the truth about "1 year"

[Trent]

hey guys, been on this board now for about five months, as many of you may well know. And it seems like a lot of "wait it out for a year" posts get said; in fact, i would go as far to say that "wait it out for the full year" is probably the most highly typed catch phrase on this site. I, too, am guilty of giving this advice, though since i am only 7 months into my regimen, i usually give this reply because of reading other veteran posts and from visiting the propecia website. My question is how many of you post this reply because it is just kind of a "known fact" or an accepted fact on this site (like me), and how many of you post this because you, yourself, have not seen positive changes that happen until the tail end of a one year treatment run.

the reason i ask, is i'm in month seven, and getting some shedding but also a lot of new hairs coming along my hairline too. Should I be excited? scared? who noticed big turn arounds late in the year on propecia?

 

[Hotlegs]

the reason i ask, is i'm in month seven, and getting some shedding but also a lot of new hairs coming along my hairline too. Should I be excited? scared?

Scared, always go for scared.

Alot of new hairs coming along your hairline = big trouble.

I suspect minoxidil hair ruined your hair forever, or has stopped working, not that it has ever worked, but it has stopped working anyway.

I would quit all medications, but be prepared for a shed on a simply biblical scale, prepare to shed all your hair, not just the hair you didn't grow on minoxidil, but everything you ever had, even hair you lost ten years ago will be re-shed, you may even lose an eye or two.

 

[chewbaca]

the reason i ask, is i'm in month seven, and getting some shedding but also a lot of new hairs coming along my hairline too. Should I be excited? scared?

Scared, always go for scared.

Alot of new hairs coming along your hairline = big trouble.

I suspect minoxidil hair ruined your hair forever, or has stopped working, not that it has ever worked, but it has stopped working anyway.

I would quit all medications, but be prepared for a shed on a simply biblical scale, prepare to shed all your hair, not just the hair you didn't grow on minoxidil, but everything you ever had, even hair you lost ten years ago will be re-shed, you may even lose an eye or two.

How do u know he is using minoxidil?

 

[Hotlegs]

How do u know he is using minoxidil?

...you don't nessecerally have to use minoxidil to shed from it, minoxidil can ruin your hair even with little or no actual use.

 

[phantom2x]

How do u know he is using minoxidil?

...you don't nessecerally have to use minoxidil to shed from it, minoxidil can ruin your hair even with little or no actual use.

how you know, did you lost your hair with minoxidil. if you did so then your one of unluck one.

 

[The Gardener]

The only reason why I state "wait one year" is because the up and down nature of hair growth makes it impossible to assess any potential treatment fairly unless you have been on it for a year.

Hair cycles take time. Even in non-male pattern baldness people, shed hairs rest for a few months, and then take an additional three months of growth before they can be seen above the surface of the scalp. Thus, even the hairs that were shed, coincidentally, right at the exact same time as when your treatment started would not start showing positive effects until three months later. Those hairs that were already in resting phase, but not yet regrowing, they would take 5 months. And, considering that only 10% of your hair is in resting phase on average at any one time, 5 months is just a starting point.

Look at the math... 10% of hair is in resting phase at any one time, and this phase takes three monts before a new, treatment-enhanced, hair will emerge. 10% is one-tenth, so ten times 3 months per resting cycle means that on average it takes your hair 30 months to do one complete cycle! In fact, very healthy hairs can stay in anagen/growing phase for several years in some people. So, only after 30 months will you be looking at a hairline that is, potentially, completely enhanced by treatments... and who knows if a second cycle, and a second round of follicles grown deeper into the scalp producing thicker shafts might produce even thicker hair.

Now, of course, one would not expect to wait an entire 30 months to know if a product is doing them good or not, but I hope you can see why waiting a year before making any judgements is not that far-fetched a proposition.

 

[hairschmair]

lol, I love hotleg's posts. Quite funny.

Shed of a simply biblical scale!!!

J.

 

[surferosa123]

After all I read here, one year seems to be very short.
Most posters said they noticed stop of hairloss and shedding within the first 3-8 months.
I assume significant regrowth or optical improvement can mostly be seen WELL after the one year mark, (really starting approx. at month 15 or so?)

