finasteride/Min/nizoral rocks y0 socks. Flux's 4 month update

[flux]

So its been just about 4 months since I started minoxidil. Not quite that for finasteride, and I admit that I wasnt even very dilligent about the minoxidil apps when I first started. BUT, let me just say, things are looking good..

I am 27, and have always had thin hair. It was over a year ago that I had to admit it was actually getting thinner, but it was not bad and still I did not take action. Now when I first started my regimen, I called myself an 'early diffuser', having almost no recession but an overall thinness on top. However after 1 month sheds, I was not so sure about the 'early' part. My thin hair was becoming obvious, and if someone didnt believe I was thinning, all I had to do was bend down and they'd say "ohh, I see". When wet, I saw so much scalp I didnt have to try too hard to imagine what I would look like as a NW7. Man, those were rough times, let me tell you! Somewhere around the two month mark I ended up shaving my head, and was rather happy keeping my hair at 1/8th an inch just 'cuz at that length, it was hard to tell that my hair was thinning. When I shaved it, looking at my hair in the sink it was all too easy to tell what hair came from where due to its thickness, color, and quality.

But strangly enough, I have seen very few hairs fall from my head since I shaved it. I think that is party due to the fact that the hairs are so short they'd be hard to see, but really I believe I am shedding very little. My scalp health has been tops, and the treatments started kicking in. I have even noticed a dramatic increase in thickness in some hairs (obvious change within just a month of growth).

I had been keeping my hair short, because letting it grow out just the slightest bit and I could tell that it thin on top. But lately it has been looking so good, I have been growing it back out! I'm about 1/3rd inch now, and have asked a number of people if they thought I was losing my hair. Everybody has said no, and one girl even said I must have genes for thick hair!!

I AM BACK!! :hairy:
I wish I had before and after pictures to share, but I dont have access to a good camera.

I am probably going to grow my hair back out so I can do the spikey hair thing. I couldnt do it before because my hair would look WAY thin, but I know I could pull it off now! I am excitied!! I should have good hair for hopefully at least another 4 years, at which point I could switch to Dutasteride or other treatments like RU or OSH101 and keep it even longer. I'm aware I may go through shedding periods, but still I could also have more regrowth, so right now I feel I'm sitting pretty.

I know my regimen is a lot more complicated then just finasteride/Min/nizoral, but it was this core treatment that I have been on the longest, and that I am sure has done the most.

To all the newbies, dont be afraid of the finasteride. I am as virile as ever, and IT WORKS!!

Thanks HairLossTalk.com. I owe it all to you! :love:

 

[HairyN]

thank god...im going through the shed phase with minoxidil...every time i come out of the shower i look like a damn franciscan monk in the mirror...its killer on a guys self esteem

its good to know someone went through the same experience

thanks for the post man

 

[drinkrum]

Great news flux0r!

Keep on truckin' ... I'd suggest getting a blood test done after a year or so on finasteride just to make sure everything's good in the hood.

D.

 

[kindabaldingontizop]

flux, congrats on the great results. judging from ur description i think we have similiar hairloss condition. i too, am pretty much a diffuse thinner all on top, however, i have a more noticable bald/thinning spot on the right crown area. ive been applying minoxidil there for about 5.5 months, nothing has dramatically improved but the sitaution in better. i guess im maintaining more the re-grwoing. anyhow, i really think i need to apply the miniox in such a way that i get better overall scalp coverage. i was just wondering how you go about applying minoxidil? with our conditions being similiar and ur success i figure trying ur method might be beneficial, thanks.

and yes... started propecia a week ago.

 

[flux]

Kindabalding, its good you got on the finasteride, bro. Fighting DHT is key, as is scalp health.

As for minoxidil apps, I just cover the whole top of my head using the dropper. When I shaved my head this was easy, I could cover my whole head for .5ml. But now that my hair is growing out there is no easy way to do this. I suppose I could be mroe careful about applications and still get full coverage with 1ml, but instead of taking the time, I just pour the stuff on, so its taking about 2ml per app. This is why I'm a firm believer in generic minoxidil. Even still I'm not terribly dilligent about applications, skipping them now and then (especialy when my scalp is feeling irritated).

I should add that, despite what that girl said, I do NOT have thick hair, and I can still tell that my hair is thinner on top. Still as critical as I am, I must admit that at this stage, its mostly my own scrutiny that makes it apparent to me.

 

[Lizzad]

Hehe, good work flux! I think we started minoxidil on the same day! Both seeing good results! Heres to more success comrade! :hairy:

 

[flux]

Cheers, Lizzard! We're minoxidil twins!

After thinking about my success some, its clear to me now that it due almost entirely to the minoxidil. Its too early for the Propecia. to be kicking in. So I'm a good minoxidil responder, and while this is good, I realize I will never know for sure if the Propecia is actually doing anything or not. Still I think odds are it will help, and I will continue to take it. I have been reading this 5 year minoxidil report which states that in 5 years I should still have more hair then I did when I started, though in 8 months minoxidil will have given me all the hair it ever will, and unless other treatments assist, I'll start to lose again. But I do think the Propecia will help, and may just have a very nice head of hair when the next round of treatments come in. (though I suppose I may continue to be dependent on minoxidil)

Well, if youre jealous about my 'success' (though maybe still too early to be sure), this should cheer you up a bit. Let me share the side effects I've been experiencing on minoxidil. Namly, extra body hair. I have been growing body hair where there was never any before! Besides all the usual places being a little extra hairy, my forearms now have colored hair wrapped all the way around (instead of 3/4ths around), there is a faint line of hair that is crawling up my sholders from my chest hair (fortunatly it doesnt seem to have greatly impacted my back hair, of which I have the occasional stray), I have a single stray hair growing on my forehead about 1/4ths inch below my hairline (not far enough to be freakish, so I'm keepin it!) and last but not least (and most freakish), faint (but not vellus) hairs are growing between my eyebrows and temples!!! If I dont shave these, I think I may end up with a big wraparound unibrow. (ok, its not that bad, but it isnt good!)

I've also been getting a small amount of acne up in the corners of my hairline. I'm thinking maybe this is the minoxidil dripping down leaving oils on my skin. I'll be a bit more carefull, wash my forehead a bit more, and with luck it'll clear up.



Its funny,. I purchased a lot of treatments, but its clear to me now that it really is all about the big three (and maybe a few key small suppliments). I bought emu oil, folligen, spirono mix, zix mix, and saw palmetto. I'll probably use up the folligen, and apply Emu if my scalp ever feels less then tops (which is rare nowadays). I guess I'll save the spirono in the event of a downturn, and ditch the zix and saw palmetto. Really it comes down to finasteride/Min/nizoral. Thats the sh*t right there. That, grape seed extract, l-arginine, and my lasercomb as my peripherals. I've wasted quite a bit of money on this,. with the LaserComb included I have spent well over a thou I am sure. But I am stocked on treatments now for about six months, and stocking up in the future should be cheap. And as long as the current trend continues and I have as much success as I should expect at this stage, it will be well worth it.

As long as this continues, I dont think theres much more call for me to login here, except to be another voice speaking praises for finasteride/Min/nizoral!

finasteride/Min/nizoral !!

 

[Norwood Scale-breaker]

I wonder why minoxidil, which you apply topically on the head, would cause growth elsewhere on the body, such as the arms, chest, underarms, etc. It sounds like something Propecia would do.

 

[flux]

Some of the minoxidil gets absorbed into your system and distributed. Propecia generally decreases the amount of body hair as DHT triggers body hair growth.