I.D WALKER
Senior Member
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- 868
Welcome back Raz. Your results are fantastic.:sun:
Raz's Story: Big 3: Nw4v --> Nw1.5ish
- Reaction score
- 53
Thank you! As far as the bleaching goes, well, I do think it's possible that how I treated my hair contributed to the damage. I dyed my hair black with some highlights between ages 15-18, then had red long hair, all kinds of blonde variations etc, between 18 and 19½. That is when it all went downhill and I already hit Norwood 3V within a year from that. After that I just kept it short/buzzed and or bleached it at times, like in the OP, to have lesser contrast between my hair and scalp. It sort of worked in the usual lighting, but as you can see, looks horrid when all is said and done.
However, that being said, it definitely was/is male pattern baldness all along. It's just that the damage might have made some hairs fall out, only to have their next growth phase cycle be more affected the male pattern baldness or some such, resulting in more thinning. I honestly can't say, it's my broscience-guesstimating at best.
Thanks, Walker! I am pretty stoked about it too - definitely happy if things stay this way, but as I am only 3 months into Minoxidil, I think it's somewhat realistic to wait for slight improvements during the next 6-9 months, and then probably see the gains stabilize with both finasteride + Min. Only time will tell!
- Reaction score
- 53
Hey, thanks dude! I am indeed feeling very stoked and confident right now!AMAZING results neighbour! I'm happy for you ya, must feel great! Making me jealous bro
How long before you started seeing that, damn, this is working?
Well, I started seeing finasteride patching up things little by little after like 5-6 months, but that was just me looking at the mirror and the fine details - my reflection outdoors in natural lighting etc. still looked very wispy/bald. (I hate that feel when you airbrush your hair at home, it looks good to you, then you walk outdoors and see your reflection from a window in that lighting - bald on top...)
The results really only appeared with minoxidil; I had an initial shed of like 5-6 weeks, but after that, my hair has literally looked better each day I've woken up and it feels pretty bizarre yet nice. So basically, to answer your question, I started seeing superb regrowth and results when I had been on minoxidil for 2 months and finasteride for 11 months. Here's hoping minoxidil will still improve things a little, as I've only been on it for 3 months - but I am happy already.
Gonna try to update the thread monthly/bi-monthly now - bump it to kick my *** if I forget. :jump:
- Reaction score
- 53
It's been a month since my last update - so here we go with the September 2014 update!
Nothing much to add - all has been well in the past month. I do think I might have had a very, very minor crown-shed that spawned from my reckless minoxidil-use. You see, like 1 week after my August update, the student parties began again (last year in uni for me for now). So...I came home sh1tfaced quite many times, but still not forgetting to apply minoxidil before going to bed (lol). As a result, I think I overdosed severely on a couple of days. I felt some irritation in that region of my scalp for a bit, but that subsided when I got back to normal with my minoxidil-use. Not really stressed about that whatsoever.
I also began the habit of combing my hair again; I know that might sound gross, but when you're a NW3½ and have no need to comb your buzzcut - you kind of forget about the whole thing. So, now I've been combing again and that has practically killed even the last remaining sebum-build up that I have had in my scalp. I comb my hair like twice a day now and it feels so satisfying to see small white 'flakes' get removed from my scalp in addition to my hair feeling and looking better. Lately, I've not even seen any sebum on my comb, so that's looking good.
I had a look at some of my pre-balding pics and my hairline is not honestly far off from my juvenile hairline at the moment - what Norwood do you think I currently am, haha? Vertex has filled up a tad, temple hairs keep getting better and I see a lot of lighter hair when I look closely - hopefully those will also become terminal hairs! I honestly don't look to be balding right now, when I style my hair normally and not making it seem as bad as possible like for these status updates.
So here we go, pics:
Thanks as usual for checking out my thread! Feedback, questions, comments - everything's welcome.
Nothing much to add - all has been well in the past month. I do think I might have had a very, very minor crown-shed that spawned from my reckless minoxidil-use. You see, like 1 week after my August update, the student parties began again (last year in uni for me for now). So...I came home sh1tfaced quite many times, but still not forgetting to apply minoxidil before going to bed (lol). As a result, I think I overdosed severely on a couple of days. I felt some irritation in that region of my scalp for a bit, but that subsided when I got back to normal with my minoxidil-use. Not really stressed about that whatsoever.
