Last Stand @ 40

[hairtugger]

UPDATED: Last Stand @ 40

Update at the bottom of this thread.

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Hi.

I just wanted to share a little bit about my experiences and journey thus far. I'm 39 years old and I have a thin head of hair. I've had thinning hair since my mid twenties, but in the last 3 years it's accelerated to the point that I started to do something about it.

The first thing I did was buy a laser comb. But unfamiliar with the process I got a little scared when I begin to shed and I dropped it. That was about 2 years ago. Around the same time I experimented with toppix and other brands of concealer, but found the whole process a little desperate, time consuming, not to mention expensive. I took a break for about a year and started to accept things as they were.

So about 3 months ago I started taking finasteride. And while I did experience some of the side effects that many people talk about, the sexual side effects (for me) have been positive. I can only conclude that something was wrong with me before. I enjoy sex a lot more now. I have a much bigger payload and my orgasm lasts longer and feels much more intense. If all my hair fell out tomorrow I think I'd want to stay on this.

That said, it's clearly changed my hormonal balance in a significant way. For me, maybe lucky, things have ended up better – but I am not discounting or disrespecting the number of people for whom this goes the other direction.

Two weeks ago I added minoxidil 5% and have the routine pretty well down. I think I am in the middle of a shed now, either from the start of minoxidil or from being about 3 months into finasteride. It's difficult to say as I was not photographing the top of my head prior to this. But I have been taking some pretty good pictures and will share those as we progress. I see a lot of new looking, very fine hairs and fuzz at the hairline, ...at the same time what seems like more loss and visible thinning on top.

A few days ago I added daily scalp exercises – and this I HIGHLY recommend. Basically, it started with learning to wiggle my ears. I've also learned how to pull my forehead tight in a way that looks very much like I've received a botox injection. I can't underline this enough, building up the muscles in my face and around my scalp has made it possible for me to send a significant amount of blood to my scalp almost at will. I can see it in the mirror and I can feel it. Doing this a dozen or so times a day must be good for the health of those follicles that are living but dormant. If nothing else, it's clearly making me look younger. I am also tugging on my hair periodically to strengthen the roots and increase blood flow. Or I am destroying everything – time will tell.

I am also using Nizoral twice a week, and plan to add dermarolling in the next week or so.

So all in all, I am giving it my best shot, but I am also taking a relaxed approach to this. My only goal is to keep a little more hair a little longer than my grandfather, and to avoid undergoing any sort of surgery that scars my head and makes me look like a fool in 15 or 20 years time. I thought it could be fun to check in here every 3 or 4 months and share my progress.


Now I just wish I knew how to upload full size images

 

[SayifDoit]

I'm not sure when but you are going to crash.
Next thing you'll know it, you'll have zero libido. Happens to most people who take propecia and have the same sides as you.

I strongly suggest you get on a zinc supplement, or hell just stop.
Zinc supplement may negate or slightly lessen the crash.

 

[hairtugger]

Thanks, SayifDoit. I guess everyone reacts differently, definitely not ruling out a crash in the future, but I'll try to stay positive. Adding Zinc seems like a great idea for a lot of reasons, so I'll take your advice.

I actually had a big dip in my libido at some point during the beginning, together with a sensation that my genitals were rubbery and "not connected", with some pain in the testicles as well, but it passed when I stepped down to every other day for a week or so. I would suggest anyone experiencing the onset of finasteride side effects roll back some of their intake until it passes.

 

[hairtugger]

Kind of an exciting and slightly nerve racking stage in this project.

I've been on 1.25 finasteride/daily since December of 2013. Suffered some negative sides in the beginning, which quickly developed into positive sides. I forgot to take pictures of my absolute baseline. But also because I didn't expect finasteride to regrow any new hair. I didn't know it could cause a shed either, I thought this was more attributable to minoxidil.

3 months after taking finasteride I added minoxidil and nizoral I also started taking pictures more aggressively. After a month with these new additions, here is my experience, in a nutshell.

