Acute male pattern baldness ..horseshoe @ 26 :(

[abhi]

I have been suffering from male pattern baldness since i was 17 yo. Initially it started with receding hair line and then it continued to the vertex. Suddenly when i was around 24-25 i lost my crown hair within 6-7months span. Thats the point i said my hair loss has hit rock bottom and started to use products like revivogen. But it never helped. I stopped monitoring my hair loss and thought that the only method i can have hair restored is hair transplant. Which i guess i will get done (probably in India).

Recently i got to know about this forum and saw the success stories of people on Big 3. That gave me some hope and i thought of giving it a try. So here are my pictures. I was also shocked seeing them as i did not monitor my hair loss for 7-8 months or so. And adding to my woes i have turned into a Horseshoe now . Havent seen such acute hair loss in anyone who is 26yr old. I look like a 35-40 yr old guy because of my hair .

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Sometimes I feel there is something seriously wrong with my DHT levels. Only that can explain such acute hair loss at 26.

My regimen:

Started minoxidil liquid 5% on 08/08/2011 2X a day
Started finasteride 1.25mg/day on 10/08/2011
Start on nizoral 3X /week from 19/08/2011 (waiting for the order to arrive)
Add Spironolactone cream S5 from 22/08/2011 (waiting for the order to arrive, ordered from genhair)

I do weight training for 3X a week and play sports for 1/2X a week.

At this stage, i just expect to improve on my hair in crown area. I am seriously considering hair transplant (only for crown, at this stage i dont care about the front area). If meds can help a bit, to restore some part of hair in crown area that would be awesome for me.

Anyone who think i should add some things to my regimen can pls suggest. I would be glad to hear some postive inputs which can help me in my fight against baldness.

Cheers,
Abhi.

 

[hairhoper]

You are unlucky dude, that's definitely harsh for your age. If you're worried about looking old shaving it short would probably make you look younger, have you tried?

You're giving yourself a good chance by getting on the big 3 though, so definitely give it a good go. It's a strong regimen and I've never felt the need to add any of the other lesser treatments to it myself.

You might even find the S5 cream bothersome / not worth the effort. If it becomes a pain I wouldn't hesitate to drop it. And don't drive yourself nuts taking too many photos, once every few weeks should do the job. Good luck

 

[TravisB]

Sorry man, it happens. This stage of hairloss at your age is not that uncommon as you think. What's the history of baldness in your family? Father, grandfathers?

I'm sorry to say that at this stage it's very likely too late to regrow your hair.

Your best bet would be the transplant.

As for now, I would recommend for you to shave it, you will look sooooo much better and younger, and maybe give yourself a scalp micropigmentation if you want a frame to your face.

 

[Joe-1991]

I hate to say it but that looks terrible. Shave your head.

 

[sergiotahini]

I agree with the others: shave your head. Perhaps try a very short buzz at first if you don't want to go down to the skin.

You're still pretty young so if you immediately get on finasteride, minoxidil and nizoral you could possibly regrow some hair (almost definitely not a full head of hair, but enough to maybe make a cosmetically noticeable difference).

 

[LooseItAll]

Shave it off. Don't do a hair transplant especially strip.

 

[Lloyd Braun]

I regretfully suggest that you try shaving your head. It is just too far gone. See if you like the shaved head look. If not then take dutasteride and use minoxidil in the hopes of getting enough back so that you can use nanogen and toppik and have a good look. If all else fails, get a hairpiece. Hopefully the cure comes out and you can get your hair back. Until then you are largely sol. Sorry.

 

[Pyro]

hey man, shave that off... good luck with the treatments though. not much seems to work though other than finasteride, which i personally wouldn't recommend,

 

[abhi]

Guys thanks for the reply. I have indeed buzzed it to 1mm, it feels far better. Thanks for getting me beyond the hesitation of buzzing or not.

@captaincombover: I have been reading your posts. And looking at your success i was also inspired to start on Big3. Do you think 2ml of minoxidil twice a day is a better idea than 1ml three times a day ? As i am buzzed now its much more easier to apply minoxidil.

Update:
Until now no major side effects from finasteride and minoxidil.
As expected started with keto 2% last week
Still waiting for my spironolactone supply.Ordered from genhair about 3.5 weeks ago,those f***ers are very slow.

Will post the 1 month update on 8th of Sept.

 

[TheLastHairbender]

Hey Abhi,

Glad you made the decision to buzz. I think in your case it probably looks much better that way. Hopefully you'll have some positive results over the next year, but remember that just keeping it from getting worse is all one can really expect to do, so I would definitely spend a little time trying to find the length and cut that are most sensible for your hair loss pattern - that way you can at least look your best whether treatments make any improvements or not.

Your regimen looks great, it's almost exactly what I'm on as well. I don't really have anything to say about 1ml x 3/day vs 2ml x 2/day minoxidil. My use has been closer to the 2ml x 2/day, but I plan to vary my application every two months or so, going to lighter applications three times per day, then probably to 15% minoxidil for a month or so and then back down to 5%, in an effort to keep my gains from plateauing.

The only other thing I would recommend is 5mg daily intake of biotin, ideally spread out over three times of the say, say 1.5mg in the morning, 2mg mid-day, and 1.5mg at night, because biotin is water-soluble and you probably end up urinating a lot of it out if you take one big 5mg dose once a day. It's just another little thing you can do to help the big 3 do their job. You may also want to add in an Omega-3 fish oil pill with each of those biotin intakes, as Omega-3s are well known to have anti-inflammatory properties throughout the body. Adding biotin + Omega-3s is an expensive and convenient addition to the regimen that may yield at least some marginal benefit.

And sorry, no, I don't speak any Dutch, I had just looked up a few pleasantries to reciprocate for your kind words on my story. I have traveled to the Netherlands though and loved it, except for the 30 euro ticket I had to pay for jumping trains (only because I couldn't understand the ticket machines I swear!!!).


Keep us posted! Best wishes in the meantime!