Should I even bother? Currently on minoxidil.

[itsgettingtome]

Hi, I've noticed my hair was thining when i was maybe 22-23. This is the current state 6 year later. I've been using 5% minoxidil since july, doesn't help at all, at least i can't notice anything, since i'm 9/10 bald as fu*k. Should i try 1mg finasteride? Also topical finasteride looks like a better option to me for some reason. Can i expect any growth? I know no one can answer that but still... I'm seeing bunch of these small hairs in between longer hairs and i can feel them under my fingers also. If i could just make them grow

 

[MissingPixels]

Am I missing something? Your temples have receded and you've lost density, but you're not 9/10 bald. If you're 28-29 and still have as much hair as you do then you aren't balding aggressively fast. In my opinion you are the perfect candidate to look into treatments such as The Big Three (Finasteride, Minoxidil, Nizoral).

From what I've read there isn't much hope for hair that miniaturizes beyond 50% of its initial thickness. If you're able to actually feel a lot of your miniaturized hair I would guess it has not crossed that 50% threshold yet.

My suggestion would be for you to stick with minoxidil and add in finasteride. While no one can predict your results, I'd hypothesize that you would see almost immediate stabilization of your hair loss, and long term (1-1.5 years) you'd see some modest regrowth.

 

[MissingPixels]

Nothing work i also using minoxidil 6 month but zero result and existing hair also by minoxidil

Bro I looked up your post history. It sounds like you have very aggressive hair loss and nothing is working for you. That really sucks, but just because it didn't work for you doesn't mean it won't work for anyone. You've said you were fully bald at 22. OP is 28 or 29 and still has a lot of hair.

Some people do not respond to minoxidil, some people respond but it's not strong enough on its own to do much. If OP is in the latter category he may benefit from using minoxidil alongside finasteride.

 

[itsgettingtome]

I swear this guy is a troll.

 

[itsgettingtome]

Am I missing something? Your temples have receded and you've lost density, but you're not 9/10 bald. If you're 28-29 and still have as much hair as you do then you aren't balding aggressively fast. In my opinion you are the perfect candidate to look into treatments such as The Big Three (Finasteride, Minoxidil, Nizoral).

From what I've read there isn't much hope for hair that miniaturizes beyond 50% of its initial thickness. If you're able to actually feel a lot of your miniaturized hair I would guess it has not crossed that 50% threshold yet.

My suggestion would be for you to stick with minoxidil and add in finasteride. While no one can predict your results, I'd hypothesize that you would see almost immediate stabilization of your hair loss, and long term (1-1.5 years) you'd see some modest regrowth.

Well i don't have an option to grow it, most of the hairs are thin and no matter the length you can see my scalp clearly in any lighting condition. So yeah im pretty bald but i think ill try with topical duta to see if that can help.

 

[MissingPixels]

Well i don't have an option to grow it, most of the hairs are thin and no matter the length you can see my scalp clearly in any lighting condition. So yeah im pretty bald but i think ill try with topical duta to see if that can help.

I'm glad to hear you're going to try some options out. As I've said previously, I think you're a perfect candidate for treatments. Though I'd still suggest trying finasteride before duta. It has less sides, more research regarding hair loss, and depending where you live it might be easier to get ahold of. (Though a lot of forum members swear by topical duta, I'm only one opinion.)

As Pigeon also states, you may want to try micro needling to help with regrowth. A regimen of minoxidil, finasteride(or duta if you still prefer), and needling sounds like it could do wonders for you.

 

[Manochoice]

Hi, I've noticed my hair was thining when i was maybe 22-23. This is the current state 6 year later. I've been using 5% minoxidil since july, doesn't help at all, at least i can't notice anything, since i'm 9/10 bald as fu*k. Should i try 1mg finasteride? Also topical finasteride looks like a better option to me for some reason. Can i expect any growth? I know no one can answer that but still... I'm seeing bunch of these small hairs in between longer hairs and i can feel them under my fingers also. If i could just make them grow

With the right treatment you could actually see a massive improvement provided you are a good responder.

 

[itsgettingtome]

I'm glad to hear you're going to try some options out. As I've said previously, I think you're a perfect candidate for treatments. Though I'd still suggest trying finasteride before duta. It has less sides, more research regarding hair loss, and depending where you live it might be easier to get ahold of. (Though a lot of forum members swear by topical duta, I'm only one opinion.)

As Pigeon also states, you may want to try micro needling to help with regrowth. A regimen of minoxidil, finasteride(or duta if you still prefer), and needling sounds like it could do wonders for you.

