--im happy with my limited results just because i see that it is in fact working--but my area of concern is alittle smaller in the back and just a tad thicker in the front...if you have to wait up to 5 years just to see some results with propecia, then it isnt worth the expense since you have to use it indefinitely and the results are often minimal at best to begin with..another thing...light-in regards to your pictures with flash and in general-always makes it look worse-thats normal--but if youre not seeing decent results and its been a year, whats the point? It is quite possible that youre maintaining what you have, but is maintaining what you have enough to make you happy with your current situation? for me it is, but thats just a personal decision you have to make on your own..dr lee dr lewenberg and friends and all dermatologists are salesmen-they will always tell you to keep using these treatments and that theyre working, you just have to give it more time...i get my minoxidil/retin-a from my personal dermatologist, and while im impressed with what i see so far, it is by no means a dramatic difference...and when i told my derm that i was starting to shed again..he told me that it was because of the weather..which i know is bullshit...nevertheless, im merely using him to get this more potent minoxidil formula and disregarding anything he says..my point is this : dont let any doctor convince you that these topicals will perform miracles--unless you absolutely have to for financial reasons or other personal reasons, why give it another year--why not just get it over with, get your hair transplant, and go on with your life so you wont have to keep thinking about your hair...im personally just buying time until i can do something that will definitely give awesome results..youre better off using finasteride and getting the hair transplant NOW, so you can maintain the great results with that

 

[anayak76]

Desis

Hey techprof, I feel your pain on Indians not balding. I do say that I have a ton of Indian friends who are balding though. It's not that uncommon.

But alas, despite that I've maintained a decent amount of hair (been on propecia for 5 yrs and 8 months), I still notice all the guys with full heads of hair at an Indian party or function.

 

[techprof]

anayak76, 29 and balding as an Indian sucks big time. All my party mates /the so called shallow friends have NW1 at 35-40 years.

Shinyscalp, click the following link. I am considering hair transplant and I was told that I would need 3500 grafts. I am thinking of getting this done in India as it is cheaper and convenient (one day). If I find reasonable rates in the South East (Atlanta etc) I will do it there.

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... hair transplant=#160185

 

[md2002]

This is depressing, Your pictures is exactly what I think I am going to look like in a few more years.

 

[Diesel]

Get rid of that comb over. Try a style like Kelsey in the link below. You are probably around the same in terms of loss, although you may have more crown loss.

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800020246&cf=pg&photoid=563730&intl=us

I also see lots of balding Indians around. And believe me, everyone spots the comb over.

Good luck.

 

[techprof]

thanks Diesel. I definitely have more hair in the front than Kelsey. I have compared my videos/pictures with Frasier. For some reason I thought that I had more than him, but may be I am wrong. I will stop the combover soon.