minoxidil and Shedding (Month 8) and some questions

[Hajo1992]

Hey there guys,

I needed some answers and nobody answered them in my last thread. Hope you guys can help!

tl;dr:
Balding since 19, now 23 years. Already had 2 hair transplants (5000 grafts in total)
On rogaine for 8 months, had 3 shedding periods, hard to see any progress on my crown. My profile has a pic of my scalp right after showering. I can actually make that look full with a bit of Wax and Toppik
See questions down below, thanks for reading

Intro:

I'm a 23 year old who already had 2 hair transplants. First one in 2013 (1500 grafts, frontal) and the last in in July 2015 (3500 grafts, Whole head except crown).
I first started noticing the thinning when I was about 19 and was quite panicked about it. Right at the age where you want to look as good as possible!
I've tried finasteride early 2012 or 2013 (can't really remember) but I started feeling different and less attracted to my girlfriend at the time. Sex was a no go at that time...
Just putting it out here before the whole ''Get on finasteride wtfbbq dude?!'' discussion starts.
I'm not looking for the full head of hair uppercut hairstyle (Would love one though) but a way to stop the shedding/balding and a nice hairstyle with it.
Hair loss, together with most of you, really screwed me over. Lost some confidence, more stress and concentration problems.

Toppik, Rogaine and washing my hair:

So yeah, my hair transplant from 2015 is looking pretty good. Also, I've been a Toppik user since like 2012 and I started noticing that I don't really need that much (Basically nothing) to make the front of my hair look thinner.
Sadly, the problem went south and I started to notice more thinning and hair loss on the crown/sides (middle of my head) area. So after that last hair transplant I hopped on minoxidil and started to use the ketoconazol shampoo (Revita) more often. Before that I tried all other kinds of **** to stop the hair loss, from cheap to expensive. You can't believe the **** they sell these days. The thing with minoxidil (Currently using Rogaine) is that I just can't quite see if it has any results.
I've read that minoxidil and all other methods of stopping hair loss are most effective on the crown so I hoped to keep the hair as much as possible on those areas. But although I'm using Rogaine twice a day for 8 months straight the only thing I've been noticing is more shedding. The hard thing with using Toppik and and Minoxidil is that I usually wash my hair before applying it in the morning. If I don't wash it in the morning, the rogaine and Toppik get all messed up on my scalp. When I wash my hair I've been noticing that my crown area is losing more and more hair and also that I've been losing more hair on the sides (middle of the scalp) of my head.
When I wash my hair it really differs how much hair I lose. Sometimes it's about 20-30 hairs but last couple of days/weeks I've been losing about 50 or more. During the day I barely lose any hair, atleast I can't find any on desk, in my bed or near my guitars.

So basically I have 3 questions:

-Is the shedding normal? Should I switch brands or anything else?
-Any tips on keeping my scalp clean and still be using Toppik/minoxidil?
-Any tips in general on what to do now?

Current Regime:

Rogaine 5% (Minoxidil)
Revita Shampoo, 3-4 times a week (Ketoconazol)
Saw Palmetto
Vitamins: Vitamine C, Vitamine B (Banana's)
Linseed oil with dinner

Thank you very much for reading and, if possible, answering my questions!

 

[labellavita1985]

That doesn't even count as "shedding," in my opinion. People with absolutely no hair loss lose twice as much hair as you everyday and have completely full heads of hair. Doesn't sound like your continued thinning is the result of shedding. If you're continuing to lose hair, and you're only losing 30-50 hairs a day, it's probably because the hair is not growing in properly as a result of Androgenetic Alopecia/male pattern baldness. Sad but true.

I understand that you were expecting to see a drastic reduction in shedding on minoxidil as some people do, but you just have to remember that it doesn't work that way for everyone. Some people, even good responders, continue to shed "normally" (50-100 hairs/day) on minoxidil. Doesn't mean it's not working.

If I were you I would find something that will stop or reduce the effects of DHT on your hair follicles. I understand finestaride is not an option, but it's also not the only option. There are a couple of topical products that evidently reduce DHT levels. Or you could look into the PGE approach. Minoxidil alone doesn't seem to be enough for you.

 

[Hajo1992]

If I were you I would find something that will stop or reduce the effects of DHT on your hair follicles. I understand finestaride is not an option, but it's also not the only option. There are a couple of topical products that evidently reduce DHT levels. Or you could look into the PGE approach. Minoxidil alone doesn't seem to be enough for you.

I'm quite sure I responded to this but I don't see my reaction.
What kind of topical DHT reductor do you recommend?

Thanks for replying in the first place!

 

[Hajo1992]

Bump!

 

[Hajo1992]

At the time I posted the ''Bump'' My hair was really great. Now, a good month later, it sucks... The sides are super thin.
Can't say I lost much hair in the process. Only when I wash my hair I see some hairs fall out.
Is it thinning or anyone got a recommendation on how to stop it?