Sighconot's Story - (19.5 /looking for advice)

[Sighconot]

Hey everyone,

I haven't been here in a while, but I thought it'd be a good time to come back. I suppose this will be a "story" thread, but what I really hope is that I'm going to get some advice on where to go from here. It's been 1.5 years since I started dealing with hair loss, and I'm not in a very good spot right now. Here's a point-by-point "recap" of my journey so far... I'd really appreciate it if you read it and gave me some feedback.

- I began to lose my hair when I was a sophomore in high school. I started growing my hair out a bit longer back then and after a while I began to notice that my bangs weren't really coming together very well. It was still a rather managable Norwood 2 though, so I didn't think too much of it. Then senior year came, and around the time I hit 17 my hair began to rapidly detiriorate into a Norwood 3. This really hit me hard, and I'm sure a lot of you can relate. I'm not gonna describe all the bad memories and experience, but I became very self-conscious and insecure about my physical appearance. As a result I feel like I didn't mature into the confident individual I otherwise could have coming out of high school.

- Going away to college, I discovered hairlosstalk and quickly got on the Big 3. It was a rough first month or so, but results definitely came. I went from a very noticeable Norwood 3 back to a nice Norwood 2. Those of you that've had some success can probably relate with me here too... I stopped wearing hats all the time, started feeling a lot better about myself and was able to style my hair in ways I had long abandonned. This worked well for about 9-12 months...

My early gains on the Big 3

- Around the end of last summer, I let go of liquid rogaine and switched to rogaine foam. I didn't suddenly lose all my gains, but the picture became considerably less rosy after that. My hair got to the point where, even if I wasn't embarassed to go out hatless in public, it simply wasn't something I could feel good about anymore. So I decided to try something new and shaved my head. In some ways, I really like liked it, but for the most part it just wasn't a good look for me. I'm pretty lanky, still very young (19.5) and live in a youth culture where hair is very important... while I really hope that someday I might be able to pull it off better (maybe when I study abroad, or get around to bulking up), right now it just isn't (/wasn't) congruent w/ my image or lifestyle.

- Under normal conditions I would've just tried to ride things out on the Big 3, but the real disaster stuck when (after a very brief pause) I got back on propecia. I was hit hard by a very, very bad depression that came out of nowhere. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I'm almost certain that it was a propecia side-effect. I quickly stopped taking propecia, and now some 3 and a half months later I'm finally more or less back to normal.

- The good news is that, in the meanwhile, I discovered Toppik. I really can't say enough good things about this product - it's really changed my life in the past two months or so. I went from being very frustrated with how my hair looked to being self-confident and happy about it. This has really rubbed off on the rest of my life... I can tell that I'm becoming more confident in general, and I'm noticing more and more cute girls showing an interest in me or checking me out. After a few months off of the Big 3, thinning has returned but it still isn't horrible and the toppik covers it.

My hair with a healthy dose of Toppik... you can see why I'd like to keep it.

So where's the problem? Here's the problem I'm facing now:

I'm not really doing anything to stop the thinning, and if I don't do anything then I'm sure my hairline will get destroyed again. I don't need a Norwood 1 with Toppik - something around a Norwood 2 is perfectly fine. But I'm scared that if my hair keeps up its freefall, even Toppik won't help me out. This is a very frightening thought... maybe sometime in the not-too-distantfuture I can think of permanently rocking the shaved-head look for a few years until hair cloning's 2012 ETA, but now is definitely not the time (the advice I've gotten from friends who've lived through my shaved phase has been overwhelmingly negative or ambivalent).

At the same time, the last thing I want is for my depression to return. As much as I want to keep my hair, nothing is worth living life like that, devoid of joy and staring into the void. I need to know what I can do besides risking propecia again? I have some money in the bank right now, and I'm thinking about Revivogen... is this a good idea? And if so, what could I combine it with? Should I get back on rogaine alongside it? A laser-comb? Really guys, I'm looking for any non-propecia alternative that will just help me keep the hair I have now for as long as possible. A little bit of regrowth along the temples would be a nice benefit, but at this point I'm really not about to be picky about it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

you look like you regrew a lot of hair back with treatment, just keep it up.

Hair looks great with topik btw.

 

[Defenton]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

hey man youre hair looks great in latest photo. You're initial results were what helped me choose my path. I was wondering, are you still on rogaine? and have you tried propecia at a lower dosage? also did you get the connection diagnosed ?

Secondly, off topic, as this is effecting me. Did the hair you regrow ever seem to reach a certain length and stop or did it become indistinguishable from the rest?

safe

 

[philly]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

...

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

I had sides too, but they gradually subsidized, I also recommand trying out a lower dose to see if it helps.

