Boondock's Story-(22/ Norwood 3-4 need help and ideas)

[Boondock]

Hey guys,

I'm 22 years old, and I'm balding at an alarming rate. I wanted to share with you my story, and to see if you guys had any ideas that could help me with my situation.

So I started to notice something was wrong a couple of years ago. For a while I'd noticed I couldn't style my hair as well as before. I didn't think much of it. Then, just after I'd turned 20, one of my friends said I had a receding hairline. In my naivety, I didn't even really know what that meant.

I got home, did some googling around, and thought: f*** me, I'm going bald. I looked back at pictures of me from the year before, and it seemed clear. This was the shock moment. I felt like I'd been hit by a ton of bricks.

After shock, I went into denial. I was too young, I thought. My father, who's 50, still has a pretty good head of hair. On my mother's side nobody is bald. So I must be fine. I thought for most of this time that I was just developing a "mature" hairline. How wrong I was.

6 months after that I went to the doctor, and got diagnosed properly. Finally I'd gone from denial into realization, and then I just became really depressed.

It's been about 18 months since then. I've tried propecia, but I get pretty bad sides from it. I tried saw palmetto, and it doesn't do much for me. Right now I'm on minoxidil and nizoral, and have been for about 6 months now. There's been absolutely no change in the progression.

So here's where I'm at now:
--- I'm 22, and I'm at a Norwood 3/4, as you'll be able to see from the pictures.
--- My hairloss is already at a stage where it's very noticeable
--- The progression appears to be continuing
--- I can't tolerate propecia
--- I'm on minoxidil and nizoral already

And I guess my question is: what else can I do?

If I was the kind of person who'd look good bald, I'd shave it right away. As it stands, I'm skinny, and have a thin, egg-shaped head. I actually did clip it down to a number 2 cut at one point, and I looked, well, like a concentration camp victim.

I'm not expecting any regrowth. My goal is just stability. I want to keep my hair as it is for the next 3-4 years, after which I will have the money for either a transplant or hair multiplication therapy (if it's available by then).

I'm soon adding to my regimen:
--- Topical saw palmetto
--- Toco-8

The only other thing I'll have left to try after this is the zix formulas, which I don't really know much about.

That was longer than I thought it'd be. Pics are attached here as well. And any help would be really appreciated.

Cheers,
Boondock

 

[iwantperfection]

Re: 22, Norwood 3-4, and in serious need of some help and ideas

lol norwood 2 more like. :shakehead:

 

[Petchsky]

Re: 22, Norwood 3-4, and in serious need of some help and ideas

Yep, no where near a Norwood 4. Look at spironolactone or proxiphen if you can afford it...copper peptides could really help if you have inflammation.

Chances are - If you want to keep your hair without propecia, you'll have to have a topical regimen,

i.e spironolactone/or proxiphen
Nizoral
minoxidil
Hair signals/tricomin/folligen - I've used all and I like hair signals the most for all the extra ingredients.

 

[Boondock]

Re: 22, Norwood 3-4, and in serious need of some help and ideas

Thanks for the tips. I agree it might not look too bad in the pics, but it's hard to be subjective about your own loss. Either way, it's something I'd like to fight as strongly as I can.

I've got a few more questions:

--- are there any problems with using nizoral more than the recommended amount (e.g. 3-4 times a week)?
--- what's the success rate of topical saw palmetto like?
--- do some people with finasteride sides get on OK with a lower dose (such as 0.25mg)?

 

[Petchsky]

Re: 22, Norwood 3-4, and in serious need of some help and ideas

I've got a few more questions:

--- are there any problems with using nizoral more than the recommended amount (e.g. 3-4 times a week)?
--- what's the success rate of topical saw palmetto like?
--- do some people with finasteride sides get on OK with a lower dose (such as 0.25mg)?

You can use more often than rec, but you don't need too imo and you may dry your scalp alot.

No idea and I doubt anyone does.

