SP, 5% minoxidil, DMSO, Dermaroll (DO NOT TRY MY REGIMEN)

[lickawrist]

There's a lot of buzz going around with this supposed "Prostaglandin Protocol" and the person behind its theory, swisstemples. Ironically, there's a surprising lack of evidence that documents the regimen's efficacy; only anecdotal claims despite its familiarity among male pattern baldness-sufferers. Well, I've decided to be the first person to document his progress on the prostaglandin approach to see if swisstemple's theory really has any scientific merit at all. I do this as a service to all hair-loss sufferers. There's so much misinformation and "broscience" out there, so hopefully my documentation will dispel some myths regarding hair loss.

Regarding the regimen, it is my legal obligation to tell all of those who are reading: DO NOT TRY THIS REGIMEN. Many of the compounds in the prostaglandin approach have relatively unknown side-effects. I've only decided to do this because I am already WELL AWARE OF THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES. I may lose more hair, or I may regrow hair as a result of this regimen. The point is, I've come to accept my hair-loss; I don't care about it enough to continue the conventional treatments. In a way, I am sacrificing my hair to become your guys' guinea pig. I have great friends who could care less about the locks on my scalp, which is why I've decided to do this. Again, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS. If you're hair is thinning, GO SEE A DERM OR Doctor TO GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS USE TREATMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN CLINICALLY PROVEN TO WORK. There's always a risk with exotic and experimental treatments, which is why I can't stress enough: DO NOT DO THIS

I don't have pictures, but I'll post my baseline pics once I get off from work sometime this evening.

Regimen:
-Finasteride .25mg EOD (2 weeks, brain fog, decreased libido, over-exhaustion, watery semen, zero to minimal shedding)
-Saw Palmetto 450mg ED (no SE other than slightly decreased libido and reduced shedding)
-minoxidil 5% 2-4 times ED w/ DMSO once-a-day
-Dermaroll 1.5mm Once-a-week
-Castor oil 2ml oral; 2ml w/ DMSO at night ED
-LiCl

Upcoming additions:
-Retin-a (Trip to the derm sometime in the next 1-2 weeks)
-LiCl (still coming in the mail)
-Sulfasalazine (I don't know how I am going to get a prescription for this)

Finasteride works. A bit too well; after two weeks of feeling miserable and tired, I've decided to drop it--it was affecting my performance at work and getting up at 3 in the morning everyday was a challenge for me. My shedding on finasteride had virtually stopped, but I opted to replace the drug with another alternative, SP. My Doctor's professional opinion on it was negative to say the least, but I went with the idea anyways. I'm almost a week into SP and the number of shed hairs on the shower floor dropped from 30-40 to about 10 AT THE MOST. Not as effective as finasteride, but I don't feel as miserable, so I think I will keep SP in my regimen until finasteride becomes a last resort for me. finasteride works great, but I decided to drop it because it was affecting my physical work performance (I move freight around).

No SE from minoxidil and DMSO other than flaky and peeling skin. I've only been using minoxidil for a couple weeks, so no significant progress to document.

Currently, I am incorporating dermarolling into my regimen. I realize that the discussion of dermarolling is forbidden, so I won't go any further than this; I'd just thought it'd be worth mentioning that DM is part of my regimen. I only do it once-a-week.

Wish me luck.

 

[TD500]

Not really familiar with all the compounds he uses but I know some of it is dangerous or hard to obtain. Good luck either way and looking forward to your progress.

 

[lickawrist]

Thanks. My ultimate goal isn't to regrow hair, but to dispel any myths, or misconceptions regarding prostaglandins and their role in Androgenetic Alopecia's pathogenesis. There are so many scams and quacks out there that promise "an alternative" to clinical treatments; this is dangerous and UNFAIR to hair loss sufferers because it further complicates their condition by casting misinformation regarding finasteride. Hopefully, at the end of my regimen, I can give many others a clearer picture of what they can expect and in turn help them deduce the best possible solutions for their Androgenetic Alopecia. I'm not here to prove that the Prostaglandin Protocol works; in fact I am doing the opposite.

