My story - already on fin & minox

[Vesemir]

Hi all! I really want to share my story with you and ask for feadback. I'm a 22 yo male who has been suffering from hairloss since I was 19 yo. Currently I'm using 3 products trying to minimize/stop hairloss and maybe get some regrowth. I'm reading all those wonderful stories about these products online, but it doesn't seem to work for me quite as well.

Minoxidil, 2 times a day 1ml

I've been using minoxidil since February 2016. I had a 3 weeks break though (1 juli - 22 Juli, I know it was a stupid thing to do and I won't do it again.)

Finasteride, 1,25mg a day

Since June 1st I'm using Fin. So far no sides, but no results either.

Ketoconazole, 5 times a week

I've been using Regenepure DR as my shampoo for almost 2 years now. It feels great, it gets rid of the itchy feeling.


I started taking pictures of my hair back in May. By then I was already using minoxidil for about 2 months.

May 2nd. Below your see my hair going from wet to dry.


June 5th. Below you see my hair a month later with a little bit of Minox in it.


August 5th. Below you see my hair 2 months later, combed upwards


At the moment I feel like my hair is in such a bad state, even though I have been using Minox for 5 months (with a 3 weeks break) and Fin for 2 months. My scalp is pretty itchy, like 15 - 40 zits a day. It also seems like the itching increased a bit since I've been taking Fin, especially on my right temple.
When I comb/wash/apply gel I'm just devastated by all the nice hair that is coming loose. Everytime I run my hand(s) through my hair there's between 3 - 10 hairs falling out everytime. This isn't normal hairloss, so my dermatologist prescribed Fin to me because of it.

I'm interested in what you guys have to say. Is this the thing they're calling a shedding phase? Does the itching go hand in hand with that? Just share your thoughts, all opinions are welcome.

[Vesemir]

Anyone?

[hanginginthewire]

Don't really see much change in your hair. Perhaps the routine your doing has halted your loss?

[sblindi]

Hi, well the images are not very well comparable since in the first two you don't show the crown area.

Personally when I started minoxidil I was already shedding a lot so I didn't notice any extra-shedding. Anyway many people say that the shedding phase is a good sign because it means that the minoxidil is making effect, so in some sense you should be happy about that!

Anyway just 5 months shouldn't be enough to see any difference so just go on for at least another year before drawing any conclusion. Your hair situation doesn't look that bad at all so I think that at least you should manage to maintain the hairs that you have now.

Good luck!

[Vesemir]

Thank you both for your reply. I'll stick with this regimen for now and hope for improvement in the next year.

[Vesemir]

Took a picture of my hair today after I washed it. It's just like the picture of my hair being wet I took May 2nd. You can clearly see it has gone down hill since then....

[Gman3200]

Even though we are very different ages ( I am 39 ) we have very similar loss and my hair color is almost identical. I have been on fin for 4 months and things just started to slow down. Last month was very bad for me with a lot of itching and every time I would run my hand through my hair 3-5 strands would come off. The beginning of the 4th month the itching has stopped 90 percent and the loss has slowed also. Hopefully this gives you some hope. I will keep you updated on my progress.

[Gman3200]

And yes I believe that the itching goes along with the loss - mine didn't kick in until i started fin so for me I think it came along with the shedding.

[Vesemir]

Even though we are very different ages ( I am 39 ) we have very similar loss and my hair color is almost identical. I have been on fin for 4 months and things just started to slow down. Last month was very bad for me with a lot of itching and every time I would run my hand through my hair 3-5 strands would come off. The beginning of the 4th month the itching has stopped 90 percent and the loss has slowed also. Hopefully this gives you some hope. I will keep you updated on my progress.

It does give me some hope, thanks. The funny thing is that since I opened this thread the itching has decreased with like 60%. (I'm 2,5 months on fin now) And although I still see quite some hair loss, my mindset is a little bit more positive right now.
Dealing with hair loss remains an emotional roller-coaster for me though.