The scalp inflammation/itchy/burning/tingling thread

[jamesst11]

Thanks Dench! Yo Ziggy, those are telogen hairs brother.. you more than likely have TE if most of the hairs you're losing have those bulbs. That's what 3 derms told me when I had it. That's also what a million articles say.

[jamesst11]

That being said... TE is self correcting, as I am sure you know. You remove the cause, and it resolves itself within 3-6 months and, especially in your case, most of the hair should return. A HAIR TRANSPLANT IS NOT A GOOD RESOLUTION FOR TE!!!!!!!!! haha... I will never get off your back about this bro.

[Not giving up]

Dench, something to look into is max strength Scalpacin, the forums back in the mid 2000's were raving about it but it faded because it's long term use is questionable is terms of sides from the ingredient that worked the magic.

Anyway, lots of people claimed it stopped the itch in it's tracks and that it even did a good job at regrowing hair.

Some argue that using it once a week instead of everyday was enough to stop burn and itch and avoid sides. Might be worth a shot bro.

[Dench57]

Dench, something to look into is max strength Scalpacin, the forums back in the mid 2000's were raving about it but it faded because it's long term use is questionable is terms of sides from the ingredient that worked the magic.

Anyway, lots of people claimed it stopped the itch in it's tracks and that it even did a good job at regrowing hair.

Some argue that using it once a week instead of everyday was enough to stop burn and itch and avoid sides. Might be worth a shot bro.

Thanks for the input man. Unfortunately I have tried Scalpicin max and it didn't help - I guess it's mainly meant for people with traditional inflammation like eczema, dermatitis, uticaris, psoriasis etc. Not this god damn mysterious, internal androgenic itch!

[Not giving up]

Ah sorry bud didn't realise. I've got the same itch and burn thing myself only mine can hit pretty much all over the scalp, mainly the crown.
Regenepure does help and I think Spiro cream has helped a bit too but not to the point where it's gone or hair loss has stopped.
Really frustrating there isn't more out there about this, really is just a constant reminder throughout the day that DHT is destroying your hair

[Ziggyz123]

Thanks Dench! Yo Ziggy, those are telogen hairs brother.. you more than likely have TE if most of the hairs you're losing have those bulbs. That's what 3 derms told me when I had it. That's also what a million articles say.

Yo James, telegenic hairs just have a white bulb on them. Mine have like a build of of either sebum or some fungus like Dench suggested. If I scrape that junk off it shows the white root bulb under neath it. And done worry dude, not transplanting until I figure out how to get rid of this bull sh**!

[Dench57]

Really frustrating there isn't more out there about this, really is just a constant reminder throughout the day that DHT is destroying your hair

This is the worst part, and I never had any MPB itch, scalp pain or aggressive hairloss whatsoever before I tried Propecia, so the regret is something I'm constantly dealing with too, knowing that I've brought this hell upon myself. Dealing with MPB this aggressive, with the constant physical and mental pain, really is life destroying and it makes me feel like it is an actual disease, where your body attacks perfectly healthy hair follicles.... not just some cosmetic vanity thing. Its so frustrating it isn't treated more seriously.

It's good that Spiro cream at least helps a bit for you, shows that it's working somewhat. Regenepure does help to calm my itch, at least for a few hours.

[Not giving up]

Ah man you're talking to a guy who knows about self inflicting hair loss. I never had any loss until I made the stupid decision to touch anabolic steroids a few months back. Within 4 weeks, as if over night, my hair flicked a switched, I can genuinely remember the day I woke up and literally overnight the hairs in my hairline were weak, thin and brittle, a huge shed has continued ever since. You'd think seeing as I stopped right away, thus lowering my DHT back to normal levels my hair could once handle before, that my hairloss would stop, but it hasn't, just carried on.
So yeah, I feel you man, knowing a choice you made has backfired makes it sucks even more, now I have the burn to forever remind me of my moronic mistake.
But hey, can't beat ourselves up right? You were trying to help your hair, I was trying to build a better physique, both of which are insecurities in the first place, yeah it's backfired but I promise you when you look back on life you would have regretted never knowing if fin could have saved your hair and not trying over having the balls to give it a shot and knowing you did all you could.

Plus the fight isn't over yet, we'll find the solution eventually.

[Dench57]

I'm sorry to hear that man, and though I wouldn't ever wish this shit on my worst enemy, its also strangely comforting to know somebody else has experienced self-inflicted balding. How long has it been since you stopped steroids? Are you sure it isn't telogen effluvium?

If this had happened naturally, like MPB is supposed to, I'd be able to handle it much better. Honestly I can't imagine many things worse... and being constantly reminded of it everyday makes it impossible to move on.

you would have regretted never knowing if fin could have saved your hair and not trying over having the balls to give it a shot and knowing you did all you could

Its really hard not to beat myself up, but even now I think "I was always going to try Fin", it was and still is the best treatment we have for MPB and I never could have known it was going to do this. I read the horror stories about "Propecia ****ed my hairline up", which in hindsight should've stopped me, but with the lack of clinical data for that, and the overwhelming data and support on these forums for Fin...I was never NOT going to try it. I do vividly remember the moment before I first took my pill, thinking "....maybe I shouldn't do this...nah I'm sure it'll be fine" haha. Stupid me. I am still thankful I never got serious, persistent sexual sides after quitting like the guys on propeciahelp though, so I guess thats something I can be grateful I've escaped.

