Should I use the Big 3 at this age and condition?

[AlecGaro]

Hey everyone I posted here before but this time i did a week's worth of research and now I'm back here to ask the question I stated in the title. Keep in mind I am nearly 20 years old. My father has some balding in his side of the family while on my moms side there is not that much really. I believe I have fully finished puberty since I have a chest full of hair and my back has started to develop some as well.. also I have seemed to level out on my height for the past few years.

Okay now that we get that out of the way.. before I ask the specifics, take a look at the pictures of my hair I have attached to this thread so you can get an idea of what I am dealing with (taken a week ago).


So do you think its time for me to start the big 3? I bought a very good quality keto shampoo last week and have been starting to use it and it looks promising.. so really here are my true questions I want to ask you:

1) Should I continue my fight by using finasteride and minoxidil at this time and condition? (mostly concerned about the side effects at this time)

2) I have heard that using finasteride has caused some peoples hair to completely lose its texture and make it flimsy, thin and brittle.. even after they stopped using finasteride. is this a true side effect?

3) Do you have to wash your hair before you use minoxidil in the morning and evening? (If that is the case I don't think I can do it since I have extremely dry hair in the first place and usually only wash it once every other day, sometimes even 3 days, so I don't constantly strip the natural oils from my hair)

4) Does anyone know of a good hydrating/moisturizing conditioner for your hair I could use after my Keto shampoo? (I currently have tricomin conditioning shampoo and it leaves my hair feeling dry and stripped of moisture)


Thank you so much everyone! Also even if you can't leave an answer to any of the 4 questions I asked, please just tell me about your experience with the Big 3. Thanks!

 

[SayifDoit]

You are NW2, I would just recommend you get on a low dosage of Propecia, 0.25.
Or saw palmetto needs a good brand/ and correct dosage.

Be careful of sides, stop if it happesns.
Makes sure, if you plan on using it, update us on your progress.

 

[AlecGaro]

You are NW2, I would just recommend you get on a low dosage of Propecia, 0.25.
Or saw palmetto needs a good brand/ and correct dosage.

Be careful of sides, stop if it happesns.
Makes sure, if you plan on using it, update us on your progress.

Thank you for the response.. but I have a 5mg generic finasteride and that would be impossible to split into pieces that small. I was thinking about splitting into 1.25 mg pieces, at the very smallest i would make them 0.625-1 mg pieces. Why would you say I should start off at an incredibly small dosage of 0.25?

Also when I do start it I will definitely be taking progress pictures every month

Could you answer the question I have about minoxidil as well?

 

[SayifDoit]

I'm sorry I honestly don't know much about the procedure of taking minoxidil(check up on-line, type 'applying minoxidil' read through forums),I would honestly not bother with it, it's a bit of a hassle and regardless if you do get on propecia, I expect you'll completely restore your hairline. No need for added products, no need to spend more money. Though of course you'll get results quicker with minoxidil, though the whole thing is an ordeal, shedding, hassle to put on etc.
Can't guarantee it though, never can, but I'm like 90% sure.
I advise 0.25 because finasteride is really effective even that low!!!!! Less chance of SERIOUS sides.
Here is a graph showing how finasteride blocks DHT:
http://i.imgur.com/Rim5lKa.gif
And considering you hair loss status only nw2, I can only assume itd not that aggresive (not an expert) you can up the dosage after a month....
0.25 is great for maintaining but of course you want to get on 1, so you get serious regrowth.

 

[AlecGaro]

Yeah I want to regrow asap so I think around 1mg would probably be best. And I never understood how to read that graph.. it says after the 1.5 mg finasteride drops the plasma DHT to 31 ng/dl in 2 day and then to 45 ng/dl in 8 week. Then for 0.2mg dose that you are recommending the plasma DHT barely drops at all to 56 ng/dl in 2 days and then to 61 ng/dl after 8 days.

If I am reading that correctly then 1.5 mg dose dropped the DHT level significantly more than the 0.2 mg dose (even significantly more than the 0.5 mg dose). So please explain

 

[GoldenMane]

Yeah I agree with saydoit, maybe 0.5 mg of finasteride, you don't need minoxidil in my opinion, you're acting very early. minoxidil is mostly for people who have lost significant amounts of hair and want to regrow/thicken, but in your case finasteride alone will probably be enough.

