Hair Regrowth after 30 years of being slick bald

[RStGeorge]

My Progress - 56 y/o with NW7 hairloss

I am 56 years old.

I started losing my hair at 14 years of age.

At 19 I started using a hair unit.

For the next 30 or so years I just accepted that I was a guy who lost his hair and coped by using a hair unit instead.

About 2 years ago I decided to try Finasteride.

I started taking pics of my scalp from that point onwards, every 3 weeks when my hair unit was taken off to be cleaned. So I could see the condition of my scalp only once every 3 weeks.

I could only use oral meds because my hair unit is glued to my scalp. Once every 3 weeks the hair unit is removed, cleaned and re-glued.

I was on finasteride for one year, at which point I saw some minor regrowth on my crown and vertex. However at every hair unit cleaning, much of that hair would wash out with my hair shampoo, including a lot of hair on my sides and back.

Anyway, at the one year mark I added oral dutasteride/Min.

A few months later I started adding various compounds that I selected from clinical studies I was researching.

All of this was done as oral, as I could not reach my scalp apart from every 3 weeks for a short period of time.

For about 9 months now I have also been taking in oral form:

1. Pumpkin seed oil
2. Grape seed supplements
3. Saw Palmetto
4. Resveratrol
5. Viviscal (for women)
6. Zinc
7. Vitamin D3
8. Iron
9. I also started microneedling my scalp once every 3 weeks (1.5mm) while I was getting my unit cleaned.

I also trialed the following product for about 3 months, but stopped because it gave me gyno or I suspected in was not helping:

1. Estradiol pills 2mg (gave me gyno)
2. Sildefanil (v****) - gave me boners but did not see any benefit to my hair

During this time and up until recently (for about 6 months) I started using topicals/treatments on my hairline, because it is exposed at the front of my hair unit.

1. Microneedling
2. Topical finasteride/Min
3. Estrogel
4. Tretinoin

About 3 months ago, due to covid restrictions, I could not go to get my hair unit re-glued every 3 weeks. So the glue disintegrated and for about 2 months I was left with a hair unit that I placed on my head, but it was not glued on.

This gave me a rare opportunity to try a whole collection of topical meds that I had accrued, but I had never been able to apply on my scalp.
These topical meds/treatments included:

1. Microneedling
2. Topical finasteride/Min
3. Estrogel
4. Tretinoin
5. Caffeine
6. Citrizine
7. Topical Melatonin
8. Nizoral cream
9. Plus topical dutasteride

My results:

End of Year 1: Slow but definite regrowth on my vertex and crown only noticeable at the 1 year mark. However I kept on shedding a lot, including my side and back hair.

During Year 2: For the next 9 months I was still progressing, but it was VERY VERY slow, and there were times when I would make zero progress from one hair appointment to the next, and instances where I lost a lot of hair between appointments.

The second picture you see is the pic I took before I stopped getting regular hair unit cleanses (and just before the period when I started applying microneedling plus other topical treatments on my whole scalp every day for about 2 months).

Before I just went in for my first hair unit appointment in a long time, my scalp looked red, was scaly and sore. It also had a lot less hair than in my Aug 2021 pic. I suspect this was shedding in response to the topicals and inflamation due to my daily microneedling across all my scalp.

So at this point in time I do not know whether my hair has improved as a result of my recent topical use on the whole of my scalp or not.
I have another appointment in 1 week and I will take pictures again.

This may help me decide to either to me stick to my oral meds solely, as before, or whether adding topicals directly on my scalp increases my response.
BTW, despite my best efforts, my hairline has not shifted at all, despite my oral meds and the topical meds and microneedling that I was able to use because I can access my hairline with my unit on.

All in all I have had no hair on my scalp for decades, so I never expected to get any regrowth. But as you can see I did in fact regrow hair on scalp that should by conventional thinking only have dead follicles.

However my regrowth is not cosmetically significant, so if this is all I regrow it was a good try, but no cigar.

I am hoping my next photos show some new regrowth because of the additional of topicals and microneedling to my whole scalp.
If anyone has any questions, I am happy to answer them.

What this says to me is that 'delayed response' does happen. If I had given up in 9 months I would have concluded that I was a complete non-responder.
I hope this information is of some benefit to some of you, including the younger guys, but also the older guys out there.

Ask any questions you like.

 

[Will Be an Egg in 5 years]

Interesting.

 

[Jakejr]

First of all, I want to congratulate you for the diligence to experiment. I looked at your protocol. IMO the Estradiol pills 2mg is what spurred growth along w) all the other things. You quit because of gyno.
There are other ways to skin a cat.
Like Anavar. which I’m experimenting with. Try Carpe face cream on your scalp.& let me know if you notice anything. It’s anti-sweat. They also have other creams but they have aluminum which is super anti sweat.. The face cream has witch hazel & some essential oils you may recognize. I’m experimenting with the face one & seeing something positive.

 

[dar3k]

How much estrogel do you take?

 

[Jakejr]

I have tubes of estrogel… but only use it once a week

 

[hairgone1234]

Good progress considering your starting position.

 

[Jakejr]

It’s possible to regrow hair

 

[John Difool]

1. Microneedling
2. Topical finasteride/Min
3. Estrogel
4. Tretinoin

These are the only ingredients that could make a difference. The rest you can save time and money.

