Collecting RU-58841 pictures!

[champpy]

Can anyone tell me if there is a better vehicle than the ethanol/PG mixture? Is it certain that the ethanol/PG will actually penetrate the scalp?

Im asking because im now into my second week of using RU with this vehicle and my hair loss seems to be at the same rate as it was prior to starting. I was expecting at least a slight slow down by this point (maybe im overly optimistic) but it really seems like nothing positive is happening.

Is the KB stuff from Kane a better option maybe?
While im talking about this, does anyone here think that using Minox only once a day is a reason im constantly shedding?

[RU58841]

How much are you shedding? I wish I could tell you about the vehicles but I've only ever used Neogenic and KB solution. Sucks to pay for KB because it's basically more expensive than the RU itself at this rate, but on the other hand I'm afraid to introduce more variables (mixing a vehicle).

Any side effects or feeling anything at all?

While im talking about this, does anyone here think that using Minox only once a day is a reason im constantly shedding?

Probably not? I've been using it once every other day lately and don't see a difference in shedding.

[champpy]

Hey RU58841. Good Lord KB is that expensive?? No I don't think ive seen any side effects. Im also on Fin everyday, and I take a Dut pill once or twice a week, so ive def had lower sex drive, watery semen, all the normal stuff, but not an increase since ive started RU. I really only count the hairs while im over the sink, but in that short period of drying my hair I count 30+ then. That's not counting during the shower, or sleeping or anything else. To me, 30+ hairs coming out in 2 min is a lot. Its been that way since December.

I asked about the minox once a day cause it was around that time I switched to once a day and I want to say that's when the shedding increased. Damn with all the stuff im on its amazing nothing is helping

[RU58841]

Wow, fin, dut and RU and you're still getting worse? "it's amazing that nothing is helping" is right...I'm really sorry hear that, man. But in that case, why not just use Dut every day?

As far as shedding the 30 hairs, that's about what mine is, usually a bit more, during the entire shampooing/rinsing/drying/combing. Are you only worried about the shedding or are your pictures actually showing your hair getting worse?

[champpy]

yeah im a nonresponder to everything I guess.
I tried using Dut everyday for about 2-3 months....same freaking thing. just shedding, no stabilization. The ONLY thing that ever stopped my shedding was indomethacin, but that irritated my scalp beyond belief.

Its the shedding im worried about, today I counted nearly 50 in the sink. It can personally tell its thinner too, pics probably wouldn't show the difference but I can just tell its thinning out more each week.

[RU58841]

Hey champpy, I was just applying my RU and I thought of you (how romantic! <3 )

I was thinking about the issue of user error for a topical like this, which is much greater than putting a pill in your mouth and swallowing it.

I wanted to list all the details of the ritual I go through just in case...

1. I keep my RU in a little metal capsule in the freezer. Recent batches of RU I got from Kane come with a sheet that says it doesn't have to be kept in the freezer anymore, but just in case.
2. I shampoo every day (nothing special on the non-Nizoral days) to clean my scalp. I'll apply the RU sometime like an hour or so after the shower when my hair and scalp are dry but it's not full of sebum yet.
3. I mix the RU before applying it every time. Once, when I was away for a week and had to premix it, my libido got a lot stronger for a few days until I came back home to mixing it fresh again. I don't know if that was a coincidence or what, but it's something I've been meaning to test.
4. The sheet from Kane also says that it's sensitive to light, so I shake out 50mg or so into the scale, dump that into a dark little bottle, close the RU capsule, put it right back in the freezer.
5. I add 1ml of KB solution, close that bottle, and shake the hell out of it so it's completely dissolved and I can't see any grains of RU in the solution.
6. I use a glass dropper from ebay which makes a huge difference compared to the unwieldy Minoxidil plastic dropper; this glass dropper makes 1ml seem like 2. When I first started using this stuff with the plastic dropper I was like, "There's no way I'll ever be able to cover even just my hairline with only 1ml" but the glass dropper makes it possible. If the concentration of the solution does in fact matter, this is important.
7. I apply only 3-5 drops to my scalp at a time, then rub it in. It dries quickly. Then I press my fingers against the scalp where I applied it and apply some pressure for a few seconds (this was recommended in the manual for Neogenic, which also dries quickly)
8. Repeat until the 1ml is done. This is only going on and slightly behind my hairline.

