Hair loss at 24, what should i try? With pics

[jellyman]

I've always had the hair swirl thing on the back of my head which makes it looks like you have a bald spot but its been getting bigger over the past year or so. My dad started balding at his crown around 24 as well so it makes sense. My question is what treatments should i start with. My hairline might be receding a bit but i'm not really too worried about that.

[Bluefalcon109]

I'm 22 and my problem is very similar to yours. Hairlines isnt really much of a problem, and i havent really experienced much diffused thinning. However, my vertex seems to be thinning and is comparable to yours. I got lucky enough to have a doctor prescribe me 12.5% minoxidil and 1mg finasteride 3 weeks ago. Still too early to notice much of a change but i'll keep you posted.

[jellyman]

Thanks, i'd appreciate that. I'm kind of hoping that i'm catching it early enough that i'd get enough regrowth with just the finasteride since it'd be easier to add to my daily routine.

[Tracy C]

My question is what treatments should i start with.

You need to talk this over with your doctor. The most important thing is to address the cause of the problem. The only treatment that most closely addresses the cause for males is Propecia (or generic Finasteride). You need to talk to your doctor about this. There are possible negative side effects as well as proven benefits. Make sure you understand both. If you decide to use this medication, I would recommend tapering up to the full 1mg per day dose slowly over time. The reason for tapering up is to try to avoid the possible negative side effects. Propecia "allows" hair follicles that can still grow hair to grow hair - but it does not stimulate hair follicles that can still grow hair to grow hair. However, if you can not or will not take Propecia, there is not much point in doing anything else to try to treat your hair loss.

The second most important thing is to address the symptom. Rogaine (or generic Minoxidil) addresses the symptom. Rogaine stimulates hair follicles that can still grow hair to grow hair. If you decide to use Rogaine, start with the foam and taper up to the full twice per day dose slowly over time. This is to try to reduce the perceived degree of shedding as your hair follicles are returning to normal. To save money, I use Rogaine foam in the morning and generic liquid Minoxidil in the evening.

I often recommend the laser comb because I have had good experience with it. Using the laser comb every other day improves the hair that you have, including the hair that grows back from using Rogaine, in a few different ways. It increases the caliber of the hair that you have. It increases the strength of the hair that you have. It improves the quality of the hair that you have. It makes your hair grow faster. The laser comb is expensive though.

Nizoral shampoo can be used once per week as an adjunct to your treatment. The active ingredient in Nizoral is a mild anti-androgen that may help reduce DHT at your scalp. Using Nizoral once per week also helps assure a healthy scalp and it can take care of any itching or irritation you might experience from using Rogaine.

If you are not currently using sulfate free shampoo and conditioner for your regular washing, it would be a good idea to switch to sulfate free at this time.

[Bluefalcon109]

If its any consolation Jellyman. In the 3 weeks i've been taking fin, i've experienced zero side effects, but hey everyone is different right?

[Bluefalcon109]

Sorry, i tried just editing my old post in order to add this but after 15 minutes you're not allowed to. Anyhow, heres my crown to show you that you and i are in pretty much the same boat and your not in this alone. Granted, mine probably doesnt seem that bad but thats due to lighting and contrast. Anyhow, im sure theres hope for both of us. lol

[jellyman]

Well, i switched to a sulfate free shampoo (burts bee brand) and i went to my doctor and got a prescription for propecia. He was actually very cool about it. I asked him if there was a generic form of propecia at the pharmacies that i could buy. He told me there was, but its still quite expensive. He told me that "i didn't hear it from him" but buying online from canadian pharmacies was a good option.

He told me it was just as safe as the us pharmacies and that while it is illegal, it is not generally prosecuted for people seeking medication for individual use. I figured i'd get the first prescription filled locally so i could start right away. My local rite aid told me there is no such thing as a generic propecia. Right now im waiting on them to fill the script to see the cost of the name brand.

My questions: Is there a generic propecia that i can get filled with a propecia script? Does ordering from canadian pharmacies online usually work well? Any recommended websites? If not, should i try explaining this to my doctor and seeing if he'll write me a proscar script? Thanks again all.

[jellyman]

The rite aid only had 30 day supplies for about $115, i declined.

I called the walmart pharmacy, apparently there is no generic propecia available in the us. The walmart had a 90 day supply for $210 so i'm going to go with that. Maybe later i'll try the online pharmacy thing. I want to make sure i'm getting the right stuff to really determine if its working. There's a promotion running on the propecia website that gives $260 off a year supply so i'll see if walmart will take that.

The plan is to start taking the pills and try not to think about it for about 3 to 6 months. From there i'll gauge whether i want to try out rogaine or a laser comb as well. I'll try to remember to follow up with some pictures in a few months to show hows its going.

[jellyman]

Alright, its time for my 3 month check in.

After the first month my head was pretty itchy, especially at the crown. Maybe i just thought it itched more at my crown because i knew i was losing hair their? Maybe it was because i was fidgeting with that area a lot? I don't know. At one month in I started taking Nizoral 1% shampoo. I took it every sunday and Wednesday. The other days I started using free and clear shampoo and condition. I had a little bit of aching in my balls for a week or so. I don't know if it was the medication or some drunken wrestling that got me kind of beat up.

After the second month the itching and the dandruff went away. I also stopped having hair fall out any time i rubbed my head. I had my hair buzzed down so I could get a better look at my hair situation. I think the bald spot in the back is worse than when i started but maybe the balding is slowing down? I am also losing my hairline a bit at my right temple.

After 2 months and 2 weeks I broke down and started rogaine. Foam in the morning, 5% liquid at night. It hasn't been bothering me with any irritation or itching yet.

I haven't really experienced any major shedding periods yet, but from what i understand thats more likely around the 4-6 week mark with rogaine so i'll let you guys know in future updates. I can't tell if anything i'm doing is helping yet, besides clearing up my dandruff. The nizoral says to take for 8 weeks and then only take as needed, should i switch to maybe once per week now or continue with 2 times a week indefinitely? I believe I've had a slight decrease in sex drive but it's still much higher than the average person so i'm ok with that for now.

The two pics with longer hair are my most recent ones. I find that a slightly longer haircut with some toppik looks better than a crew cut for my current level of hair loss. Let me know if there's any problems with what i'm doing. Good luck to everyone else out there.

[BGP]

Hey dude,

Thanks for the update. If you were still interested in propecia, what a lot of the people in this forum do is get generic proscar (it's 5mg of finasteride, typically prescribed for enlarged prostates), and cut that down into quarters to save a lot of money.

I'm currently on day 3 of finasteride. I got a script for propecia (1mg finasteride) and one for proscar. The propecia is $92 for 28 pills, but the reason I got it was so I could cut it down into quarters and taper up the dose gradually.

Once I'm on the full 1mg pill, I'll switch to the quartered proscars, and from there I plan to stay on those indefinitely.

The generic proscar will cost me $70 for 28 pills, and since I'm quartering them It will only cost me $210 a year, as opposed to $1104 on propecia.

If you do plan to take this approach make sure to get a pill cutter and a pill box.

good luck.