StillpullnPUSSY's Story - (23 yo, Norwood 3 recession)

[stillpullnpussy]

Fisrt off I want to write this site seems to have alot of useful info and I am thankful for that and to everyone who contributes.


I don't know where to start. I've always had compliments on my hair as a teenager even though thats when my first signs of male pattern baldness came into play. People thought my hair was unusally thick and healthy and so did I. Family members would tell me not to worry about losing it (my dad is like a Norwood 7) I looked at the denisty and thickness and thought to myself I don't have much to worry about when it comes to male pattern baldness as a 19 yo. Boy was I wrong. I figured it was just a mature hairline because the process of it receeding was so slooowwww and no THINNING or sheds. Plus I thought to myself since my moms side (uncles have mature hairline but still nice hair) thats the worse that could happen . I was being optimistic. Word of advice to the young guys out there....sometimes being optimistic and not proactive can hurt you. I am so hurt just as many of you are about this losing hair thing. The thing that sucks is it took so long to become an issue. It's been five years now and It wasn't until a few years ago that i signed up with aventi Laser treatments located in southern california. Say what you will about the laser but I did maintain and grew very little hair overtime with the laser clinic treatment. Was it worth it in the end? Hell No. I mean my scalp was as healthy as it will prob ever be due to the scalpal massages and all the raw natural ingredients they use when scrubbing plus laser and topicals and shampoo. I must say my hair was healthy/thick but i didnt regrow a noticeable amount on my hairline where it mattered most. I really regret not knowing then what i do now. laser was the big thing and i thought id take the plunge and be the guinea. Well what i shouldve been doing is the big three plus a handheld laser (which i do have now) instead of big bucks for the clinic. My treatment ended in feb of this past year. I feel as though i lost a lot of ground this summer without noticing due to how long my hair was. Well i got a chop not too long ago and boy was i depressed my temples and sides and hairline has moved up and like i mention ealier my hair feels flat. WTF??

Since end of summer I bought a handheld laser off ebay and it seems to be legit. However I realized after spending so much time styling my hair and looking in the mirror that my problem is getting worse and the laser isnt going to cut it. So i manned up ordered some fincar from United and rogaine foam...Do i need to worry about the authenticity of the FIncar? anyone?

Whats scaring me the most right now at this moment is the texture of my hair is changing significantly and my hairline is up there! The volume seems to have gone to sh*t. thickness is no longer there and Im scared i wont be able to regrow back to a Norwood 1.5/2 I feel as though im like at a 2.75 NO CROWN thinning.

More about me
23.5 years old (specific I know)
6'0"
Caucasian
Weight Lifting 4 times a week (i really got into weights as of summer time the time where i feel i lost the most ground.........not sure where to stand or what to believe on this issue...anyone?)
5 years since first sign of recession

I feel helpless. I feel my chances of me growing back my hair line are slim to none considering its been gone for so long. Most guys on here with frontal regrowth are 21 or under and just started. MAN i wish i wouldve started the battle earlier with the right tools. Denial can be an ugly thing but I hope others learn from this. I really do. I guess i do have one question in the end...Something tells me i should be on fincar for a while maybe a couple of months or so before i start the FOAM. What is the general thought on this if any? I have the foam ready to go just think the finasteride shoul dbe in my system before i start the minoxidil.... Anyone? Also how effective is Retin-a im highly considering getting some when i have the $$$$$ ?

thanks guys........i feel so fucked

pics should be up soon

 

[bobs]

Re: StillpullnPUSSY's Story (23 yo, Norwood 3 recession)

Hello & welcome,

first off let me say that the laser is widely considered a scam. They usually give you a minoxidil-formula and if something is happening it is the works of the minoxidil and not the laser beams. But dont take my word for it, there are people who claim laser helped them but I'm just saying what is widely considered.

Second about weight lifting. There have been some discussions around this. You didn't take kreatin did you? If you did it might have caused some hairloss since it raises T levels and T -> DHT. Weight lifting in it self also raises T levels but no one is really sure it seems just how it in the end affects the hair. Aerobic excercise is good to lower T levels by boosting SHBG.

"Less than 1% of the circulating testosterone is in a free form in males (less that 3% in females). Only when in a free form this hormone can exhibit its properties by connecting to the androgen receptors on the cell walls (Converting to DHT). Based on a study 14 to 50 per cent of the testosterone is bound to SHBG in males and 37 to 75 in females."

So boosting SHBG is good for binding more free testosterone and thus lowering the T -> DHT conversion. So if you are just lifting weights try to do some more jogging or aerobic excercises in between.

This is what I think you should do;

Go on finasteride first + nizoral first. Stick with it for three to four months and don't expect anything good to come out of this visibly for it takes longer and you might even shed some but don't panic if you do. Then, if you really want regrowth put in the foam after 3-4 months of finasteride+nizoral. However, I would advice you to, if you can hold out, to wait for the finasteride+nizoral combo to do its work for a year and a bit more since that is when the full effects of the combination can be seen, IF you by then are happy you have saved yourself from the minoxidil and if not, put in the minoxidil then.

