23, is it already time to see a dermatologist?

[Nebula74]

Hey everyone, I was in a pharmacy today since I've been looking for a place where they sell Minoxidil Foam for later on, and asked the bald pharmacist at the counter for Minoxidil Foam, but he said they didn't have it there, only liquid (Which I already have but won't use on my hair yet, unless I start getting very desperate). However, he asked me ''anything else?'' so I took the plunge and asked for Finasteride, and he sold it to me, no questions asked. Maybe he knows the struggle? I dunno. This was very convenient since I wanted to start taking 1 mg thrice a week (Mon-Wed-Fri) the way those two doctors on The Hair Loss Show suggested. So now I have 60 tablets which should last me 3 or 4 months if I keep taking it thrice a week.

I already took my first tablet today and it was a huge relief, since these last two months have been an emotional roller coaster for me. I'll be seeing the dermatologist on Wednesday, hopefully she'll give me a Finasteride prescription. I'm currently considering whether to start microneedling or taking 2-3 ml of oral castor oil for improved facial hair density and a bit of regrowth. I may go the castor oil route first because it is dirt cheap (Even though I haven't read any serious studies on its use for hair regrowth) and microneedling alone with finasteride+ketoconazole shampoo may end up being kinda useless. These last two weeks I've upped the usage of the keto shampoo from 2-3 times a week to 3-4 times a week and I haven't got ''keto fried hair'' yet. It's been 6 weeks since I started using it, and I leave it 15-25 mins on my hair before washing it off. I'll shave my head on Wednesday.

Great to see you're able to take a proactive approach to this, I hope that these treatments work out well for you.

 

[NickyA]

Great to see you're able to take a proactive approach to this, I hope that these treatments work out well for you.

Thanks for the good vibes man, I hope that things work out well for you too.

 

[NickyA]

Hey everyone, I got home a while ago and wanted to keep y'all updated. I saw the dermatologist today, unfortunately she wasn't very helpful: I don't think she paid much attention to what I told her, which was basically a summary of my first post on this thread. She was obese and noticeably thinning at the middle of her hairline too. However she examined me and checked my blood tests, then said that I had decent coverage at the front, giving me a prescription for Minoxidil 5% Spray (Told me to use it once per day on my hairline and massage it) and some kind of multivitamin that I'm supposed to take twice daily (Once after breakfast and once after supper) that has:

-L-Cistine 300 mg + D-L-Methionine 200 mg
-Vitamin B6 (100 mg)
-Gingko Biloba (45 mg)
-Zinc (14.9 mg) (I read somewhere here that some guys take zinc for their hair)
-Iron(2 mg)
-Biotin (5000 mg) (This stuff'll grow my nails fast as f*** hahahaha)
-Vitamin B3 (Niacin) (5 mg)
-Pantothenic Acid (4.6 mg)

I bought the two things she prescripted at the place she recommended since I had a 40% discount thanks to the prescription, and will probably start taking this multivitamin tomorrow, but I won't start using minoxidil. She said I didn't need finasteride yet, and to see her again next month. Anyway, after buying the meds at the place she suggested I went to another pharmacy nearby and fast-talked the pharmacist for 30 tablets of finasteride, showing him the meds the dermatologist had prescripted me and telling him that the other pharmacy didn't have finasteride and had kept my prescription. I didn't get my 40% discount but I got the pills. So overall I'd say it was a mixed bag: The cheaper 5% minoxidil spray may be useful for later on, I dunno about the multivitamins though.

I'll keep taking 1 mg of finasteride thrice a week and will start using this prescripted multivitamin twice daily, along with the ketoconazole shampoo. Won't start using minoxidil 5% yet.

Afterwards, I went to a professional barber salon to shave my head, trim my handlebar on the front and my van dyke beard. I ended up getting a no guard instead of a full shave since the barber said that it would be better to have some hair left to improve absortion if I wanted to keep using the ketoconazole shampoo. The whole experience was awesome, they washed my head twice, massaged my scalp and gifted me lotions for my skin and facial hair. I'm definitely in the group of men who would take a hit if they went bald but the hit wasn't as substantial as I thought it'd be: Luckily my head doesn't have any indentations nor a weird shape, my headshape could be better but it could be a lot worse too. The thing that screws me up the most is my ears since they stand out too much if I don't have hair, but maybe that could be fixed by changing the frame of my glasses or growing a thicker beard. Anyway, I'll do my best to keep my hair since I prefer the way I look with hair than bald.

