The Big 3

[Spex]

TheBig 3

The big 3 to beat DHT, THE CAUSE OF HAIRLOSS!

- Propecia ( Finasteride ), Minoxidil and Nizoral

Here is the thing you need to make sure you understand when it comes to MPB:

The main known factor that causes hairloss is DHT. To form DHT your body's 5a-reductase enzyme converts free roaming testosterone DHT inside the hair cell follicle. The DHT then binds to the hair cell receptor and causes it to atrophy or shrink. Eventually your hair follicle stops producing hair and you lose that follicle.

There are two types of the 5ar enzyme; Type I and Type II. Type II 5ar seems to be the main culprit in MPB as the type II enzyme is present in the hair follicles. Finasteride is a specific inhibitor of Type II 5ar inhibitor that reduces DHT produced by the type II 5ar by 85%-90% and reduces the overall DHT blood serum levels by 65%.

As you can see Finasteride (PROPECIA ) is extremely useful as a treatment for MPB as it directly attacks the problem. Nizoral shampoo is thought to help "dull" the androgen receptors in the scalp which the DHT binds to. Together they provide a synergetic effect.

Minoxidil is a hair stimulant. It is the only FDA proven hair stimulant on the market. However stimulating hair and protecting hair from further damage are two separate actions

Minoxidil will artificially augment your hair while you use the compound but it does NOT have any know effect on 5ar or the androgen receptors in the scalp.

The best way to attack MPB is to:

1. Stop further damage to your hair via DHT. You can accomplish this best by using Finasteride to inhibit the 5ar enzyme and Nizoral to "dull" the androgen receptors.

2. **If** further thickening/regrowth is needed after the hair damaging DHT androgen is reduced then minoxidil can be used to further augment your existing hairs and perhaps even stimulant some dormant hair follicles to resume growing.

Use all these 3 products together -

1. Minoxidil 2 x a day - once in the am and once in the pm
2. Finesteride (propecia/proscar) 1mg per day
3. Nizoral 2 x a weeks (no more) - will dry your scalp out!

Propecia is the best proven way to prevent further loss. If for some reason your not a responder theres Dutasteride/Avodart but i recommend you start off with Propecia/proscar and see how you repond.

FYI -

Dutasteride and finasteride (PROPECIA) are both 5-alpha-reductase (5AR) inhibitors. Both treatments work by inhibiting 5AR, the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is the primary androgen in the prostate. It is a primary factor in the development and progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and other prostate diseases and is also a major cause of hair loss.

.5mg - 2.5mg of Dutasteride provides better results in hair maintenance/regrowth as opposed to Finasteride

However, the benefit likely comes from its higher inhibition of type II 5ar not its suppression of type I 5ar. Merck tested a specific type I 5ar inhibitor called "MK386" in a human trial and found it had no effect on balding.

Jumping on the Dutasteride bandwagon before the Finasteride bandwagon is not a good idea. For most men Finasteride is enough to halt and even reverse MPB... In the off-chance your body becomes tolerant of Finasteride (over the years) you always have Dutasteride to fall back on...

Side-effects on Dutasteride may be more common, any such sides would last longer as the half-life of Dutasteride is much longer then Finasteride, and unlike type II 5ar type I 5ar *is* present in brain tissue. Finally, keep in mind that DHT is not an evil androgen that just causes hairloss. Various bodily functions benefit from DHT. Finasteride inhibits 65% overall DHT levels leaving 35% for your body to use (most of that 35% is from the type I 5ar that isnt a big factor in hairloss). Dutasteride inhibits 90% or more overall DHT levels leaving 10% or less for your body...

Basically, use Finasteride **first** and only resort to Dutasteride if you must - This is just my opinion

[JimmyG]

Great summary, thanks Spex!

[Chris81]

Hey, nice info. I have actually just started the big 3. I started with propecia, with worked ok. Then after a while, like 1 year i started rogaine. Now i have used Rogaine for like 1 month or so. and i noticed i started to lose a lot of hair after aprox 1 week after i started the treatment.

I have read on different sites that this is normal, to shed hair at the start of the treatment.
But i have been losing hair heavy for 1 month now and getting scared to be honest. Do you have any experiance of this? Shall i abort and just continue with propecia? I am afraid that the hair wont come back and i just gonna keep losing as long as i use rogaine.. Please i would be great full for your answer

Best Regards Chris

[Chris81]

Anyone that experienced the same issue?

/Chris

[Chris81]

Damn this was very usful reading THANKS, feel better already now that i understand.
Cant believe this is not explained on the prescription of the drug.

Just got one thought out of this..
you must look at what is left on the scalp. That is where it counts..
yes but since my shedding started my vetrex of thin hair has increased alot. But i guess this is only is the first fase, the new hairs will be larger so the nex shedding bot be noticied on the scalp as much. Right?


And the really qurius question.. if a person stop the treatment after shedding alot, will lost the hair grow back but equally thin or will the lost hair that "shedded" be gone for ever??


Regards /Chris

[Chris81]

Ok, thanks for the info.

Just out of curiusity, if i stop the treamtment, (i wont though) after shedding alot. Will the hiar grow back anyways but as the same thin shape that it was from the start or wont they grow back at all?

Realy curius about this. Thanks for your answers and for taking your time.

Kind Regards Chris

[Chris81]

Ok, thank you very much for straighten things out for me. This has been very usful, realy.

That was what i thought, for a moment i thought that if i stop the treatment the shedded hair will be lost forever. Thanks now i will sleep better

Regards Chris

[Chris81]

Another question, First off, i am stil shedding alot. Even at the places where i have not used. And that is my question acually.

Why am i also shedding thick hair at places minox never comes contact with?

Does the minox have som type of "overall" effect on your hair growht or what? Thanks

Regards Chris

[Steve]

Hi , I have used rogaine for 2.5 weeks and notice sevre shedding around my hairlines . In truth I took a situation which was not that bad and made it worse . I could kick myself .

However I have stoped using rogaine for 2 weeks now and have started Finepecia [ finesteride ] and I notced some thinning of my hair in the hairline region .

My question is will hair shed ever regrow back once stopping using rogaine . I am highly stressed about this and would appreciate any information on the question .

Thanks a million guys

Steve

[Speegs]

This may seem like a silly question, but I went on a camping trip and was unable to wash my hair for almost three days, when I showered i shed like mad on to my hands, every swath through my hair seemed to produce ten hairs, most unminiaturized, I roughly shed like 180 hairs in the showr, is it safe to assume that was on account of having not washed my hair for several days and that i had accumulated several days of shedding in my shower?

I normally shed as low as 60 and as high as 100 hairs in the shower, yes i'm annal enough to stop and count them pretty regularly.