@Plasticman82: Thanks man! Keep your head up and just stick with it. As for your question, I would say it's nearly impossible to determine for sure what works best for me without trialing the products individually, but if I had to guess I would say that finasteride is the cornerstone to my success. I say this because I have seen the thickness improve all over the scalp, but I don't apply minoxidil evenly all over the scalp. I focus mostly on the hairline.
@Spanishpants123: Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your support. As for your questions, I mostly apply the minoxidil to the hairline. I would say I use approximately 0.25 mL on each side of the hairline, if not a little more, 0.25 on the crown and the rest on the scalp. I'm less concerned about the scalp because I think finasteride will help the most with that, so I have been really hammering the hairline with minoxidil. I have also neglected the crown quite a bit, but I make sure I get at least a small bit on there each application. My process is to start with 1 mL in the dropper and basically create a small triangle on each side of my hairline with the minoxidil, using about 0.5 to 0.75 mL total for the hairline. If you look at my pics and imagine a mostly straight across hairline with just a slight widow's peak, that's basically how I form the triangles on either side. I focus the dropper the most near the edges of my existing hairline where I can see tiny little vellus hairs still hanging on for dear life! Once I create the Minoxidil hairline of my dreams, I use a bit right in the middle of the crown. Whatever's left I use on the scalp. Usually there's only enough left to do a line right down the middle of the scalp, but sometimes there's enough to sort of zig zag from side to side, back to front, if that makes sense. Once the solution is completely out of the dropper, I gently massage it into my scalp, starting at the temples and working it in making small circles with my fingers. In this manner, I try to spread the solution out a little more with my fingers to cover the parts of my scalp I may have neglected.
For your second question, I noticed hairs were springing up right at the edges of my existing hairline. Some of them seemed to sprout out of nowhere to a full quarter inch over night, although I know that probably didn't happen. With each evening application of minoxidil, I examine my hairline very closely where I am massaging it. This helps me to notice subtle changes. I noticed that when I started I had tiny little nearly invisible hairs near my hairline, so I always focus the minoxidil on those hairs first. Before I started treatments, I distinctly remember 2 hairs near my hairline that I used as my "markers." They were very easy to pick out because they were both very dark hairs and they stood straight up. The first of the 2 was about 1/8 inch off my hairline and the second of the 2 was another 1/8 inch past that. Since then, I have been able to see many hairs pop up between my hairline and that first "marker" hair. I'm hoping the hairline keeps improving and reaches the second "marker" hair. Only time will tell. Just take a really close look in the mirror at your existing hairline. Try to see if you can find any tiny colorless hairs there. If you can, try rubbing the minoxidil into those hairs each night as you look closely for them in the mirror and just keep taking mental notes on how those hairs are looking.
I hope all this helps! Best of luck!
