[_Cicero]

(05-28-2017 06:50 AM)Dantes Wrote:  

Cicero,

Thanks for the information. I can confirm from my own experience that the Rogaine spray is more effective than the gel.

My question about Hair Transplants is won't you continue to lose hair after the surgery, perhaps needing another one in 5-10 years?

No. The hairs in the back of your head, from the donor area, are ones less sensitive to DHT. They should be good for a long time... Its another question what happens in 25-30 years. If curious, you should book an appointment with a doctor and ask about these questions.

[sonoran_]

I have a theory about DHT, hear me out.

DHT is responsible for both body hair and head hair loss. Medicines like Dutasteride are prescribed to be taken everyday. Dutasteride reduces DHT levels by approxiamately 80% and has a very long half life, meaning that it will work in your body for upto a month ( obviously at lower doses, as it continues to deteriorate).

Side effects of dutasteride and finasteride are reported as those dealing with super low DHT, such as libido and energy. This makes sense since IF you are taking these pills everyday, your DHT will be extremely low. Why do docs prescribe these medicines as a daily thing?

Now lets say someone is taking steroids, the increase in DHT will account for more body hair and less head hair, as based on their genetic predisposition to both. Now taking dutasteride would block the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT which would mean more test is being converted into estrogen ( this is a fact).

Why not then take dutasteride at a dose of maybe 2-3 times a week as this will allow for a low-normal DHT blood level, rather than tanking it; meanwhile minimizing body hair growth and head hair loss. Also remember that due to its long half life, it will continue to build up.

TLDR: why take dutasteride everyday?

Note: I have no experience with finasteride but from my research it doesnot take DHT levels as low as dutasteride.

[Gas]

I've been taking Saw Palmetto daily for 4 years. No noticeable side effects yet. Still wake up with healthy boners every morning.

[Pinocchio]

http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/uk_592c18...ir=UK+Tech

[Tayo]

can i use minoxidil 5% alone for barely noticeable receding hairline?

[Pinocchio]

yep

[QuietDog]

(04-18-2017 08:32 AM)samsamsam Wrote:  

Anyone have negative side effects with rogaine?

For whatever reason Rogaine really made it hard for me to fall asleep. Was trying to use it twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed but after a couple weeks of extra intense insomnia (which I have issues with) I switched to just in the morning which helped some but I ended up giving it up completely. Did a bit of poking around online and the best explanation I found on a couple hair loss forums was that it might be because minoxidil is a vasodilator and thus causes an increased heart rate, not sure though. I've gotten pretty wary of chemicals that have such drastic effects on the body that we still don't have that much research on especially in regards to long term effects.

I recently stumbled upon this interesting article from Rogue Health and Fitness that conjectures that hair loss might be due to a fungal skin condition:

http://roguehealthandfitness.com/fungal-...t-disease/

The science is over my head to be honest but it seems to be pretty well backed by both theory and evidence. And considering both musashi's success with rosemary oil which has anti-fungal properties and the fact that we still haven't really seemed to have figured out why and how balding works this seems as compelling a diagnosis as any I've seen.

At the very least worth trying out for a couple months, will report back with findings.

[_Cicero]

(05-28-2017 01:54 AM)_Cicero Wrote:  

Whatup bros. Balding bro here. I'm 36, but I've been told I look older than I am. Thinning/balding hair, and also some wrinkles on my face, with a thick beard. This has cost me girls in the 18-22 y.o. category. I recently saw a dermatologist about it. It blew my mind. Here's what I learned:

Hair-loss is totally treatable in most men, and with treatments that have little or no side effects. Most people in this thread probably already knew this.

