33 Year old male trying to figure what options are available to deal with Hair Loss?

[Andrew R]

Hello People,
How is everyone doing today? I hope all is good. I am a 33 year old male, I have been losing my hair, for around 2 years which has seriously affected me, my personal image. I would not have ever thought I would have such a hang up about losing my hair until I began to do so. I really am wondering if you people could advise me on the best non surgical route to take, are Propecia or Minoxidil worth taking? what are the pros and cons of each? are there any othere non surgical options available besides these two? Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time out to read the thread, I appreciate it and any advice you may have to offer. Thanks in advance.

[USP678]

shaving it off...do not go done the road of the hair transplant industry...even the best FUE will leave you several scared...the hair transplant industry will never emphasize the donor area and how scared it will be to get you just to thin look. If you look at before and after pictures of people that have had large bald areas and transplants you will find one thing in common...photo manipulation of the lighting - you can even try this yourself by going under light to show your thin scalp and then back away and you will notice that it does not look as thin.

[allTheGoodNamesAreTaken]

Propecia should be the default treatment before/along with anything else. One daily pill, inhibit the enzyme responsible for converting much of your testosterone to dihydrotestosterone --> stop or slow down loss, maybe sometimes regrow. Doesn't work for everyone, doesn't guarantee satisfying results if it does work, but that's the best bet in Jan 2016. Gives a minority of people side-effects such as lower libido, erectile dysfunction, growing breasts. Prescription required.

Minoxidil - a growth stimulant, again doesn't work for everyone, shouldn't be expected to give amazing results, has to be applied twice daily and it's a messy hassle in my opinion, far more than simply swallowing a pill. Also people complain about it having side effects such as aging of the face (although that's disputed). Non-prescription.

Both of these things you can possibly expect to shed hair when you start them and when you stop, you start losing hair again. They've been available for many years and the world still has loads of hairless men in it, so clearly these two things aren't very good. There are new chemicals being put through clinical trials now with apparent success, and there are more novel treatments being tested that involve actually finding ways to grow/rejuvenate damaged follicles via stem cells, growth factors etc. (two companies taking these approaches have recently stated they expect to release their treatment in about 2 years), and there are chemicals that you can buy from independent, unregulated online sellers (:s I know, right...) that seem to work for some people such as RU58841... but as things stand that's about it.

If you're gonna go the transplant route then I would really do your homework on it and find out who the really reputable ones out there are, because there are countless stories of transplants turning out badly.

[Andrew R]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

[Andrew R]

Thanks for the reply to both people on the thread, much appreciated and for taking the time to answer my question, I see, so you start losing hair when you start taking either, but this hair grows back, hmmm, I think based on your advice I will see about trying both Propecia and Minoxodil, have you any experience with either? if so did you find them to be beneficial? god damn, I hope they hurry up with those treatments, to grow and rejuvenate that would be my hairlines idea of Nirvana right about now,

[allTheGoodNamesAreTaken]

Thanks for the reply to both people on the thread, much appreciated and for taking the time to answer my question, I see, so you start losing hair when you start taking either, but this hair grows back, hmmm, I think based on your advice I will see about trying both Propecia and Minoxodil, have you any experience with either? if so did you find them to be beneficial? god damn, I hope they hurry up with those treatments, to grow and rejuvenate that would be my hairlines idea of Nirvana right about now,

I've taken propecia (and then upgraded to avodart which does the same thing but stronger) since I was 22. Almost 28 now and while I have lost hair since then, it has been slow, and based on looking at other male family members, I don't think I'd have any significant hair left up top now if I hadn't bothered.

Minoxidil I tried very briefly and quickly realised I couldn't be bothered with the twice-daily hassle. If you pick something, stick to it for a good while because it'll take time to work (hair follicles have long cycles of growing and resting).

[jamesst11]

I've taken propecia (and then upgraded to avodart which does the same thing but stronger) since I was 22. Almost 28 now and while I have lost hair since then, it has been slow, and based on looking at other male family members, I don't think I'd have any significant hair left up top now if I hadn't bothered.

Minoxidil I tried very briefly and quickly realised I couldn't be bothered with the twice-daily hassle. If you pick something, stick to it for a good while because it'll take time to work (hair follicles have long cycles of growing and resting).

Did you respond immediately to finasteride? How was your first year on it? I am at 10 months and have lost a LOT of ground.

[Andrew R]

Thank you for the response Rashid, it is much appreciated. Rashid, if you were me, and you were suffering from hair loss, what type of non surgical treatment would you advise taking? Also, if you were planning on having a hair transplant procedure, what qualifications/memberships would you want the potential surgeon to have? In other words, how would one go about vetting a surgeon based on their credentials?

[Andrew R]

Great source of information, I thought from what I had read that propecia was to stop hair loss altogether as opposed to just slowing down the process. I have never heard of avodart, I wonder if that is just a drug available in the US. Yes, I hear you, I have read about Monoxidil also, seems like hassle, I have also read about laser comb brushes, not sure if you have ever heard of those, it is hard to know what actually works and what does not as everyone is trying to sell something if you get my drift. Would you personally consider hair transplant surgery or are you going to wait until they have a cure? is that true about the 2 year time span for a cure?