Dermarolling Community Trial

[Pentarou]

Are you having any noticeable results from rolling, Chromeo? Only vellus hair for me.

I'm the same with rolling, seeing too many positive accounts (some with photos) to discredit it, and I'm prepared to do it for a while yet, but there's something 'off' with how far off the relatively limited personal results in the community are from those of the original study.

[Chromeo]

I'm having lots of short black hairs coming through all over my scalp. They are not as long as my other hairs but they are starting to come though, black and quite thick. I'm hopeful that if this continues I could have a pretty decent result, although I am probably years away from a full recovery, if that is even possible.

I also have my concerns regarding the study, it has bothered me from the start. Firstly they were misleading about the severity of the rolling, then they were misleading about the time-frame between the "before" and "after" pictures. I'm not sure if those were just genuine mistakes or something more dubious.

To be honest, as time goes on I've been relying more on the word and results photographs of other forum users rather than the study. Perhaps this too is folly on my part. Only time will tell!

For the time being, I am satisfied that I'm seeing changes and will be sticking with this treatment for the foreseeable.

[Hicks]

I DR to break up fibrosis and increase blood circulation. Figure scar tissue could of been there sense I started losing hair 7 years ago. Scar tissue is tough. However I could be completely wrong but that's why I'm rolling and using a massage ball to break up and soften scar tissue. I'll keep doing my routine till June.

[chimera]

I'm having lots of short black hairs coming through all over my scalp. They are not as long as my other hairs but they are starting to come though, black and quite thick. I'm hopeful that if this continues I could have a pretty decent result, although I am probably years away from a full recovery, if that is even possible.
.

I'm just the same. And while I'm completely disappointed with the original study... well, what the hell, those new tiny little hairs have make me decide to stick with this untill 2015...

[PinotQ]

I'm having lots of short black hairs coming through all over my scalp. They are not as long as my other hairs but they are starting to come though, black and quite thick. I'm hopeful that if this continues I could have a pretty decent result, although I am probably years away from a full recovery, if that is even possible.

I also have my concerns regarding the study, it has bothered me from the start. Firstly they were misleading about the severity of the rolling, then they were misleading about the time-frame between the "before" and "after" pictures. I'm not sure if those were just genuine mistakes or something more dubious.

To be honest, as time goes on I've been relying more on the word and results photographs of other forum users rather than the study. Perhaps this too is folly on my part. Only time will tell!

For the time being, I am satisfied that I'm seeing changes and will be sticking with this treatment for the foreseeable.

I have completed 12 solid weeks of hard rolling and am now taking a break. I too have concerns about the study although I don't see the motivation for fraud b/c they aren't selling anything unless they are somehow sponsored by the dermaroller manufacturing industry which I highly doubt. For now, I choose to chalk much of the apparent inconsistency up to language and the level of professionalism in which the study was documented and written. Here is my experience: 1) I have had acell/prp and I was told I would see nothing for at least 4 months. I saw absolutely nothing for 4 months and then benefits started to appear....so I know this takes time. 2) Evaluating the benefits of a treatment is extremely difficult given the natural day to day fluctuation in the cosmetic appearance of hair and the slow and gradual pace of regression or improvement. For example, from week 1 of DR, my hair immediately looked thicker. Not sure if that is due to increased blood flow to the scalp or what but this effect could be nothing other than cosmetic given how immediate it was and how it seemed to recur after each session. 3) I believe the hairs I have look stronger and thicker than when I started DR but I believe I have fewer hairs. I do not count hairs each day and I am not saying DR has accelerated my hair loss. And this is not necessarily a bad thing but I do believe there is a possibility that DR has caused an unnoticeable shed and/or shock loss which would be consistent with positive benefits that have been set in motion. (I also went back to twice daily applications of minox at about the 6 week mark so this too could account for increased shedding.) 4) I believe there is no harm in taking a break for up to 6 months if need be in order allow any benefits to take effect and eliminate scalp trauma that could mask at least some of the benefits if in fact they exist. Given my experience with acell/prp, and assuming the study pics were in deed at the 8 month mark, if I will receive benefits from my 12 weeks of work they have already been set in motion and will not regress for at least another 6 months. 5) I believe I can see a slight visible improvement at the crown (my worst area). I can see many new hairs that have consistently been appearing for weeks now at and just behind the hair line. They are 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length but there is no way for me to tell yet whether they are hairs coming in stronger due to DR or hairs coming in weaker as part of natural regression. I will say that I have not noticed these types of "new" hairs in the past. I have also seemed to notice more vellus hair but that may just be because I am looking more closely.

So for me the jury is still out and I have guarded optimism. If all DR did was maintain, I would consider it a very powerful new weapon in the fight against hairloss as we continue to wait for the game changer.

[ryan555]

Question - if you guys are penetrating the scalp to the point of drawing blood, aren't you as susceptible to shock loss as from having a hair transplant? I have been dermarolling for about four weeks and it seems like my hairline has thinned out a little. Not sure it's related, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[PinotQ]

It is certainly possible. I don't think any of us know for sure but if the study is legitimate, this is part of the process and we should recover. I know when I had acell/prp, the doctor rolled extremely hard and ultimately there was a benefit..........of course, this was a 1 time roll as opposed to every week. This is why I am giving my scalp a rest after 12 weeks until I see what happens. I don't see much of a down side until I can get a better assessment.

[saintsfan92344]

Question - if you guys are penetrating the scalp to the point of drawing blood, aren't you as susceptible to shock loss as from having a hair transplant? I have been dermarolling for about four weeks and it seems like my hairline has thinned out a little. Not sure it's related, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

I think it is likely, this is what I posted earlier

"my take on rolling is I am doing the 12 weeks, then going monthly or 6 weeks, my reasoning is I get a decent shed 4 days after rolling due to what I believe is shockloss, during rolling I cut/pull so many hairs it is very noticeable when I finish so I need a chance for my hair to basically catch up to see if anything is happening. I have 4 more weeks to go"

[PinotQ]

Do you use the 192 needle roller? I started with the 542 needle roller and it did exactly what you are describing. But I switched to a 192 needle roller and have had no problems.

[saintsfan92344]

Do you use the 192 needle roller? I started with the 542 needle roller and it did exactly what you are describing. But I switched to a 192 needle roller and have had no problems.

192 needle

[carlsagan]

betadine?

The study says participants were prepared with betadine and saline before the dermarolling process.

However, it seems like everyone is talking about the pain they are going through, so it doesn't seem like many are using betadine.

Is there a reason for this? Have people been more/less successful when using betadine?

[chimera]

Betadine is used just to prevent infection. It won't do anything againts the pain. And since there are cheaper and easier to get anti-bacterial agents, most people just bother with betadine. You can just get some alcohol and that's it...

[saintsfan92344]

Betadine is used just to prevent infection. It won't do anything againts the pain. And since there are cheaper and easier to get anti-bacterial agents, most people just bother with betadine. You can just get some alcohol and that's it...

as far as pain, I use burn cream, put a heavy coat 1/2 hour before rolling, take a shower and wash it out, and clean my scalp with alcohol along with the roller, takes the pain down 30-50%, still hurts a little

[carlsagan]

as far as pain, I use burn cream, put a heavy coat 1/2 hour before rolling, take a shower and wash it out, and clean my scalp with alcohol along with the roller, takes the pain down 30-50%, still hurts a little

So they didn't use a numbing agent in the trials?

My hunch is it doesn't matter, but have people who are using numbing creams been more/less successful with regrowth?

[nliyan25]

RU+Dermarolling

Is it safe to use both Dermarolling and RU?