I'm now following this treatment regimen, based on my dermatologists advice:
(1) Minoxidil/Rogaine. A generally effective drug with few side effects. Tends to thicken your hair where you have it rather than bring your hair-line forward. You do need to apply twice a day, and with all of these treatments you're going to have to wait months to see results. (My doc was down on the foam version. he said was less effective than the spray).
(2) Micro-needling/dermaroller. The idea is actually to damage your scalp and thus force your body to send growth agents to your scalp to repair. These growth agents happen to also be good for hair regrowth. Incidentally, this is also generally a good skin treatment, including for wrinkles. I'm started also using on my face (but you want .5mm or 1 on your face, and 1.5mm on your scalp, according to him). He emphasized that it is important to keep your dermaroller soaked in alcohol for 15 minutes after treatment, to make sure you aren't spawning bacteria which you then inject into your scalp.
(3) Plasma Injections, PRP. I've started this. They take your blood, separate out the plasma and then inject this into your scalp.

*Note: All three of these treatments have been proven to work in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and are not known to have bad side effects. They all also operate differently, and thus are good complements to each other.

**Downsides: Minoxidil can cause scalp discomfort. Micro needling doesn't feel great. The plasma injections hurt like a mofo, but nothing a man can't handle. Two of these treatments need to be done every day (Rogaine and micro-needling), and I have to go once a month to the doctor for plasma injections. It cost me about $100 for 5 months of treatment. I paid about $15 for a dermaroller, which I can use three months. I think I dropped about $30 on minoxidil, but I'm not sure how long it will last.

Personally, I'm very down on "natural" remedies. Why do that stuff which is scientifically unproven when there is stuff that is proven? Also, the giant supplement industry is a f*cking scam. Take St. Johns wart for this or that, zinc for testosterone, garlic to prevent colds. It's all or mostly bullshit. Even vitamins do not have good results in RCTs, even with poor people in Africa who aren't eating healthy diets.

Other treatments I'm not doing (yet):
(1) My dermatologist was down on the shampoo treatment. Said was unnecessary. I'm not sure why.
(2) He was very high on hair transplants, which is a permanent solution. I may go this route if my hair or hairline doesn't respond. He said I have a large donor area, which is good. Said there are good clinics in St. Petersburg (Russia) and in Tbilisi, surprisingly. Also in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Also said some of the best are in north america, but also the most expensive. (I'm based in Moscow). Indeed, surgery may be the best option.
(3) Finasteride/Propecia. I know people who use and swear by it, and had no noticeable side effects. My doctor recommended this but with hesitation. He said 5% get erectile disfunction, and some of these cases are permanent even when people stop taking the drug. I do wonder if some of this is reverse placebo effect. Still, it is going to mess with your hormones, and I'm risk averse when it comes to this stuff. It also stops hair loss more than promotes regrowth. I decided against. There are other alternatives. Personally, I would do a transplant over this.

In any case, I've just started this treatment regimen. I'll give it 6 months to see what happens and then think about a hair transplant if I get frustrated with slow progress. My doctor does the same regimen, and the back of his hair responded well but not the very front.

Quick update after a bit more than three months. I'm seeing some positive results for sure. Not a total game changer, but a definite, if modest, improvement. It's also the case that putting Rogaine in your hair makes it appear thicker, which accomplishes the same goal in any case.

However, after two months, I switched to just minoxidil + microneedling, as it turned out that the PRP scalp injections were about $100 per injection, rather than for the first 5. That's $1,200 a year, and plus it takes time, so I decided to bail on that, as I'm a cheap mofo. Thus, it isn't clear my improvement will be as fast in the future.

I also talked to a dermatologist on this board who had hair transplant surgery, and highly recommended it. I may do this to firm up my scalp line in the front, although I want to give my current treatment plan another 6 months to see what happens.

[duedue]

I took finastride several years ago but I stopped because my facial hair increased tremendously. It was quite a lot already.

[fortysix]

(10-07-2017 04:52 PM)duedue Wrote:  

I took finastride several years ago but I stopped because my facial hair increased tremendously. It was quite a lot already.

It actually increased? I would imagine that it would decrease because fin lowers test, your facial hair would also decrease.