I also began the habit of combing my hair again; I know that might sound gross, but when you're a NW3½ and have no need to comb your buzzcut - you kind of forget about the whole thing. So, now I've been combing again and that has practically killed even the last remaining sebum-build up that I have had in my scalp. I comb my hair like twice a day now and it feels so satisfying to see small white 'flakes' get removed from my scalp in addition to my hair feeling and looking better. Lately, I've not even seen any sebum on my comb, so that's looking good.
I had a look at some of my pre-balding pics and my hairline is not honestly far off from my juvenile hairline at the moment - what Norwood do you think I currently am, haha? Vertex has filled up a tad, temple hairs keep getting better and I see a lot of lighter hair when I look closely - hopefully those will also become terminal hairs! I honestly don't look to be balding right now, when I style my hair normally and not making it seem as bad as possible like for these status updates.
So here we go, pics:
Thanks as usual for checking out my thread! Feedback, questions, comments - everything's welcome.
- Reaction score
- 53
Uhh.. Well, my hairline was NW3ish, I only had bald areas on the top - like you can see in the older update pics/baseline pics. Basically had a huge thin spot on the top around the cowlick area (like you can see in my 1 month update on the first page), in addition to the crown just being super wispy and bald-seeming when going past that sub-1cm buzzcut. It's hard to say: hairline-wise I think it was an uneven 3ish and a 3.5ish with the other temple having receeded more. But unlike a normal NW3, I had a bald spot on my vertex (like Norwood 3V), but with some added diffuse thinning.
I did grow a lot of hair from "nothing" (visibly speaking). My hairline has appeared from nowhere. Was expecting the least results for that, hah.
Thanks for the reply man.
- Reaction score
- 53
Thanks dude, all the best for you too, Estonian bro!
:salut:
Okay so, this is not an update per se, but I felt like writing up about it as a rant of sorts... My first 400 days of generic finasteride runs out today (100x generic 5mg pills, 4 days per pill), so I went to get some new stuff (I get mine with a prescription) and boy was that annoying or what!?...
Instead of having my trusty GP there, I had to go to some other Doctor to renew my prescription, as the other GP was vacationing or some such. So this other guy, how was he? Well, he looked to be late 20s/early 30s - basically brimming with "I have just started working here as a doctor". He was a typical case of "NW2 mature hairline", but no balding to speak of, living in his own oblivious world, not knowing a sh1t about balding.
He told me my hair looked fine, then I showed him my driver's license and its picture, student cards - everything with old pictures of me etc. and told him my hair looks good because: "well yeah, the meds are working" (can't believe I had to spell that out for him). Then we had this idiotic chat about how "hair loss is not that big of a deal!" and all that usual stuff. Then he asked me if I was prepared for the sides etc., despite me having told him I was there to renew my prescription and that I had already been on Finasteride for 400 days. This kind of bickering took about 15 minutes, with random questions in the mix.
From there, I had to have a 10-minute chat with him about generic Finasteride and why I would prefer that, also telling him the other GP of the same firm had prescribed me that very kindly. In the end, he gave in because he realized I was a student, but I could tell he was really close to just prescribing me the 1mg Propecia brand product. Which, by the way, he checked on his computer, saying it costs 225€ for a 3-month supply, whereas the generic Finasteride I wanted was 35€ (!) for a 400-day supply as 1.25mg quarters (!!!). Doing the math, I'd be spending 1000€ a year with the brand product and 35€~ for the generic - both of which will have the exact same effect.
