HELP! SHED! Switching from Spectral DNC to Dr. Lee's minoxidil

[ciok]

Hey Everyone,

Since September 2009 I've been using Spectral DNC on my hairline and crown (I'm a NW2 going on NW3) twice a day, and after an initial shed that lasted about 3 to 4 months, things really slowed down - hardly any fall out at all. Paradoxically, I was still watching my hairline creep back, so a couple weeks ago I decided to switch to Dr. Lee's 6% Minoxidil plus (has topical finasteride in it, which I thought might help me keep what i've got at least) on the hairline. It went pretty well for the first week (still low shedding), then BAM - back to that horrific initial shed - 50+ hairs coming out in the shower and a little ground lost at the temples. I was wondering if anyone had any experience switching minoxidil treatments like this and could fill me in on what's going on, ie:

Is the newly shed hair Spectral DNC-dependent, and if I went back to using DNC, would it come back? Should I stick with the Dr. Lee stuff, or go back to DNC?

Is this the "good" kind of shedding? Meaning that if I stick with Dr. Lee, will all this hair, regardless of it's DNC-dependency, come back stronger?

Any advice would be really, really appreciated - kind of freaking out about what to do here.

Thanks!

 

[Mens Rea]

why did you stop dnc mate? dnc or dnc-l?

seems strange that you hit a shed so quick in theory you really shouldnt. Its not out of the question that its nothing to do with the change but either way, its too early to tell if its a good shed or a bad shed

i would recommend you use spectral and dr lees perhaps alternatingly for a month or two to see where that takes you

try not to panic too much about a shed. worse case scenario is the hairs grow back thinner, you dont just lose all those hairs and thats it for good. hopefuly its a good shed though but its a strange one, dnc is just as potent as dr lees i believe.....

 

[ciok]

Hey Colin, thanks for responding. To answer question #1, I stopped Spectral DNC because despite the slowed down loss, my hairline was still receding, and I thought I might as well try this other stuff w/ finasteride (can't take the pill b/c of sides) to see if it can stop the recession cold. I guess time will tell on that one, but in the meantime I'm still shedding, though mostly miniaturized hairs (I'd say 3 out of every 4 I drop are minis).

So what do you recommend, like Spectral in the AM and Dr. Lee's at night?

And do you think this shed might be a response to the finasteride in Dr. Lee's?

Thanks!

 

[timbo]

I have always been a fan of tapering off a medication gradually when deciding to change a regimen. If I were you, I would use one of them in the morning, and the other at night. There's a chance that the finasteride is helping your hair with the DHT problem. But there's really no way of knowing if this is a good shed...

 

[ciok]

Ok, update:

Started doing Spectral in the AM and Dr. Lee w/finasteride in the PM. I'm still shedding, and it's pretty apparent that my hairline has taken a hit. I also appear to be shedding from my crown, which is weird because I'm still using the same old Spectral there like I've always been. I'm not really sure what to do, because I took a look back at some photos that I'd lost for a while and it seems like the Spectral was actually helping fill in my temples a bit with some new fuzz. The only thing keeping me from running back to using only Spectral is the fact that just about every hair I lose is either vellus or shows signs of miniaturization, which makes me wonder if Dr. Lee's stuff is actually working and I should just wait it out.

What do you guys think?

 

[ciok]

Update #2:

Still shedding, but now it seems like I'm losing equal parts healthy AND miniaturized hair. Kind of freaking out right now. Anyone got some advice? Should I just kick the Dr. Lee stuff? My hairline has taken a noticeable hit and I don't really see an end to this in sight... Someone, please?

 

[Loaded1990]

so what's the update?