[lucyajones]

(05-18-2014 05:05 PM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

I'm going to do a quick data sheet on how to keep your hair.

Your three tools:

1. Finasteride

Cost: $35 for 100 pills, 1/4 pill per day, skip every fifth day = $34.46/500 days = $0.07 per day. There's some debate, but studies suggest that for inhibiting the hormone responsible for male hair loss, taking more than 0.20 mg per day doesn't have much effect. You might need as little as .05 mg per day to get maximum day.

If you really wanted to save money, you could get the generic 5 mg finasteride at a cost of $0.01 per day, but that would require grinding up the finasteride and dissolving it in everclear and drinking it via a dropper. Lots of room for fucking up there, and it's not clear how alcohol would affect the drug's effectiveness.

http://www2.costco.com/Pharmacy/DrugInfo...INASTERIDE

In mid-2015, dutasteride will become generic. Studies suggest it is superior to finasteride in promoting hair growth and suppressing the hormone responsible for hair loss, DHT. When it goes generic, I myself will look into switching to it. It's pricey right now, something like 1000 times more expensive than finasteride as I've described it, so I never considered using it.

2. Minoxidil

6 month supply at Costco = $26.49. Cost per day = 26.49/182.5 = $0.145 per day. Personally, I use about half the recommended amount, because if I used more it would just drip off. I actually use Lipogaine, but I'm on my first bottle and will not buy it again. It used to have an additional, possibly beneficial ingredient, but it no longer does, so it's not worth the expense.

http://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signature...01138.html

Target also has minoxidil, although I believe it's not as cheap.

3. Ketoconazole Shampoo

Regenepure DR - $25 for 8 oz - maybe I'm being stingy, but it'll take me 2-3 months to use this up, so say $10 a month. Ketoconazole shampoo is the priciest thing here and probably the least backed by studies, but I'm giving it a shot on the recommendation of Good Looking Loser and others. I only shower two to three times a week, and use this about twice a week.

It's the best shampoo I've ever used - it makes my hair full and soft, and removes the oiliness that accumulates, without drying out the hair. I used baking soda and ACV before, and Dr. Bronner's before that, and now no longer do. If I want to wash my hair, I use this. I've never used high end shampoos though, besides Paul Mitchell and Kirkland, so I can't compare to those. There's another Regenepure product, Regenepure NT, that's supposed to be good, but it lacks the active ingredient responsible for fighting hair loss, so I don't use it.

Total cost of my regimen: about $15 a month. If you have long hair or use shampoo frequently, it will be $20-25+ a month.

If you cut out the shampoo, which has the least clinical backing I believe, it costs about $5-6 a month. This is one of the cheapest and most effective aesthetic interventions or supplements you can take, if it works for you and you don't get major side effects. As far as I know, anything in addition to this regiment would be vastly more expensive or lacking in efficacy or both. If you have any suggestions for affordable effective treatments, post them.

I've been using finasteride for a while, but only recently added the shampoo and minoxidil. When generic dutasteride becomes available, I'll check that out.

Where to buy: Online at Regenepure, Costco, Walmart or Target for the minoxidil and the finasteride.

Decent thought for a sheet, I believe there's been some male pattern baldness stuff posted previously, however one thing I generally pondered, are there ways that are superior to others to equitably decide whether the items are working?

How would you know which ones are having which impact, and how would you quantify/track the advance?

[MongolianAbroad]

I have a bad habit of binging on junk food when I'm very stressed (exams, work-related issues, unresolved business matters, etc), so I limit stress to where I'm not stressed too often, to prevent this. When I say binge, I mean it, we're talking $20 worth of junk food, in one sitting. Junk food's cheap, $20 buys you a lot of chocolates/ice cream/potato chips/sugary treats.

Because I don't stress that often, I noticed a correlation, if I binge on junk food for several days in a row (potato chips, ice cream, chocolate, all at the same time), my hair falls out.