 

[AlecGaro]

Yeah I agree with saydoit, maybe 0.5 mg of finasteride, you don't need minoxidil in my opinion, you're acting very early. minoxidil is mostly for people who have lost significant amounts of hair and want to regrow/thicken, but in your case finasteride alone will probably be enough.

Thank you for your help goldenmane! But I was gonna say I have probably lost about a quarter of an inch of my hairline as well and it has been losing thickness a bit aggressively as well. After saying that do you think I should still not take any minoxidil? Because from what I know finasteride's only job is to block DHT to the scalp. It does nothing in really making any significant growth of hair (that is where minoxidil comes in) I wan't to try to go back to where I was now that I still have a chance because it started getting bad only 1-2 years ago!

Also GoldenMane thank you for your "4 Months on the Big three, big improvement!" post! I just left a comment on it. Is there any way you could leave me a response on there really quick after your respond to this? I appreciate your help, honestly your story is really motivating!

 

[GoldenMane]

I think your hairline looks really good, if it was me I would be happy with maintaining it where it is, which is what finasteride will hopefully do for you. I use minoxidil because I lost a lot of density, but finasteride will probably regrow some hair on it's own, mostly the thinner miniaturised hair. I think you'll be surprised how much finasteride alone can do Not as much as finasteride and minoxidil combined, but whatever treatment you go with, you're going to have to commit to for as long as you want you hair. minoxidil is more hassle than just finasteride alone, if you can get good results without minoxidil then that's better, you'll save money and hassle. I would start with 0.5 mg finasteride, or 1.25 mg finasteride if you think the loss is more aggressive (there's not a huge difference in effectiveness between the doses), try it for 6-9 months. then if you aren't happy with the results add minoxidil. finasteride will stabilize everything for most guys, so there's no need to rush in and try minoxidil unless you really want very fast and dramatic results, but your hair is already fine.

Without before photos we cannot say, but it hasn't actually started getting bad yet, nobody would look at you and think you were losing your hair

 

[AlecGaro]

I think your hairline looks really good, if it was me I would be happy with maintaining it where it is, which is what finasteride will hopefully do for you. I use minoxidil because I lost a lot of density, but finasteride will probably regrow some hair on it's own, mostly the thinner miniaturised hair. I think you'll be surprised how much finasteride alone can do Not as much as finasteride and minoxidil combined, but whatever treatment you go with, you're going to have to commit to for as long as you want you hair. minoxidil is more hassle than just finasteride alone, if you can get good results without minoxidil then that's better, you'll save money and hassle. I would start with 0.5 mg finasteride, or 1.25 mg finasteride if you think the loss is more aggressive (there's not a huge difference in effectiveness between the doses), try it for 6-9 months. then if you aren't happy with the results add minoxidil. finasteride will stabilize everything for most guys, so there's no need to rush in and try minoxidil unless you really want very fast and dramatic results, but your hair is already fine.

Without before photos we cannot say, but it hasn't actually started getting bad yet, nobody would look at you and think you were losing your hair

Just take the usual 1.25 mg, cut the 5 mg tablet into quarters. If you get side effects then try lowering the dose to 0.5 or 0.25 mg per day (buy 1 mg tablets and cut into halves or quarters).The response isn't linear, 0.5 mg is almost as effective as 1 mg, and 5 mg is barely more effective than 1 mg at reducing DHT, so don't worry about not getting the full dose, this isn't an exact science.

No wash your hair once a day or every second day. Shampoo dries out your scalp by removing natural oils. Wash in the morning, dry and apply minoxidil, then at night don't wash just apply minoxidil or vice versa. I only use minoxidil once a day before bed. I'm a diffuse thinner so I have abigger area to apply minoxidil too (4 ml) so for economic reasons I can only afford to apply it once a day. A one month bottle lasts me about 12 days.

thank you.. you have honestly helped me so much! And is it possible to just ask one more question? I use Lipogaine Keto Shampoo.. but for the "conditioner" afterwards I have started to use Tricomin Conditioning Shampoo. I don't know if you are familiar with it but for me it seems to really dry out my hair. Do you know of any moisturizing/hydrating conditioners I could use after my Keto Shampoo to keep some moisture in my hair (hopefully one with no SLS)?

Also maybe its possible for you to tell me your shower hair care routine? Like tell me do you shampoo first then use the Keto and then a conditioner? And which products you use as well. Thank you again so much!