Overall I would say my hairline is both much weakened and much strengthened. Not sure if the hairs I used to have have reverted to thinner, fuzzier baby hair – OR if this is new hair filling in around the old hairline. Either way – something is happening. I've shed a good bit. If this is from finasteride after 4 months, or minoxidil after 1 month – or both – is anyone's guess.

No serious sides from min – occasional headache after application, but this is also probably a factor of me using way too much. I am almost 2/3 through a 3 month supply after 1 month. Using 3ml per application probably, if not more. No other physical sides yet.

As for the Nizoral, it dries my hair and scalp a little too much. I have what I guess is dandruff for the first time in my life. This is a concern. I was using 2 or 3 times a week, but I think I'l drop to 1 until I can find a good moisturizer to counter this.

All in all, my hair is in a weird, transitional state where I have noticeably less hair, but where the hair I do have seems healthier, stronger, stands up better, etc. Parts of my scalp are just plainly visible for the first time in my life, most notably an area about the circumference of a pint glass about 5 cm behind my hairline... and this is not so cool. Having said that, it does feel like there might be a lot of this fuzzy hair I see on the hairline also developing in the inner scalp...and it might be supporting my hair better.

Just as an anecdote, consider that 6 months ago before I started any treatment, I would wake up very self conscious about how my bed head revealed my hair loss. I always woke up with hair matted to one side, or looking weird somehow. If we had company or even to hide it from my wife I would fix it first thing in the morning, or grab a hat.

Even though I have less hair now, presumably due to the shedding, I don't have this problem any more at all. My hair is much more erect, alive, and just sits better on my head... now I'd just like to see more of it!

I also added daily scalp exercises and hair massage with slight tugging on the roots to encourage absorption and stronger blood flow. This has been great for the muscles in my face and might be a good move for anyone unsure if they have the head to pull off the bald look, should it come to that. I feel confident now that I could. Guys – look into strengthening the muscles in your brow and at the back of the neck between your ears. You'll be surprised how much you can change your looks for the better by being more aware of blood flow and muscle utilization around the scalp and face.

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So fast forward almost 4 months, which is today. I will just say that I think it's an incredibly exciting time in the process. I am clearly responding to treatment, but I could also be one of these cases you read about where the hair goes away, especially at the hairline, and never really comes back.

I read someplace that if as a child it took you a long time to grow hair, then it will also be a slow process restarting that growth. i.e., get used to fuzzy baby hair for a while with minoxidil, as it could be an 18 month project, not a 6 month one. I was more or less bald until I was about 5 years old, so if this holds any water then it will take me a while.

 

[hairtugger]

UPDATE ...after 1.5 Years!

So, an overdue update. I had almost forgotten about this site, and the extreme anxiety and nervousness in this period of my life. But after a year of treatment, I felt like I owed an update and a little report on lessons learned. I hope this can be useful and inspiring to anyone who is where I was these many months ago.

First off, contrary to @SayifDoit's not very encouraging outlook – I didn't crash. In fact, I've just grown a great deal of hair back. At age 41 now I have as much or more hair than I did when I was 33. Moreover, the quality and body of my hair is much, much higher. I no longer wake up in the morning with hair matted down to my scalp. I no longer need any product to give it body or to look not-horrible. I swim and get wet hair without my scalp being plainly visible, and my hairline has closed in nicely. I'm still an older man with an older hairline,...but night and day from where I was before.

There have been some positive sides to taking finasteride for me.

1) Greatly reduced amount of hair from ears.

2) No more occasional long back hairs from the back and shoulder area...these had been on the rise in late 30's.

3) A massively increased ejaculative load.

I spoke to a doctor friend of mine about the latter, and he says I probably had an over-sized prostrate that was blocking production or just physical ability to...well...release. And yes, I get regular prostrate screenings, so if it was enlarged it was not due to cancer/illness...it has just always been this way for me, and so I thought it was normal not to...well...have a "spectacular" release. It's relatively cinematic now.

Regarding the negative sides...

1) Perhaps a very moderately decreased sexual drive, though this might be related to other issues which I get into at the end of this – Effectively has meant I can actually lay next to my wife now at night without becoming *instantly* aroused 100% of the time. To me, this means essentially, I'm no longer an animal. Except when I am, and things are great. I feel slightly more civilized/evolved in this regard, and it suits me very well, and I don't chalk it up as a negative. Especially due to the aforementioned and unexpected benefit. Sex drive is very healthy.