Maybe you already knew and do all that stuff, but I wanted to list it just in case. I really have no idea if any of it is critical, but maybe something seemingly insignificant makes a difference.

Beyond that, what norwood are you at now? For whatever reason, a lot of people report finasteride and dutasteride not working as well on the hairline. Don't know how much truth there is to it, but it's something to think about.

Also, most people wouldn't even let you get away with evaluating results on finasteride or dutasteride after just a few months, they say you have to stick with it for a year before you even consider judging it. You say every WEEK you can tell it's thinner? I don't wanna say you're obsessing, but I think you might be obsessing. I don't need to look at your pictures, but I'm wondering if you're taking them at all; somebody on one of these forums once said to take high-quality pictures because your eyes will lie to you, your memory will lie to you, your haircut and length and the humidity that day will lie to you, and it's really true: I can't tell you how many times I got scared because I thought for sure my hairline had gotten worse at some specific point only to go back and look at the pictures and realize it was always like that. Some people also go through seasonal sheds of some kind, plus, I mean, you're gonna shed SOME hair every day; it's not all falling out due to miniaturization.

[champpy]

Dang RU58841, you romantic bast@rd, that was awesome, thanks for those instructions! I think on my next order I am going to get the KB solution too, so that really really helps a lot.

Im currently mixing enough for only two days worth of applications. I keep the RU powder in the freezer too, but I have it in 3 ziplock baggies. I think I should look into getting a metal container though.

So your saying the KB solution dries pretty fast too? I know the ethanol mixture does for sure.

Ive been on Fin for about 4 years total, the first two years I think it was working ok, but then I started to see the bald spots getting bigger. I started Dut last spring, but it did nothing, I repeat nothing, to help at all, so I cut back on its usage. And yeah, I may be obsessing some. The reason I say I think its getting worse by the week is its definitely taking me longer and longer to comb over and cover up the thinning areas. 6-7 months ago I could do it in just a few min. Now im taking at least 10-15 min to get my hair looking ok. Back around December if I wanted to I could make my hair fluff up w a little mouse and it just looked full and thick, even though it really wasn't. Now, I cant get that look no matter how hard I try.

Ill take some of your RU tips and keep trying this stuff.
Last thing, did your RU have a slight scent to it as well? Almost like chlorine?

[champpy]

Oh I forgot this part. here this should make you all laugh
Here is the list of things ive tried since 2013... get ready
Fin since 2013,
Indometacin
Minox since 2013,
Dut since spring of 2014,
Neogenic in late spring-Summer of 2014
Bimitoprost (latisse) from November 14 till March 15
PRP ACELL treatment in January 2015
RU starting in May 2015

If that's not the kitchen sink approach I don't know what is
PS. the major major shedding has occurred after my PRP ACELL treatment. Take that for what your will

[RU58841]

Damn. I really do hope things work out for you. Don't give up, the solution is out there. I suppose there's still OC/Setipiprant and HTs. Also maybe a stupid question but you don't have alopecia areata (AA) do you? I can't believe that dutasteride wasn't helping at all, that's intense.

To answer your questions: Yeah, KB dries fast, and yeah, the RU does smell like chlorine or something.

Did you have any good results from the PRP after the shedding?

[champpy]

Hahaha yeah, DUT every day did nothing for me at all.

For about 2 weeks my shedding really slowed down after PRP, then blammo, its been on overdrive ever since. I was saying I thought the one a day minox might have been to blame, but I did the PRP around the same time and that's when it really got bad. No density or regrowth that I can tell at all after the PRP. Such a huge waste of money.