should i start taking rogaine?

[mtntl]

hey, first of all i would like to say that english isnt my first langauge so im sorry for any misunderstanding.

okey so for me i noticed that my hair line is receeded i think around 6 months ago (i hit 20 in decemeber), and now i think im a norwood 2 or so , im guessing it was receeding before that because when i look at older photos my hairline does seem a bit different and also i can see some left overs of thining hair (can only be seen when looking very closely) of what i think was my old hairline.

so around 3 months ago i went to derm after reading a lot online and decided to start on porpecia and to not try out rogaine for starters.

in the first month and a half or so i didnt really see any major difference or effect on my shedding i wasnt shedding a ton but im pretty self aware and i knew somthings up with my hairline (im actually quite angry at myself that i didnt notice it sooner), after the month and a half of no change i began seeing an increase in shedding (freaked out at first but then read online that thats okey and is actually sometimes a sign that the drug is working) and now after 3 months i think my shedding has decreased. when i brush my hair for 2 minutes or so only a few hairs come out (maybe 6-7) (granted i do not have long hair but still) and when i shampoo it i dont see a large amount of hair on my hands either when checking my hands carefully i can see maybe 3-4 hairs, pillow case same deal maybe 2-4 hairs sometimes even less.

so now as it seems the drug is working i decided to wonder online and do some more reading and found out that alot of places online say that propecia isnt really effective on stoping hairloss from a receeding hairlines or the temples or whatever you want to call it and rogaine actually does a better job at that, and so i really freaked out, im starting to think that maybe it was just wishful thinking and nothing improved in terms of shedding. so my question to you guys is should i start taking rogaine, and is it possible that the propecia did help me and slowed my shedding or stopped it?

i know that rogaine also has an intial shedding phase and im really scared that if that starts ill really start doubt the effectivness of the propecia and it might also make it impossible to review my progress and take note and actually know if the propecia is helping.

another question i have is how do you actually use rogaine ( i mean like a more detailed explanation other then put it where the hair is thining and then wash it off)

i just really want try and keep the hair i have now or at least slow the recssesion signficantly so in the future a transplant will be a viable option.

(i dont know if it actually matters for anything but my temples are also uneven one is more receeded then the other)

also i didnt really feel like the derm i was at took me seriously she didnt check the hairs that are close to the start of the hairline (where there are the left overs i talked about earlier) and mostly looked from her chair on the other side of the table and then she explained a bit about propecia and rogaine told me that the drugs are better for the crown and then perscribed propecia and sent me home, ever since then im tracking the condition alone taking pictures and comparing them but i would really like to find a doctor that i could visit more often and maybe would also help me keep track of it, is this kind of thing actually possible?