Constantine's Story-(2 mo UPDATE on page 4---September 14th)

[Constantine]

Hi, everybody!

I've just registered and opened my first topic, but i can't say i'm completely new here in this forum. I have actually been around for some time, almost an year , wasting many nights with reading your stories, watching some of you succeed in the treatments you're following, watching you open up and sharing your problems.

Somehow I never got the courage to start a topic on this ( or any other) website, but lately my hair problems have grown worse ( I think) and thus they've been irritating me more and more .

I'm aware that the problems I have are not by far as serious as those of other people who've written their stories on this site. Most of the people I know think I’m crazy whenever i tell them i have hair problems, including my parents, girlfriend. Therefore, I ask you to please, not make fun or treat the issues that i have with sarcasm.


Together with my story I’ve prepared a shitload of pictures.

It's my turn now to share. Here it goes...

My name is Constantine, I’ve turned 23 a few months ago. I started to notice my hair falling around when i was 16-17.Unfortunately i don't have many photos from back then, being that I didn't have a digital camera at that time. The best I could do is this photo from my 18th birthday. This is what my hair used to look like back then( in 2005)...

PHOTO 2005

[attachment=6:1rpl5vmu]2005 good.JPG[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]

I have always had fine, thin hair. I used to like wearing my hair longer ; not too long... and most of the time comb it from the middle to the sides. Right after that my hair started falling, as far as i remember.

At start, it was just more hairs in my comb than usual. You couldn’t notice anything different about my hair. My hairline hadn’t receded ,no diffuse thinning, nothing. I remember freaking out at some point and replacing the comb that i had with another one with fewer and more distanced pins.(more like a women comb).

It was back than that i bought the first anti-hair fall/breakage, etc shampoo. " Revalid " it was called. Didn't change much, as i recall, other than leaving my hair and scalp really dry. I stopped using it after a short while.

Since then i became more and more obsessed with hair loss.

Until my 20th birthday(2007) still nothing noticeable. You can see for yourself in the picture below...


PHOTO 2007 MARCH

[attachment=5:1rpl5vmu]2007 march good.JPG[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]

[attachment=4:1rpl5vmu]2007 march good 2.JPG[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]



...same in august of that same year...

PHOTO 2007 AUGUST

[attachment=3:1rpl5vmu]2007 august good.jpg[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]


Here’s where it starts to notice. In the winter of that year ( namely December 2007) I get a shorter cut. It is only then that I truly start seeing physical changes to my hair. In the following photo you can see a slight diffuse thinning in the front area.

PHOTO 2007 DECEMBER

[attachment=2:1rpl5vmu]2007 december good.JPG[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]

Not long after that, I get horrified when I look closer at picture of me with a flash inside a club. This is what I mean ( again , the front area).

PHOTO 2008 APRIL

[attachment=1:1rpl5vmu]2008 april good.JPG[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]

…and another one, same month

PHOTO 2008 APRIL 2

[attachment=0:1rpl5vmu]2008 april 2 good.jpg[/attachment:1rpl5vmu]


I’d always liked looking in the mirror, until that time. But since that period, I’ve got to say…I’ve only been looking with fear. Later that year I remember trying to leave my hair just grow for a while, se how it looks longer. And as it got longer, I realized that the locks I used to have in front weren’t even half of what they’d used to be…regarding thickness that is.

So, if in the past short hair was an option , a choice I could make…. Now it became the only hair length I could wear without revealing the diffused thinning I was experiencing.

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

In the summer of 2009, things were looking like this.( sorry for the poor quality, they were taken with a cell phone).

PHOTOS AUGUST 2009

[attachment=3:2qp93fmc]2009 august good.jpg[/attachment:2qp93fmc]

[attachment=2:2qp93fmc]2009 august 4 good.jpg[/attachment:2qp93fmc]


Within the same summer, I start looking around the web for solutions. I read a lot about surgery in the matter. Hair transplants/ implants and such. I read about FUE and STRIP, I see picture before/ after of so many people and I start getting hope that there might be a solutions out there.

AUGUST. Things weren’t getting any better , so I take the next step. I go to a hair doctor. The experience turns out to be rather disappointing to me. I had my head filled with promising ideas about hair transplant, the doctor tells me such surgery is totally inappropriate for both my situation and age. I had been preparing though, by that time I had raised a pretty big amount of money, just for this purpose.

