mulder said:
This is all true CCS but I don't think many are arguing that needling improves the thickness of already existing hair or prevents further loss. What people seem to claim is that it is capable of 'rejuvenating' or perhaps even producing new follicles by breaking up some of the old fibrosis and encouraging fresh collagen and vascularization. Most people I've seen who have claimed success with it seem to think it has an effect on it's own and don't think increased absorption of topicals is the reason it works.
The rollers that are commercially available are between 0.3-0.8mm or so. What is the minimum depth of scalp hair follicles? I would imagine it is well below that.. I personally plan on using it on my bald spot in the back and the temples first and wait to see what the results are. If they're unambiguously positive I'll use it over my entire scalp in the hope it will improve overall density as well as bringing new hair to bald patches.
If you haven't read it before check out this thread:
http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/mess ... SGDBTABLE=
Nice to see someone willing to do the legwork, and not simply wanting to be spoon-fed information. What a revelation. This thread has actually given me great hope for the forum. I previous thought it to be filled with mental masturbators, and self-indulgent Google scientists with their techno-jargon and needy inferior flock.
Not everyone loses their hair merely due to DHT, me included. And still you have people willing to practically castrate themselves with finasteride/dustasteride based on limited clinical studies backed by greedy pharmas, and furthered by the broken FDA monitoring/reporting process.
No matter how we try to convince ourselves, the prostate of a normal healthy young male was never meant to be reduced to the size of a pea. It's tad amount to placing yourself in a whole body cast to heal a broken finger.... topical/potential systematic absorption vs. oral administration. Think too about: reducing inflammation, perifollicular fibrosis, and increasing collagen, vascularity, circulation, oxygen etc.
Also, more people need to
think quality over quantity. And we should be just as concerned about scalp health to support that growing hair. My hair is softer, thicker, more resilient, and
yes darker, with a hairline of that of my late teens/early twenties. I spent the entire summer with my hair completely impervious to humidity. Everyone now asks me what's so drastically different about my appearance... to the point of redundancy. Obviously, I'm not going to tell them about needling, or my hairloss regimen in general.
I already did the straight minoxidil/finasteride thing for YEARS, to the result of a greater quantity of otherwise thin, reedy, lifeless, unkempt hair. Not to mention, I experienced finasteride side-effects up the wazoo, which
GREATLY affected my quality of life.
I suggest everyone finding the needling procedure painful trying it with a wet scalp. This will greatly break surface tension and soften the blow. Otherwise, take it like a man. I needle only twice a week to give the region time to properly heal. And if you can't afford the Dermaroller, lancets are super cheap. Just make sure to keep the needle sterile as to not introduce any unwanted problems.
Here's my entire regimen:
2-3x a week skin needling
2-3x a week retin-a
5-7x a week minoxidil
3-5x a week Inflama-Rest topical conncoction (along with pure Optimsm, androgynous caffeine, vitamin C, and capsacin) Just be careful with the Inflama-rest, as too much can stain the scalp. Incidentally, too much capsacin will unduly burn like a mother.
Caffeine Anhydrous
http://www.bulknutrition.com/?products_id=748
Opti-MSM (increases cell permeability)
http://www.opti-msm.com/
Source Natural's Inflama-rest (acts as a multi-faceted Cox-2 inhibitor)
http://www.sourcenaturals.com/products/GP1724/
Blammo. Better hair, and more of it. Better appearance. Move on with your life. YMMV.
Exactly what do you f'ckers have to lose?