I would presume the opposite is true, that if I eat healthy, my hair stays healthy, because most of the time I eat healthy and I have nice hair. Just a few days ago, I got a compliment from two (straight) guys about my hair.

I'm working on eliminating that habit.

Just an observation.

[roberto]

(10-08-2017 02:09 AM)Spaniard88 Wrote:  

I have a bad habit of binging on junk food when I'm very stressed (exams, work-related issues, unresolved business matters, etc), so I limit stress to where I'm not stressed too often, to prevent this. When I say binge, I mean it, we're talking $20 worth of junk food, in one sitting. Junk food's cheap, $20 buys you a lot of chocolates/ice cream/potato chips/sugary treats.

Because I don't stress that often, I noticed a correlation, if I binge on junk food for several days in a row (potato chips, ice cream, chocolate, all at the same time), my hair falls out.

I would presume the opposite is true, that if I eat healthy, my hair stays healthy, because most of the time I eat healthy and I have nice hair. Just a few days ago, I got a compliment from two (straight) guys about my hair.

I'm working on eliminating that habit.

Just an observation.

Good on you for eliminating the junk food, but I'd say it's more likely that both the hair loss and the junk food are an effect of the stress, rather than that junk food being the cause of hair loss.

[Boris Alotovmuff]

Hi.

Here's my hair datasheet for what it's worth:

I have been using Minoxidil (Regaine foam) twice daily for around 10 months along with Alpecin caffeine shampoo.

Some personal opinions and home truths (I am not a doctor, so just speaking from my own experience):

The caffeine shampoo is probably mumbo jumbo in my opinion. It appears to me that the Alpecin gives a 'matt' rather than a squeaky 'gloss' effect to my hair which makes it look thicker. This is a disingenuous attempt by the manufacturer to give the appearance that it is working. You could probably get the same thickening effect from using a conditioner. Nonetheless I use it every day, it isn't expensive and it might be helping so why not...

The Regaine has improved my hair marginally by only about 10-15% with no side effects nor massive shedding which I believe is about the best you can expect (i.e. i'm not overwhelmed with the amount of regrowth). There are several things about Minoxidil that I think I should mention though:

1. I believe the main flaw with Minoxidil is that it only works if it is in CONSTANT contact with the scalp which is why they tell you to apply twice per day. The manufacturers don't seem to want to address this point and it is not really mentioned anywhere. So if you put it on and then sweat it off at the gym or forget to apply it religiously it isn't going to work. So apply it RELIGIOUSLY AND LIBERALLY and massage it in thoroughly.

2. It works VERY slowly... I noticed nothing WHATSOEVER for at least the first 6 months, and I had my barber take a picture of the top of my head every time he cut it (to his amusement). Incidentally he STILL maintains it hasn't really done anything ( I disagree with him, hence my 10-15% improvement estimation) but he's a grumpy git and balding himself

3. The foam is not as good as the dropper, I am sure of this because the problem with the foam is that it is inconsistent in the amount of Minox it delivers. On different days the foam smells different or feels less viscous (in spit of shaking) so it simply isn't a consistent dosage. However, the dropper is too oily and I couldn't put up with how greasy it made my hair and scalp.

4. Similarly to the Alpecin, the foam attaches itself to your hair and makes it look thicker by default. Again, a disingenuous attempt by the manufacturer to give the impression it is working.

5. I was not that bald to start with (just general thinning with a patch at the back), and I believe this is the main reason the Minoxidil has worked (albeit not dramatically). The simple fact is if you leave it too late your follicles go from simply being dormant to being totally dead (hence the shiny bald effect as the skin grows over the dead follicles) and they will NEVER grow back. So if you have a bit of a bald patch START NOW DON'T WAIT!

6. Reading online, a lot of people seem to experience extreme shedding at the start, get scared and then stop. This is the WORST thing you can possibly do in my opinion. I think if you get a load of hair falling out when you start using Minox this is in fact the BEST sign that you are sensitive to the chemical and will have a good regrowth subsequently. I did not get a noticeable shedding at the start which is probably why my regrowth has been slow and fairly insignificant.