1. Microneedling
2. Topical finasteride/Min
3. Estrogel
4. Tretinoin
5. Nizoral cream
6. Plus topical dutasteride

You don't need topical Fina if you do Duta. However, you just need to be aware of high molecule weight of Duta (>500Da) and use a vehicle with DMSO for skin penetration. NIzoral cream is good but expensive and doesn't work where there are hair. So 2% shampoo is probably as good.

Estrogel is HRT so I'll let you decide about the sides. Tretinoin is okay with minoxidil but the effect lasts only for the time you use minoxidil.

As for the rest (saw palmetto, pumpkin seed oil),it won't make a dent into Androgenetic Alopecia hair loss. I doubt there is delay response. Things take time (1 year +) and I read people on this forum changing protocols more often than their underwear. So that explains the level of dissatisfaction in treatment. It's a life time commitment too.

 

[hairgone1234]

Could add oral minoxidil

 

[Micky_007]

1. Microneedling
2. Topical finasteride/Min
3. Estrogel
4. Tretinoin

These are the only ingredients that could make a difference. The rest you can save time and money.

1. Microneedling
2. Topical finasteride/Min
3. Estrogel
4. Tretinoin
5. Nizoral cream
6. Plus topical dutasteride

You don't need topical Fina if you do Duta. However, you just need to be aware of high molecule weight of Duta (>500Da) and use a vehicle with DMSO for skin penetration. NIzoral cream is good but expensive and doesn't work where there are hair. So 2% shampoo is probably as good.

Estrogel is HRT so I'll let you decide about the sides. Tretinoin is okay with minoxidil but the effect lasts only for the time you use minoxidil.

As for the rest (saw palmetto, pumpkin seed oil),it won't make a dent into Androgenetic Alopecia hair loss. I doubt there is delay response. Things take time (1 year +) and I read people on this forum changing protocols more often than their underwear. So that explains the level of dissatisfaction in treatment. It's a life time commitment too.

Yes saw Palmetto is not necessary if one is already using an anti-androgen like finasteride or dutasteride. It should be only one anti androgen being used otherwise it's overkill.

However, if one isn't using any drug type anti androgen, Saw Palmetto is better than nothing and can produce some decent results in some people.

Regarding topical caffeine like shampoos containing caffeine , pumpkin seeds and any other vitamins and minerals, sure it won't cure Androgenetic Alopecia, but it's very possible to have Androgenetic Alopecia and a vitamin and mineral deficiency, which can also be detrimental to hair.

Caffeine is Actually really popular when used topically and can help reduce/negate the effects of DHT local locally on the scalp and Hair Follicle. I personally find Alpecin Sport CTX Shampoo really helpful.
Zinc is also considered to be a DHT blocker.

Hairloss is a problem which requires a multi-faceted approach, I have no idea why people think just because people have Androgenetic Alopecia that things like vitamins, regular exercise and even daily scalp massages aren't still highly important, when Infact they should be covered as the bare minimum of any hairloss regimen as they help with blood circulation, the body running optimally and helping in the regrowth of healthy stronger hairs.

 

[Satchel]

This is really fascinating. Thank you for sharing your story. It appears that you grew terminal dark hairs in a slick bald area. According to you this has been slick bald for decades. I am the same age as you and have lost 2/3 of what was left of my hair in the last year. Most of that was terminal dark hair and I am left with full length wispy hairs. Hopefully something can wake the resting follicles. It sure would be great to know which of all the things you did was the most effective. Have you continued with any of this?

 

[RStGeorge]

This is really fascinating. Thank you for sharing your story. It appears that you grew terminal dark hairs in a slick bald area. According to you this has been slick bald for decades. I am the same age as you and have lost 2/3 of what was left of my hair in the last year. Most of that was terminal dark hair and I am left with full length wispy hairs. Hopefully something can wake the resting follicles. It sure would be great to know which of all the things you did was the most effective. Have you continued with any of this?

Thanks for your feedback. I can’t say I have progressed much these last few months, but I suspect I have a little bit more hair, I think.

Here is my latest pic from 2 days ago

 

[Jeju]

Thanks for your feedback. I can’t say I have progressed much these last few months, but I suspect I have a little bit more hair, I think.

Here is my latest pic from 2 days ago

I don’t mean to sound rude but what’s the point in taking all these medications just to grow some bum fluff, which would make you look less clean and tidy. It’s makes absolutely no sense. The medication can be dangerous and all the other supplements are expensive. How much density are you expecting to gain from this? I hope this doesn’t offend you but I’m just baffled.

 

[RStGeorge]

I don’t mean to sound rude but what’s the point in taking all these medications just to grow some bum fluff, which would make you look less clean and tidy. It’s makes absolutely no sense. The medication can be dangerous and all the other supplements are expensive. How much density are you expecting to gain from this? I hope this doesn’t offend you but I’m just baffled.

I am not offended.
But you guys should read my posts before jumping to conclusions.
I do wear a hair system.
I am hoping to transition out of it.
I don’t have the luxury of being an NW2 but if you guys were in my position, you might realise that having some hair versus having zero hair makes a huge difference for someone my age

 

[finasteride abuser]

Thanks for your post. I'll try to add Estrogel & Tretinoin to my regimen. Hopefully, I can learn something from you so that my 22 years old head doesn't go bald.