VERY BAD SHEDDING W/ MINOXIDIL

[be001g]

I have about Norwood 1-2 (recession at the temples - but somewhat noticeable). I have been taking Propecia since the middle of November and Minoxidil 5% 1ml / 2 daily since the middle of December.

I never really had noticeable "shedding" prior to treating my hair loss. It was a very gradual thing, which is why I did not really notice it. However, the past 2 weeks have been downright scary. I lose a lot of hairs in the showers that cling to the shampoo bottle and my hands. I notice hairs falling out like crazy when I comb my dry hair over the sing. This never really happened before. This is driving me crazy. Perhaps, I am a bad responder.

I don't want to lose more hair then necessary, as I am trying to at least maintain what I have, perhaps get a Hair Transplant of about 1000-1500 hairs to reconstruct a perfect hairline.

I have not really noticed any re-growth with Propecia; however, since I use Minoxidil, I have been shedding like crazy. I am getting scared. Also, for the first time in my life, I have dandruff flakes and my scalp is kind of itchy. It is tolerable though.

Does anyone think I could get away with using the Minoxidil once a day 1ml 5%? I think that would put an end to the dandruff / itching. Or must one use it twice daily for it to be effective?

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate it.

 

[viperfish]

Are you using nizoral or cu peptides?? They will help with inflammation, etc. ??

 

[combforward]

2 months is too early to notice any visible gains... you're going to have to wait for at least 6 months to a full year before you can really tell if anything has changed.

The shedding may indeed be caused by the minoxidil, which may actually be a good sign. Search for the thread/FAQ about shedding. It sucks when you go through it but you just gotta stop counting hairs and move on. I was going through shedding shits myself just a few days ago (I also started finasteride the same time you did, but I've been on minoxidil for > 1 year with not much improvement.)

I was also bothered by the inflammation caused by minoxidil... Supposedly Nizoral will help but I think it just takes time before your scalp adjusts to minoxidil. It also sucks but you just gotta stick with your plan and go with it.

Patience is key.

Good luck.

 

[Troymaclure]

Yep...just give it time, sounds like a typical initial shed - just have to be strong and ride it out, i know it's hard but just take it day by day for now, you'll get through it.

 

[be001g]

Typical Shed

So how long does a typical shed last?

Also, it is not just that I am shedding hairs, I am also noticing that my hairline is getting visably thinner - is that a "normal" shed?

I am getting concerned that this might be making things worse. My goal is to STOP the hairloss.

I think that Propecia causes less shedding than Minoxidil, as I have been taking Propecia since the 15th of Nov. I just started with Minoxidil a month ago and that seems to be when the major shedding started.

I am thinking about calling it quits, as I now seem to have less hair than when I started, but maybe I should just continue to ride it out and hope for the famed "turnaround" at 6-8 months.

 

[combforward]

I don't believe finasteride causes more shedding than minoxidil. Why? Because I started finasteride 5 days before you did and I was on minoxidil 5% for just over a year at that point. I hadn't really noticed a major shed w/ minoxidil compared to the one I'm experiencing now with finasteride (which started about 2 months in). I also believe this is a major shed as my hairline is also noticably thinner. Its not clear how long sheds last... I think it depends on each person. And yeah, it fuggin sucks big time. In fact, I just bought a Hairmax Laser Comb out of desperation. I'm gonna give finasteride a year and if that doesn't work, its time to stock up on the Mach IIIs.

But here's to hoping for a miraculous turnaround in June!

BTW, I think it'd be cool if the two of us posted updates (at least once a month) to this thread to monitor each others progress. What do you think?

 

[be001g]

Sounds like a good idea. I am going to start taking pictures so that I have an objective point of reference. I think that could be a good idea, as I have conflicting subjective self-assessments of my situation. Pictures are at least a bit more objective.

So tell me more about the laser comb. I heard good stuff about it, but it seems kind of, well, odd. But, hey, if it works - what the hell. It is kind of price intensive, especially if it does not work. That would suck. Let me know first hand what you thought of the device. I heard that it has been approved as a medical device to combat hair loss in Canada and Australia. I am not sure, yet. It's a lot to invest at the get go.

By the way... it seems that finasteride does cause shedding – HOWEVER, most people say that all of the hairs come back "stronger than before". The hairs that are currently being debilitated from DHT go into the resting stage and then go into the growing phase less affected by DHT. The process can be thought of as the reverse of miniaturization, so it is possible that several cycles of shedding need to occur before the hairs are able to be "normalized", meaning having a normal growing phase of circa 5 years. This is basically a brief synopsis of the info I have been able to glean from loads of info on the web and also posts. How much of it is really true, or true for you or me, is anyone's guess.

The one constant here seems to be that everyone is affected by hair loss differently and also responds (or fails to respond) to given treatments to a different degree.

I've basically resigned myself to waiting for hair cloning to be a reality and then just have my head reseeded for my hairline when I was 21. I'm only 26, so that is not unreasonable. In the meantime, I am going to do what I can to stop this disease. One thing I won't consider is a hair transplant - it leaves a nasty scar on the back of your head, so that shaving your head will make it look like you had brain surgery.

 

[mvpsoft]

So tell me more about the laser comb. I heard good stuff about it, but it seems kind of, well, odd. But, hey, if it works - what the hell. It is kind of price intensive, especially if it does not work. That would suck. Let me know first hand what you thought of the device. I heard that it has been approved as a medical device to combat hair loss in Canada and Australia. I am not sure, yet. It's a lot to invest at the get go.

It was developed in Australia, I believe, and I think it is approved to combat hair loss in Canada and Singapore, and for hair thickening in the US. At $650 or so, it's not cheap, but it's a once-and-done purchase, not every month, like all the topicals and pills. It takes about 15 minutes to use three times a week for the first month, then you can go to twice a week if you want.

It's boring to use, as you move it about a half an inch, hold for four seconds, then move it again, hold, etc. For me, it makes my hair look a lot better. I have experienced significant regrowth, but I'm using lots of stuff, so I don't think I can attribute it to the Lasercomb. Since it's FDA approved for thickening, at least it's likely to give better scalp coverage, especially for diffuse thinners.

When I first heard of it I was very skeptical -- how can light grow hair? -- but the evidence for it is interesting if not completely compelling yet.

 

[be001g]

Please let me know about the Lasercomb results. I want to know if it really works before I pay the big bucks.

 

[combforward]

I just got my laser comb and have applied one treatment thus far. I'll keep ya updated, I'm sure :lol: wish me luck!

 

[mvpsoft]

The only thing I can attribute to the Lasercomb for sure is that my hair looks a lot better now than before I was using it. I have had significant regrowth, but I'm also using 5% minoxidil, Folligen, dutasteride, and Nizoral, so I can't attribute the regrowth to any one treatement. But the improvement in the looks of my hair was pretty dramatic once I started using the Lasercomb.

 

[combforward]

well i'm one week into the laser comb and i've got back my minoxidil to 1 application a day, mainly because it gets in the way of styling my hair each morning. I'm still shedding like a mofo, and the majority of the hairs I lose appear to be new hairs... as in the tip starts off really thin and becomes thicker near the root. Is that a good sign? Does that mean I'm actually growing *new* hair? I haven't gotten very many hair cuts this past year, so that might explain why they all have thin tips but I'm worried that I should be stickin to minoxidil twice a day. Thoughts?

 

[be001g]

No thoughts. But, I am considering minoxidil once a day. Styling is just a pain with minoxidil in the picture. I am unsure whether it will go well.