4 years of preventing hair loss since the age of 16

[Plan C]

Hi all,

I’ve been a member of this forum for a while now and have been offered advice on a range of different topics. I have been battling hair loss since the age of 16 and, having recently turned 20, thought it was time to share my experiences so far.

My dad had always said that I would begin to lose my hair at 16 and that most of it would be gone by 21. Sure enough, at 16, I felt my temples begin to slowly recede. I consulted a London-based hair loss clinic, who gave me minoxidil in liquid form, a laser comb and a number of scalp massages. I applied the minoxidil once a day and never used the comb. At the time, this was enough to stop my hair loss.

At 17, I realised that Regaine was available for a fraction of the price that the hair loss clinic was charging. I began to use Regaine in liquid form and continued to maintain my hairline by applying it once a day in the evening.

At 19, I began my second-year at university. Around this time, I switched from using Regaine in liquid form once a day to using the foam twice a day as it was more convenient.

7 months ago, it became clear that my hair loss was getting more aggressive. Regaine alone was no longer sufficient to prevent the balding process. Having consulted Spex and a number of different hair loss forums, I purchased a year’s supply of Proscar from Dr.Singh in the UK. I began to take 1.25mg a day. I suffered a shed immediately. I also suffered a shed during month 6. However, I have never experienced any sexual side effects. At the same time, I also began to use Revita shampoo daily.

To summarise, up until very recently, my regime was:
Revita Shampoo daily
Regaine foam twice daily
1.25mg Proscar (finasteride) daily

Throughout the course of the last 7 months, I was convinced that my hairline was continuing to recede, albeit fairly slowly. 7 months ago, I wasn’t even on the Norwood scale. Now, I am an NW1 (see pictures).

A number of people implored me to give Proscar more time to work, arguing that many people don’t see results until 12 months or even 18 months. I couldn’t help thinking “so my hairline is going to magically restore itself at the 12 or 18 month mark? I think not”. I also reasoned that, since my father had warned to expect significant hair loss by the age of 21, my balding might be too aggressive to be suppressed by finasteride.

With this in mind, a few weeks ago, I purchased a month’s supply of Avodart (dutasteride). I began to take it on Mondays and Thursdays, taking Proscar on the remaining 5 days. To date, I have taken Avodart 5 times. The first 4 times, I experienced sexual side effects. However, I took it for the fifth time last night and today, the side effects are non-existent. Each time I will usually shed a little during the next day. I also tend to sleep deeper.

At the same time, I also began to use 50mg of RU in 1ml of KB solution on my hairline, once daily.

You can see in my pictures that my right temple is more receded than my left. This is perhaps because I have always pushed my fringe from right to left. I recently switched the direction of my fringe because the right side was in a bad way. I am desperately keen to prevent the left side from receding too much. I constantly ponder my dad’s warnings that most of hair will be gone by the age of 21. If this is the case, my hair loss must already be fairly aggressive. It is only going to get worse.

I am considering using dutasteride every day, rather than finasteride, since the side effects I was initially suffering from have recently disappeared (as mentioned). I am also considering using 75mg of RU in 1.5ml of KB solution on my hairline as 1ml doesn’t seem to cover it very well.

My main issue is that I am constantly being reminded that finasteride needs more time to work, yet I may only have a decent head of hair for 1 more year. Should I be patient, or should I take further preventative measures?

Some people may complain that I have a fair amount of hair at the moment and that I shouldn’t be fussing over treatments. However, all of the males in my family are bald and it surely better to catch it at this stage than when it has fully taken hold.

Apologies for not providing any pictures of my hairline before the present day but I foolishly didn't take any.

Pictures below:

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1401818349

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7e0a6d9c.jpg

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1401818368

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1401818355

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1401818360