I just came back from the clinic, doctor prescribed me 1% topical finasteride with some vitamin pills (which i'll not use since they are 60$ ber month). We will see what topical finasteride will do but doctor said i have a good change to be a good responder because i indeed have many tiny hairs which are visible to the naked eye but they are not growing. Wish me luck guys ill report back in a couple of months. I hope for the best.

 

[Micky_007]

I just came back from the clinic, doctor prescribed me 1% topical finasteride with some vitamin pills (which i'll not use since they are 60$ ber month). We will see what topical finasteride will do but doctor said i have a good change to be a good responder because i indeed have many tiny hairs which are visible to the naked eye but they are not growing. Wish me luck guys ill report back in a couple of months. I hope for the best.

Yes probably safer to go with topical Finasteride over Oral tablet form. As mentioned, many people don't respond to Minoxidil, but a lot of people end up responding to Minoxidil once they combine Microneedling.

However, if you're Micro-needling + applying topical Finasteride, the Finasteride will go systemic and may result in side effects.

I usually advise people to only go onto Finasteride as an absolute last resort.

My advice would be to start off with Microneedling and Minoxidil, starting with a 1mm needle depth for microneedling and work your way up to 1.5mm needle depth. You should respond much better to Minoxidil then.

I would also advise you use a caffeine based shampoo almost every day (or at least 4 times a week). Alpecin C1 Shampoo and Alpecin Caffeine Liquid are good options that aren't expensive. There's alot of studies that show caffeine shampoo's have really positive effects on hair growth even similar to 5% Minoxidil but without the side effects. Your hair needs 10x more energy during the anagen (growth) phase so caffeine supplies it with this energy.

I would also suggest you use a 2% Ketoconazole Shampoo. (Theres other
Cheaper brands available because Nizoral is quite pricey). You only need to use the Ketoconazole shampoo once or twice a week for 4 weeks. After that, only need to use the Ketoconazole Shampoo once every week. Ketoconazole is in the "big 3" for Hairloss treatments so highly recommended you add it to your regime.

Also, the reason it's highly recommended you used multiple approaches as I mentioned as opposed to using just 1 treatment, is because it increases your chances of seeing results. There is no 1 treatment fix that encapsulates everything. Everything needs to be used in conjunction with something else.

As I mentioned, I really only recommend going onto Finasteride as an absolute last resort. I know your doctor and others here recommended you go on it. But I suggest you do your solid research on Finasteride because it is a potentially very dangerous drug with hectic side effects like erectile dysfunction, reduced sex drive, permanent impotence, reduced semen count. Always know exactly what you're getting yourself into and whether Finasteride is worth the risk. There are other safer alternatives as Finasteride that I mentioned. And since you still have many visible hairs, you still have time before resorting to Finasteride.

Remember, people respond differently to medication, so just because some people didn't experience side effects from Finasteride, doesn't mean others won't. In fact contrary to popular belief and false information, there's actually a majority % of Finasteride users that do actually get side effects. So something to really think about.

Remember, it will take realistically about 6 months to start seeing results, after consistent treatment. So don't expect any overnight miracles, it will take time. Lots of time. And lots of dedication and discipline.

 

[Micky_007]

Also, I wouldn't recommend ignoring natural treatments just because there's insufficient studies done. I'd even recommend you trying Saw Palmetto oral or if you really want a topical similar to Finasteride then try Saw Palmetto Oil.

I watched an interesting video on Saw Palmetto. It stated, by a really big hair transplant surgeon in Australia, that since it's a natural substance, it doesn't have the financial backing of the big pharma to get studies done, which is often the reason people don't opt for natural treatments due to lack of evidence.

Meanwhile the reason why there's no studies done is because natural substances like natural oils (eg. Peppermint Oil, Rosemary Oil, Coconut Oil, etc) or Saw Palmetto is because their not a drug and so showing effective results of a natural substance will negatively affect big pharma's drugs competitively.

Here's the video, pay attention especially at the 5 minute point:

Take what his saying with a pinch of salt, because he mentioned he didn't really see significant results in his patients that use Saw Palmetto, but then again he clearly said he doesn't tell his patients to use Saw Palmetto, he would go through trying Finasteride, then Dutasteride if no results, then Minoxidil, LLLT, then Derma Rolling and then only recommend Saw Palmetto if he even does, which is strange because we know LLLT has no significant results. It's simply because they won't make commission money of Saw Palmetto or other natural substances like Oils which is why they don't recommend it. And they love to mention there's no studies to back it meanwhile the truth is, big pharma wouldn't do studies on it for competitive reasons.

Another point is, even if he didn't see any significant results in Saw Palmetto, that's good enough because most people would be happy with just stabilization and thickening. Even Finasteride has an extremely low percentage of regrowth as compared to its higher stabilizing ability.

Remember, the absence or lack of studies doesn't necessarily mean ineffectiveness.