Quote: (08-30-2017 05:22 AM)_Cicero Wrote:
Quote: (05-28-2017 01:54 AM)_Cicero Wrote:
Whatup bros. Balding bro here. I'm 36, but I've been told I look older than I am. Thinning/balding hair, and also some wrinkles on my face, with a thick beard. This has cost me girls in the 18-22 y.o. category. I recently saw a dermatologist about it. It blew my mind. Here's what I learned:
Hair-loss is totally treatable in most men, and with treatments that have little or no side effects. Most people in this thread probably already knew this.
I'm now following this treatment regimen, based on my dermatologists advice:
(1) Minoxidil/Rogaine. A generally effective drug with few side effects. Tends to thicken your hair where you have it rather than bring your hair-line forward. You do need to apply twice a day, and with all of these treatments you're going to have to wait months to see results. (My doc was down on the foam version. he said was less effective than the spray).
(2) Micro-needling/dermaroller. The idea is actually to damage your scalp and thus force your body to send growth agents to your scalp to repair. These growth agents happen to also be good for hair regrowth. Incidentally, this is also generally a good skin treatment, including for wrinkles. I'm started also using on my face (but you want .5mm or 1 on your face, and 1.5mm on your scalp, according to him). He emphasized that it is important to keep your dermaroller soaked in alcohol for 15 minutes after treatment, to make sure you aren't spawning bacteria which you then inject into your scalp.
(3) Plasma Injections, PRP. I've started this. They take your blood, separate out the plasma and then inject this into your scalp.
*Note: All three of these treatments have been proven to work in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and are not known to have bad side effects. They all also operate differently, and thus are good complements to each other.
**Downsides: Minoxidil can cause scalp discomfort. Micro needling doesn't feel great. The plasma injections hurt like a mofo, but nothing a man can't handle. Two of these treatments need to be done every day (Rogaine and micro-needling), and I have to go once a month to the doctor for plasma injections. It cost me about $100 for 5 months of treatment. I paid about $15 for a dermaroller, which I can use three months. I think I dropped about $30 on minoxidil, but I'm not sure how long it will last.
Personally, I'm very down on "natural" remedies. Why do that stuff which is scientifically unproven when there is stuff that is proven? Also, the giant supplement industry is a f*cking scam. Take St. Johns wart for this or that, zinc for testosterone, garlic to prevent colds. It's all or mostly bullshit. Even vitamins do not have good results in RCTs, even with poor people in Africa who aren't eating healthy diets.
Other treatments I'm not doing (yet):
(1) My dermatologist was down on the shampoo treatment. Said was unnecessary. I'm not sure why.
(2) He was very high on hair transplants, which is a permanent solution. I may go this route if my hair or hairline doesn't respond. He said I have a large donor area, which is good. Said there are good clinics in St. Petersburg (Russia) and in Tbilisi, surprisingly. Also in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Also said some of the best are in north america, but also the most expensive. (I'm based in Moscow). Indeed, surgery may be the best option.
(3) Finasteride/Propecia. I know people who use and swear by it, and had no noticeable side effects. My doctor recommended this but with hesitation. He said 5% get erectile disfunction, and some of these cases are permanent even when people stop taking the drug. I do wonder if some of this is reverse placebo effect. Still, it is going to mess with your hormones, and I'm risk averse when it comes to this stuff. It also stops hair loss more than promotes regrowth. I decided against. There are other alternatives. Personally, I would do a transplant over this.
In any case, I've just started this treatment regimen. I'll give it 6 months to see what happens and then think about a hair transplant if I get frustrated with slow progress. My doctor does the same regimen, and the back of his hair responded well but not the very front.
Quick update after a bit more than three months. I'm seeing some positive results for sure. Not a total game changer, but a definite, if modest, improvement. It's also the case that putting Rogaine in your hair makes it appear thicker, which accomplishes the same goal in any case.
However, after two months, I switched to just minoxidil + microneedling, as it turned out that the PRP scalp injections were about $100 per injection, rather than for the first 5. That's $1,200 a year, and plus it takes time, so I decided to bail on that, as I'm a cheap mofo. Thus, it isn't clear my improvement will be as fast in the future.
I also talked to a dermatologist on this board who had hair transplant surgery, and highly recommended it. I may do this to firm up my scalp line in the front, although I want to give my current treatment plan another 6 months to see what happens.
A second update on this:
I've seen very noticeable gains in my hair thickness. This treatment regime Rogaine (with the dropper, not the foam) plus a dermaroller (1.5MM) gets real results.
The only issue is that it hasn't caused my hairline to come forward at all, it's just made my hair thicker on top and in the back. Thus, I'm planning to go for hair transplant surgery this summer. Indeed, I now regret not doing that last summer now.
The solution was cheap, safe, and pretty easy to apply. Now that I'm in the habit of putting the stuff on every time I shower, it really only takes a minute.
Knowledge is power bros, I wish I would have started this 5 years ago.