I'll post some pictures of how my hair looks with a no guard. I couldn't take any good pictures of my hairline with harsh lighting since my skin was too shiny. Thanks in advance for your answers! Any further advice is welcome!!

 

[NickyA]

Hey guys, it's been a week since I shaved my head to a no guard and nearly two weeks since I started taking finasteride thrice a week. If anything I'd say I feel healthier, more collected and calmer. I look forwards to every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since every time I take my pill I feel like I'm taking good care of myself.

My hair is growing quite fast and it's already reaching the number 1/number 2 buzzcut stage, but I dunno if it's due to the 10000 mcg (10 mg) of biotin I'm taking daily or not, since I always had to get a touchup for my fade every 2 or 3 weeks. My nails have been growing crazy fast though, I normally trim them every 2 weeks but now I had to do it in a week since I started taking the multivitamins.

I'll post some pictures of how it looks now, you can clearly see the thinning+miniaturisation at the front, towards a NW2A-NW3A like my grandpa and granduncle I think? I've been looking for signs of diffuse thinning too but it seems like my hair is growing evenly elsewhere? I'm not sure. Also spoke to my 90 year old granduncle who luckily has a sharp mind and he told me that he started noticing his recession when he was 29-30 and started looking for treatments by the time he was 34-35, and that my maternal grandfather started noticeably balding in his late 30's-early 40's. I've seen pictures of my granduncle in his 40s and he was a textbook NW4A.

 

[NickyA]

Here's how it looks now under harsh lighting. I'm not sure if I have some retrograde alopecia or not hahaha. My nape has always had those thin hairs round the neck since I was 15 or so, I remember because they annoyed me when I grew my hair out, but now I dunno if that is normal or not. I'll start taking 2 ml of oral castor oil tomorrow.

 

[NickyA]

So it's been three weeks since I started taking 1 mg finasteride thrice a week, and so far so good. My hair has already grown out enough so that the thinning at the front isn't so noticeable anymore. I've been watching for any clear patterns but can't really notice anything, maybe someone more knowledgeable than me could give his opinion. The first three pics were taken in average lighting, the rest in harsh lighting.

It's been a week since I started taking 2 ml of oral castor oil daily, I went for Mountain Rose Herb's oil because it had good reviews, and I can say that it tastes nice and smells good, like almonds. I also started using it for my face since I've been using minoxidil on my cheeks and jaw for three weeks, and it seems that I'm getting some fast beard gains: I'm growing stubble in these zones way faster than before, and I gotta shave it sooner. I've also been growing hairs in parts of my jaw, neck and cheeks that didn't have any hair before. This has prompted me to start using minoxidil twice a day at the frontal hairline, I've begun applying it last Friday. I'll see if I can buy a dermapen in the following months. I've been suggested a Dr Pen Ultima A6 since it's wireless, durable and has cheap cartridges.

 

[Will Be an Egg in 5 years]

Hey mate. Your hair grows really fast. Yeah I don't see temple recession, maybe just a slight on the left one. It looks you have diffuse thinning, a thin spot on the forelock that goes in the middle line till the back. Very simillar to mine. But I can see a specific pattern. Maybe NW3A with a strong forelock? You know, that "island" of hair alone in the front. But it looks very very early and savable. Good luck with the treatment

 

[BurningCoals]

Wow, you're getting facial hair gains already? Then you're a good responder then. Also while on finasteride, that is also good news.

 

[NickyA]

Wow, you're getting facial hair gains already? Then you're a good responder then. Also while on finasteride, that is also good news.

Yeah now I need to shave my cheecks, jaw and neck every three days instead of once a week, and I've been getting hairs in parts of my jaw, neck and cheeks where I didn't have anything. Everyone in my maternal family starts getting cardiovascular issues by their 40s/50s, maybe that has to do with my response? I dunno hahahaha, but so far so good, I haven't felt dizzy or anything, even while working out.

 

[BurningCoals]

Yeah now I need to shave my cheecks, jaw and neck every three days instead of once a week, and I've been getting hairs in parts of my jaw, neck and cheeks where I didn't have anything. Everyone in my maternal family starts getting cardiovascular issues by their 40s/50s, maybe that has to do with my response? I dunno hahahaha, but so far so good, I haven't felt dizzy or anything, even while working out.

A month-ish after starting to apply it on my face I felt that my neck felt much coarser than usual, so those hairs turned thicker quick. I have since seen slower gains on the cheeks and sideburns, but barely anything on the mustache and goatee region. I'm back at using it 2x on my face per day, (as well as 1x a day on my head so 3x a day in total), maybe that'll do the trick.