2) I also do recall now that I think about it, some of the feelings described as feeling disconnected from my member, that it felt foreign, "rubbery", or "other"... but this has gone away completely for me. Yes, it was a little disconcerting in those first weeks/months. If I recall I scaled back just a bit on dosage for a few weeks and things improved quickly. It's not an issue at all at this stage.

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So what did I do? My regimen looks more or less like this.

1) Minoxidil applied VERY (very) LIBERALLY, once a day. Mornings usually. I try to prime my scalp with a hot shower or by tugging and massaging scalp in advance, and I believe this has helped the uptake.

2) finasteride. I am very casual and imprecise about this, and I think it has worked to my advantage. I take a 5mg pill and break it with my fingers into 4 or 5 smaller pieces. I take on of the pieces every 1.5 days, sometimes shaving off a little with my nail if it looks to large. I probably then use 1 5mg pill a week.

3) I've dropped nizoral, which made my scalp dry.

4) I've dropped Tricomin and all other expensive voodoo which didn't seem worthwhile or cost effective.

5) I dramatically improved my diet and exercise over the past year. I lost 10kg and will be running a marathon in January. Not clear if this is related, but the improved circulation and blood flow has probably not hurt. I've never been stronger or in better shape than I am now.

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Lessons Learned, take it for what it's worth...your mileage my vary.

1) I think you can safely ignore the idea that you need minoxidil twice a day. And putting it on before bed is a disaster, do not do this!!! I ruined several pillow cases and had a lot of hair/fuzz growing on my face where it really shouldn't until I stopped doing this. IF you wanted to do it twice a day, then once in the morning and again after training/exercise in the afternoon or early evening.

2) Learn to tug your hair, massage your scalp, and do scalp exercises. I can't be sure this made the difference for me, but I feel that it has. The scalp is a muscle. Exercise this muscle and you increase blood flow.

3) I am constantly mixing up my regimen just a little from day to day, it's a natural feature of being busy and disorganized. Don't be afraid when you skip a day or two of either min or finasteride. Based on the same principle as muscle confusion, I actually think this is healthy. Prevents your body chemistry from getting into a rut and overriding a pattern of dosage it can predict and reply upon.

4) Having said that, stick with it, and don't drift too far from a regular pattern of some sort. Do not skip days when you are available and ready to apply treatment, as there will be enough days that naturally fall in a normal calendar year – camping, going out, running out of meds, running a race – whatever, where you will be forced to skip.

5) Apply minoxidil to hair BEYOND where you are thinning. The healthy hair AROUND thinning areas of hair comprise the front-line of your hair loss – so the healthier and better sustained these hairs are, the better they can nourish and supplement their weaker brothers on the other side of the wall. If you follow me. Same goes for tugging and scalp exercise. Tug on it all, not just the weak area on top.

6) I was fighting a pretty deep depression when I first started treatment. Probably pretty standard 40 year old stuff to go through. I thought it was related to hair loss, and maybe some of it was. Concurrent with the beginning of hair treatment I sought some help and recovered from it. The recovery tracked very closely with the return of some of my old hair. But as I feel myself slipping again, I can see that happiness and hair have absolutely nothing to do with each other. I'm glad I have some hair back, but it hasn't changed any of the fundamental challenges that I face – that we all face – as humans trying to figure things out.

First and foremost, take care of your body (as you should) – and if you can and it really means something to you (it did to me), regrow some hair! But regrowing hair should be in the category of...I don't know, getting your teeth whitened? Something we do to look better for ourselves and the ones we love. No one gets their teeth whitened thinking this is going to change their life. So don't expect hair regrowth to change that much either.

However you decide to move forward, move forward. I wish you all the best of luck on your journey!