 

[Sighconot]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

Philly, thank you so much for the advice - I really appreciate it. I didn't even know something like finasgel existed... I'll look into what you said when I have some time tomorrow and read up a bit on the main HairLossTalk.com page.

hey man youre hair looks great in latest photo. You're initial results were what helped me choose my path. I was wondering, are you still on rogaine? and have you tried propecia at a lower dosage? also did you get the connection diagnosed ?

Secondly, off topic, as this is effecting me. Did the hair you regrow ever seem to reach a certain length and stop or did it become indistinguishable from the rest?

safe

Hey Defenton,

I'm glad I "inspired" you so to speak and I hope your battle with hair loss is going in a good direction. I'm not on rogaine at the moment, but it's only because of all the havoc from the past few months and the fact that I was really disappointed by the foam. I'll figure out the details of my new regimen in the next few days though, and I'm almost certain that something like liquid rogaine will definitely be there. So yeah... am I on rogaine? Not right now. Do I "endorse" rogaine? 100%.

If you're asking whether I got the connection between the propecia and the depression diagnosed, the answer is no. I'm near positive it was the propecia though, because things first started looking up a bit in the week or so after I quit it. For what it's worth, this depression was like absolutely nothing I had ever experienced before, and I find it hard to believe that it just came out of nowhere. Besides the finasteride, I don't see what else could've triggered it either. Propecia at a lower dosage is a possibility, but that last batch (which I still have) caused me so much trouble and pain that I'd do just about anything to avoid the risk. I'm not condemning propecia here or anything, just saying that there are a lot of variables involved and that I no longer feel that it's right for me.

As for the specific question about your hair, it's hard for me to say but I think I might know what you're talking about. The hair I regained restored a solid hairline and really filled up my frontal scalp, but the temple regions were never quite the same as the front of the forehead. I wasn't about to complain about having my hairline back, but with the ups-and-downs of the Big 3 it could definitely get a little frustrating that my bangs tended to be a little shorter and thinner on the sides. Of course, now that those gains have started to erode away, I realize that with a little styling and toppik all of this could've been avoided. Maybe this is what you were referring to?

Sorry for the long reply - if you can't tell, I'm a pretty wordy guy, haha. I hope I've answered all your questions.

- Sighconot

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

once male pattern baldness kicks in, the thickness is never the same, temple regrowth is VERY hard, I am planning to get a hair transplant to fill in the temples when I am older.

 

[Defenton]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

Thanks SIghconot. I'd say mine were at 60% or so thickness, but it's the length that concerns me. However, I shall keep track of my temples over the next few months and see if they do lengthen at all. I plan to keep my hair at its current length for a while as i think the style suits me better than short hair. I was thinking of maybe trying some toppik as well (on my fringe) as its worked effectively for you. Is it an over the counter thing?



safe

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

you can buy toppik online

 

[Sighconot]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

RaginDeamon is right - just get it off Amazon. Unfortunately, the hairline is definitely the hardest place to apply toppik. You'll need a little practice to get it just right, but having a "toppik spray applicator" (look it up) will probably help - I'll be ordering mine soon. For me, the main advantage of toppik is that it allows me to spike up the hair behind the hairline a little bit. Under normal conditions, doing that would just make the scalp more obvious, but toppik sort of "colors in" the thinning areas so that you can have the purposely messy/bed-hair kind of look without any problems.

 

[Sighconot]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

Guys he said he wanted you to carefully read his story before answering.

I have a good plan for you:

1/ Start finasgel (http://www.sinere.com/shop/304SP2_relea ... dukte.html)

Good thing about it is you only need to leave it on your scalp for 30 min (30 min before the evening shover for example).

It is relatively cheap and probably won't give you any sides.

2/ Get on minoxidil again. Now, the foam is proven to be almost useless and the liquid is working but is a greasy mess. Both are a MESS to apply in the long run so what should you do?

Firstly buy a bottle of Spectral DNC. Empty it. Secondly buy some dr lee #500 minoxidil or another non-greasy, fast-drying and effective minoxidil solution. Put that minoxidil in the spectral bottle. After evening shover and in the morning (wash hair with water first), while keeping your head tilted back slightly, hold the applicator 2-3mm from your scalp and apply 16 squirts to your head. 4 1-2cm behind the hairline, another 4 3cm behind and so on. NO NEED to put your fingers in your hair afterwards to spread the minoxidil solution. 14 squirts is 1.4mL.

Optional: (recommended because very easy to keep up with)

3/ Nizoral for 5-10min every 3 days.

4/ Activ M shampoo for 2 min all the other days.

P.S. Totally forget all supplements. They're all completely useless.

Good luck!

Ok. Philly, thanks again for your advice. Here are my questions.