When I first started applying to my face I at first used way too much (I collected leftover minoxidil in a small jar and just dipped my fingers into that, bad idea) and got sh*t like rapid heartbeat and short-breathedness, not cool. Though with some adjustments I don't get anything, besides dry skin (which is solved with some moisturizer), and also the hair on my arms, fingers, legs and toes is growing longer. I also seem to be gaining hair on my upper arms, and possibly even my back. Would have been nice to see hair grow on my head, but whatever.

 

[NickyA]

So far I've seen the biggest increase in density at the neck, and more scruff at the cheeks, along with scruff at the jaw, where I didn't have any hair before. I only apply a single drop at the chin since I want to see if I can finally connect my soul patch with my chin strap fully, but I haven't noticed any difference there so far. I've been using it twice per day too. I've been washing my face thoroughly after 4 or 5 hours and applying castor oil as moisturizer once a day and that seems to have taken care of the dry skin.

 

[NickyA]

Alright I'm pleased to write that it's been a month since I started taking 1 mg of finasteride thrice a week and all good so far. Nobody has commented about my hair so far either (Which is weird to me since my hairline is literally the first thing I look at when I see my face at the mirror nowadays) but I've a friend who has been staring at my hairline a couple of times at the gym while talking to me. So I guess that's how Joe Tillman felt while people stared at his pluggy hairline due to his first two failed transplants. Later on my friend told me that he was worried that now that he had long hair he had noticed some recession at his temples and hairline compared to how he looked some years ago, so what people write here that it's mostly guys who are paranoid about balding or bald guys who notice hair loss is spot on.

As usual, the first five pictures were taken in average lighting and the last three under harsh lighting.

 

[NickyA]

I'll make a small update since I'm on holiday atm. I finished my first cicle of 2 ml of oral castor oil on Monday. I'll follow Norwoody's cycles and take three weeks off, that is till 8 March. So far I cannot write much about its effectivity: I've been growing lots of hairs on my cheeks and jaw, where I didn't have any, but I'm not sure whether the castor oil played a big role in that: I think the Minoxidil was the most important for this growth because I was already getting hair there like 2 or 3 weeks before I started taking castor oil. I gotta shave much more often now on the cheeks, jaw and neck though, like every three days whereas I previously did it once a week.

Haven't noticed much difference hair wise so far, and I couldn't tell whether I've been shedding or not because my hair is still short, like a number 5 or 6 buzzcut. Finasteride wise, everything's still alright. No problems using minoxidil either.

 

[BurningCoals]

I'll make a small update since I'm on holiday atm. I finished my first cicle of 2 ml of oral castor oil on Monday. I'll follow Norwoody's cycles and take three weeks off, that is till 8 March. So far I cannot write much about its effectivity: I've been growing lots of hairs on my cheeks and jaw, where I didn't have any, but I'm not sure whether the castor oil played a big role in that: I think the Minoxidil was the most important for this growth because I was already getting hair there like 2 or 3 weeks before I started taking castor oil. I gotta shave much more often now on the cheeks, jaw and neck though, like every three days whereas I previously did it once a week.

Haven't noticed much difference hair wise so far, and I couldn't tell whether I've been shedding or not because my hair is still short, like a number 5 or 6 buzzcut. Finasteride wise, everything's still alright. No problems using minoxidil either.

So you haven't felt any different at all while on finasteride compared to not?

Also, just wondering but why did you start minoxidil on your head already? Now you won't really be able to tell if it is the finasteride or the minoxidil that's giving regrowth there and you're gonna be stuck using it forever.

 

[NickyA]

So you haven't felt any different at all while on finasteride compared to not?

Also, just wondering but why did you start minoxidil on your head already? Now you won't really be able to tell if it is the finasteride or the minoxidil that's giving regrowth there and you're gonna be stuck using it forever.

Nope, I haven't felt any different at all while on finasteride. I had a mild nut ache the first week but in my opinion it was nocebo because I got it like 5 mins after taking a pill the first few days, and it went away when I wasn't paying attention.

I started using minoxidil because I had been using it on my face for like three weeks before using it on my hair and was seeing good gains so I figured I was a responder. My hair was incredibly dense round this date a year ago and seemed like a good NW1 from the front, so I decided to risk it in hope of some regrowth and maintenance. I may post a pic of my late February 2020 holiday later on for reference. And my dermatologist may stop handing me prescriptions for the 40% discount if I don't use it, since she may think that I am a non responder. 3 mg of finasteride a week is a smallish dose too, so if I see considerable gains these first months I'll assume they are due to the minoxidil.

