So, I its been a very long time since I posted in this forum. Long story short, I come from a family where my dad and 2 brothers lost all their hair in their early 20's. I started seeing some receding in my hairline by the time I was 18 but decided to play the denial card for many years. I was lucky enough to have a very thick head of hair at the time so I didn't notice a change in density that quickly. Fast forward to my mid 20's, I started seeing a lot of thinning especially in my hairline and crown so I decided to start minoxidil and nizoral 1%. I noticed results in the first 3 months and I was basically back to baseline in 6 months. The effects lasted for about three years. Then the thinning started to creep up again. I again decided to go in denial and didn't step up my regimen until my early 30's. Things got pretty bad so I finally decided to start finasteride. My regimen is fairly standard:
- minoxidil 5% once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I apply 1mL in the temples and vertex and 1mL for the crown.
- Finasteride 1x day
- Nizoral 1% about every 2 days
I have been on this regimen for the past 1.5 years and have seen considerable results ( or at least I think so). So far I haven't noticed any major side effects. No effects on libido or gino. Did notice some weight fluctuations but I am not 100% sure its related.
So far my hair has thickened a lot overall. The texture feels very different and healthier. Sadly, my temples have not recovered. The receding stopped (which is a major win on its own) but I did not gain any ground. Crown filled up pretty well but if you look at it from certain angles you can see a bit of thinning.
The process has been grueling though. Since starting finasteride my hair has been on a rollercoaster of thinning, sheds and more thinning. At many points I was thinking of just giving up. To be honest, things started to stabilize in the last 6 months. The sheds stopped and my hair now feels thicker and healthier than its been in a very long time.
I guess my point is, don't wait until things get bad to start your regimen. I am happy with my current results but if I had started earlier I would have probably been able to retain quite a bit more hair.
I wish you luck with your regimen. I will continue to find ways to improve my regimen. any tips on how to recover my hairline will be appreciated.
Again, best of luck in your battle and don't give up!
- minoxidil 5% once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I apply 1mL in the temples and vertex and 1mL for the crown.
- Finasteride 1x day
- Nizoral 1% about every 2 days
I have been on this regimen for the past 1.5 years and have seen considerable results ( or at least I think so). So far I haven't noticed any major side effects. No effects on libido or gino. Did notice some weight fluctuations but I am not 100% sure its related.
So far my hair has thickened a lot overall. The texture feels very different and healthier. Sadly, my temples have not recovered. The receding stopped (which is a major win on its own) but I did not gain any ground. Crown filled up pretty well but if you look at it from certain angles you can see a bit of thinning.
The process has been grueling though. Since starting finasteride my hair has been on a rollercoaster of thinning, sheds and more thinning. At many points I was thinking of just giving up. To be honest, things started to stabilize in the last 6 months. The sheds stopped and my hair now feels thicker and healthier than its been in a very long time.
I guess my point is, don't wait until things get bad to start your regimen. I am happy with my current results but if I had started earlier I would have probably been able to retain quite a bit more hair.
I wish you luck with your regimen. I will continue to find ways to improve my regimen. any tips on how to recover my hairline will be appreciated.
Again, best of luck in your battle and don't give up!