Starting to thin

[Aurelio]

So you are losing hairs on the side and back of your head too?

 

[yadayada029]

So you are losing hairs on the side and back of your head too?

Only on the top: front, midscalp, temples, and crown.

 

[Petchsky]

minoxidil normally will increase hair density, and put more hairs in the growing stage, but if you can get by without it, then i'd do so.

ps your hair for 37 is good, if you can maintain, then that would be a success.

 

[yadayada029]

minoxidil normally will increase hair density, and put more hairs in the growing stage, but if you can get by without it, then i'd do so.

ps your hair for 37 is good, if you can maintain, then that would be a success.

I hear "you should avoid minoxidil if you can" a lot. The reasons I've consistently heard are, some maybe entirely nonsense, but I've heard them:

• It will instigate a severe shed within two weeks. The regrowth period, if it ever comes, will take a minimum of 6 weeks, and will only faintly be noticeable at first.
• Your hair will become dependent on it, and by extension you’ll be addicted to it. Stopping will instigate a massive shed, hurdling towards complete shinny headed NW6ness.
• Minoxidil will put all of your hair in the grow phase, it could then follow in to a resting phase causing a massive sheds, followed by regrowth, so on and so forth...driving up your anxiety level (Anxiety will inturn make you bald quicker!!!)
• It’s a pain to use, as it requires two applications, which can be difficult to keep up with, since you might actually be out living life when it’s time to apply it.
• It doesn’t really work all that well, and you will most likely only see small hairs grow if anything at all.
• It loses it's effectiveness after about four years.
• Side effects like dark circles. It could cause additional unwanted hair growth in other parts of your body.
• It adds approximately $20 or so to the upkeep of your hair.

 

[Petchsky]

I hear "you should avoid minoxidil if you can" a lot. The reasons I've consistently heard are, some maybe entirely nonsense, but I've heard them:

• It’s a pain to use, as it requires two applications, which can be difficult to keep up with, since you might actually be out living life when it’s time to apply it.

• Side effects like dark circles. It could cause additional unwanted hair growth in other parts of your body.

• It adds approximately $20 or so to the upkeep of your hair.

These are the main reasons not to use minoxidil, and the ones with the most merit, but minoxidil is the second most effective drug for hairloss, and if you want to get as much hair back as possible from a hairloss regimen and you're okay with the above possible disadvantages, then go for it.

I'm not convinced by some of the negativity towards Minoxdil as causing skin aging, there is merit in that in can cause dark circles, and puffy face/eyes for some, but all you need to do is cease using it.

I've used minoxidil for 11 years now, and it has been effective for me, can't say that about many hairloss drugs

 

[yadayada029]

These are the main reasons not to use minoxidil, and the ones with the most merit, but minoxidil is the second most effective drug for hairloss, and if you want to get as much hair back as possible from a hairloss regimen and you're okay with the above possible disadvantages, then go for it.

I'm not convinced by some of the negativity towards Minoxdil as causing skin aging, there is merit in that in can cause dark circles, and puffy face/eyes for some, but all you need to do is cease using it.

I've used minoxidil for 11 years now, and it has been effective for me, can't say that about many hairloss drugs

Glad you jumped in here with that. I was looking to get the debate about this stuff going, because I here the entire list far too often, and it puts the brakes on using it, more so then finasteride. I can't imagine going through another shed, as I did with finasteride. The last thing I want to do is make my hair worse, even for a bit.

There is always some social function, like going outside in the light of the day, that makes any reduction in hair a paralyzing thought.

 

[Petchsky]

I don't remember shedding much when starting it, but people respond in different ways. you could buy a concealer like toppik or nanogen and use that in the event of a shed? or just use these instead. They are like a hair transplant in a can, i've used them beofre and the are pretty good, only critique in appearance is that if you use a bit too much it gives your hair a dusty appearance.

 

[yadayada029]

This right here stops me from using minoxidil. Why would I use something that will shed me to baldness, take 6-12 months to get me back to baseline (maybe), with the slimmest of hopes that it might produces more density somewhere past that 12 months mark.

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interac...-bald-faster?p=1115190&viewfull=1#post1115190

Rogaine will synchronize the hairs to shed all at the same time and grow at the same time. So think of it this way, without Rogaine certain hairs were going to shed as they normally do and that is what you are used to noticing. You add rogaine and it reprograms your hair to shed some hairs that were supposed to shed later EARLIER PLUS on top of that the normal amount you were going to shed if you were not using rogaine. So now you see more shedding than you normally do and its panic time. Now you have to wait another six months or longer until these hairs come back to the point you notice them. So during those six months you think your hair is getting worse and you panic the whole time waiting for them to return and that panic does not help your situation. It will take about 12 months to 24 months for the synchronized shed to appear to recover so you will always go thru these large sheds on and off as you use rogaine. Its a roller coaster ride. Once you get used to your new reprogramed shedding from rogaine, you panic less. All rogaine really is doing is keeping more hair in the growth phase so it appears your hair is thicker. Its all an illusion but its real. Some of the weaker hairs can get thicker so that will help too but eventually these weaker hairs will lose the battle if they are destined to become vellus hairs. So rogaine is like a time machine that reprograms your hair cycle to be more synchronized than when you don't use it. So when you stop using it your hair will go back to the way it used to synchronize and you will go thru one huge shed. And then it will take a year or more to eventually get to the way it used to synchronize before you used rogaine so you will go back to shedding alot less hair but the balding process will continue as it always has even when you were using rogaine but you will be convinced your hair is getting better now because you are shedding less and your panic is gone. However, little did you know is Rogaine did work but it never stopped your hair from balding in the first place it only gave you 2 years of unbelievable growth and thickening. However, if you used it and thought you were balding fast and later stop and things get better, its only because you are actually balding at a snails pace and Rogaine will work BEST on these people as it will keep the hair synched the way it did at first so you will seem to maintain on rogaine. However if you have aggressive balding which supposedly is not very common, once you stop using Rogaine you will continue to bald but you will notice it more because your hair is not synchronized the same as it was ON rogaine.