7. My receding hairline has continued to recede Minoxidil will have no effect on this it can only work on the crown. Only solution is a hair transplant.

Incidentally out of curiosity, I bought a mini selection box of the 'Toppix' hair fibers more for a laugh than anything else (i.e. hair in a can) and was quite astonished by how good it was. It helped that one of the colours was a perfect match for my own colour, and I would really recommend it for those who don't want to use chemicals. The trick is to apply hair spray after you have shaken the stuff on your head, that way it stays on overnight. I will re-visit this as an option if my hair loss resumes...

What is 100% certain is that my hair has not fallen out anymore in the past year and to be honest I'm absolutely elated and intend to continue to use the Regaine and the Alpecin.

Once I have done a year on this stuff perhaps I will come back to the thread and post pictures of the top of my head and YOU members can be the judge

[Kid Twist]

Save up and get quality FUE (will be around 10k though). It's expensive, but it'll last forever. And none of this worry. Usually early 40s it's about the perfect time.

[little wing]

Just wanted to add, don't use Propecia. Fucked me up for a few years and still not feel as healthy and wholesome as before I took that poison.
If you are balding try a more alkaline diet, Zinc/Magnesium/Vitamin D supplementation first. If it does not work try minox, topical Fin, stuff like that but don't take the oral propecia whatever you do.
It's not worth it, the hair gains are useless if you feel and look like shit because of DHT suppression and then you can't get hard

[little wing]

(10-08-2017 12:50 AM)fortysix Wrote:  

(10-07-2017 04:52 PM)duedue Wrote:  

I took finastride several years ago but I stopped because my facial hair increased tremendously. It was quite a lot already.

It actually increased? I would imagine that it would decrease because fin lowers test, your facial hair would also decrease.

Fin does not lower test, it lowers DHT. Different hormone

[Gopnik]

@littlewing how long did you take it for?

I've been on finasteride for almost 3 months now and so far so good.

No significant side effects (zero loss of libido etc.) and hair loss seems to have stabilised, although it's hard to tell as I keep my hair quite short.

My brother has been on it for over 2 years now and he's also doing ok.

I'll post an update in a couple of months if anything changes but I don't think it's as bad as people might think.

I totally agree that it's not worth losing your libido in exchange of your hair and men should definitely keep an eye for side effects.

However, there's millions of men that have tried it and a lot of them have succesfully stopped or stabilised their hairloss so I wouldn't completely rule it out.

[fortysix]

Wanted to chime in re the propecia.

I've been very very slowly balding on my crown for the past five years or so. Every man in my family has a bald crown, so I always knew it was coming. I started using minox a few years back, and it stabilized the hair loss for a while, but then it started creeping back in again.

I asked my physician for propecia a few months ago. I was very scared of the side effects, so the first night I just bit off 1/2 a pill - that night my balls hurt like hell and I had to take an advil to fall asleep. After that I took 1/2 a pill every other day for about a 1.5 weeks or so and my libido disappeared - I went from j***ing off 1-2 times a day, to within a day of taking it, (sometimes I would be so turned on I would have to do it at work) to literally just no desire at all. Keep in mind I'm also married, so sex desire in that department completely disappeared as well. At this point I stopped.

I took two weeks off and started again on Friday of the week before last. The next Monday-Tuesdayish, again, my libido totally disappeared.

On top of all this, I swear on my life my penis has become smaller. It shrunk about two when non-erect, and also about 1/2 an inch when erect. Basically, it looks the way it looks when you get out of a cold swimming pool, but now I have this look 24/7.

Mind you I am healthy and work out 3-4 times a week (lift weights & cardio).

So again, I am stopping. It's very disappointing. Why must a man choose between his hair and his sex drive? Why? What cruel world do I live in?

[little wing]

(10-18-2017 07:54 AM)Gopnik Wrote:  

@littlewing how long did you take it for?