Anyway… the Doctor says I should take it step by step. He prescribes me Alpecin Shampoo and Alpecin Tonic. The shampoo also left my hair rather dry, as did the Revalid I had used before. The tonic wasn’t so bad, it was all minty and gave me a fresh sensation. But other than that, after using then for about 2 months I did not notice any changes . My hair did not get thicker, I wasn’t losing less hair. One thing the Doctor did not understand: I wasn’t worried about going completely bald , I’m pretty sure I’m not going to. My hair is identical to my father’s and my grandpa’s and there no one in my family with male pattern baldness.

Just for the record , both my dad (52) and my grandpa (84) still have almost a full head of hair. Pictures of both of them :

PHOTO DAD

[attachment=1:2qp93fmc]dad good.JPG[/attachment:2qp93fmc]

PHOTO GRANDPA

[attachment=0:2qp93fmc]img467.jpg[/attachment:2qp93fmc]

If I were to just wear my hair flat, like my dad is, you would never notice there’s something wrong. In fact , I think it is the same reason my dad does the same. I checked his hair out closely and it’s really , really thin allover, but especially in front. It’s mostly when I wear it spiky or messy that my scalp shows.( and it shows really nasty).

So, as I said, it was not the complete balding I was worried about when I went to the hair doctor, but rather the thickness of my hair which I had lost and wanted to get back. I DON’T WANT TO HAVE DIFUSE HAIR FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

2010 was a really bad year for my hair. I remember getting up in the morning to go to work, and crying whenever I looked in the mirror. I could not stop thinking about the fact that my scalp is visible in daylight.

So I took my next step. ( if you can call that a step). I bought my first concealer. “nanogen†together with some “locking mist†as they refer to it, something to keep the fibers attached. I must admit, when I first used it I felt like I had my teenager hair back. But after a while I became self conscious about using a concealer . I realized I wouldn’t want to live a lie , so I stop using that too.

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story - 1.5 MONTH UPDATE -

At the present time the situation is as follows :

[attachment=6:1mxar36v]img440.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]
[attachment=5:1mxar36v]img447.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]
[attachment=4:1mxar36v]img455.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]
[attachment=3:1mxar36v]img456.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]
[attachment=1:1mxar36v]img475.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]
[attachment=2:1mxar36v]img476.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]
[attachment=0:1mxar36v]img477.jpg[/attachment:1mxar36v]


I get chills down my spine every time I look at them.

About a month ago, I’ve started to spend time on the forum again, reading about treatments, about pills, the success stories , but also the unsuccessful ones.

What I’ve learned so far is that the BASIS consists of the following:

Group 1:

1. Rogaine/Regaine ( monoxydil) can grow hair, but it is not specifically meant for the front part of the hair line( they actually say it might not have any effect at al on that area). Also, has massive sheddings as side effects, hairs which are usually not fully recovered.
2. Propecia/Proscar/Fincar ( finasteride) acts mainly on the front part of the hair. Rather intended for maintenance than for regrowth. BUT, there is not other drug that I’ve read and heard so many bad things about. ( hormonal dysfunction, erection problems, testicle and breast aches, etc). I never want to go near this one.

Group 2:
1. tricomin
2. s5 cream
3. revivogen
4. crinagen
5. foligen




I’m not sure either of them will help me. So a few days ago , seeing that everyone has only good things to say about it, I buy Nizoral Shampoo 2 %.I was aiming for the 1% version, but curiously it seems harder to find than the 2%. Nothing much to say about it, since I’ve only been using it for a few days. One thing is certain : it makes my hair very silky and puffy and it generally feels fuller.

My main goal is : I WANT TO THICKEN THE FRONT PART OF MY HAIR !

So I have a few questions for those of you who have not been bored to death by reading this so far.
1. How bad do you think my problem is? ( obviously it’s close to a disaster for me) try to be objective.
2. Do you think I’m a Norwood 1 or 2?
3. Is there anyone else with similar problems who has gotten results with different kinds of treatments?
4. Being that ( at least for starters) I’d like to stay away from the drugs in group 1, which one in group 2 have you tried personally for this type of hair loss or would recommend ?
5. Do you think the laser comb will ever do me any good?( from what I’ve read, probably no, but I’m still waiting for different opinions on the matter)
6. In spite of what the doctor said, do you think hair transplant could still be possible? ( I seriously have doubts regarding the experience of hair doctors in my country).
7. I might be experiencing some slight itching for the last couple of days, since using Nizoral. Is that normal? I normally wash my hair one every 3 days, do you think I should change to 1 %?( I’ve read 2 % can be harmful over time)
8. In my case, do you think a DHT inhibitor and/or an androgen blocker would help solve anything? And speaking of which don’t these 2 do the same thing in the end? Do you think one should use both, or is just one of them enough? Which one is best?

