10 years of trying to prevent/slow hair loss - some thoughts

Warrior87

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I first started to notice hair loss at 25, in fact it wasnt me that noticed, probably like many on here it was my barber, he first commented on my crown thickness. Of course this lead me to go home and examine this allegation that I may be starting to lose my hair. With a mirror placed above my head and then the iphone I confirmed what I feared, I was losing my hair....

25 is young though, but for me it wasnt unexpected, since 16 I had been bodybuilding and since 22 I had competed on stage at UKBFF shows in physique competitions, certain 'supplements' I had used had no doubt caused my male pattern baldness trigger to move forward a number of years. By 25 I had stopped competing in bodybuilding shows and was far more career focused so 'supplements' were no longer that important to me.

Like many people I did some further research, I had read up a lot previously about hormones, HPTA axis etc so I wasnt a complete novice, however I decided to jump on Finasteride (1mg) at 25 and I started using Nizoral shampoo (at 2%). Over the next 12 months I didnt notice any added thinning, but I was certainly more self-conscious about hairs in the basin after showering so at 26 I started using Rogaine (minidoxil) thinking I may be shedding more (yes i know min can increase shedding initially).

Fast forward to 33 (so 7 years) I had managed to keep good scalp density, however my front was like a Norwood 1 and my crown was like a Norwood 4, so the scalp was thin and was the most notable thin area. At 34 I added RU58841 to the mix after noticing an increase focus on it within the hair loss community, I was slightly swayed how Derek from More Plates More Dates had claimed it was his foundation for his hair loss prevention protocol and had been using it for 5 years plus, before that point I was honestly very skeptical about RU, just some non-tested research product (which is largely still is). However with RU I did notice thickening on my scalp, something I had no seen in the past 8 years with all other treatments.

I got my hair transplant done in Turkey at 24 also, 4300 grafts, 1500 on the scalp and 2800 at the front. Even though my scalp was the worst area the surgeon felt the majority of the grafts should go in the front. 7 months on from my hair transplant I have no regrets, its honestly been life changing in terms of personal confidence. The front of my hair line is strong and the scalp is so much better.

The keep takeaways for me are:

1. There is no 1 treatment fix for hair loss, there is no cure, we all know that, so if 1 treatment fixed the issue, we'd all know about it. Its about combining a number of treatments for the best effect. I believe you need to reduce the DHT in the body, but not crush it or that will give you other issues, and focus on limiting DHT in the scalp by a topical approach (RU/nizoral some other treatment - you do you, but the scalp is the area of issue so it needs a DHT limiting treatment in my opinion).

2. Commitment, this is a life long commitment. It requires discipline, you need to be motivated about keeping your hair. If you're happy to just shave it off, fair play to you, but if you are serious about keeping your own hair, you cant be one foot in one foot out, you need to make it part of your daily, weekly and monthly routine.

3. It will almost certainly end up in a hair transplant or 2 (maybe 3). After 10 years focusing on this issue I can only find a few internet cases who claim to have not had a hair transplant, my friends, people ive met online, blokes in the gym and guys I met in Turkey, the majority had been on finasteride or taking other treatments, but they all ended up just getting a hair transplant. Dont be scared of getting a hair transplant done, there are great clinics out there, just do your research and go for it.

4. finasteride can cause issues, I spent nearly 9 years on 1mg of finasteride every day thinking I had no sides from it, it wasnt until I came off finasteride and then went back on it at only half a dose that I noticed it had been effecting my sex drive. When I came off finasteride i noticed far more spontaneous erections and just the natural desire to have sex once I came off it and then went back on at half dose when I started using it again. I had just assumed that for the past 8 years, life, career, marriage, kids all meant I wasnt that bothered in sex anymore, but within 2 weeks of coming off finasteride a year ago I kept getting spontaneous erections, its clear to me that finasteride was effecting me in a negative way. DHT is a vital compound for a good sex drive, by reducing it from 70% to 90% in the body certainly caused me issues.

5. Be positive, in society currently Men take the brunt of the blame for many things. One more thing a man doesnt want to normally add to his worries is hair loss, we have enough pressures on us. After 10 years battling my hair loss brought on at a accelerated rate by 'supplement use' due to bodybuilding in my early to mid 20's I have a good head of hair, I have had 1 Hair transplant but no one i meet day to day or work with who doesnt know my back story would think I have been battling this for 10 years, all dont think I am losing my hair (well the ones I have spoken to anyway). I can stand under bright lights or go swimming and have no self conscious issues around hair thickness. Hard work, research, dedication and a variable protocol that works for you with the odd hair transplant thrown in can easily achieve a good head of hair.

To the beginners out there, dont worry, if you want to keep a good head of hair you can, just do your research and it is achievable :)
 
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