Should I Take Preventative Treatment?

[mojojuju224]

Another update for you guys. I did a consultation with a hair loss specialist and after reviewing my microscope photos they said I've got good hair and density but it appears I have miniaturization on my crown with some gaps of hair, and they estimated I'm at around 20% density lost overall. They recommended finasteride and minoxidil but said I could try finasteride alone first since my hair loss wasn't that advanced and I'm older, but I guess my question is, since my hair loss seems fairly slow, are there other less invasive treatments I should try, or would you guys recommend going on finasteride to maintain / possible regrow hair?

 

[abcdefg]

My advise- Get off this forum till the time you've your appointment with a derm. Give an update about the derms opinion. If it's hairloss,then stay. If not,then delete this account and never look back.

I dont know maybe never back for a while, but things change. You might start going bald really fast in a few years its hard to say.
See what the derm says he will check in person. I would just be really sure its male pattern baldness before committing to life long drugs

 

[mojojuju224]

Hey, @abcdefg. Thanks for the info. I've already been to the dermatologist, and she didn't do any testing and said I didn't have it. She just looked at my hair. Afterward, like I said in my most recent post, a hair loss specialist took a look at my microscope photos and said the opposite. miniaturization in the crown and loss of around 20% of density. It's hard to know what to believe, as the hair loss specialist has more to gain from saying I have male pattern baldness.

 

[abcdefg]

personally I would just wait and see if it gets worse. It will get worse very slowly so you have plenty of time. Rushing into a treatment you dont need is worse then making sure you have it. Id wait until I have male pattern baldness to a point where its getting pretty noticeable and you get comments on it. You still have time to take action then

 

[AnxiousAndy]

No baldness, I think you dodged a bullet.

 

[mojojuju224]

I do have miniaturized hairs in my crown area, @AnxiousAndy, but I haven't lost much hair yet and my hairline has been fairly stable for a long time. For the time being I'm on finasteride 1mg, and I'm glad I caught it at the very early stages. My plan is to take finasteride until Seti or Fevi hits the market and hopefully switch depending on what the efficacy is.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

I do have miniaturized hairs in my crown area, @AnxiousAndy, but I haven't lost much hair yet and my hairline has been fairly stable for a long time. For the time being I'm on finasteride 1mg, and I'm glad I caught it at the very early stages. My plan is to take finasteride until Seti or Fevi hits the market and hopefully switch depending on what the efficacy is.

Are you high? You don't have any crown loss! But if it makes you feel better then keep taking the finasteride.

 

[mojojuju224]

Are you high? You don't have any crown loss! But if it makes you feel better then keep taking the finasteride.

I do have crown miniaturization according to microscope analysis, though, and a terrible family history of baldness. I agree I'm not bald, but isn't the goal with finasteride to catch hair loss before you lose signifcant density and become bald? Maybe I'm not understanding something.

 

[AnxiousAndy]

I do have crown miniaturization according to microscope analysis, though, and a terrible family history of baldness. I agree I'm not bald, but isn't the goal with finasteride to catch hair loss before you lose signifcant density and become bald? Maybe I'm not understanding something.

You're right, the goal is to stop it as soon as possible. But you mentioned the dermatologist didn't even analyze your scalp so how could that be true? Using finasteride unnecessarily is not good as it doesn't work ( if it works ) forever or for everyone.

 

[mojojuju224]

You're right, the goal is to stop it as soon as possible. But you mentioned the dermatologist didn't even analyze your scalp so how could that be true? Using finasteride unnecessarily is not good as it doesn't work ( if it works ) forever or for everyone.

That's true, the dermatologist didn't examine my scalp, but as I said I got another opinion from a hair loss specialist who went over microscopic photos with me. It's miniaturizing in the photos. I wouldn't be taking finasteride if I didn't have minaturization beyond my hairline. That would be pointless and dangerous for no reason from what I understand.

 

[reyl]

Quick update for you guys: I went to the derm today, and she seemed kind of suprised I was there when she started looking at my hair. She looked at my hair and basically said my hairline follows the shape of my skull and she didn't see any sign of hair loss. It wasn't a very scientific test, to say the least. She didn't do any kind of miniaturization test or really any tests whatsoever, just moved my hair around and inspected. Regardless, she said I could keep an eye on it and gave me some things to look out for, but she said I didn't have hair loss. I feel a lot better, and I'll just store the finasteride from Keeps somewhere just in case. I still feel a little concerned that she didn't really do a miniaturization test, but I'll trust her word and keep an eye on it. Just wanted to update you guys!

