My experiences/thoughts so far during my hairloss journey

[KeepTheHair]

As a premise I would just like to say: I am unsure of anything I use except the big 3.


BUT I do believe they do have some benefits and that is why I use them. I don't know how beneficial MSM is. I THINK it made my hair grow faster, but I can't be sure. I found this posted by another user on another forum


Authors: Floersheim GL.

Institution: Dermatologie FMH, Rennweg 15,CH-4052 Basel; Switzerland.

Title: "An examination of the effect of biotin on alopecia and hair quality."

Source: Zeitschrift fur Hautkrankheiten. Vol 67(3) (pp 246-252+255), 1992.

Abstract: "The effect of a daily oral dose of 2,5 mg biotin was studied in 93 patients with the symptoms hair-loss (mostly androgenetic alopecia) and reduced hair quality. The mean duration of treatment was 7,9 +/- 2,8 months. An obvious improvement of hair-loss was reported in 64%, and a slight improvement in 9%. Hair quality was clearly improved in 70% and slightly in 12%. Brittle finger nails as an additional complaint were improved in 80%. If alopecia, decreased hair quality and brittle finger nails occurred in combination, improvement was observed frequently collectively. The study allows - as already shown in a previous investigation concerning brittle finger nails - to suggest biotin as an effective and well tolerated therapy in cases of alopecia and decreased hair quality.




Most of the subjects had androgenic alopecia and they seemed to benefit from 2.5mg of biotin. Besides all that there is a lot of anecdotal evidence for it doing some good, that is why it is part of my regimen. I have another reason for it being part of my regimen though, I am on accutane and it can cause hypervitaminosis a which causes hair loss by reduces biotin regulation etc. I THINK that a biotin supplement can prevent this to a certain extent.





Right now I think a very effective hair loss regimen is the big 3. But I think perhaps Dr. Lees shampoo is better than normal nizoral...actually it is better. It has salicylic acid in addition to the 2% ketoconazole. Which definitely has a lot of extra benefits. Good supplementation/diet and exercise also isn't bad but probably won't have that much of an effect on your hair. I think supplementing with msm and biotin will probably make your hair better and might make it grow faster. My hair seems to have grown pretty damn fast the last 2 months if you ask me. According to the photos I got some good growth, so perhaps the MSM did that I am not sure. Retin-A also has good growth properties in itself so perhaps it is worth a try for someone too. I also think that because finasteride does not block all dht and because dutasteride does better at growing new hair that perhaps a topical antiandrogen such as spironolactone definitely has some benefits if it does what it's suppose to do.


There IS something we can do about hair loss. The thing is...are we starting our counter attack soon enough?

[StayStrongMen]

Hey guys.

After a month of using Rogaine I was shedding like a mad man: it's hard to describe, but they were tons of little tiny hairs that weren't the same length of the hair on my head. If you held out a white sheet of paper, and brushed my hair forward with your hand, the paper would get covered in black speckle.

I was suprised today when I try brushing my head over white paper. I see very little hairs popping out. They are still the tiny ones and not the regular length hairs on my head. Not sure if this because I have now been on rogaine for 4 months, or that I added the 3% salicylic acid shampoo.

I still am clueless if my hair is better off now compared to when I started, but I'm still trucking along.

For those that are freaking out about shedding, I post this to show that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[StayStrongMen]

Hello everyone. I figure I give another update as it is now 12.5 months since i popped my first propecia pill. I remember how paranoid I was about the hairloss process and I know getting some feedback from someone further down the road may be helpful. (I apologize in advance for the lewd language I use to describe my sex drive)

(I also apologize in advance for the length of this post, but if you can relate to any part of this post, maybe you can take something positive from it)

Anyway, I continue to take my 1/4 proscar every day when I wake up.

I remember how around 2-3 months in it became difficult to become erect. Nowadays I swear when it's time for the real thing I'm as hard as ever.

^In hindsight I wish I could put my finger on when things started to pick up, or if it is still difficult to get erect and I have just become used the current state of my family jewels. I always remember that I was able to get hard when it was go-time regardless...and today I would argue that I am just as horny or hornier than before I started propecia.

I am still on minoxidil but I have switched from rogaine 5% foam to Dr. Lee's 12.5% liquid 1.5 months ago. I did the switch because I didn't see any improvement from rogaine and I wanted to step up the strength. In hindsight I don't know if this was the best decision, as it is really difficult to notice a difference, but I'm sticking with the 12.5% for now.

I do remember how at one point on rogaine 5%, I notice a shed that became worse and worse, but eventually plateaued and slowed. I did continue to shed but less hairs appeared per check (rubbing up and down my head once onto a white piece of paper).

The hairs that were shed were very tiny thin hairs, much smaller than the average hair length on my head. I searched endlessly for an answer for what this meant: I'd like to think the hairs that were shed were miniaturized and thicker hair would grove in eventually, but I have no clue.

Nowadays I am shedding a lot more with the 12.5%. It's a risk I am taking....I am comfortable with the consequences and I'm hoping to see some benefit months down the line.

I used to use nizoral 1% every other day but my head became painfully itchy. I stopped using niz for a couple weeks and was able to pinpoint the Nizoral as the cause of the itch. I still use Niz but much more sparingly.

I have taken pictures every 2-3 months from different angles...flash and no flash.... to document my progress. All I can say is that it is really tough to tell if I am improving or things are getting worse. If I had to say what was going on, I'd say that I am holding my ground, with slight, slight thinning that is continuing. But now that I introduced 12.5% into my regimen it really has become difficult to track my progress.

Probably the greatest realization I have had during this journey so far, is that most men are losing their hair/seeing their hair thin. Sadly it seems like a natural process. I only thought it was happening to me, but now as I pay attention to everyone's hair around me, I realize that it's happening to everyone at different paces. I can tell that my peers at age 24 are all thinning on top. Very few people have teenage hair in their mid twenties.

I have grown my hair longer on top to adjust to my thinning on top. I notice a lot of people do the same at my age and older.

I realize that while I'm paying serious attention to everyone's hair, very few people are also paying this close attention to detail, especially the ladies.

Thanks for reading, I'll try to chime in again a couple months down the road, hopefully with good news to report.