Plus the fight isn't over yet, we'll find the solution eventually.

For me, the only solution I see is a hair transplant. Unless I can miraculously discover something to halt my hairloss now, and I've tried most things. I believe a safe treatment for maintaining is on the horizon, but regrowing slick bald areas won't be here for many, many years.

[jamesst11]

Ziggy, I am glad to hear man!! everything will sort itself out eventually... Have any of you tried derma rolling on the effected areas? I just got one, mostly out of curiosity and tried it, just a couple times. Somehow, it does make my scalp feel awesome, AND it takes away this pesky itch that has been occuring in my left temple... thoughts?

[Ziggyz123]

Ziggy, I am glad to hear man!! everything will sort itself out eventually... Have any of you tried derma rolling on the effected areas? I just got one, mostly out of curiosity and tried it, just a couple times. Somehow, it does make my scalp feel awesome, AND it takes away this pesky itch that has been occuring in my left temple... thoughts?

Hey James, I actually have a dermroller. I used to mess around with it when I used minoxidil, but never really kept it going. I think I was going to hard on my scalp. That makes sense though that it's taking your itch away because your probably stimulating better blood flow in that area. I think that's why minoxidil worked so well with me and why I had that itch in the first place. Probably had to do with dht hurting the blood supply. I'm seeing another derm that specializes in hairloss to figure out what's exactly happening and I might try and go on oral minox at 5mg. Not entirely sure yet, but I need to avoid irritation on my head. Did you get your roller off of amazon? Mine was like $7 off there lol might have be to thick of needles and why it was hurting me so much.

[Not giving up]

Yeah don't worry bud you're not alone.
It's been about 4 months since I stopped. At first I prayed for It to be TE and for a while I had a pretty decent case for it to be so, all the hairs I shed were thick and healthy with White bulbs on the end. But as time has gone on new hair has started to grow through and they look minaturized and the ones still being shed are frail, sometimes white towards the end with a tapering thickness from top to bottom. Sucks.
Even if the initial shed was TE, all it's done seemingly is speed up MPB.

That's very true bro you would have done it regardless. We all want to believe in a drug that is claimed to be so safe by so many. I for one have just about resisted the urge so far because I'm in a relationship and I think any form sexual sides would put a lot of strain on it, if I was single I probably would have already tried propecia.

On the almost-brightside you can be glad a hair transplant sounds like a viable option for you. If you only recede from the front with no crown loss then sounds like a HT would fix your problem forever.
I'm seemingly diffuse thinning, and potentially losing all over the top. On days I use regenepure, which leaves my hair a little flat and lifeless, hiding scalp can be troublesom. I'd say I'm still a Norwood 1 with a bit of crown loss (hidden the way I style my hair) but the density behind my hairline is destroyed, in bright lights or sunlight if I have my fringe up you can see the damage.
But yeah, sounds like you're the perfect candidate for a HT at least.

[Ziggyz123]

Hey not giving up, it usually takes about 6 months for acute TE to subside and miniaturized hair is often a good sign that you're recovering. Some people don't even see regrowth until after 6 months so keep monitoring it and try and either use minox or take a good b complex becUse upon reading about TE, one dermatologist stated that they treated TE with b6 shots.

[Not giving up]

Hey ziggy. Okay that's interesting wasn't aware of that. Does TE present itself with burning too? My hair loss Is mostly in terms of density as far as I can tell and I can achieve a fair few hairs if I gently pull on the sides or back, but the majority of loss is from on top.
Like I said I had pretty much ruled out TE due to the duration and the fact I started shedding minaturized hair along with healthy hair where as before it was mostly all healthy hair being shed.
I can only see within the hairline obviously but I've got a lot of small hairs growing through but I thought them being minaturized would indicate MPB?
All this hairloss m'lark is so confusing.

I didn't even have the itch and burn until after I used alpecin shampoo and lotion. It really burned when I used the energiser lotion, only used it for a few days when I first noticed the loss but ive had typical MPB burn and itch since (about 4 months ago.)

Oh, and before I end the essay (sorry about that btw) I've also noticed my eyebrows are pretty easy to pull out and fall out of their own accord.They itch too sometimes.

Minox might be the answer if it continues but it's for life obviously, so I'm holding before making that commitment until I know for sure this won't correct itself.

[mic28]

Hey guys,

Just a bit of an update on my situation. I have maintained finasteride at 1.25mg every second day for 2 weeks after using it every day for a year and getting nothing but shedding and diffuse loss. I am now starting to get a few pimples on my face and neck in keeping with acne. Wondering where to go next. Want to stop finasteride completely and maybe start up again later but afraid I might get a large amount of loss. Can't really lose much more as I'm pretty diffuse at the moment.
Should be starting my 1mg oral minoxidil in the next few days so that might give me hope for re growth. It's a low dose but dermatologist reckons due to potential heart problems she doesn't want to go any higher yet.