People might call it a bit misogynist but I generally don't trust most female dermatologists cause they don't have to deal with hair loss themselves (and if they do, it's an unfortunate much more rare form that isn't male pattern baldness, but an immune system issue).

However your hair looks great, especially at your age, and if you were to take ANY "preventative measure" check out the microdose thread this guy made: https://www.gourmetstylewellness.com/intera...teride-test-commence-contains-pictures.99873/ the OP quit but other people have had success on it.

You could do something like 0.03mg 2-3 times a week and probably maintain what you have indefinitely. But you definitely don't seem like you ever need to take the 1mg daily dose, which is way too much for the majority of people already.

Nizoral and biotin help thicken the individual hairs you already have. can do something like take two 5,000 mcgs a day, or if you have the 10,000 mcg biotin tablets, cut them in half and take twice a day spaced apart so you get better absorption. Nizoral won't give you any side effects as it's supposed to be anti inflammatory, anti fungal, and mildly anti androgenic.

Edit: I just read that you decided to take 1mg daily, but I suggest you lower to 0.2-0.25mg daily because you have very mild loss if you have any at all. finasteride has a cumulative effect.

 

[Alphalete]

biotin help thicken the individual hairs you already have. can do something like take two 5,000 mcgs a day, or if you have the 10,000 mcg biotin tablets, cut them in half and take twice a day spaced apart so you get better absorption.

I've seen so many people say that biotin made their hair thicker, but never saw any proof. Do you know of any study that proves this?

 

[mojojuju224]

People might call it a bit misogynist but I generally don't trust most female dermatologists cause they don't have to deal with hair loss themselves (and if they do, it's an unfortunate much more rare form that isn't male pattern baldness, but an immune system issue).

However your hair looks great, especially at your age, and if you were to take ANY "preventative measure" check out the microdose thread this guy made: https://www.gourmetstylewellness.com/intera...teride-test-commence-contains-pictures.99873/ the OP quit but other people have had success on it.

You could do something like 0.03mg 2-3 times a week and probably maintain what you have indefinitely. But you definitely don't seem like you ever need to take the 1mg daily dose, which is way too much for the majority of people already.

Nizoral and biotin help thicken the individual hairs you already have. can do something like take two 5,000 mcgs a day, or if you have the 10,000 mcg biotin tablets, cut them in half and take twice a day spaced apart so you get better absorption. Nizoral won't give you any side effects as it's supposed to be anti inflammatory, anti fungal, and mildly anti androgenic.

Edit: I just read that you decided to take 1mg daily, but I suggest you lower to 0.2-0.25mg daily because you have very mild loss if you have any at all. finasteride has a cumulative effect.

I agree that female dermatologists probably don't have the same insight males do, or maybe it was just the one I saw. Who knows. I do have an appointment with a male dermatologist at the end of the month ( I just want to do some more testing and figure out more details about my loss) and I'd also like someone I can go to every year to check on my progress and make adjustments as necessary. As for micro-dosing, that's not for me. Based on the science, anything above 0.2 will eventually accumulate in your system and eventually cause the same inhibition unless you space it out as you said, and I don't want my hormones going up and down like that, plus I've got miniaturization, so I'm more than trying to prevent at this point, so the standard dose is what I'm doing for now. It seems to agree with me so far. I'm also going to my GP next month for a checkup, and he's doing blood work, too, so I can make sure my system is working well and nothing is out of the ordinary. Thanks for the comment!

 

[reyl]

I've seen so many people say that biotin made their hair thicker, but never saw any proof. Do you know of any study that proves this?

I have replied to you about this before in another thread, but it makes the growth cycle faster and causes individual hairs to thicken. It doesn't bring back any lost hair or anything like that. For me personally it has thickened eye brows, eye lashes, and for the hair on my head it grows much faster now, and it's thicker. The next thing I'm going to try is topical Cetrizine as it increases PGE2(what you want) but decreases PGD2(what you don't want). No one sells it as a topical so the only option is to get a bunch of tablets and crush them up, mixing it with an 80/20 water/propylene glycol concoction(don't quote me on this, could be better ways).

Anyway biotin is super cheap so it doesn't hurt to add it to the regimen.

I agree that female dermatologists probably don't have the same insight males do, or maybe it was just the one I saw. Who knows. I do have an appointment with a male dermatologist at the end of the month ( I just want to do some more testing and figure out more details about my loss) and I'd also like someone I can go to every year to check on my progress and make adjustments as necessary. As for micro-dosing, that's not for me. Based on the science, anything above 0.2 will eventually accumulate in your system and eventually cause the same inhibition unless you space it out as you said, and I don't want my hormones going up and down like that, plus I've got miniaturization, so I'm more than trying to prevent at this point, so the standard dose is what I'm doing for now. It seems to agree with me so far. I'm also going to my GP next month for a checkup, and he's doing blood work, too, so I can make sure my system is working well and nothing is out of the ordinary. Thanks for the comment!

