I've been lurking these boards for some time and today decided to just go ahead and sign up, share some thoughts and it's comforting to know that we are not alone out there. Just reading other people's problems, regimens and the occasional success stories made me feel slightly better about my hair loss, feeling like the cure may not be tomorrow, but I see that there is hope, as slow as results may be to appear.
So here I am, at 34, with a nice bald spot on the crown. It started when I was 27-28 or so, but seemed small enough at the time that I decided to just not do anything about it. I started wearing a hat, no only because I liked it, but it concealed the little bit of scalp atop my head. Needless to say, the bald spot grew bigger and only in the past 6 months have I decided to do something about it. I will still wear hats occasionally, but now it's gotten to the point where I'm embarrassed to be seen without it. I look quite younger than my age (according to most) and as soon as I feel my head with the hat off, I actually start to feel older than my age, and this overwhelming fear and sense of insecurity just wraps me up. I hate it. The temples are also receding, albeit more slowly, and I can deal with that a lot more, it's not too bad at this stage, but the crown (most balding at the back of it, meaning I have to sort of lean forward looking into a mirror to even see the beginning of the balding area) has lost quite a bit over the years and I would say is a Norwood 4? Not sure, I looked at that chart on some other page and would venture it's around that, maybe a little less.
Admittedly, I am starting to feel desperate, as I'm sure many of you have at one point. Where I do have hair, thankfully, it's quite dense and dark, with a few thinning areas on the front-top, and besides the balding crown, I let it grow to the point where I look like I did at 18-20 all over again. So if I can keep what I have then great, but now I'm really wanting to grow hair on the crown.
I've been researching the more holistic home remedy approaches, realizing that lots of them are hit-or-miss (lots o' misses), but I still have adopted a few things in my regimen, such as:
-Aloe Vera Gel (applied directly to scalp after shower)
-Apple Cider Vinegar (2 tsp. with glass of green juice every morning, sometimes also at night if i remember)
-Organic Pure Coconut Oil (also a dap rubbed in every other day, massaged deep into scalp)
-*New Chapter "One Man's Daily' Multivitamin.
-*New Chapter Saw Palmetto (2 capsules a day)
-Organic Vegetal Silica supplements (2 capsules a day)
-Fish Oil tablets (2 a day)
*This brand was highly recommended as the best from the plethora of brands t chose from in a few reputable health food/vitamin shops in the neighborhood. A bit more $ but oh well.
Now I know this approach may put off some people, but before I resort to minoxidil and others, I wanted to try the natural way.
Ok, it's been about 3 months on the above regiment and while I can't really see the results on the crown, when I put my fingers and caress it, it actually feels like new tiny little hairs are beginning to sprout there. Can't see it (maybe I would if really up close) but I can feel a difference. Also, the rest of my hair seem to have gone thicker and just shinier and healthier. I will say that I shampoo once a week only with some organic 'no chemicals' brand with basil, rosemary and peppermint extracts.
So now after reading so many positive posts here I am noticing 2 repeat suspects in getting results.
Nizoral shampoo and Rogaine foam.
I am now willing to just stop thinking like a hippie for a bit and get on that bandwagon, hoping it accelerates the process.
-I looked up Nizoral and as I understand it, it's marketed as an anti-dandruff shampoo but seem to have won the hears of many men with male pattern baldness in order to clean and revitalize the scalp?
-minoxidil: Until the recent posts here, I had only heard neutral to negative comments about it. Either it had zero effect, or people lost more hair as a result. A friend of mine tried it a few years ago and said he saw no regrowth whatsoever, be he did give up after 3 months, perhaps he should have stuck it out a bit longer?
My question is though, I've read many posts suggesting the Rogaine foam vs. the spray. Is there a reason for this, does the foam seem to have a better effect on actually regrowing some hair back?
-Saw Palmetto: This one's a twister. Some swear by it, others say DON'T USE IT! Libido problems, man boobs (lol), or just plain "IT DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING", I don't know what to believe anymore, cause bottom line is I think anything taken affects everyone in a different way. I've been taking the SP pills (320mg in 2 capsules) and haven't had any sexual side effects. In fact, it seems the opposite in my case, my sex drive has increased as well as overall sensitivity down there. So go figure. Generally I have to say that I've read more positive things about saw palmetto and how it can help with hair loss than negative ones.
So basically I posted because I want to start adding Nizoral and perhaps Rogaine foam to the daily reg.
Do you think it will help? Also, when talking % intake....1 or 2% for nizoral to start? And the minoxidil foam, is there an option of 2 or 5% like the spray?
Lastly, a friend in europe told me over the holidays about Rogaine with Retin-A, said a friend of his took just those 2 and within 6 months completely grew his hair back, same area, huge bald spot on crown is now a thing of the past. He is now apparently doing the natural stuff to maintain it with great success (mostly coconut oil, pure aloe vera gel and rosemary/lavender shampoo twice a week).
Now, where does one get Retin-A? How do you mix it with the minoxidil, proportions and such? Is there a pre-mixed formula that can be purchased somewhere, online perhaps?