I know it must have been quite a trial for you to have kept reading as far as written. Thank you for being interested and sorry for the long story, but I just could not put it in just a few sentences , as most others do.

Waiting for answers to my questions, possibly advice and other information. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

More pictures of my hair: (wet version)

[attachment=3:rpkxqkw1]img463.jpg[/attachment:rpkxqkw1]
[attachment=2:rpkxqkw1]img464.jpg[/attachment:rpkxqkw1]
[attachment=1:rpkxqkw1]img465.jpg[/attachment:rpkxqkw1]
[attachment=0:rpkxqkw1]img472.jpg[/attachment:rpkxqkw1]

 

[andrei_eremenko]

Re: Constantine's Story

your dad has hair as well as grandpa...my dad has too like his father who at 80 is norwood 3...thick norwood 3...but what about your mother side? here is my problem...the mother side...the thinning it is obvious...and you have tot do something...maybe it will work...take care!

 

[antonio666]

Re: Constantine's Story

i agree with andrei,both my dad and grandad have great hair,my grandad on my mothers side has not

 

[Bombarie]

Re: Constantine's Story

I think your hair seems ok, i wouldn`t see you are balding!
I think you aren`t balding.

You are stressing to much dude, i believe when you always stress and thinking about going bald, that you are killing your follicles and eventually will go bald!!! Because you are sending to much lactic acid to your head!
Chear up dude and let it grow out again!
Cheerios

 

[DoctorHouse]

Re: Constantine's Story

My hair situation looks identical to yours. My hair is fine like yours as well. Even my hair wet looks like yours. And my hair color was identical to yours too. However unfortunately, our situation is not the same exactly because we differ in age immensely. I noticed your hair slowly diffusely thinned out in the same time frame with the exact same pattern as mine did. I just find your case interesting because your hair looks so much like mine does. I think you might want to make sure your thyroid is fine because I have a slight problem with mine and I have slightly elevated cortisol levels due to the stress of constantly thinking about my hair. I think our situation maybe be similar but mine just happened alot later in life than you. Nothing so far is reversing it. Propecia, revivogen, folligen, rogaine, proxiphen, nizoral and many others have failed to bring back my thickness. Next I am going to try PRP only because I am desperate to try anything. If that does not work, then I know only a hair transplant will work and that will be the next on my list. Maybe since you are younger, maybe you would respond better to rogaine and propecia if you do really have diffuse male pattern baldness. My dad is a NW6/7 so obviously I did not follow his genetics. My grandfather too was a NW7. So you never know how genetics will be expressed. Even though your dad and grandfather have a full head of hair, there is no guarantee you will be the same. However, if you have been worried about your hair as much as I have in the past 5 years, then maybe our thinning is due to stress and maybe the pattern of stress related hair loss tends to look like what we both are experiencing. I think rogaine might help thicken up some of your loss as it seems to help me. However, I cant stand the side effects of bloating and it makes my skin worse for some reason. I still use it in moderation because it seems to help. Get some blood work to make sure everything is fine. The good thing about our type of hair loss is most people will not notice you have any problem at all. You will still appear to the public as totally normal with a full head of hair. I find keeping it short makes it look thicker and wearing your hair combed more to the front like you do in your photo(2008) helps blend in the diffuse thinning better. My hair style is almost identical to your 2008 photos and looks about the same as yours. American Crew forming cream helps give it a thicker choppy look so it appears you still look like a NW1 and you don't have to use any toppik there which is a pain.

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

thank you all for replying. i feel somehow comforted by the fact that i am not the only one in a similar situation. However, i'm still awaiting more info and advice regarding any medication/treatments/procedures that could help my hair be thicker again. I was thinking of adding Tricomin to my current regimen, which right now only consists of Nizoral 2%. What do you guys think about this ? Do you think it's a good idea? Has anyone ever tried Tricomin and gotten good results? How about nizoral + Tricomin together?

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

as i was saying ....i was thinking about adding Tricomin and/or the s5 cream. what do you think about that? how about revivogen? which one of the above do you think is most effective?

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

Nobody seems to be responding...

 

[cuebald]

Re: Constantine's Story

Man, I have no idea what's up with your hair.
It seems to have not only diffused slightly, but changed in texture too?

Your hair looks fine to me up until about Aug 2009, which is when I can start to see texture changes.
Up until then, you've receeded in a tiny area in the typical "mature hairline" fashion.

I don't know anything whatsoever about Asian hair, but 90% of Caucasians recede into a NW1.5 - NW2 in their early-mid 20's. This scares a lot of people on this board who think they are balding, but in the majority of cases the recession ends at NW2 - this ISN'T male pattern baldness but is just a normal part of puberty (almost signifying the 'end' of puberty).