I've been on finasteride for almost 3 months now and so far so good.

No significant side effects (zero loss of libido etc.) and hair loss seems to have stabilised, although it's hard to tell as I keep my hair quite short.

My brother has been on it for over 2 years now and he's also doing ok.

I'll post an update in a couple of months if anything changes but I don't think it's as bad as people might think.

I totally agree that it's not worth losing your libido in exchange of your hair and men should definitely keep an eye for side effects.

However, there's millions of men that have tried it and a lot of them have succesfully stopped or stabilised their hairloss so I wouldn't completely rule it out.

Used it for 1 week, only had very mild sides while on it(watery ejaculate, that's all).

Was fine after stopping but then a few months later I started getting symptoms of androgen deprivation. The kind of symptoms males get when they start therapy to become females.

I don't want to go into too much detail about my side effects and make you paranoid but it were physical, genital and mental/cognitive changes that I could observe that seemed to line up right with the side effects reported by other users who experienced them AFTER quitting the drug(also I had the same experience as fortysix who posted below me).


I have had blood tests and my testosterone is above the reference range for males my age and my estrogen is super low, basically what you want as a male. I also eat healthy, lift multiple times a week, take Vitamin D/zinc/magnesium etc. so It's not due to my lifestyle. My diet and lifestyle before taking propecia were a lot worse than now, still I was feeling much better sexually and mentally, I also looked more attractive imho.

I took a stupid gamble with my health and now I'm paying the price. I have to live with that decision probably for the rest of my life. Looking back I wish I would not have taken it but alas, all I can do is keep moving forward and make the most out of it. Looking back my hair loss was definitely not that bad, I was just very worried about it progressing and everywhere I looked people advised to take finasteride. Now I have a thick, luscious head of hair but honestly I'd rather have a buzz cut with a receded hairline and my health back

[Traktor]

I wish I had known all about this 15 years ago when I started losing my hair. Now I'm as bald as Bobby Charlton but without the combover.

[RoyalHudson]

Pills are not really a good choice for anything. They must have some sort of side effect. My hair was falling too, like crazy but then I tried some home remedies. And believe me, they worked very well. Home remedies are the best if you ask me.

[Nordwand]

A cure for baldness is probably the Holy Grail of commercial pharmacy. When something comes along that really works, we'll all know about it; an entrepreneurial type that I knew many years ago once told me that any "miracle" product that really delivers will be rammed in your face from all angles.

[_Cicero]

(08-30-2017 05:22 AM)_Cicero Wrote:  

(05-28-2017 01:54 AM)_Cicero Wrote:  

Whatup bros. Balding bro here. I'm 36, but I've been told I look older than I am. Thinning/balding hair, and also some wrinkles on my face, with a thick beard. This has cost me girls in the 18-22 y.o. category. I recently saw a dermatologist about it. It blew my mind. Here's what I learned:

Hair-loss is totally treatable in most men, and with treatments that have little or no side effects. Most people in this thread probably already knew this.

I'm now following this treatment regimen, based on my dermatologists advice:
(1) Minoxidil/Rogaine. A generally effective drug with few side effects. Tends to thicken your hair where you have it rather than bring your hair-line forward. You do need to apply twice a day, and with all of these treatments you're going to have to wait months to see results. (My doc was down on the foam version. he said was less effective than the spray).
(2) Micro-needling/dermaroller. The idea is actually to damage your scalp and thus force your body to send growth agents to your scalp to repair. These growth agents happen to also be good for hair regrowth. Incidentally, this is also generally a good skin treatment, including for wrinkles. I'm started also using on my face (but you want .5mm or 1 on your face, and 1.5mm on your scalp, according to him). He emphasized that it is important to keep your dermaroller soaked in alcohol for 15 minutes after treatment, to make sure you aren't spawning bacteria which you then inject into your scalp.
(3) Plasma Injections, PRP. I've started this. They take your blood, separate out the plasma and then inject this into your scalp.