Again, I feel legally obligated to say this: If you are suffering from hair loss, always use these three treatments that have been clinically proven to work: finasteride, ketocanozole, and minoxidil. Do not try any exotic, or experimental treatments to alleviate your symptoms (THIS GOES FOR ANY TYPE OF ILLNESS, NOT JUST HAIR LOSS). If you choose to go against my warning, just know that you are ultimately responsible for any conditions you bring upon yourself. Do not try this.

 

[lickawrist]

Not sure if I'm allowed to DP, if not, I apologize. I just got my LiCl in the mail one day early (yay!), so I will officially begin the Prostaglandin Protocol. Today, I did the wouning along with the LiCl application. I will also be doing a video log to document my process as well as provide detailed pictures--I want to be as transparent as possible. Nothing to hide, nothing to sell, no evil agendas behind my regimen.

 

[Norwood One]

minoxidil 4x a day? isn't that excessive?

 

[lickawrist]

minoxidil 4x a day? isn't that excessive?

It probably is, which is why I cut it down to 2x a day. Nothing significant to report.

 

[lickawrist]

UPDATE:
Nothing significant to report. I do see a lot of vellus hairs around the NW1 bald regions, but I can argue that they were already there before minoxidil treatment. No new regrowth (which may not be surprising considering I've only been on minoxidil for nearly 4 weeks). Wounding and LiCl application doesn't seem to induce any new visible hair growth, but it's only been a week since I started this protocol, so it may be too soon to observe any results.

There are a couple of things I did notice:
-My current hairline seems a bit more thicker and along the edge seem darker (this was noticeable when I cut my hair yesterday)
-My facial hair has darkened up quite a bit and I'm getting some new terminal growth along my sideburns as well as my pseudo-mustache and goatee

I attribute both of these observations from minoxidil treatment.

I will do another update and post photos once I hit the 1-month mark, thanks!

 

[Massive]

I'm actually extremely jealous at your finasteride results, I'm sorry to hear you got sides.
I'm 1 month into Propecia and it hasn't changed anything from before, still shedding insanely.
I'm going to add Minoxidil, may I ask which brand you're using?
Good luck!

 

[Folliman]

You shouldn't be using minoxidil while on the PG protocol.

minoxidil increases PGE1, which is a PGE2 antagonist.

I can't try the ghetto protocol because I am allergic to sulfasalazine.

 

[lickawrist]

minoxidil is fine to use on the PG protocol; swiss even listed miconazole (a PGE1 agonist) as an optional supplement. As long as you alternate between the two (e.g. minoxidil in the morn and castor in the eve, or vice-versa) you should be fine. I should note that, according to his theory, PGE2 and PGE1 are both essential for hair.

I'm actually extremely jealous at your finasteride results, I'm sorry to hear you got sides.
I'm 1 month into Propecia and it hasn't changed anything from before, still shedding insanely.
I'm going to add Minoxidil, may I ask which brand you're using?
Good luck!

The sides suck, but I'm not giving up on finasteride; I just have to be strategic about my dosing. Shedding is totally normal; it's indicative of a working AA. You're hairs are transitioning to a different phase in response to the sudden change in total androgens: you'll be fine. The worst that can happen is that you'll end up maintaining what you began with; not everyone gets new regrowth on finasteride. I am using Kirkland 5% liquid btw; I heard the ethanol penetrates better than foam and Kirkland is a cheaper brand than Rogaine while just as effective.

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Would also like to add that it can take up to a year or more for regrowth. Because hair takes a while to grow (not too mention the miniaturized follicles that are slowly regenerating from their traumatic state) the biggest mistake you can make is by dropping finasteride while experiencing finasteride shed. I know it's scary seeing clumps of hair in the shower, but if you commit to it your hair won't regret it.

 

[Massive]

The sides suck, but I'm not giving up on finasteride; I just have to be strategic about my dosing. Shedding is totally normal; it's indicative of a working AA. You're hairs are transitioning to a different phase in response to the sudden change in total androgens: you'll be fine. The worst that can happen is that you'll end up maintaining what you began with; not everyone gets new regrowth on finasteride. I am using Kirkland 5% liquid btw; I heard the ethanol penetrates better than foam and Kirkland is a cheaper brand than Rogaine while just as effective.