When he had begrudingly handed me the prescription for Gefina 5mg (the generic Finasteride of Finland), I had to go to the pharmacy for my prescription meds. At that point, I was thinking to myself "finally, no arguments, 400 days of generic finasteride bliss incoming!", but no: the pharmacist at the pharmacy went: "hey, hold on, isn't Finasteride supposed to be dosed at 1mg, not 5mg?"... Another worthless chat follows, with me telling her I am using a pill-cutter to go for the quarters, having bought that very pill-cutter from the very same pharmacy. After that, she begrudgingly offered me a pack of 30 pills (that would last me 120 days), then I had to persuade her to give me a 100-pill pack. She was really reluctant to give me what I wanted - in the end, I had to tell her a lie about going abroad soon and not being able to get any Finasteride easily, legitimately. Seriously, how lame is that? The GP had written me my prescription for that very 100-pill pack anyway.
TL;DR: another 400 days of Finasteride secured at the cost of 35€ (+ the GP visit, but whatever), but holy sh1t did that suck or what. So complicated.
- Reaction score
- 53
Yup, I, too, felt flabbergasted, but at this point, I don't give a fvck, as I have my 400-day supply! Yay!
No sides to speak of, except those I mentioned in the OP.
When I started finasteride, I had to pee aaaaalll the time for the first 2 days. Like, literally, couldn't fall asleep easily without feeling something would leak (gross), even when I had just pee'd minutes before. I don't know what caused that, but the drug is related to the prostrate after all. Anyway, that started easing up by the 3rd night (could sleep good, just peed more often during the day) and the abnormality completely ended by the 5th day or so and now I feel completely normal in that regard.
I do think I have some soreness in my left nipple at times, but I came to realize it's not real (ie. finasteride-induced). I have a few T-shirts which have logos/prints right above that spot and sometimes that kind of applies pressure on that spot, especially if I am carrying something etc.
So yeah, no gyno, no libido issues, no weird sh1t whatsoever. To be honest I was more afraid of minoxidil, haha. I've heard some people get some skin aging with it due to the retention, but I'm drinking a lot daily anyway (water + green tea), so that's been fine too.
Notcoolanymore
Senior Member
- Reaction score
- 1,397
I will also be going to see my doctor soon for my annual check up and to get a new script for finasteride. I wonder if he will give me a hard time about it. He was already hesitant to give me a script in the first place. If he doesn't renew the script I will just go to another doctor to get one. I am not going to waste time with a doctor who tells me "balding is no big deal".
- Reaction score
- 53
Time for an October update!
Things have been normal for the most part since the last update. The update I am doing now is 1-2 days early, but I am gonna be a bit busy for the next coming days, so I figured why not do it now instead.
Now, some observations:
- Getting crazy regrowth still.
- Also started shedding a bit more.
- Overall, those two balance each other out, pretty much.
- The cowlick/swirl area at the back is getting better ever so slowly.
- Scalp feels extremely healthy. (Really happy about this!)
Overall, my hair's appearance is about the same, despite the shedding. However, taking pictures of my hair just now, with cruel lighting circumstances, I could see some signs of a shed on my crown and temples.
My hairline is still the same as it was one month ago, but in the pictures I am about to post, my left temple looks to be around NW2ish, with the right one being about 1½ to 1.75ish. I couldn't take good pictures of my temples, but there's a lot of regrowth happening there, not just vellus hairs either. I simply suspect that the hairs that I shedded had their cycle end prematurely (as they weren't at full strength yet) and that they will make a comeback stronger, in a month, two or three.
As far as my mid-crown area goes, it finally looks and feels healthy. Despite having had regrowth there, it has been itching here and there. Now there is no sebum buildup what with the frequent combing I do, minding my scalp a bit more with minoxidil and also being more careful with my Nizoral applying.
Still, there's been a minor shed, but I am not worried about it: I am seeing a lot of thickening elsewhere at the same time and my hair looks about the same as last month anyway, when styled normally or even wet, if the lighting isn't super cruel. I believe that this shed will result in some regrowth in due time.
So, all in all, not much to say, riding out a minor shed while being appreciative of the regrowth I am getting. It's been 5 months on minoxidil - I am mainly looking forward to the 8-10 month marks to see the full extent to which I have grown hair, and also the 1-year mark on minoxidil to get some stable long term results with some regrown hairs potentially coming back even stronger.
Without further ado, the October pics:
Thanks for checking out the thread, as usual! Any questions, feebdack and so forth is welcome!
