The Beginning Of My Journey, Experimenting Before Surgery

[josander]

Hi all. I have been lurking here for a while, and decided to finally create a post that I will use to document my journey towards hopefully getting my hair back. Here are some "before" pictures that shows my current hair loss. I'm not sure what Norwood I would be classified... maybe 6. Reading through some other threads, the consensus seems to be that good results from a transplant are very rarely obtained with hair loss as bad as mine. Well... I guess we'll see.

I have every expectation that my journey will end in a hair transplant or two. I will just need to decide whether I want to start with FUT or FUE (some seem to think that maximization of the number of donor grafts requires starting with FUT), which doctor I should end up choosing (leaning towards Dr Ekrem Civas in Anarka at the moment, but hesitant to travel to Turkey), and then save up the money to make it happen.

In any case, between now and then I am going to experiment with a few different things to see if I can't improve my situation without surgery. I will be posting pictures along the way.

My regimen will consist of:

- Minoxidil applied morning and evening
- iRestore laser helmet, 25 minutes every other day (skeptical, but has 6 month return policy so... might as well!)
- Derma roller once or twice a week
- Biotin and zinc supplements every day.

I've been appreciative of being able to read about other's experiences, and hopefully this will be able to give back in some way.

 

[yayapapaya]

u must be joking.

 

[Night]

You need the big four only:
Min, finasteride, nizoral and Dermarolling.

 

[josander]

u must be joking.

.... joking about what?

You need the big four only:
Min, finasteride, nizoral and Dermarolling.

to be fair, I think what I really need is a hair transplant. In the meantime though, I'm settling for two out of the big four. I'd rather not mess with finasteride if I can avoid it.

 

[Night]

.... joking about what?



to be fair, I think what I really need is a hair transplant. In the meantime though, I'm settling for two out of the big four. I'd rather not mess with finasteride if I can avoid it.

Like you said, your NW6. There are some people that respond great to finasteride alone. At your point, you should give the big four a try for a year and then get the transplant. You will need to be on finasteride anyway if you get a transplant.

Check out this dudes result, dude saved a pretty penny:
https://www.hairestorationetwork.com/topic/27794-true-amp-dorin-transplant-or-propecia/

Trying to regrow as much hair as possible will mean saving grafts!

 

[random phone charger]

Yeah, hair transplant should be whats in focus given your current hair loss situation. You should view finasteride as a cornerstone to maintain results; not as a solo method to growing hair.

 

[josander]

Wanted to do a 3 month update.

I've noticed some improvement, but even some family members have made comments which is very encouraging to me after only 3 months.

My regimen has been what I stated above, except that I did end up getting on Finasteride soon after my post (no sides yet, knock on wood) and I didnt start microneedling until after Christmas when I got my dermapen.

 

[manda]

Wanted to do a 3 month update.

I've noticed some improvement, but even some family members have made comments which is very encouraging to me after only 3 months.

My regimen has been what I stated above, except that I did end up getting on Finasteride soon after my post (no sides yet, knock on wood) and I didnt start microneedling until after Christmas when I got my dermapen.

hell yeah bro there's definitely an improvement! Stick with your regimen at least 1 year before considering a hair transplant.

Best of luck!

 

[iCurly]

Wanted to do a 3 month update.

I've noticed some improvement, but even some family members have made comments which is very encouraging to me after only 3 months.

My regimen has been what I stated above, except that I did end up getting on Finasteride soon after my post (no sides yet, knock on wood) and I didnt start microneedling until after Christmas when I got my dermapen.

The finasteride is already showing some improvements .

 

[josander]

hell yeah bro there's definitely an improvement! Stick with your regimen at least 1 year before considering a hair transplant.

Best of luck!

The finasteride is already showing some improvements .

Thanks for the encouragement guys!