I stopped Rogaine due to sides. The other reason I stopped was because I realized it was just creating an illusion of thicker hair when it was in the growth phase but when it was in the shedding phase it looked worse and I would panic. I would rather stay with shedding less( without rogaine) hair than more as it psychologically makes you think your are not losing your hair as much. I have very mild thinning and it thins at a snails pace, so rogaine is theoretically a perfect choice because it will give me the illusion of thicker hair and my normal thinning will still go on but in my mind I will be convinced Rogaine is maintaining but its just I am not aggressively balding. So is Rogaine worth it for this illusion, not in MY case. I want something that can actually reverse or slow down balding. Supposedly Proxiphen and Propecia do that so I use them. So far its working( pyschologically at least) but maybe I would be fine without them too. Who knows? By the way this is why Rogaine will not save your hairline too. It took me many years for this to sink in so I hope I made it so you understand it better. This is why Rogaine will work if you don't have aggressive balding but it you do, it won't help much to the point its worth the hassle. Think about this logically, there is no way to know what would of happened if you never used anything if you decide to use something. You just are basically having faith in what you are currently using to believe it is helping. So for me as long as I believe using Proxiphen and Propecia is helping, I will believe its slowing down my thinning. I could gamble it all and stop both and still be thinning the same but I need my drugs to "survive" psychologically. Everyone in here who is using treatments is doing exactly the same. We use treatments to buy us confidence that our hair will not get worse but we will never know the true outcome unless we quit cold turkey. Some do and win and some don't and lose. I don't want to gamble with my hair right now. So I will continue to buy my faith as so many chose to do here.

 

[abcdefg]

Yeah minoxidil is not that impressive, but honestly its about all there is besides propecia. Actually without propecia there is not much if anything you can do about male pattern baldness before propecia I guess you just accepted it.

 

[yadayada029]

15 months on Finasteride.

 

[Koga]

DoctorHouse made some great points about Rogaine, but I don't believe everything he said is entirely correct. E.g. Rogaine has succesfully been used by people who wanted to have a beard. Minoxidil CAN actually grow new hairs.

 

[yadayada029]

DoctorHouse made some great points about Rogaine, but I don't believe everything he said is entirely correct. E.g. Rogaine has succesfully been used by people who wanted to have a beard. Minoxidil CAN actually grow new hairs.

I keep toying with idea, even though I've bad mouthed minoxidil. There's isn't much else short of a hair transplant.

 

[hairregrowth21]

minoxidil can also be used 4 times a day. As can Keto cream...

 

[Koga]

I keep toying with idea, even though I've bad mouthed minoxidil. There's isn't much else short of a hair transplant.

What exactly do you have to lose? Worst case scenario: you spend some money without results and/or you have temporarily (!) a bit less hair due to a shedding, but this isn't sure. I, for instance, had great results with minoxidil and I never went through any shedding.

 

[Bred Pittsburgh]

Try to drink more black and green tea, go to the gym, and get some protein supplement. You will see the results in a couple month.

 

[yadayada029]

What exactly do you have to lose? Worst case scenario: you spend some money without results and/or you have temporarily (!) a bit less hair due to a shedding, but this isn't sure. I, for instance, had great results with minoxidil and I never went through any shedding.

I added rogaine at the end of November.



I've been using it on the corners. One bottle has lasted me to this point, and there's still a few days left in it. So far no shed.

 

[jabbathehair]

I just can help but think you've been conned a bit. I mean your hair looks fine and you're 37. Im not sure if you're even nw2. You have naturally thin hair as someone else pointed out. Though I know how you feel. Im starting to thin and it's not a nice realization. Good luck anyway

 

[yadayada029]

I just can help but think you've been conned a bit. I mean your hair looks fine and you're 37. Im not sure if you're even nw2. You have naturally thin hair as someone else pointed out. Though I know how you feel. Im starting to thin and it's not a nice realization. Good luck anyway

I will take that as a compliment on three fronts. Firstly on my genetics, secondly on my ability to style my hair in such a way to effectively conceal, or distract, from thinning, and thirdly on acting quickly. It is sometimes difficult to discern in pictures, but when when seen close up, and in harsh light, it is quite plane the frontal area (corners and hairline) have thinned.

It is a comforting thought, especially when someone else affirms it, that maybe this isn't happening. That's a trap though. When your barber, for years, and a dermatologist note your hair is thinning, it's time to act. We get caught, as people often do, in a constant state of rationalization. It's why the titanic ended up at the bottom of the atlantic, and so many americans don't have enough for retirement. Failing to heed warnings early enough to act in a timely manner.

We know the available drugs are most effective at stopping hair loss, but not repairing it. That knowledge makes it more imperative to be proactive rather than reach unrecoverable situation. Off my soapbox

Thanks for the compliment.

 

[yadayada029]

18 Months
Prior to haircut




post haircut

 

[Diffuser44]

I don't see any male pattern baldness. Where are the before photos?