Things have been normal for the most part since the last update. The update I am doing now is 1-2 days early, but I am gonna be a bit busy for the next coming days, so I figured why not do it now instead.
Now, some observations:
- Getting crazy regrowth still.
- Also started shedding a bit more.
- Overall, those two balance each other out, pretty much.
- The cowlick/swirl area at the back is getting better ever so slowly.
- Scalp feels extremely healthy. (Really happy about this!)
Overall, my hair's appearance is about the same, despite the shedding. However, taking pictures of my hair just now, with cruel lighting circumstances, I could see some signs of a shed on my crown and temples.
My hairline is still the same as it was one month ago, but in the pictures I am about to post, my left temple looks to be around NW2ish, with the right one being about 1½ to 1.75ish. I couldn't take good pictures of my temples, but there's a lot of regrowth happening there, not just vellus hairs either. I simply suspect that the hairs that I shedded had their cycle end prematurely (as they weren't at full strength yet) and that they will make a comeback stronger, in a month, two or three.
As far as my mid-crown area goes, it finally looks and feels healthy. Despite having had regrowth there, it has been itching here and there. Now there is no sebum buildup what with the frequent combing I do, minding my scalp a bit more with minoxidil and also being more careful with my Nizoral applying.
Still, there's been a minor shed, but I am not worried about it: I am seeing a lot of thickening elsewhere at the same time and my hair looks about the same as last month anyway, when styled normally or even wet, if the lighting isn't super cruel. I believe that this shed will result in some regrowth in due time.
So, all in all, not much to say, riding out a minor shed while being appreciative of the regrowth I am getting. It's been 5 months on minoxidil - I am mainly looking forward to the 8-10 month marks to see the full extent to which I have grown hair, and also the 1-year mark on minoxidil to get some stable long term results with some regrown hairs potentially coming back even stronger.
Without further ado, the October pics:
Thanks for checking out the thread, as usual! Any questions, feebdack and so forth is welcome!
themiz1234
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 1
Nice to see buddy, it is giving me lots of inspiration! Keep up the good work.
- Reaction score
- 53
Thanks man! I will continue being on this regimen religiously.
Thank you! Consistency is key, I believe. (And draw of the luck with how good of a responder you are, sadly!)
I haven't coloured my hair. The only pics in which I've got dyed hair are the baseline pics, but that should be fairly obvious.Did you color your hair? Or is it an effect of the MASSIVE thickening you are experiencing???!!
Congrats man!
Hasn't anyone given you a straight remark like:
"you have more hair" ?
Apart from that, I haven't coloured my hair at all this last year.Haha, yeah, I've actually heard that a few times now. People I'ven't met in a while have either been like "something looks different about you" or then downright "Holy sh1t dude, you have hair!"
It's cool to see the reactions I guess. Especially when it comes to girls to whom I was invisible this time one year ago, who are now giving me all these looks. It might be the hair, it might be the confidence boost I am getting with it - I don't care, it's good.
Thanks for the support guys.
- Reaction score
- 53
Thanks for the support!
Time for a November update!
At this point I have been on Finasteride + Nizoral for 15 months and on Minoxidil for 6 months. (Typo on the first picture of the set: 15 months on finasteride+nizoral, not 16, but whatever). Continuing all three as per the OP's description.
To cut it short: regrowth with some shedding, exactly like last month!
To go into detail: my scalp feels really healthy - similar to last month - so that is something I am very happy about. No redness, no itchiness, nothing. When combing my hair or taking a shower, I see a lot of actual terminal hairs being shed away, which I don't mind because previously it's just been these small-*** lighter wispy hairs with the white bulbs/sebum flakes and all that nasty stuff in the mix too. (Zero white flakes now! Yay!) It feels like the hair that I've been getting as regrowth of late (as actual terminal hairs) just sheds away while regrowth happens in other regions simultaneously. I say this because the cosmetic appearance of my hair improves slowly while I am also 100% sure I am shedding a bit.
