27 - On big three

[badgenetics1]

Hello all,

I originally joined these forums back in early 2007 when I was 20. I had the username badgenetics and my original story is here:

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/showthread.php/25883-badgenetics-story-(pics)

I had to get a new username since I forgot my password and my old college email no longer exists. Long story short, I have a bad history of baldness in my family - my mom's dad is a Norwood 7, her uncles are Norwood 6's, her brothers are Norwood 7's, my dad is a Norwood 4/5, and my older cousins on my mom's side are at best Norwood 5's.

I joined when I was 20 because I was worried about hair loss and preventing it, but it wasn't until I was 22 that I noticed any hair loss - thinning in the crown. I started minoxidil and Revivogen (scared of finasteride effects) and after 3 months I had some great results. However, I gave them up because I was in a relationship with a girl who didn't care about hair loss.

Fast forward to this summer. I was losing hair aggressively on my crown, but luckily my temples/front haven't changed since I was 20. I finally decided I needed to do something about it. My regimen:

• Minoxidil foam 5% 2x/day started 7/1/2013
• RegenePure DR shampoo 3x/week started 7/1/2013
• Finasteride 1 mg/day started 8/1/2013
• 1.5 mm dermaroller 1x/week started 9/13/2013

I know the regimen is aggressive, but so is my hair loss. While I've lost a good bit of hair, I'm optimistic about getting good results since the loss is limited to the crown. Even if I only maintain, I can live with what I have.

 

[badgenetics1]

For anyone interested, I heard some pretty good news a week ago. I was getting a haircut, and as my barber started cutting the crown region, she got an odd look on her face and asked "Do you towel dry your hair?" I was a bit confused, but I nodded. She then suggested that I either let my hair air dry or just pat my head with a towel to dry my hair. When I asked why, she said it was because I had a lot of shorter hairs in my crown, and she suspected that they were getting broken off due to towel-drying. I thanked her, and I went home ecstatic because I just heard the first legitimate comment that made me believe my regimen was working.

I moved about 1.5 months after starting treatment, so it's hard to find a great comparable baseline photo to the photos I'm using now (the lighting just isn't right). However, here's the best baseline photo I have (taken about a week after starting minoxidil):



Here is a picture I just took tonight:



While the lighting is somewhat different, I think it's clear that I'm beginning to get some regrowth from Minoxidil after 3 months of use. While I don't won't to post a success story yet, I think I'm on the right path.

 

[headless]

Great to read my man!! Awesome to hear a comment like that from your hairdresser.
Keep up the regimen, I would love to follow your progress!

 

[badgenetics1]

Update: Yesterday I made a self-deprecating joke about my bald spot, and the person I was talking to asked me what I was talking about. I then turned around and pointed to the crown of my head and he said "Hey man I'm not expert but I don't see any hair loss. You might be thinning but that'd be it." Needless to say, I was ecstatic and immediately checked when I got home. While I could definitely still notice the thinning, my friend was pretty much right - my crown has filled in quite a bit. Picture I took tonight:



While there are some thin spots, I think I can finally say that I no longer have a bald spot and just have thin hair on my crown now. I've been on minoxidil for almost 4 months, so if I can continue with the regrowth I should have a full head of a hair by Christmas! As it stands right now, less than four months on treatment and my hair looks better than it has since I was 21 (I'm 27 now).

 

[talmoode]

wow! your crown filled in very nicely! Congrats!!

 

[badgenetics1]

Thanks! Having crown loss sucked since it's much more noticeable than hairline recession, but I guess the silver lining is that it is the most responsive area to treatment.

 

[JaySizzle]

good job. if more people got on finasteride and minoxidil at your level of Norwood, they would stop complaining about how current treatments don't work. i am sure your crown will thicken to the point where you won't notice it at all. good job.

 

[Woodyy]

Bloody hell man, didn't expect that, basically full regrowth from the looks of things!

Its crazy to think that you've been balding for 7 years or whatever and then in 4 months of treatment you've reversed nearly all of it!

Just keep doing your regime and forget about it now. I know you probably already know but experiencing hairloss and the depression that comes with it and then regrowing is one of the best feeling ever.

 

[isishearmyplea]

gratz man!! no major finasteride sides?

 

[badgenetics1]

Thanks everyone! I can't believe how much my hair has recovered after such a long period of loss.

I've had absolutely zero negative finasteride sides. In fact, my libido went through the roof for the first month or so on it. It's still higher than before I started but it has settled down a bit.

 

[exbusboy]

Thanks everyone! I can't believe how much my hair has recovered after such a long period of loss.

I've had absolutely zero negative finasteride sides. In fact, my libido went through the roof for the first month or so on it. It's still higher than before I started but it has settled down a bit.

Hey man. Congrats on your success!I have a similar loss pattern as yours. Would you mind sharing the name of the brand of finasteride you use?
Thanx in advance

 

[badgenetics1]

Hey man. Congrats on your success!I have a similar loss pattern as yours. Would you mind sharing the name of the brand of finasteride you use?
Thanx in advance

Thanks! I use generic Proscar (Fincar I believe) and I cut the pills into fifths.

 

[anonymous]

This is AWESOME.
Just gave me a lot of hope. Let's hope this keeps improving!

 

[Kirby]

Wow, congratulations on your crown regrowth!

I'm quite jealous TBH - I've been using minoxidil foam since the last week of May (and finasteride since last January), and no improvements at all! So you must be a good responder, or I'm 100% screwed. Either way, good going.

 

[anonymous]

Ha, same here. My libido was insane.

 

[Koga]

Which minoxidil foam brand do you use ?

 

[badgenetics1]

I started with a generic foam from Walgreens. Now I'm using Kirkland and it is working just as well. I might need to move to liquid at some point because the regrowth I've had is making it hard to apply the foam.

 

[Koga]

Does Walgreen's foam contain PPG? If you'd like to stay on the foam (because the liquid with PPG irritates many scalps), I have a tip for you: put the cap with the foam under hot water (without letting the water get to the minoxidil of course); thanks to the heath of the water the foam will melt very fast so you can easily apply it with a pipette.

 

[DarkVctry]

This is a perfect example of a guy who tried a treatment and stuck with it. This is why I have to disregard what most guys on this forum say, because sooooo many guys here will try a treatment for a few weeks then ditch it and complain it doesnt work. Thanks for sharing your story and it is a great success, you've taken control over your problem.

 

[badgenetics1]

Thanks DarkVctry! Also, thank you for the tip, Koga. It's now extremely hard to apply the foam well, so I'll likely follow your advice.

I wanted to wait until the six month mark before posting another update, but I checked out my hair today and I felt it was a good time. Below is a comparison photo. On the left is my hair a little less than two months on minoxidil before I noticed any regrowth and right before I started dermarolling. On the right is my hair today. Since my last photo updates were dark, I did my best to recreate the lighting and angle in the current picture so the comparison is as accurate as possible. If anything, there is more lighting in today's picture. Also, hair length is about the same.



I've gone from a NW3 Vertex to a NW2 in less than 6 months. I'm very happy with the results!