General Questions

[Biostudent]

Hi guys, just like to say that it's nice to see people helping out others with hair problems like myself. I have a few questions that i hope i can be helped with.

I am 20 years old, i don't know where on the norwood scale, normal hairline, its just that i have VERY LITTLE amount of hair (Not dense) I was on minoxidil alone for about a year, and noticed pretty good results actually, until all of a sudden my hair started to fall out again and i paniced and stopped using it, and i came to the conclusion that i don't want to be using this the rest of my life if that's what a little hair means. I've been on revivogen and nizoral shampoo for about a month now, and my hair seems to be falling out MUCH more than before. This is not only small vellus (sp.) hairs that are falling out due to discontinued use of minoxidil, it's also very thick and healthy hairs. The weird thing is that i haven't heard of any initial shedding from the revivogen product line? Anyway, here are my questions...

1) Do protein shakes increase the level of testosterone in the body, thereby increasing overall DHT production?

2) If i shave my head with a razor, and use a topical DHT inhibitant like Revivogen, will it be better than just using the topical by itself? Will it absorb better into the skin?

3) Will the hair that is lost from stresstful times grow again?

4) What's up with hats and toques? it seems that my hair falls out a lot when i wear them.

5) I've looked everywhere, but can't find the difference between Proscar, Propecia, and Finasteride?

6) How often should i shampoo my head with the revivogen shampoo and how often with the Nizoral shampoo?

FInally any suggestions that you guys may have concerning regaining my hair density would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance

8)

 

[Trent]

1) Do protein shakes increase the level of testosterone in the body, thereby increasing overall DHT production?

probably not, though it is thought eating things like red meat cause an increase in testosterone, so perhaps but its probably not a very big factor in your hairloss.

2) If i shave my head with a razor, and use a topical DHT inhibitant like Revivogen, will it be better than just using the topical by itself? Will it absorb better into the skin?

i don't use these products, so not much help here, i would guess the shorter you keep your hair, the better that topical products would absorb (a lot of guys on here keep their hair really short for that reason)

3) Will the hair that is lost from stresstful times grow again?
if you had lost hair to stress, yes, this hair would grow back. unfortunately, its usually huge amounts of stress over long periods that really cause hair loss. more than likely, if you are following a general pattern, your loss is due to male pattern baldness, so not to be cynical, but this is probably not a huge factor either, though it is possible, and reducing your stress and having a positive attitude i personally think is a HUGE crutch in the hairloss regimen.

4) What's up with hats and toques? it seems that my hair falls out a lot when i wear them.
according to research, hats and the like have no affect on hairloss, unless they were like on ridiculously tight for like two weeks or something... probably not the hat.

5) I've looked everywhere, but can't find the difference between Proscar, Propecia, and Finasteride?
i believe proscar is a 5mg pill taken for prostate cancer, many guys get this drug and cut it into fifths for saving money (some cut it into fourths). Propecia is a the drug specifically labeled as the "hair loss drug" and is 1.25mg however, both Proscar and Propecia contain the EXACT SAME THING, only proscar is in the 5mg form for the prostate cancer patients which need this higher dose. both proscar and propecia contain finasteride, which is the alternate name, or the biochemical name, of the active ingredient in propecia and proscar. bascially, they are just different doses so either one is good, if you don't want to cut drugs up, go propecia, if you don't mind, go proscar. from what i've heard though, Procerin is not the same thing, so i would stay away from it.

6) How often should i shampoo my head with the revivogen shampoo and how often with the Nizoral shampoo?
i don't know about revivogen, i don't use this, but a lot of guys use nizoral 3-4 times a week for like 10-15 min. others do it every other day. i would start off with less, and see how your scalp handles it, then if you feel it necessary, try it every other day.

hope this helps, i could respond to everything, but no one else was responding so i figured i'd tell you what i know. have a good one.

 

[Trent]

just out of curiousity, i noticed your nake is "biostudent" are you premed or anything? i only ask cause i'm in med school right now, just nice to know fellow biologists out there.

 

[jikslee]

5) I've looked everywhere, but can't find the difference between Proscar, Propecia, and Finasteride?
i believe proscar is a 5mg pill taken for prostate cancer, many guys get this drug and cut it into fifths for saving money (some cut it into fourths). Propecia is a the drug specifically labeled as the "hair loss drug" and is 1.25mg however, both Proscar and Propecia contain the EXACT SAME THING, only proscar is in the 5mg form for the prostate cancer patients which need this higher dose. both proscar and propecia contain finasteride, which is the alternate name, or the biochemical name, of the active ingredient in propecia and proscar.

hey dude, you're mostly right, but i gotta say PROSCAR IS NOT FOR PROSTATE CANCER! proscar is prescribed benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), an enlarged prostate gland. the active ingredient, finasteride, is also the active ingredient in propecia. 5 mg is needed for BPH, only 1mg is needed for effective hairloss treatment. hope that clears things up

 

[Trent]

ha.. sorry guess i got ahead of myself, you're definitely right. it can lead to prostate cancer though. thanks for the correction!

