Rogaine and the hairline- Yay or Nay?

Also, I was wondering if it was normal not to have a slowing down of hair loss at or during the 4 month mark of being on Propecia? Is this a sign that maybe the medicine won't work for me?

I'm kinda in the same boat. Been on propecia about 4.5 months, no noticeable results yet.

I THINK I notice a slowing of hairloss and some hairs around my hairline coming in a bit stronger, but it is so hard to have an objective view-point as the 1st person in this scenario. Really hard to tell if it is just wishful thinking or actual progress.

Regardless, we have to give it a while yet to really make a decision..............4 months isn't enough to see the full effects (if any happen). Best of luck to you man, god knows I need it too =D.

Kobren always says on his show that he thinks it’s best to to see how things go with one drug before starting another. I kind of agree with that philosophy since you don’t want to be stuck on both without knowing which works or if both are really helping. It took a while for me to see results with Propecia, but it certainly worked for me and continues to. It worked in the hair line for me also. You just have to be patient, I know it’s hard to be.

It is very hard to see results with either Propecia or Rogaine. They are used to prevent further hair loss. Having any reversal of the miniaturized hairs or waking up of the slleeping hairs is a bonus. Not noticing any additional thinning would indicate the medication is working. I generally tell my patients that they need to take Propecia for 9-12 months to give it a fair chance to work. I do recommend sticking with the Propecia for a while before you consider adding Rogaine to your regimen.

Dr. Charles, and Zao,

Thanks for your advice.. I think I'm going to wait it out for at least a full year before I try adding Rogaine to the mix.

Ragckr,

Let me know how things go with you, and I will do the same. Best of luck to you as well!

I too agree with the advice of the others. I have recession of the hairline and diffusion on the central (top) region as well. I have been on Propecia for about a year and a half now. I added Rogaine into the mix about two months ago and have not noticed any shedding due to shock. The Propecia alone seemed to have halted almost all hair loss within 4-5 months after taking it, and friends actually tell me that I've gotten back some of the hair on the top of my head. I wish I could say the same about the hairline. We'll see what happens with this new brew. I'm anticipating that technology will advance rapidly and help us out more effectively in the regrowth process without having to go under the knife in the near future. Sounds like quasi-stem cells may be the trick. Sounds good to me. My two cents for what it's worth.

Yeah man, I will. I started April 9th, so what am I at as of posting this...................... almost five months? I trying to remain hopeful, but I think I just keep noticing more hair in my sink anyways.

I heard that was a good indication that it is working, but honestly, I just don't know. The last thing I want to provide myself is false hope and wishful thinking hahaha. Regardless, I plan on sticking to it for about a year and a half, if all I manage to do is retain and not regrow, I'm just not interested. If that ends up being the case, I will most likely just stop the meds and shave my head.

For the mean time, something that helps if you have a somewhat decent amount of hair (I do, but it still kinda looks crappy to me), is dermmatch. Everytime I am required to go out somewhere without my hat (funeral, wedding, etc) this stuff is a god-send. Hell, even some days I just don't feel like throwing the old hat on and I just throw on some dermmatch. The stuff really does a great job of making my hair look full, I've had great results with it.

Despite ALL of that, like I said earlier, if I don't get regrowth on the Propecia, I'll just shave my head. The dermmatch is nice and all, but I really don't want to have to rub that stuff on my head everytime I want to go out for the rest of my life.............my feelings are the same towards Rogaine. It just isn't worth it to me. A pill everyday? Now that I can do, so I have been religiously taking my propecia.

Again, good luck with the quest man. If you are interested, I think the website for the dermmatch is dermmatch.com or net or something. You can probably google it and find out more if you want, just trying share something that has worked pretty well for me while I wait to see what Propecia ends up doing.

You know I’ve been living with hair loss for more than ten years now and before I came to these boards I didn't even consider taking Propecia based on concerns over side effects and I thought it was too late for me. After reading a lot here I decided to give it a try.
These are my impressions:

1.I had zero side effects.
2.It has made the back and sides of my hair much thicker
3.The hair that I have left on the top and in my hairline is thicker and grows longer.

I began taking Propecia in January and overall I believe it has made a big difference in my hair and in my general appearance.

I think you have the right attitude when it comes to giving Propecia a try. If it doesn't work out it’s good that you’re comfortable enough to shave your head. I use dermatch now too and it works wonders!