Yep, you can still get sides at low dosages, many people do get sides, but they go away...all depends

 

[follicle84]

Re: 22, Norwood 3-4, and in serious need of some help and ideas

In my opinion you do appear to have some hair loss but not nearly enough to to be considered a norwood 4. I would say your a developing norwood 2v (norwood2.5v at best). Your crown looks like it could be at the first stages of thinning, but that could just be the way it looks under direct light. Direct light on the scalp will always make it look worse than it is and the crown area always look thinnest on most people. The only way to truly tell is to have some old and new pictures to compare too. Overall your hair loss isnt bad and theres a chance you might never go bald (depends on wether it runs in the family). If your really concerned however try what petchsky suggested. Those treatments beside finasteride, dutas and spironolactone seem to be the best products out their for treating hairloss thus far.

I've got a few more questions:

--- are there any problems with using nizoral more than the recommended amount (e.g. 3-4 times a week)?
--- what's the success rate of topical saw palmetto like?
--- do some people with finasteride sides get on OK with a lower dose (such as

I've always believed too much of a good thing isnt always a good thing. However i havent heard nothing bad about using nizoral more than the recomended amount. I do know that nizoral reduces scalp sebum (which is believed to contribute to inflamation). However sebum also has role of protecting the hair, giving it a natural moisture to keep it from being dry and damaged from the environment. I personally wouldnt want to over use it for this reason. Should you use nizoral more than the recommended amount however, be sure to wash your hair with conditioner straight after to return your hairs moisture and prevent it from being dry and damaged.

Topical saw palmetto isnt something many try round here, at least not on its own. I've only heard of one user on a different forum who tried it and he said it worked. Baring in mind however he mixed it with minoxidil to apply it topically. It could of very well of been the minoxidil working and not the sawpalmetto, who knows. I should note that hair signals use's a combination of sawpalmetto, copperpeptides and various other dht blockers that could benefit your hair if you want to try this.

A lower dose of finasteride by the way reduces side effects but does not get rid of them at least according to most users experiences including my own on this forum.

 

[Boondock]

Ok, I've put together a plan for maintaining my hair. I am not expecting regrowth at this stage, however I am working on the assumption that in 5-6 years time either hair multiplication will be available or I just won't give a sh*t anymore.

The current regimen is based primarily on the grounds that in the past I haven't tolerated finasteride well, and that I want to avoid using it if at all possible. So the regimen is:

- 5% minoxidil, twice a day.
- Topical saw palmetto, combined with the minoxidil (a la minomuck)
- 160mg oral SP, every day (not sure about this one)
- 30 minutes scalp exercise, twice a day
- Nizoral, three times a week.
- Toco-8 scoop, every day.

I will begin this hopefully in about 10 days when I receive all the ingredients. I will then try it for 6 months and observe my results. At the same time, I am gradually going to be healthening up my lifestyle (is that a real word?) over the coming months, with the assumption that it certainly can't hurt to do that.

If this approach fails, I will adjust my regimen significantly to try out alterntives, with options of spironolactone, zix, the AG solution (if it works), and so on. I might even invest in a laser helmet, which even if it doesn't work is certain to help anyone pick up the chicks. I will try that regimen for 6 months.

If that approach completely fails, I will then test low-dose propecia properly to see if I can tolerate the sides again. Previously I only took it for a few days, so I may have exaggerated how sh*t I felt.

If I either can't tolerate the sides of propecia, or I don't get results from it, I'll then look at a few other exotic products out there, and try one more regimen for 6 months.

If all of the above fails, I will have been horrendously unlucky, and will be satisfied that I've at least given it a go. I will then proceed to get horrendously drunk, after which I'll either get a hair system, shave it all off, or hopefully have enough hair left to look OK until the holy grail of HM comes along to save me. Alongside all of this, I'll be working out to improve my overall look, in case I have to shave.

I'll report with how it goes at every stage. If anything here works, I'll start posting in the success section rather than here.

Peace,
Boondock