1. Finasgel seems very interesting and, since I'm awake for more than an hour before I head for college in the morning, it could really fit well into my schedule. My only question there is what you think about combining it with revivogen? I don't mean at the same time, but as part of the same regimen - finasgel in the morning and revivogen before bed. Would it be effective? Safe? Unnecessary? Counterproductive?

2. With the minoxidil, what's the point of buying the Spectral DNC bottle if you're just going to empty it? I didn't have any major problems with applying liquid rogaine earlier, but it was just a pain in the *** waiting the reccomended 2 hours before taking a shower. You mentioned that Dr. Lee's #500 minoxidil dries faster - does that mean I'd be able to shower my hair sooner?

Thanks in advance.

 

[philly]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

...

 

[abovedagame]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

from what I have read (please dont quote me on this) minoxidil needs to remain on the scalp for at least 4 hours before washed out. I would research that subject on dr. lee's website (minoxidil.com) it might be under the FAQ. anyways, good luck siconoght. I've been following your progress and it seems like your hair made a great comback.

 

[philly]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

..

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

its proven once more alcohol is da shizzle! lol

 

[Sighconot]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

Ah, so I just looked up what the Spectral DNC "Bottle" looks like. I didn't know, so at first it sounded like you were recommending I buy one random bottle, empty its contents and then fill it up with the contents of another bottle - didn't make a lot of sense, haha. Of course, now I see that it has the weird tube or whatever... I don't see how exactly it works, but I can understand why it'd be more effective. I'll try and find all the products online and order them tomorrow... hopefully I'll get back on my regimen by the end of the week. I could really do with regaining some of what I've lost over the past month or two... wish me luck. :-/

 

[abovedagame]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

I'm sure you'll be fine man, your initial gains were impressive ineed. Goodluck bro

 

[Sighconot]

Re: What now? 19.5-y-o, 1.5 years in and looking for advice.

Firstly concerning the application of minoxidil. The spectral bottle is simply the best way to apply it (using the method described). You do this after the shover and leave in for the whole day. Almost nothing touches your hair so this is not a problem.

If you really can't stand minoxidil in your hair during the day (this isn't a problem with the application method described in the first post), you could buy some xandrox 15. The latter contains 70% alcohol so instead of having to wait 1.5-2 hours, you could wash out the minoxidil after 45min-1h. This is really interesting and something I have thought of doing.

Secondly concerning the finasgel, I'd recommend applying it before your evening shover. In the morning one's usually stressed so it's not a very good time to do it. For example, you apply it 15 min before brushing your teeth in the evening and wash it out in the shover. I would not combine it with revivogen. The latter is a greasy mess (I have never tested it... just from testimonials on this site).

Another option would be to skip the finasgel and buy promox (dires even faster and is cleaner and less greasy than the #500 lee solution), which contains finasteride, and simply use that twice a day.

Ok, Philly - I'll order everything tonight.

I've finally gotten around to looking up some information on Finasgel. I didn't realize it was so new... seems very promising.

With the minoxidil, is there any reason why instead of ordering Dr. Lee's online I couldn't just walk into CVS and grab some liquid rogaine? The only reason I'm asking is because my hair is approaching baseline and, since the finasgel will take at least two weeks to get here, I'm pretty anxious to start something.

I also noticed the various "Nanominox" products on Sinere's site... what do you think of them?

Thanks again,

- Sighconot

 

[Sighconot]

Re: Sighconot's story - (19.5-y-o looking for advice)

Well, it looks like there might be some trouble with ordering the finasgel. It's a shame, because it seems like a very exciting treatment, but at this point I just don't have the patience to wait the 3-4 weeks to figure everything out w/ the order and wait for it to arrive. I will definitely keep an eye out on it though, and maybe jump on that in a few months. For the next three months though, I think this will be my initial regimen.

Revivogen scalp therapy 1x daily, afternoon
Rogaine 5%, 2x daily, early afternoon / late night
Nizoral 2%, 3x weekly, morning
Revivogen shampoo/conditioner, 4x weekly, morning

There might be a little left to be desired with the application of some of these treatments (I've heard about revivogen and I know rogaine can be a pain), but I don't think you can say much against its effectiveness as a non-finasteride method. If I eventually figure out where to order Dr. Lee's minoxidil, I'll probably replace the regular rogaine with that - till then, I never minded it too much.

I'll have all the materials I need by the end of the week, and then I'll start up right away. I'll definitely keep you guys updated with my progress/experience over the next frew months. My first and foremost goal is to just stop the hairloss in its tracks, but ideally I'd like to regain some of my earlier "regains" from the Big 3 and re-restore my hairline as well... we'll see. I also ordered a Toppik applicator, which will probably help out a lot in styling my hair. Overall I feel like I can only go up from here and am looking forward to start.

 

[philly]

Re: Sighconot's story - (19.5-y-o looking for advice)

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