*Note: All three of these treatments have been proven to work in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and are not known to have bad side effects. They all also operate differently, and thus are good complements to each other.

**Downsides: Minoxidil can cause scalp discomfort. Micro needling doesn't feel great. The plasma injections hurt like a mofo, but nothing a man can't handle. Two of these treatments need to be done every day (Rogaine and micro-needling), and I have to go once a month to the doctor for plasma injections. It cost me about $100 for 5 months of treatment. I paid about $15 for a dermaroller, which I can use three months. I think I dropped about $30 on minoxidil, but I'm not sure how long it will last.

Personally, I'm very down on "natural" remedies. Why do that stuff which is scientifically unproven when there is stuff that is proven? Also, the giant supplement industry is a f*cking scam. Take St. Johns wart for this or that, zinc for testosterone, garlic to prevent colds. It's all or mostly bullshit. Even vitamins do not have good results in RCTs, even with poor people in Africa who aren't eating healthy diets.

Other treatments I'm not doing (yet):
(1) My dermatologist was down on the shampoo treatment. Said was unnecessary. I'm not sure why.
(2) He was very high on hair transplants, which is a permanent solution. I may go this route if my hair or hairline doesn't respond. He said I have a large donor area, which is good. Said there are good clinics in St. Petersburg (Russia) and in Tbilisi, surprisingly. Also in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Also said some of the best are in north america, but also the most expensive. (I'm based in Moscow). Indeed, surgery may be the best option.
(3) Finasteride/Propecia. I know people who use and swear by it, and had no noticeable side effects. My doctor recommended this but with hesitation. He said 5% get erectile disfunction, and some of these cases are permanent even when people stop taking the drug. I do wonder if some of this is reverse placebo effect. Still, it is going to mess with your hormones, and I'm risk averse when it comes to this stuff. It also stops hair loss more than promotes regrowth. I decided against. There are other alternatives. Personally, I would do a transplant over this.

In any case, I've just started this treatment regimen. I'll give it 6 months to see what happens and then think about a hair transplant if I get frustrated with slow progress. My doctor does the same regimen, and the back of his hair responded well but not the very front.

Quick update after a bit more than three months. I'm seeing some positive results for sure. Not a total game changer, but a definite, if modest, improvement. It's also the case that putting Rogaine in your hair makes it appear thicker, which accomplishes the same goal in any case.

However, after two months, I switched to just minoxidil + microneedling, as it turned out that the PRP scalp injections were about $100 per injection, rather than for the first 5. That's $1,200 a year, and plus it takes time, so I decided to bail on that, as I'm a cheap mofo. Thus, it isn't clear my improvement will be as fast in the future.

I also talked to a dermatologist on this board who had hair transplant surgery, and highly recommended it. I may do this to firm up my scalp line in the front, although I want to give my current treatment plan another 6 months to see what happens.

A second update on this:

I've seen very noticeable gains in my hair thickness. This treatment regime Rogaine (with the dropper, not the foam) plus a dermaroller (1.5MM) gets real results.

The only issue is that it hasn't caused my hairline to come forward at all, it's just made my hair thicker on top and in the back. Thus, I'm planning to go for hair transplant surgery this summer. Indeed, I now regret not doing that last summer now.

The solution was cheap, safe, and pretty easy to apply. Now that I'm in the habit of putting the stuff on every time I shower, it really only takes a minute.

Knowledge is power bros, I wish I would have started this 5 years ago.

[_Cicero]

(11-07-2017 03:30 AM)Nordwand Wrote:  

A cure for baldness is probably the Holy Grail of commercial pharmacy. When something comes along that really works, we'll all know about it; an entrepreneurial type that I knew many years ago once told me that any "miracle" product that really delivers will be rammed in your face from all angles.

Actually, Rogaine plus a dermaroller has worked pretty well for me, at least on top. People I know who've done hair transplant surgery also say it works very well.