TortoiseAndHair
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Hello everyone,
Been reading this site for about a week now, and I must say, it's got a wealth of information. Thanks, HairLossTalk.com!
I first started noticing my hair thinning in college, but I didn't really think too much about it. It wasn't obvious, and I was convinced that when it got too bad, I'd just shave it all off, and that would be that.
After I graduated, I noticed that I was really starting to thin, and looking at my older brother, who's about a Norwood 5A or 6, and seeing how bad it looked, I decided to do something about it. Also, the fact that my dad is 100% "glabrous," I had a pretty good feeling I might be heading down the same road. (At the time, I figured that it was only my Mom's side that should affect me, but after reading this site, I know that's not true!)
I didn't want the hassle of a prescription, so I started on got Rogaine 5% when I was about 23. I did it for about 4 months before the itching and flaking got to me. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I just quit. I figured I'd rather be bald than have huge flakes.
Time passed, and I was pretty much resigned to my fate, but it really didn't get much worse, or so I figured. One day about a week ago (I'm 26 now), I went in to get a haircut, and the hairdresser asked me what kind of shampoo I use.
Me: "Whatever's cheapest"
Her: "Well, you should probably consider trying <Brand X> shampoo, because it really thickens your hair up. Right now, you've got full coverage, but your hair is so thin you can see right through to the scalp.
Me: "Oh my, thank you for such an astute observation! I had no friggin' clue that you could see my scalp when my hair's wet!"
Anyway, I took it pretty hard. When complete strangers can make comments like that, I imagined it must be pretty bad. I think I'm in the Norwood 2-3 range, but I would say I have pretty good coverage everywhere, it's just thinning a lot. I'll post pictures when I'm not so lazy.
Edit:
Here are the pictures:
http://photos.yahoo.com/tortoiseandhairhlt
Anyway, I decided to do something about my hair loss, so I went to the store, and bought Progaine. I figured it I needed a thickening shampoo, then might as well go with the experts. I also started looking online, and found this site, which convinced me to take the full plunge, and consider drug treatment. I decided to try Rogaine again, this time with an anti-dandruff shampoo. Nizoral seems to be the shampoo of choice. I also decided to go for Propecia as well, to try and attack the problem from another angle.
Here's my current regimen:
Nizoral 1% 3x a week, Progaine all other days
Rogaine 5%, 2x a day
Propecia, 1x a day
I'm basically on day 3 of my treatment, and I don't feel different, except that Rogaine makes my scalp feel slightly itchy, and heavy, if that makes any sense. I feel like it's just building up, and building up. Oh well, I'm gonna stick with it for at least a year. Basically, if all this doesn't work, I really will give up and either do hair transplant, or just shave it all off.
One thing I think I've learned from reading everyone's posts, is how important it is to stick with it, and not skip days, weeks, etc, or quit altogether. I also feel like adding/removing X, Y, and Z treatments can't be good as well. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and going to sleep along the way (skipping days, changing treatments) is not how you win. You know what they say, slow and steady wins the race!
Of course, easy for me to say, I'm on day 3! :lol:
I'll keep you guys posted with how things are going.
Thanks![/b]
Been reading this site for about a week now, and I must say, it's got a wealth of information. Thanks, HairLossTalk.com!
I first started noticing my hair thinning in college, but I didn't really think too much about it. It wasn't obvious, and I was convinced that when it got too bad, I'd just shave it all off, and that would be that.
After I graduated, I noticed that I was really starting to thin, and looking at my older brother, who's about a Norwood 5A or 6, and seeing how bad it looked, I decided to do something about it. Also, the fact that my dad is 100% "glabrous," I had a pretty good feeling I might be heading down the same road. (At the time, I figured that it was only my Mom's side that should affect me, but after reading this site, I know that's not true!)
I didn't want the hassle of a prescription, so I started on got Rogaine 5% when I was about 23. I did it for about 4 months before the itching and flaking got to me. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I just quit. I figured I'd rather be bald than have huge flakes.
Time passed, and I was pretty much resigned to my fate, but it really didn't get much worse, or so I figured. One day about a week ago (I'm 26 now), I went in to get a haircut, and the hairdresser asked me what kind of shampoo I use.
Me: "Whatever's cheapest"
Her: "Well, you should probably consider trying <Brand X> shampoo, because it really thickens your hair up. Right now, you've got full coverage, but your hair is so thin you can see right through to the scalp.
Me: "Oh my, thank you for such an astute observation! I had no friggin' clue that you could see my scalp when my hair's wet!"
Anyway, I took it pretty hard. When complete strangers can make comments like that, I imagined it must be pretty bad. I think I'm in the Norwood 2-3 range, but I would say I have pretty good coverage everywhere, it's just thinning a lot. I'll post pictures when I'm not so lazy.
Edit:
Here are the pictures:
http://photos.yahoo.com/tortoiseandhairhlt
Anyway, I decided to do something about my hair loss, so I went to the store, and bought Progaine. I figured it I needed a thickening shampoo, then might as well go with the experts. I also started looking online, and found this site, which convinced me to take the full plunge, and consider drug treatment. I decided to try Rogaine again, this time with an anti-dandruff shampoo. Nizoral seems to be the shampoo of choice. I also decided to go for Propecia as well, to try and attack the problem from another angle.
Here's my current regimen:
Nizoral 1% 3x a week, Progaine all other days
Rogaine 5%, 2x a day
Propecia, 1x a day
I'm basically on day 3 of my treatment, and I don't feel different, except that Rogaine makes my scalp feel slightly itchy, and heavy, if that makes any sense. I feel like it's just building up, and building up. Oh well, I'm gonna stick with it for at least a year. Basically, if all this doesn't work, I really will give up and either do hair transplant, or just shave it all off.
One thing I think I've learned from reading everyone's posts, is how important it is to stick with it, and not skip days, weeks, etc, or quit altogether. I also feel like adding/removing X, Y, and Z treatments can't be good as well. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and going to sleep along the way (skipping days, changing treatments) is not how you win. You know what they say, slow and steady wins the race!
Of course, easy for me to say, I'm on day 3! :lol:
I'll keep you guys posted with how things are going.
Thanks![/b]