I notice that most of the Asians I know (which isn't a lot) keep their NW1's with them. Do you have any Caucasian genetics?

Getting a NW1 back after you've hit NW2 is very hard to accomplish.
However, thickening up diffused hair is much easier.

Your latest pictures show "frazzled hair" - hair that looks like it's been damaged by straightening or something. It's weird. Never seen that before.

I would a) Keep using nizoral
b) Hold off on the minoxidil until you are sure it's male pattern baldness and nothing else (I am not sure that this is male pattern baldness) - minoxidil will make you shed (and panic) even more
c) Keep off of finasteride (if you don't have male pattern baldness then finasteride will do you more harm than good)

A hair transplant would be inadvised too - I saw pictures of another Asian fellow who had similar hair to you, he went to Armani for a hair transplant and not only did NONE of his grafts grow in - the follicles around the implant sites died of shockloss too! Again, I don't think this fellow had male pattern baldness either and his hair transplant just did more damage.
Whichever hair transplant Doctor you saw got it spot on - you're lucky you didn't see someone who would have operated on you anyway (like as happened with Dudemon and SAF) and left you a lot worse off.

Trying Folligen/Tricomin can't hurt at least, people here say good things about Copper Peptides but I've no experience with it myself.

As for lasercombs, no idea. Never seen any evidence they work. Check out OverMachoGrande's site - he pimps lasercombs big time - I've seen no proof there either. Wouldn't waste my money personally.

You look like a weirdly diffused NW1.5, possibly losing hair in the Female (Ludwig scale) rather than Male (Norwood scale) pattern.
Can you show us some pictures of your scalp and CROWN? (the TOP/BACK of your hair, where you get the "whirl" is called the CROWN, and the FRONT of your head is called the TEMPLES. you want to thicken up the TEMPLES.)

Have you actually seen a GP and gotten a blood test?
Until you actually have a diagnoses of male pattern baldness then trying male pattern baldness treatments is at best a waste of time, and at worst harmful to your health.

If I were you I'd see a GP, ask about your hair, ask him for a blood test.
Post pictures of your crown on here - also, post pictures of your hair without any gels, products, etc in it. It's hard to see when it is spiked up what is natural thinning and what has been done by the gels.

If you are unlucky enough that it is male pattern baldness, it'll only get worse without finasteride. But that is if it is male pattern baldness in the first place.

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

Thank you, cuebald for your reply! your answer is so far and also by far the most comprehensive i've received.

I think you are right about it not being male pattern baldness. As i said, and as you can clearly see for yourself, the thinning is mostly in the temple area. Another strange fact, is that the thinning is practically invisible, when i wear my hair flat and not spike it up or lift it up in the front. I hate keeping it like that though.

I have gotten a blood test a few months ago. The only slight deficiency i have is that of Magnesium. Do you think the lack of Mg might have any relevance to the hair loss/diffuse thinning i've been experiencing?

Also....what is that GP you were reffering to?

I"m seriously considering ordering tricomin first thing tommorow. Until then, here's a few more pics with my hair(crown)...

[attachment=1:1afht77h]img459.jpg[/attachment:1afht77h]

[attachment=0:1afht77h]img460.jpg[/attachment:1afht77h]

 

[barcafan]

Re: Constantine's Story

with a name like that, who gives a sh*t about hairloss

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

Which name are you refering to and what exactly do you mean by that?

 

[barcafan]

Re: Constantine's Story

you have a f*****g awesome name, dude.

 

[andrei_eremenko]

Re: Constantine's Story

OMG...some people from here are just weird...I don't see any connection between a name and the problem of hair loss...anyway...I was thinking the same regarding hair loss...2 years ago I just said to myself I am ok ...it is just a mature hairline...then I've seen a bit of thinning...and I said to myself ...it is still decent and I can style it...so nu much worry about...then this year the thinning was more and more obvious and I decided to shave it ...I was just fed up seeing it is so thin...and struggling to style it...so be aware about that...
if you have bald relatives...grandpas from both sides uncle and so on...you will not have any chance to keep your hair intact! I don't see any weird thinning it is normal...mine started too from the center front...don't worry this will spread evenly in time...take care!

 

[barcafan]

Re: Constantine's Story

OMG.

shut up

 

[Ori83]

Re: Constantine's Story

Zero hair loss lol, amazing hair for your age, be happy and move on.

 

[Constantine]

Re: Constantine's Story

i wish it were zero, like you say it is. but it's not...my scalp is visible in bright light and it's driving me crazy!