Thank you for any responses and advice/comments. Glad to be here, it's good to talk about this stuff.
Penguin
So here I am, at 34, with a nice bald spot on the crown. It started when I was 27-28 or so, but seemed small enough at the time that I decided to just not do anything about it. I started wearing a hat, no only because I liked it, but it concealed the little bit of scalp atop my head. Needless to say, the bald spot grew bigger and only in the past 6 months have I decided to do something about it. I will still wear hats occasionally, but now it's gotten to the point where I'm embarrassed to be seen without it. I look quite younger than my age (according to most) and as soon as I feel my head with the hat off, I actually start to feel older than my age, and this overwhelming fear and sense of insecurity just wraps me up. I hate it. The temples are also receding, albeit more slowly, and I can deal with that a lot more, it's not too bad at this stage, but the crown (most balding at the back of it, meaning I have to sort of lean forward looking into a mirror to even see the beginning of the balding area) has lost quite a bit over the years and I would say is a Norwood 4? Not sure, I looked at that chart on some other page and would venture it's around that, maybe a little less.
Admittedly, I am starting to feel desperate, as I'm sure many of you have at one point. Where I do have hair, thankfully, it's quite dense and dark, with a few thinning areas on the front-top, and besides the balding crown, I let it grow to the point where I look like I did at 18-20 all over again. So if I can keep what I have then great, but now I'm really wanting to grow hair on the crown.
I've been researching the more holistic home remedy approaches, realizing that lots of them are hit-or-miss (lots o' misses), but I still have adopted a few things in my regimen, such as:
-Aloe Vera Gel (applied directly to scalp after shower)
-Apple Cider Vinegar (2 tsp. with glass of green juice every morning, sometimes also at night if i remember)
-Organic Pure Coconut Oil (also a dap rubbed in every other day, massaged deep into scalp)
-*New Chapter "One Man's Daily' Multivitamin.
-*New Chapter Saw Palmetto (2 capsules a day)
-Organic Vegetal Silica supplements (2 capsules a day)
-Fish Oil tablets (2 a day)
*This brand was highly recommended as the best from the plethora of brands t chose from in a few reputable health food/vitamin shops in the neighborhood. A bit more $ but oh well.
Now I know this approach may put off some people, but before I resort to minoxidil and others, I wanted to try the natural way.
Ok, it's been about 3 months on the above regiment and while I can't really see the results on the crown, when I put my fingers and caress it, it actually feels like new tiny little hairs are beginning to sprout there. Can't see it (maybe I would if really up close) but I can feel a difference. Also, the rest of my hair seem to have gone thicker and just shinier and healthier. I will say that I shampoo once a week only with some organic 'no chemicals' brand with basil, rosemary and peppermint extracts.
So now after reading so many positive posts here I am noticing 2 repeat suspects in getting results.
Nizoral shampoo and Rogaine foam.
I am now willing to just stop thinking like a hippie for a bit and get on that bandwagon, hoping it accelerates the process.
-I looked up Nizoral and as I understand it, it's marketed as an anti-dandruff shampoo but seem to have won the hears of many men with male pattern baldness in order to clean and revitalize the scalp?
-minoxidil: Until the recent posts here, I had only heard neutral to negative comments about it. Either it had zero effect, or people lost more hair as a result. A friend of mine tried it a few years ago and said he saw no regrowth whatsoever, be he did give up after 3 months, perhaps he should have stuck it out a bit longer?
My question is though, I've read many posts suggesting the Rogaine foam vs. the spray. Is there a reason for this, does the foam seem to have a better effect on actually regrowing some hair back?
-Saw Palmetto: This one's a twister. Some swear by it, others say DON'T USE IT! Libido problems, man boobs (lol), or just plain "IT DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING", I don't know what to believe anymore, cause bottom line is I think anything taken affects everyone in a different way. I've been taking the SP pills (320mg in 2 capsules) and haven't had any sexual side effects. In fact, it seems the opposite in my case, my sex drive has increased as well as overall sensitivity down there. So go figure. Generally I have to say that I've read more positive things about saw palmetto and how it can help with hair loss than negative ones.
So basically I posted because I want to start adding Nizoral and perhaps Rogaine foam to the daily reg.
Do you think it will help? Also, when talking % intake....1 or 2% for nizoral to start? And the minoxidil foam, is there an option of 2 or 5% like the spray?
Lastly, a friend in europe told me over the holidays about Rogaine with Retin-A, said a friend of his took just those 2 and within 6 months completely grew his hair back, same area, huge bald spot on crown is now a thing of the past. He is now apparently doing the natural stuff to maintain it with great success (mostly coconut oil, pure aloe vera gel and rosemary/lavender shampoo twice a week).
Now, where does one get Retin-A? How do you mix it with the minoxidil, proportions and such? Is there a pre-mixed formula that can be purchased somewhere, online perhaps?
Thank you for any responses and advice/comments. Glad to be here, it's good to talk about this stuff.
Penguin
