New To The Game

[harey]

Hey there, I'm going to be 27 in a couple of months, and it's a familiar story, I'm sure. I have really thick hair that I get complemented on a lot, my dad is plumb bald, and I hear the bit about your mother's side of the family is an old wives' tale -- that it really has to do with both mom and dad.

Regardless, here's the deal. If I told you I was losing my hair you'd say I was crazy, but I have noticed an overall thinning, not just a receding hairline, and a good view of the veins by my temple, but when I run my hands through my hair in the mirror, you can clearly see all the gaps between the hairs...basically, it's starting now, and I really want to stem the tide.

So here's the question -- I know that on Propecia's site that specifically say that it's only good for the vertex (the bald spot area) and the anterior area (the middle/top, so to speak?), and not for the temples, front of the head/hairline itself.

Thing is, I was wondering, if I start within the next year, will it help at all in keeping some of this hair in the front area? I'm certainly not asking to grow new hair there, as if they say it doesn't, it obviously doesn't -- they'd love to say it does even if it regrew in 1% of guys...but I'm holding out some hope that if I start now, I'll be maintain most of what I have.

Thanks, and you can email me directly if it's easier.

kneerajk@hotmail.com

 

[bombscience]

welcome, or "welcome to hell" as some people would like me to say.

You sound like me about 20 months ago when I was 24. Just starting to notice your hair getting thinner all over the top of your head. You are what we call a diffuse thinner.

Here is my advice after 20 months.

1. Start with Finasteride (Propecia) and use a scalp conditioning shampoo (Nizoral/TGEL). Finasteride can grow hair all over your head. However, baldness in the front of your head is usually harder to reverse than baldness in the crown.

2. Do NOT jump into using Minoxidil. Are you happy with the hair you have now? Would you like to keep all of it or even regrow a little bit more? Propecia may be all that you need. Add Minoxidil (Rogaine) down the road if Propecia alone doesn't work for you.

otherwise, please read this post. i wrote it for guys like you who are diffuse and want to know where to begin:

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... ce&start=0

 

[harey]

Thanks for the info. It's a bit overwhelming, though. I clicked on your regimen, and notice that you take a host of products. Like you touched on, I'm hoping that Propecia (Proscar, actually) alone will work. Is it necessary to use the T/Gel shampoo? And is that over the counter?

Finally, the biggest question I asked, which was only sort of touched on, is whether or not the Propecia will help me keep what I have in the front and on my temples. I realize it must vary, case to case, but are there a significant amount of men who kept the hair they had in the front?

Thanks again.

 

[bombscience]

I wish I could give you a hard answer on how Propecia will affect the front of your hair. In some people it has regrown the front, in other's it hasn't. With luck it will be the only treatment you'll need.

Nizoral and TGel are both over the counter and can be found at walmat, walgreens, rite aid, or your local pharmacy. They are a great way to help promote a healthy scalp insuring optimal hair growth conditions.

Also the active drug in Nizoral alone has been shown to slightly increase haircount.

My regimen may seem complex but it really isn't.
I use minoxidil 2x a day.
I take Dutasteride now (a stroger version of Propecia) because I didn't see any results from Propecia after 14 months.

Folligen creme is something that helps with scalp irritation.

So start slow, and add what you need as you go. That's my advice.

 

[Guest]

welcome to hellâ„¢

©


bombscience you need to talk to my legal people

 

[harey]

ok

thanks bombscience...i was reading your earliest, earliest posts, and you seemed quite disillusioned yourself.

Here's the thing...I really don't want to go with rogaine/minoxidil, because it seems like a terrible pain in the ***...but at the same time, i do want my temples/front area to remain the same...i actually have some rogaine, thought it's about four freaking years old when I first thought I was losing my hair...so it may not even work...I'm thinking of rubbing some of that on my temples and seeing if it works. In the meantime, I wanted to order some fincar, or whatever the generic brand it is that one guy said he gets from india and supposedly works...

Should I just start on the fincar and see what happens, or should I apply the rogaine to my forehead/temples beforehand?

 

[Axon]

Dr. Lee's Minoxidil takes 20 minutes to dry on the crown and less to dry on the temples.

I use Fincar, and it's fine.

 

[harey]

fincar

hey...thanks, i think i emailed you personally about fincar...where do you get yours? it was a lower price than what I've found on the Internet thus far. Also, how far along were you when you started? And did it help you keep what you had at the front/temples? I'm really in the early stages still, but I have a big nose so any hair loss in the front will make it look worse! And really, my hair is my best feature, so...

Yeah. Basically I just want to know if fincar will give me a good shot at keeping what I have in the front, even though that's not its primary focus.