Well then it seems you are set on using finasteride then. I think most would agree 1mg for your case is unnecessary only because you could always increase your dose from 0.2mg to 0.5mg to 0.75mg to 1mg etc if you ever needed to.

However good luck and be sure to post an update a few months from now on how you feel in terms of side effects, how your hair is, etc, it's helpful for all the lurkers and people seeking information

 

[mojojuju224]

@Rey12 Thanks, man! I'll post an update after my next derm visit with what they say and do, like, a 6 month update or something.

 

[Alphalete]

I have replied to you about this before in another thread, but it makes the growth cycle faster and causes individual hairs to thicken. It doesn't bring back any lost hair or anything like that. For me personally it has thickened eye brows, eye lashes, and for the hair on my head it grows much faster now, and it's thicker. The next thing I'm going to try is topical Cetrizine as it increases PGE2(what you want) but decreases PGD2(what you don't want). No one sells it as a topical so the only option is to get a bunch of tablets and crush them up, mixing it with an 80/20 water/propylene glycol concoction(don't quote me on this, could be better ways).

Anyway biotin is super cheap so it doesn't hurt to add it to the regimen.

Alright, that's nice. But back when I used it, only saw hair grow faster, not thicker..

 

[mesr]

hey man i have pretty much the same issue as you, when my hair is long and flat you cant tell i have male pattern baldness at all. But my hair is pretty low density everywhere (even the sides and back) and its very straight so my scalp tends to show in some places even when my hair is 3-4 inches long. (I tend to wear it spiked without any product. When its flat, no scalp)

I saw a trichologist who did take a look at my scalp, there was a little miniaturization and she told me it was the early stages of male pattern baldness diffuse thinning. Not severe male pattern baldness and very early on but it is there. She told me pretty much all men will have some degree of male pattern baldness and hair miniaturization, whether its severe enough that you will notice it is up to genetics and hairstyle. I am 23 btw

For me, since my entire family has decent (but thinning) hair into their 50s (2 uncles on each side plus my father, all in their 50s with some crown and diffuse thinning but nothing too out of the ordinary in the eyes of the average person) its likely ill follow them and have some degree of thinning but wont end up too diffused. I will also likely have a nw1 hairline for a long time based on my family, but my diffuse thinning will probably be more noticeable since i dont wear my hair flat which will show a lot more scalp.

I started noticing some visible scalp after I dropped 20lbs in 3 months while using creatine. Creatine may or may not raise dht and scalp dht, so i am going to try to ‘reset’ with finasteride (i understand this will not likely work)

For the next year I am going to try finasteride, quit dairy to stop possible inflammation from lactose intolerance, and do some scalp exercises for blood flow and reduce calcification of the scalp. If I can tolerate the finasteride, I will reevaluate in a year and see if I want to stay on the finasteride. If i cant tolerate the finasteride I will just accept my situation since 5a-reductase has some other important functions in addition to dht, plus nuking dht for life doesnt make too much sense for me no matter how ‘safe’ the studies are.

I will reconsider and probably drop finasteride and monitor miniaturization if my hair improves in a year on the finasteride. Get back on it if it gets a lot worse. I dont plan to take finasteride life long, but I do want good hair in my 20s atleast and ideally in my 30s

Good luck, ill check back at the end of month on what you decide to do

 

[mojojuju224]

Just an update for you guys: I went to the derm today, and I do in fact have androgenic alopecia. He inspected my hair with a device and said I'm losing density in my mid-scalp / crown area and he said my hairline was holding pretty well. He wrote me a script for finasteride 1mg for a year, and he said I can just call to get it refilled when the year is out. He was a much better Doctor than the woman I saw previously, and he was bald and said he'd taken Propecia and used Minoxidil. He also has done some work with transplants in the past and gave me an overview of that after I asked him some questions out of curiosity. He said my hair is in good shape for my age for the most part, side effects are rare, and I'm likely to keep what I have and regrow on finasteride, but he said after a year, if I haven't noticed much regrowth and want more, that I could start Minoxidil, but he said I didn't need it now and it can be a pain. If I just maintain, though, that's fine with me, as I still have a lot of density. Anyway, just wanted to drop in and give an update. I'll report back after 6 months or so with any results.