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Would also like to add that it can take up to a year or more for regrowth. Because hair takes a while to grow (not too mention the miniaturized follicles that are slowly regenerating from their traumatic state) the biggest mistake you can make is by dropping finasteride while experiencing finasteride shed. I know it's scary seeing clumps of hair in the shower, but if you commit to it your hair won't regret it.

What I meant is that I shed a lot even way before starting finasteride and 1 month into finasteride still shedding, insanely may I say. I wonder if the fact that I'm using hair fibers every day (use a lot all over since I'm a diffuser) and plenty times going to bed with it affect my shedding, also a lot of times I would only water rinse the hairs (fibers not fully washing out) and shampoo maybe once a week if even that. I got desperate and did a scalp oil massage (it was painful to see clumps of hair sticking all my hands and falling everywhere) and shampooed with nanogen shampoo I got when I bought the fibers a while back since it was the only 'normal' (not some cosmetic enhancer shampoo) I had around. While I don't particularly like the cosmetic effect of the nanogen shampoo, at least my shedding has been cut back drastically, much less, *touch wood*. So I'm thinking perhaps I am responding to finasteride but my hair fibers abuse didn't affect my hair too well. Now I need to find a mild daily shampoo for washing out the fibers every day...

Back on topic, I will definitely be adding Minoxidil, since I was a good responder many years back, but I quit for half a year because I got constant itching. I used a generic 5% brand sold over here back then.
I will probably get a 6 months supply of Kirkland liquid minoxidil to start with. Another thing that I have been considering lately is oral minoxidil. I might do 2.5mg oral and 1-2ml topical something like that, I don't think I would like to get over 5mg oral.
I guess I might get some castor oil as well, it's cheap and couldn't hurt I guess.
May I ask howare you using retin-a ? Applying it on the scalp ?

Thanks and good luck!
Keep us updated, looking forward.

 

[Norwood One]

Minoxidil is maddening. I can't tell if the hairs at my hairline are new or just the hairs around them all fell out and those are the only ones that will survive the DHT onslaught.

 

[lickawrist]

What I meant is that I shed a lot even way before starting finasteride and 1 month into finasteride still shedding, insanely may I say. I wonder if the fact that I'm using hair fibers every day (use a lot all over since I'm a diffuser) and plenty times going to bed with it affect my shedding, also a lot of times I would only water rinse the hairs (fibers not fully washing out) and shampoo maybe once a week if even that. I got desperate and did a scalp oil massage (it was painful to see clumps of hair sticking all my hands and falling everywhere) and shampooed with nanogen shampoo I got when I bought the fibers a while back since it was the only 'normal' (not some cosmetic enhancer shampoo) I had around. While I don't particularly like the cosmetic effect of the nanogen shampoo, at least my shedding has been cut back drastically, much less, *touch wood*. So I'm thinking perhaps I am responding to finasteride but my hair fibers abuse didn't affect my hair too well. Now I need to find a mild daily shampoo for washing out the fibers every day...

Back on topic, I will definitely be adding Minoxidil, since I was a good responder many years back, but I quit for half a year because I got constant itching. I used a generic 5% brand sold over here back then.
I will probably get a 6 months supply of Kirkland liquid minoxidil to start with. Another thing that I have been considering lately is oral minoxidil. I might do 2.5mg oral and 1-2ml topical something like that, I don't think I would like to get over 5mg oral.
I guess I might get some castor oil as well, it's cheap and couldn't hurt I guess.
May I ask howare you using retin-a ? Applying it on the scalp ?

Thanks and good luck!
Keep us updated, looking forward.

Initially, it's normal to shed more hairs on finasteride--that's just a physiological response to the drastic change in androgens. Telogen Effluvium is not exclusive to finasteride and people experience an increased shed when there is a significant change in their lifestyle (chemo therapy, dietary changes, certain medications, etc.); in these cases the shed hairs will grow back. Your scalp is just prematurely transitioning more hairs than it normally would into the telogen phase. I'd advise to stay on finasteride if you wish to keep your hair in the long run; just some friendly advice.