Don't panic about being late, you are not that late from what I can read and hopefully treatments will do you good.

Take care

 

[stillpullnpussy]

Re: StillpullnPUSSY's Story (23 yo, Norwood 3 recession)

Hey Bobs,

Thanks for the solid advice and for reading that poorly organized paragraph! I've been studying on poor sleep for an exam all day and was thinking about my hair so much....I had to come on here and post. Yes, It's gotten that bad. I might edit that to make it a bit clearer. Anyhow,
about the laser. I am not sponsored by any laser company or anything at all for that matter however, I still believe it is semi-decent tool in the fight against hair loss mainly because of the fact that it I saw what it did to my scalp and overall health of my hair. My hair looked better, fuller, thicker and I would get compliments on it even with the hairline. There wasn't any minoxidil in the topicals. They provided you with a shampoo with ingredients similar to that of Nioxin. I actually prefer their shampoo and liked it so much I got a few extra bottles and still have some. But to get to the point the laser clinic service (1 year, monthly scalpal massage and product for that one year which included the shampoo, a solution that was supposed to kill of dht on the scalp and a gel that would increase bloodflow and contain copper peptides and other natural ingredients) wasn't so much a scam in that it didn't do what it claimed "maintaining hair and improving thickness fullness yad yada yada" but much more of a scam in the COST$$$.

The service was sh*t in a nice office and it became inconvenient to drive to an office 2-3 times a week that was 15 min. away from work with no traffic and about 35 from home. Please keep in mind that the when I used laser it was a stand alone treatment (no finasteride or minoxidil or anything like that). Unfortunately, I didn't combine any other however I feel that it would work well or as I have read here a few times in a "synergistic" affect w the big 3 and I do plan on using it with them(the hand held). Back to the laser clinic ( I am writing in detail because I noticed that not that many people have had and even less have written about their experiences in a laser clinic and I a feel a duty to help inform those that are curious and or on the fence about laser) I still owe money for this service...and honestly here is the right way to do laser:

If you are indeed in the early stages of loss as most would say NW3 minus and it hasn't been long since loss then I highly recommend it*Not the salon aka clinic BUT the handheld* with your current regimen as Ive seen it grow a few terminal hairs alot more vellus hairs alone(no big 3).
Ive done the research on LLT and here is some vital info do not stray from this if you decide to use it:

*Never buy a battery powered device as its not constant in emitting the same strength and therefore not nearly as effective as a steady plug in source. Plus the lasers are less powerful to begin with.

*Do not buy these from big name makers $$$as there is no advantage and sometimes they are worse than the laser "wands" made from small companies who know what they are doing and have experience in lasers

*No point in spending more than a $100 dollar for a quailty handheld vs some that are hundreds that have mirrors**you want each beam coming from the source not a reflection so be careful**

The quailty and rating of the laser is important as well. Make sure the specs are the same used on those in the clinics. Do your research before you waste your time. I truly believe that this is why there are so many people here with negs to say about it. Either they got shammed by poor quality beams, battery op units, are not being CONSISTENT, or are just not good candidates for laser to begin with (read above). I would not recommend it as a stand alone treatment for guys who are balding at a significant pace.

Man.. I will get back to what i wanted to reply originally tomorrow bobs. Got a bit carried away but I hope it helps others

 

[RaginDemon]

Re: StillpullnPUSSY's Story (23 yo, Norwood 3 recession)

good sleep definitely helps too, try (I know its very hard) not to think about it 24/7

spend some time with your family and friends, or kill some time on PS3/WII

 

[stillpullnpussy]

Re: StillpullnPUSSY's Story (23 yo, Norwood 3 recession)

ragin i feel you on the sleep brother thanks for bringing it up. ive been so stressed lately with hair exams money that my sleep has been sh*t and i didn't even realize it. Im going to sleep in tomorrow for sure then wake and have a beer for breakfast and some football unk:

 

[RaginDemon]

oh yeah chilling at home watching games is definitely the way to go on a snowing day.

I feel you brother, I couldn't sleep for the longest time, I broke up with my ex gf who I was planning to marry, I had a Drink and Drive charge and I had mad accounting exams. On top of these beautiful things, my hair was falling off like krazy. I couldn't sleep at all. It was horrible.

 

[stillpullnpussy]

Going through the whole thing with the chick you're about to marry.....now that is f*****g bad. Ive had the dui and the exams and the girls issues. But havn't experienced being close to marriage or wanting to marry a chick then having it go bad.

 

[RaginDemon]

Going through the whole thing with the chick you're about to marry.....now that is f****ing bad. Ive had the dui and the exams and the girls issues. But havn't experienced being close to marriage or wanting to marry a chick then having it go bad.

I feel you brother, having male pattern baldness at the same time almost got me owned, I don't even want to think about that period of time no more.

 

[stillpullnpussy]

what Norwood are you ragin? age?

 

[RaginDemon]

what Norwood are you ragin? age?

I am a diffusive thinner, my temples receeded a little, but not too much at the moment. I would say its NW2, but the top is very thin, I hate to stand under strong lights, I am 27 btw.