Now, I got even more sh1t pictures this month, but as I am going on a trip soon and I don't really wanna do awkward toilet selfies while travelling - these pics will have to do. My cell's camera is so incredibly sh1tty that I am thinking of buying a proper camera one of these days. Never been into photography much but when the regrowth that I can see on the mirror with my own eyes doesn't make its way to the blurry pictures properly, it irritates me enough to consider it even while being a poor student.
I have been growing out my hair, but the methodology is still the same with me combing the hair to the sides/down so that it doesn't look like extra coverage. 2 pictures are taken with flash (#1 and #3) whilst the other non-orangeish pictures are taken without flash. The last picture in the set is what I did last month as well, ie. how my hair looks normally without combing it down to reveal my thinner areas. Basically how I look to other people normally, I guess!
I took a look at some of my childhood pictures again for comparison's sake and my right temple feels like it's hovering around the Norwood 1.25 or Norwood 1½ range, whilst my left temple seems to be in the Norwood 1.75 range. Somewhat inconsistently shedding and regrowing there, but I basically don't even feel like I have a mature hairline at this point, never mind being bald. The cowlick is catching up slowly, in addition to the mid-crown's thinnest area. Basically, there's some smaller hairs but it's thin enough at times to look nonexistent in pictures.
I have high hopes about hitting the 10-12 month mark on Minoxidil given how I am cycling through shedding combined with regrowth now, so I can't wait to see how the results have peaked and how they will hopefully plateau. Honestly though, I am SO HAPPY about my results even now. I look like a normal non-balding guy to anyone out there and it makes me feel so safe in a mysterious way. Gonna continue on this regimen religiously.
Thanks for checking out the thread!
Time for a November update!
At this point I have been on Finasteride + Nizoral for 15 months and on Minoxidil for 6 months. (Typo on the first picture of the set: 15 months on finasteride+nizoral, not 16, but whatever). Continuing all three as per the OP's description.
To cut it short: regrowth with some shedding, exactly like last month!
To go into detail: my scalp feels really healthy - similar to last month - so that is something I am very happy about. No redness, no itchiness, nothing. When combing my hair or taking a shower, I see a lot of actual terminal hairs being shed away, which I don't mind because previously it's just been these small-*** lighter wispy hairs with the white bulbs/sebum flakes and all that nasty stuff in the mix too. (Zero white flakes now! Yay!) It feels like the hair that I've been getting as regrowth of late (as actual terminal hairs) just sheds away while regrowth happens in other regions simultaneously. I say this because the cosmetic appearance of my hair improves slowly while I am also 100% sure I am shedding a bit.
Now, I got even more sh1t pictures this month, but as I am going on a trip soon and I don't really wanna do awkward toilet selfies while travelling - these pics will have to do. My cell's camera is so incredibly sh1tty that I am thinking of buying a proper camera one of these days. Never been into photography much but when the regrowth that I can see on the mirror with my own eyes doesn't make its way to the blurry pictures properly, it irritates me enough to consider it even while being a poor student.
I have been growing out my hair, but the methodology is still the same with me combing the hair to the sides/down so that it doesn't look like extra coverage. 2 pictures are taken with flash (#1 and #3) whilst the other non-orangeish pictures are taken without flash. The last picture in the set is what I did last month as well, ie. how my hair looks normally without combing it down to reveal my thinner areas. Basically how I look to other people normally, I guess!
I took a look at some of my childhood pictures again for comparison's sake and my right temple feels like it's hovering around the Norwood 1.25 or Norwood 1½ range, whilst my left temple seems to be in the Norwood 1.75 range. Somewhat inconsistently shedding and regrowing there, but I basically don't even feel like I have a mature hairline at this point, never mind being bald. The cowlick is catching up slowly, in addition to the mid-crown's thinnest area. Basically, there's some smaller hairs but it's thin enough at times to look nonexistent in pictures.
I have high hopes about hitting the 10-12 month mark on Minoxidil given how I am cycling through shedding combined with regrowth now, so I can't wait to see how the results have peaked and how they will hopefully plateau. Honestly though, I am SO HAPPY about my results even now. I look like a normal non-balding guy to anyone out there and it makes me feel so safe in a mysterious way. Gonna continue on this regimen religiously.
Thanks for checking out the thread!