 

[Trent]

sorry that may have been confusing, i meant that the prostate hyperplasia was a precursor for cancer, not propecia! just thought that might have been confusing.

i'll just summarize, make it easier:
propecia: finasteride 1.25 mg
proscar: finasteride 5mg (the exact same thing as propecia only more)

proscar is given to patients with prostate hyperplasia, but was found to have a side effect of hair regrowth (thus the birth of propecia)
sorry for the confusion
-trent

 

[Deaner]

At least get it right. Propecia is 1mg finasteride, not 1.25mg.

 

[HairlossTalk]

I am 20 years old, i don't know where on the norwood scale, normal hairline, its just that i have VERY LITTLE amount of hair (Not dense)

Diffuse Thinning. Perfect for Propecia.

I was on minoxidil alone for about a year, and noticed pretty good results actually, until all of a sudden my hair started to fall out again and i paniced and stopped using it

Yikes. Wrong response to the shedding!

I've been on revivogen and nizoral shampoo for about a month now, and my hair seems to be falling out MUCH more than before. This is not only small vellus (sp.) hairs that are falling out due to discontinued use of minoxidil, it's also very thick and healthy hairs.

No point in differentiating. Doesn't make a difference. Hairs a hairs a hair.

The weird thing is that i haven't heard of any initial shedding from the revivogen product line?

Revivogen hasn't been clinically tested on humans so we don't have any data to point to as to whether it causes synchronization of the growth phase and resting phase (shedding). Also the reason why you should use Propecia first, instead of Revivogen.

1) Do protein shakes increase the level of testosterone in the body, thereby increasing overall DHT production?

Not to any extent that it would affect your hair loss for the better or for the worse, no.

2) If i shave my head with a razor, and use a topical DHT inhibitant like Revivogen, will it be better than just using the topical by itself? Will it absorb better into the skin?

Inconsequential. It depends how much you get on to the skin, in either scenario. Only you know how well you get it onto the skin.

3) Will the hair that is lost from stresstful times grow again?

My understanding is that stress hair loss usually only comes after severe crash dieting, severe long term illness, or severe severe severe emotional trauma that lasts extended periods of time. Doubtful that a healthy male between the age of 20 and 55 is losing hair because of stress. But stress hair loss does come back, roughly 6 to 12 months after the stress is over.

4) What's up with hats and toques? it seems that my hair falls out a lot when i wear them.

Probably coincidental, or simply the fact that you're rubbing it more, and it was going to fall out anyways due to androgenetic alopecia.

5) I've looked everywhere, but can't find the difference between Proscar, Propecia, and Finasteride?

Proscar = 5mg finasteride. Propecia = 1mg finasteride.

6) How often should i shampoo my head with the revivogen shampoo and how often with the Nizoral shampoo?

Revivogen shampoo is not a hair loss treatment. Use it whenever you like. Nizoral shampoo should be used no more than once every 3 days.

FInally any suggestions that you guys may have concerning regaining my hair density would be greatly appreciated.

Propecia 1mg daily starting immediately, with the nizoral once every 3 days. Take photographs now, and give yourself at least 6 to 10 months before you make any alterations to your regimen. Do not freak out when you shed. Ride it out and do your best to be patient. Diffuse thinners usually are great responders to Propecia.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[Biostudent]

wow

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the replies, i appreciate the response.

I will start 1/5ths proscar ASAP.

I just have a few more questions,

1) Is the only difference between Proscar and propecia the fact that proscar is 5mg finasteride, and propecia is 1mg finasteride? And if thats the only difference, why does Proscar cost around $12/ month while the other is around $60/month, from the prices are the website.

2) I will start swimming regularly very shortly. How will the chlorine affect my hair/ scalp, and also will it cause any problems with my revivogen topical. How often should i go, what are proper chlorine washing methods...

3) I have started Revivogen as i mentioned before, a month ago, obviously it's far too early to see results, but is it ok to continue it, and also do the 1/5 proscar?

and to reply to Trent8, i am a premed student at York University in Toronto, majoring in biology . It is always nice to see fellow students persuing the medical profession. Med school is my only worry now, Besides the hair loss, haha :lol:

Anyway, thanks again guys, take care 8)

 

[Biostudent]

...

I really need to know, since i will be discussing this with my doctor this week. Thanks guys

 

[Guest]

Re: wow

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the replies, i appreciate the response.

I will start 1/5ths proscar ASAP.

I just have a few more questions,

1) Is the only difference between Proscar and propecia the fact that proscar is 5mg finasteride, and propecia is 1mg finasteride? And if thats the only difference, why does Proscar cost around $12/ month while the other is around $60/month, from the prices are the website.

Same drug, made by the same company, in the same factory, one is a 5mg dose, one is a 1mg dose.

The prices are set by the drug companies to a cetain extent and being bussinesses they will extract as much cash as they can from the market (and Deaner)

The target market for a male pattern baldness drug would be a younger age group with more dissposable income, a guy in his 50' or 60's would have less of an issue with male pattern baldness than a 34 year old.

The target market for BPH would be an older group of people with less in the way of disposable income.

bottom line: get all the money you think people will pay but don't price yourself out of the market.

2) I will start swimming regularly very shortly. How will the chlorine affect my hair/ scalp, and also will it cause any problems with my revivogen topical. How often should i go, what are proper chlorine washing methods...

there are specific 'post chlorine' shampoos, or try a swimming cap like the fellas at the Olympics.