 

[harey]

Also Bombscience -- As mentioned earlier, I was going through some of your posts from the way, way beginning, and noticed you were very concerned because your hair had thinned out considerably, but there wasn't any new hair growing.

Can you update me on what your hair looks like now compared to when you started?

My biggest fear isn't even the weak erections -- I can always get v****.

The big fear is that I'll end up worse than when I started.

Thanks again.

 

[bombscience]

hey,

a good place to buy generic drugs is here:
http://www.unitedpharmacies.com/

i have ordered from them and they are legit and fast. I just bought 100 dutasteride pills and it took less then 7 days for it to arrive. you can get merck proscar, fincar, and finast, and prosmin (all 5mg finasteride pills) there.

weak erections - dont worry about that. it took me about 2-3 months for my hormones to balance out so you may have a week where you're overly excited and others where you have less libido. now my erections are just about normal... (and i'm on dutasteride!)

about minoxidil. if you are concerned about a particular part of your scalp, and want to use a topical treatment, read more about two before diving into minoxidil: folligen/tricomen (copper peptide treatments), and spironolactone (a topical DHT adrogen receptor blocker). Both of these treatments focus on preserving the hair follicle instead of stimulating it to grow. think of minoxidil as steroids that get you results quick, but fake. think of finasteride, folligen, and spironolactone as nutrients that help preserve your hair follicles health.

read more about both here:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/research/me ... nt2men.htm

how does my hair look? lets put it this way - it's worse than when i started for many many reasons, but none of them being using minoxidil, finasteride, and nizoral. in fact these three treatments probably slowed down my hairloss tremendously. about 5 months ago i gave up on minoxidil because i hadn't seen an inscrease in my hair and it continued to thin. HUGE mistake. I started losing hair that minoxidil was growing. ouch.

so i wouldn't look at me as a typical case. i have genetics that have a very strong trait of being bald. my treatment is helping slow my thinning down a lot. if i never began, i'm sure i'd be a lot worse off than i am now.

read through the countless posts of people who regrow hair on propecia alone, or with the combination of minoxidl.

 

[socks]

harey, harey, harey....

Let me just clear a few things up for you. First and foremost, the cause of Androgenetic Alopecia is DHT. DHT is a byproduct of your body's testosterone being converted into DHT via your 5ar enzyme. Now, every guy has testosterone and every guy has some DHT. The difference between a guy who doesnt lose his hair and a dude that does is weather their hair cell follicle are genetically predisposed to become sensitive to DHT and thus atrophy and eventually cease to grow.

Granted you're a newbie and this might seem overwhelming (very natural). But you need to completely understand what I told you above so as to avoid getting scammed by people who peddle all kinds of hairloss remedies.

Now, Finasteride is a specific inhibitor of Type II 5 alpha-reductase. That is the enzyme that is responsible for creating the DHT in your hair follicle cells. Now, Finasteride reduces the type 2 5ar by 85%-90%. Not just in one area but throughout your body... Though it is possible there are slight variations....


Anyhow, dont worry about Finasteride not "claiming" to save your front hairline. Your front is the hardest area to treat as it tends to be the most DHT sensitive... Since Finasteride does not block 100% of DHT some DHT is still getting through... If your front hair is supper sensitive to DHT then it is likely going to recede no matter what you do ATM. That doesnt mean to despair! Finasteride can save the majority of your hair and you can always go the hair transplant route later in life if your front goes on you.


So, stick with Finasteride as the backbone of your routine. Add Nizoral 2% shampoo to that routine as it helps disrupt the effects DHT has on your hair. You use Nizoral shampoo every other day to every third day. In-between you can use whatever.

If you want to add some regrowth and/or thickening you can give minoxidil a shot. I would suggest seeing what Finasteride and Nizoral will do for you first through. Give it at least 6-12months before making any decisions. Also, take some photos monthly to give you an objective gauge of your progress.


Eventually you may want to add to your routine if the Finasteride and Nizoral dont do the trick. But start simple. Dont over do it. 80%+ of men respond to Finasteride. If you want to add to your routine do a lot of personal research and dont jump on something because some moron on these boards proclaims amazing results with a few weeks of using "x".


If you need to get the REAL facts on Androgenetic Alopecia you MUST take the time to understand the basics. I gave you a good start in the opening of my response.


Good luck to you!

 

[harey]

Thanks. I guess I'm going to order the generic proscar (fincar) tomorrow, and it seems from you and others say, the shampoo is important as well.

http://www.inhousedrugstore.com/mens-health/fincar.html

anyone know anything about this site? It seems like the 90 pills, basically a year supply, is a good deal.