 

[NickyA]

Alright, I've started my second cycle of oral castor oil (2ml daily) this week. I'll end it the 8th of April. I've gotten used to my regimen and now it's simply turning into my daily routine. If things stay alright I'll up my finasteride dosage at the end of this month or the beggining of April, to 1 mg from Monday to Friday. I'll leave the weekends as rest days.

I'm starting to suspect that I'm a good responder to Minoxidil, since the hairs that were growing on my cheeks (Were I previously didn't have any facial hair) now turn to scruff if I don't shave for a week or so. And I've been growing vellus hairs on the temples (Especially the right temple) but I don't think they're noticeable on any pictures yet. Haven't noticed any difference at the front, which is the part that worried me the most: I can still see my scalp when I turn on my mirror's bright integrated lights while brushing my teeth or shaving. On the downside, it seems that I'm also growing vellus hairs between my temple peaks and my eyebrows... I hope I don't end up looking like a werewolf hahahaha.

I saw my dermatologist on Monday and she confirmed me that I had been growing vellus hairs on the temples, and told me to reduce the multivitamin dosage to 1 pill per day instead of twice a day, and the minoxidil usage to once a day. I'll follow her advice on the multivitamins since I don't think they play a big role against hair loss but I'll keep using minoxidil twice daily because I want max gains and haven't experienced any big side effects, only flaking which I can deal with and maybe baggier eyes in the morning. I may start using tretinoin on my face later on as a skin care routine, just in case.

 

[BurningCoals]

On the downside, it seems that I'm also growing vellus hairs between my temple peaks and my eyebrows... I hope I don't end up looking like a werewolf hahahaha.

Lol I've noticed some new stray dark hairs above my eyebrows as a result of minoxidil. I think I'm finally starting to see like 5 darker hairs in the mustache and goatee region haha.

 

[NickyA]

Lol I've noticed some new stray dark hairs above my eyebrows as a result of minoxidil. I think I'm finally starting to see like 5 darker hairs in the mustache and goatee region haha.

Were you applying any minoxidil to that area? I haven't used minoxidil on my temple peaks, but sometimes it drips down from my temples to that area, and it's surprising to me that I could end up looking like wolfman due to this. I may have to start plucking them soon.

Hopefully you'll end up with a decent goatee or a moustache at least. It finally seems that my soul patch has connected to my chin strap to form a full Van Dyke beard, but I'm not sure if that was due to Minoxidil or just natural progression.

 

[BurningCoals]

Were you applying any minoxidil to that area? I haven't used minoxidil on my temple peaks, but sometimes it drips down from my temples to that area, and it's surprising to me that I could end up looking like wolfman due to this. I may have to start plucking them soon.

Hopefully you'll end up with a decent goatee or a moustache at least. It finally seems that my soul patch has connected to my chin strap to form a full Van Dyke beard, but I'm not sure if that was due to Minoxidil or just natural progression.

No, it’s likely systemic, I’ve seemed to have gained more hair on my arms as well.

Yeah the fear of not developing facial hair is maybe the main thing that prevents me from getting on finasteride at the moment, although apparently finasteride increases minoxidil’s effectiveness and there’s plenty of people having success with minoxidil facial hair while on finasteride, so maybe I should just bite the bullet.

 

[NickyA]

No, it’s likely systemic, I’ve seemed to have gained more hair on my arms as well.

Yeah the fear of not developing facial hair is maybe the main thing that prevents me from getting on finasteride at the moment, although apparently finasteride increases minoxidil’s effectiveness and there’s plenty of people having success with minoxidil facial hair while on finasteride, so maybe I should just bite the bullet.

Yeah being bald and beardless sucks big time. Most white guys end up looking like a cancer patient, a baby or an egg. I think I'd look like Imhotep from The Mummy if I shaved both my head and my facial hair, which seems pretty hilarious to me because the guy terrified me as a kid and my dad used to scare me by pretending to be him.

Finasteride doesn't have much of an impact on facial hair as far as I know, since Testosterone is more important than DHT for beard growth. Where did you read that it could increase minoxidil'd effectiveness? I read that it works in synergy with minoxidil since finasteride maintains and gives slight regrowth while minoxidil regrows and guarantees some slight maintenance, do you happen to know if they works in synergy for facial hair growth too?