Hi. I just joined this site. I really need some advice. I'm 24. I have curly hair. I used to have REALLY thick hair. Like, so thick, I could never comb it... and I got made fun of a lot in middle school growing up because it was always a mess haha. I never thought I'd lose it. Anyway, since about the age of 22, my hair has been thinning, and now it's becoming more and more apparent. I don't really know how to classify it, but my temples are extremely thin, as is the front. The sides and back are still thick though, and the crown is pretty good too. It doesn't look like COMPLETE CRAP, but it's still extremely distressing to me. I'm starting to obsess and get kind of depressed about it... sometimes I don't even like to look in the mirror. So I'm strongly considering some sort of treatment. Here's the thing: I don't currently have health insurance, or I'd consult a dermatologist. I REFUSE to take propecia or any oral anti-DHT. I REFUSE. I know the chance of side effects is low, but I like having a high sex drive and getting erections at the drop of a hat. I'm not trying to lose that. If I had to pick between the two, I'd rather go bald. So here are the questions I have. 1. Is there ANY chance that one could experience similar side effects to an oral anti-DHT if one used a topical one, like the nizoral shampoo? Like, it is possible that the stuff could seep into the general circulation of the body? Has anyone ever experienced them? I tried doing a search here but nothing came up. The reason I'm so nervous is that, you know, with my luck, I'll probably be part of the 0.01% of people that does. I already have the bad luck of losing hair at 24. 2. Could using the nizoral shampoo combined with minoxidil ALONE (No finasteride) help at all? I'm not asking for a complete transformation because I don't need a TRANSFORMATION, just to maybe regrow a little bit and thicken it up 3. Could using minoxidil ALONE with nothing else help at all? I appreciate ANY advice anyone could offer. It would be a huge help- this has been driving me crazy.
really could use some advice
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Minoxidil may buy you a few years, or maybe not. It's much more effective combined with finasteride, without it you're just fighting the tide. Without finasteride, you'll probably be bald by 30, or even sooner, even if minoxidil does work for a while. If you're okay with that, then you may see some increase in hair density for a couple of years, maybe not though.
If you aren't going to try finasteride, then I don't fancy your chances, you probably won't be very successful in the short term, and in the long term (5-10 years), you will go bald. I don't get why you wouldn't even try it, if it affects your sex drive you can quit and be back to normal, and it probably won't. Frankly, the side effects are unlikely and reversible, so not even trying it seems moronic to me, but it's your body.
There's a reason why almost all success stories use a combination of the finasteride and minoxidil. Nizoral won't do a thing to save your hair. I used it for years for dandruff (since I was 14) and still started losing my hair, so that says it all. Nizoral is not effective as a DHT inhibitor, it is effective against dandruff though.
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it! My problem is... I read that there are cases where the effects of finasteride are irreversible. I know all about the success stories of finasteride, but I just don't want to chance it. I studied some biochemistry in college, so I know a LITTLE bit about whats going on. I'm just not comfortable messing with my hormones. You're essentially lowering your testosterone levels- which are incredibly important for males- in exchange for getting some hair back. As I said, right now my hair doesn't look like a total disaster, and it's in some ways tidier than it was when I was, say, 14. It's definitely thinning, and I have no problem "fighting the tide" if I can get a little hair back. I'm hoping some day I could get a hair transplant or something if it gets really bad. It's weird because my dad isn't even really bald. Like he's definitely lost some hair, but it wasn't significant until he was 50 or so. He definitely wasn't like this when he was my age. I really got screwed over genetically. But you're saying that minoxidil on its own could get a little bit of growth? Do you know anything about that revivogen stuff? It's supposed to be a lot safer, although not clinically proven to be effective.
Finasteride doesn't lower testosterone; It raises testosterone. It reduces the 5ar enzyme which is responsible for converting T into DHT. While T and DHT are similar, they do play different roles. Lowering T would have a much bigger impact when it comes to being a man than lowering DHT. That is why only 5% of users experience side effects from finasteride unfortunately that 5% voices itself more on forums than the other 95%.
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If you get a hair transplant, then you'll need to get on finasteride. Without finasteride, the non transplanted hairs surrounding the transplanted hairs will continue falling out, and your scalp will look like crap, with random wispy tufts. Also, the more hair you maintain (through finasteride), the more hair you have to spread around in the transplant, you get better coverage. Once you reach NW5 o4 6, you're done, you do not have enough hair left to have a transplant with cosmetically good coverage. I've seen some NW6 transplants, they're scarily bad...
If you want to keep your hair, or plan on getting a transplant at some point in the future, then you need to get on finasteride. No finasteride, no maintenance, and no transplant. It is the cornerstone of all hairloss treatments, you need it if you have any intention of fighting hair loss.
Minoxidil has bought men a coupleof years, but for some people it's not enough without combining it with finasteride, their synergistic effectiveness is much greater than alone, but it maybe regrow for a short time. Revivogen is not something I would base my Hair Loss treatment around. There are always companies trying to sell products to men losing their hair, most of them don't work, and men that stay on them for too long will find that they are too late for finasteride to save their hair. Prevention is the name of the game. I too studied physiology and biochemistry in college, among other subjects. Men who get long term side effects are those who got on finasteride, saw some sides and stayed on the medication regardless, for years. If you quit within weeks or months of noticing sides, then you will be fine.
I'm not going to try to convince you any more, I think you are very silly for not at least trying finasteride, and I think that without it, you're going to lose your hair over teh next 5 years, but it's your choice. Better hope that follicle cloning takes off and is affordable in the future, because current hair transplants all require that you take finasteride...
If you want to keep your hair, or plan on getting a transplant at some point in the future, then you need to get on finasteride. No finasteride, no maintenance, and no transplant. It is the cornerstone of all hairloss treatments, you need it if you have any intention of fighting hair loss.
Minoxidil has bought men a coupleof years, but for some people it's not enough without combining it with finasteride, their synergistic effectiveness is much greater than alone, but it maybe regrow for a short time. Revivogen is not something I would base my Hair Loss treatment around. There are always companies trying to sell products to men losing their hair, most of them don't work, and men that stay on them for too long will find that they are too late for finasteride to save their hair. Prevention is the name of the game. I too studied physiology and biochemistry in college, among other subjects. Men who get long term side effects are those who got on finasteride, saw some sides and stayed on the medication regardless, for years. If you quit within weeks or months of noticing sides, then you will be fine.
I'm not going to try to convince you any more, I think you are very silly for not at least trying finasteride, and I think that without it, you're going to lose your hair over teh next 5 years, but it's your choice. Better hope that follicle cloning takes off and is affordable in the future, because current hair transplants all require that you take finasteride...