I can't give any sound advice on oral minoxidil--only thing I can tell you is to be careful with that stuff. You may already know this, but minoxidil is a drug that is used to treat heart conditions, so it's def something you don't want to play around. With that said, the only other problem I see with oral minoxidil is that you can't really localize the administration, so consequently you can get unwanted hirsutism--but you probably experience this with topical minoxidil anyways.

Regarding retin-a, I have not picked up a tube yet. I still plan to set up an appointment with the derm to get a prescription, but my schedule hasn't permitted me to do so lately. But if I did have a tube of retin-a, I'd incorporate it by applying it directly to the balding areas before minoxidil application. Retin-a, in this sense, is used as a chemical peel and is supposed to help with penetration (although retin-a itself may be redundant to use since I'm already using a minoxidil-DMSO solution). Here's a study that shows using retin-a w/ minoxidil once a day yields similar results as using plain minoxidil twice a day: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17902730

My main reason for getting retin-a is to treat my keratosis, but I figured it can't hurt to use some on my scalp right?

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Minoxidil is maddening. I can't tell if the hairs at my hairline are new or just the hairs around them all fell out and those are the only ones that will survive the DHT onslaught.

I can def sympathize You would think that treating hair loss will give you peace of mind, but it only makes you more anxious about your hair; kind of ironic lol

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A little update: I'm experiencing mild hypertrichosis on the bald regions of my temples (the same region that I am applying minoxidil and DR) Kind of an exciting discovery but I wouldn't hold my breath since there's no guarantee that these will ever go terminal. After all, it's probably just peach fuzz responding to the minoxidil. Again, I credit minoxidil for this. I have to go to work pretty soon, but I'll post baseline and current pics either tonight, or tomorrow.

 

[lickawrist]

Sorry for the long wait. I decided to not do monthly updates since progress has been a bit slow, but as you can see I got some new vellus growth (idk if this is anything to be excited about since it might just be peach fuzz reacting to the minoxidil). The pictures below are comparisons of my right and left temples--both baseline pics were taken around March (3 months ago). I dropped finasteride about a month into my regimen since its been giving me unbearable brain fog and have been substituting it with saw palmetto til now. I plan on going back on finasteride to maintain at some point though; saw palmetto doesnt do as great a job and i still get brain fog, but its mild compared to finasteride. I'm getting my prescription for retin-a soon; any questions or suggestions are welcome.

 

[FWIW]

Wow,lots of new hair,but all around your forehead where it really shouldnt be.The temples seem filled with small hairs. Looks very similar to swiss result. If they go terminal,it will be very very good.

 

[michel sapin]

Your temple are slightly worse no?

 

[lickawrist]

Wow,lots of new hair,but all around your forehead where it really shouldnt be.The temples seem filled with small hairs. Looks very similar to swiss result. If they go terminal,it will be very very good.

Yeah, it's just peach fuzz reacting to the minoxidil, the hairs on the temple region have been thickening a bit the past 3-4 weeks.

 

[lickawrist]

Your temple are slightly worse no?

Probably. I hopped off finasteride, but I had a pretty bad shed a month ago that persisted for a week while i was on it. It's slowed down and I grew most of the hair that shed. The white fadey parts are dried scalp; my skin gets irritated with minoxidil, but generally my hair feels and looks the same as it did 3 months ago.

 

[michel sapin]

ok i'm worried because ive started minoxidil on my temple , and ive got a lot of vellu hair like you but i'm almost sure that my temple receded further , despite those hairs .

 

[lickawrist]

ok i'm worried because ive started minoxidil on my temple , and ive got a lot of vellu hair like you but i'm almost sure that my temple receded further , despite those hairs .

are you on an anti androgen? minoxidil wont cause you to recess any further than you already would have.

here's another shot of my hairline--you can see that the new vellus growth is generally localized around the temple region. I used to have zayn's hairline when i was 14, then i started receding around sophomore year of high school. since then, i've lost about an inch of hair on both my temples and my hairline has receded back a centimeter over the course of 4 years. so, be dilligent with your regimen; otherwise you'll lose more hair.