 

[oye_rg]

hairtugger good to hear your story. Not many older folks around here so it feels nice. I am 38, lost hair over a long long time eventually turning into a NW6. Started Big3 8 months ago and voila I had tiny diffuse new hair all over which I started noticing at 4 month mark but did not make any difference to how bald I looked. At 6 months mark I started liking how I looked in the mirror and got a favorable comment from someone who had seen me after exactly those 6 months. Another tow months now and its thickening more and more. I do a #4 haircut every 4 weeks and every month is an improvement. It feels great specially considering I was happy as was and any improvement is a bonus. It feels like I am getting a bonus every month. Lovely!

 

[Pequod]

I also like the side effects of finasteride I have, I wish everyone felt that way. Glad to read you had great results!

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Any updated pics?

 

[hairtugger]

Any updated pics?

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Fresh out of the shower, as before, and I've placed it next to the very first pic I posted.

I never actually bothered taking pictures after a few weeks, and I knew there was a positive change underway. So this is the first time I've seen it myself. Kind of interesting.

 

[Joan]

Wow, your hair looks amazing! Major difference.

 

[DoctorHouse]

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View attachment 36330View attachment 36331

Fresh out of the shower, as before, and I've placed it next to the very first pic I posted.

I never actually bothered taking pictures after a few weeks, and I knew there was a positive change underway. So this is the first time I've seen it myself. Kind of interesting.

Excellent results. Another success story. Again minoxidil with finasteride works the best together. I wish I could use minoxidil with no sides.

 

[thatguywelbz]

Please tell me about scalp exercises. I would love to know what they are.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, admin move this thread to success stories.

 

[mompo]

Amazing ! Congrats, when did you start seeing improvement?

 

[Swoop]

Damn man congratulations! Happy for you.

 

[thatguywelbz]

BTW are this guy's results realistic?
I am 24.
I have been on minoxidil and dutasteride for 3-4 months now(maybe almost 4) and have gained decent hair but is realistic to expect my bald spot of cover up?]

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/attachment.php?attachmentid=36306&d=1445598306

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/attachment.php?attachmentid=36307&d=1445598333

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/attachment.php?attachmentid=36305&d=1445598286

 

[hairtugger]

Appreciate all the positive comments, thanks.

As for scalp exercises... I did, and continue to do three things basically, and often in combination – not religiously but fairly regularly.

1) Learned to wiggle my ears – and when I have moments alone, making a coffee, or working at my desk... I wiggle them. Few times a day. You don't want to do this in public...but I do it for my daughter sometimes and it cracks her up. Really learn to control them and push them to the max...and note how the muscle and ligaments used run straight up in the back of your scalp.

2) Pull, tug on my hair. Again, privately, but almost like a nervous habit. On the phone, in the car, when watching TV. Hopefully a few sessions a day. Just grab a fist full, and lightly twist/tug. I don't know how you can do this if you have very short hair, but I just keep mine long enough on top to get a handle on it. This is counter-intuitive perhaps, especially as hair falls out when pulled, but I think in the long run this is stimulating to the follicle and making it stronger.

3a) Using a stiff, ladies brush, alternate between massaging my scalp in a relatively forceful circular motion...

3b) ...And then using the same brush, also going down the nape of neck, up and down, very lightly. This (for me) triggers a ticklish sensation that, when directed and controlled, culminates in a rush of blood to my scalp. Don't quite know how to explain this, other than just practice wiggling ears while doing this, and it's easier to get this chill/rush of feeling and you can feel blood entering the scalp.

Hope this helps someone! 1) Wiggle ears. 2) Tug/pull 3) Brush/stimulate regularly. Do all of this in the privacy of your own home.

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Amazing ! Congrats, when did you start seeing improvement?

Thanks – More or less from the start, but this was in the strength/body of existing hair, as opposed to new hair I think. New hair came later, gradually...maybe 4 to 8 months before sheds stabilized and it was if I recall only progress after that.

 

[mompo]

Thanks – More or less from the start, but this was in the strength/body of existing hair, as opposed to new hair I think. New hair came later, gradually...maybe 4 to 8 months before sheds stabilized and it was if I recall only progress after that.

Thanks for your answer, very inspirationnal story. I wish results like yours for all of us, and hopefully we're all going to forget about this site lol

 

[MrPortugal]

Look so good BRAVISSIMO