I am also asking this for my frontal - my vertex has definitely regrown hairs after 9 months of propecia/minoxidil 2%/nizoral treatment. As for the front, I can't tell. See small, colorless hairs...

Surfer

ED: Hotleg: Great Post - but you forgot to mention the bitter truth about losing all your teeth. :lol:

 

[Guest]

How do u know he is using minoxidil?

...you don't nessecerally have to use minoxidil to shed from it, minoxidil can ruin your hair even with little or no actual use.

I agree. Just looking at the bottle can cause a shed.

 

[Old Baldy]

I say it because of all the advice from doctors and veteran members. Also, what Gardener said about cycling is another reason for waiting at least 12 months. Like Gardener and Surfer said, 24 months is probably a better gauge IMHO. (I'm new at this hair loss stuff also. Didn't really go "full bore" until late December, 2004.)

Hotlegs: You ain't right!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[too bald too furious]

How do u know he is using minoxidil?

...you don't nessecerally have to use minoxidil to shed from it, minoxidil can ruin your hair even with little or no actual use.

I agree. Just looking at the bottle can cause a shed.

Not only that, even thinking about minoxidil can give you a massive shed. :freaked:

 

[Trent]

i'm not on minoxidil.

 

[Guest]

Unforetuntaely it seems that once again the initial topic of discussion has been dropped in favour of humour.

Ah well.....aparently even writing the word minoxidil or minoxidil will result in at least 7 hairs falling form your head.

I know what you mean about the year thing - i have been on finasteride for 7 months exactly and minoxidil for 5 months, my hairline currently looks like sh*t whihc is depressing me no end. But fingers crossed things may start looking up soon. I defenitely have ups and downs like many people describe but it seems to be 1 step up and 2 steps back at the moment.

Hope i'm wrong.

 

[Hotlegs]

i'm not on minoxidil.

...see.

 

[Trent]

thanks, you've been a huge help. now i know that looking at the minoxidil bottle caused a shed, i can sleep easy.

just wanted to know the real story on late responders, but a joke on looking at minoxidil and shedding is just as good.

 

[not me!]

thanks, you've been a huge help. now i know that looking at the minoxidil bottle caused a shed, i can sleep easy.

Sleeping easy will cause a shed.

 

[ropcat]

i would go as far to say that "wait it out for the full year" is probably the most highly typed catch phrase on this site. I, too, am guilty of giving this advice, though since i am only 7 months into my regimen, i usually give this reply because of reading other veteran posts and from visiting the propecia website. My question is how many of you post this reply because it is just kind of a "known fact" or an accepted fact on this site (like me), and how many of you post this because you, yourself, have not seen positive changes that happen until the tail end of a one year treatment run.

Just speaking from my personal experience, I could not truly evaluate the effectiveness of finasteride until months 10, 11, or 12. The reason is not that I was a "late responder" who had a spurt of regrowth at the end of the first year, but rather that my hair situation was so volatile during the year that it was impossible to tell until things had settled down. I shed at three months, at six months, and even (I think) during months eight and nine. Perhaps some of that was seasonal, but I don't think so. In any case, the minor shed at nine months was very disheartening. After a year, though, I could tell that I had maintained. So the few times I've suggested that people remain on a regimen for a year before evaluating, I've been speaking from personal experience. And, again, not experience of a huge growth explosion in the late months, but simply things settling down so I could make a fair evaluation of my progress (which turned out to be 100% maintenance but very little regrowth from baseline). Then again, I'm experienced only with a very simple regimen (finasteride & nizoral), so I don't know the intricacies of Min, SODs, and all the other stuff.

 

[Hotlegs]

just wanted to know the real story on late responders, but a joke on looking at minoxidil and shedding is just as good.

late responders, early responders, non-responders, shedders, non-shedders, maintainers, growers and losers all should wait at least a year because the growth cycle of the average person's hair is 30 months. Even after this year do not expect to see 'cosmetic' advances in your hair growth, propecia cannot achieve that alone.

 

[oni]

That's not true finasteride can give you a full head of hair in 30 days not months but what do I know I am the left flank of a hamster...............

 

[Pirate Commander F.B.]

I had an interesting conversation with Peter Mac of Hairlosshelp about this. He has seen a lot of people's scalps under his microscope, and he said that he can still see follicles improve in patients who have been on finasteride for years.