Once you grow hair from the minoxidil, the hair that minoxidil grew will be dependent upon it and if you stop the minoxidil, this new hair will fall out.
Much of what was said is correct with proper warnings. The video is worth looking at. If you stay on, there are multiple segments to it.
https://www.doctoroz.com/episode/oz-investigates-hair-restoration-scams-how-far-would-you-go-reverse-your-thinning-hair
What I want to know is if this can be reversed with Propecia and if it can, how long will it take. I am 22 years old.
Advanced miniaturization often does not reverse, but early miniaturization is what finasteride works best on. When it works well, it is usually in a male under 26 years of age. That means you are a good candidate for real benefit. It generally takes about one year to see the value of this drug.
People see the FUEs from Turkey in the 5000 range and somehow this has created a standard world-wide that is unwarranted and unearned because many of these men get depleted balding areas with worse scaring than had they had a strip surgery. The picture below is an example of such a case where this unfortunate person is now balding in the back of his head created by the FUE he had in the frontal area. There is a limit to how many FUEs can be done safely and that limit is determined by the donor density in the back of the head prior to having the surgery done. This picture should be a warning for our readership who might think that FUE is scar-less surgery and who are contemplating a FUE megasession.
Before prescribing finasteride, I would first perform a HAIRCHECK test to confirm that you are actually in some early phase of balding. With that in hand, I would prescribe it to an 18 year old without worrying about growth and other developmental issues. Read here: https://baldingblog.com/2017/01/10/value-haircheck-bulk-measurements-two-patients-seen-today/
My libido has never been strong. Propecia did not change it and I have been on Propecia for 5 years. I noticed little value most recently from the Propecia so I stopped it. To my surprise, My libido became strong, even stronger than it was before I went on the Propecia. Do you have any thoughts on this?
We find huge variations in libido in men, with decreased libidos in the 20% range in 20 year old, 30% range in 30 year old, 40% range in 40 years and so forth. Maybe your change in hormones that occurred after you stopped the Propecia had something to do with a better libido.
I am on Propecia and I wrestle and after a match, I notice that my hair is falling out more than at other times. The Propecia seems to help a little. Should I stop wrestling to avoid more hair loss?
I never think that one should give up the important things in life to avoid losing some hairs. You are doing the right thing with the finasteride, but if you wrestle, it is not really going to change your hair loss in the long term. Wrestling only pulls out the fragile hair from the tugging that will be lost sooner or later. When you get enough hair loss that you are unable to maintain your appearance, then think about hair transplantation.
“Treatment with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the activate ingredient in marijuana, can restore cognition in old mice and induce molecular changes that make them more similar to young animals, scientists reported today (May 8) in Nature Medicine.
Previous studies have reported that as humans age, the brain’s endogenous cannabinoid system begins to decline. “What [the researchers] found here was that when we give THC, it improves these effects—which is, in my view, of major importance,” said Raphael Mechoulam, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem who was not involved this work. “I think [the study] is well done. I hope it will be repeated in other animals, and ultimately in humans.”
Considering the legalization of THC sometime next year in California, this treatment will be commonly available for people wanting to try this approach to improving brain function. The full article can be seen here: https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/49367/title/Cannabinoid-Treatment-Improves-Cognition-in-Old-Mice/&utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TS_The-Scientist-Daily_2016&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=51699299&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–tChXnGrf1SscrOP6eDzRBjJ27R2JCADuDTlbOWWttw1JtjeaqEF6ItiCBnDqyg388Y0fW3rcPLfyAwGndLJH_63kpXQ&_hsmi=51699300
“The study conducted by UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said the scientists made the discovery by accident while researching how certain cancer tumors form. Researchers said they found that a protein called KROX 20, commonly associated with nerve development, turned on in skin cells that become the hair shafts”
https://abc7.com/health/scientists-closer-to-cure-for-baldness-and-graying-hair-study-says/1968797/
We have talked about the artistry in doing a hair transplant. This is a failure of artistry as the surgeon lined up every graft like soldiers in the field. The orderly nature of these grafts will grow hair that lines up like soldiers as well. Add to the poor artistry, the straight hairline, the poor post-operative care as the grafts should be mostly invisible within a day or two after the surgery, Can you imagine going back to work looking like this?
I just started taking Propecia and debated it for years. I started to feel the brain fog / dizziness after day one but I’m going to continue taking it to see if I stabilize if the symptom is just in my head from all these horror story posts I’ve read. I’ll update to let you know if it goes away over time. Although I am on birth control pills and have already messed with my hormones, would finasteride still be safe for me in treating my hair loss?
If you are a woman young enough to have children (even if you are on birth control pills), you should not use finasteride (Propecia) as if you were to get pregnant because the birth control pills failed you, you could have a child with sexual developmental problem while you carry the baby. This is not the case for men who father children who take finasteride. If for any reason you could not have children (example had a hysterectomy), the this drug is not risky for women.
PRP, as discussed in previous posts today, is not very dependable in growing hair. A hair transplant for existing balding or recession clearly addresses missing hair that PRP can’s address. It is like comparing hauling gravel with a bicycle basket or a Mack Truck.
Reader points to interesting article: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/news-releases/year-2017/may/gray-hair.html
The research also could provide answers about why we age in general as hair graying and hair loss are among the first signs of aging. This is all new material and shows how we constantly probe the hair loss and aging process.
Thought I would share my experiences with evolis. I was a little skeptical at first however I have been doing a bit of research online and seen a few new papers about the protein FGF5 and how it controls the hair cycle in humans.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4115575/
Anyway, cutting to it, I used evolis for a few months now (they recommend 3) and I started seeing reduced hair fall after a few weeks. Now I can start seeing a few little hairs popping up around the forehead of the ‘M’.
The article focused on eyelashes and did mention that “we show that FGF5 induces regression of the human hair follicle” but they also showed an increase in forearm hair. You are clearly paving new ground. Keep us informed.
I believe the study showed that sperm count went down after being finasteride in all subjects. But stopping for six months showed an increase in sperm count. However sperm motility did not go back to normal after six months.
Is my understanding true? Can finasteride cause infertility or defects in offspring?
There is a suggestion that some problems with fertility may be present in long term users of finasteride. Questions of sperm count and sperm motility have been an issue; but a cause and effect between the drug and this finding have not been proven as low sperm counts and low sperm motility are present in many men who do not take finasteride. I have advised men with low sperm counts or low sperm motility who are on finasteride, to stop the drug if pregnancy becomes a problem. We do know that when using Dutasteride, a more powerful DHT blocker, that fertility is a problem.
There is no clear evidence that men taking finasteride have produced any birth defects attributed to this drug in children they fathered.