Finasteride works wonders on the crown, especially when hair is still present.
This is an interesting article which shows that women with thinning hair may respond to nutritional dietary supplements to correct their thinning hair.
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I felt that the minoxidil was not working so I stopped it and added finasteride and dutasteride. Here are my 6 month results.
60% of men find that minoxidil will not work for them because their scalp lacks an enzyme that converts it into its active form. Taking oral minoxidil is not a problem as the liver converts it, and you get the full benefit of minoxidil. Finasteride, of course, is the standard for treatment of this problem. Side effects of minoxidil are important to read about. Your results are very nice. Keep it up. Mixing dutasteride and finasteride makes little sense to me. Finasteride has the advantage of its short half-life, while dutasteride can take a year to get out of your body. Because the frontal area didn’t reverse, I would add microneedling to it and I’ll bet you will get hair growth in the frontal area that is still bald.
I have used a 1.5mm roller in the past, and while it was quite uncomfortable to use, I always managed to cover all of my receded front corners and some of my forelock. I tried the Dr Pen 16 pin (I would have used 32 but these were the size that came with the unit) at your recommendation Dr. Rassman, a few months ago, and it was more or less unbearable. It feels like it’s jackhammering into my skull. I lowered the depth to 0.5mm to see if there was any difference, and it felt the same. I can scarcely use it over more than a couple of areas, and holding it flat against the skin in one place for up 10 seconds is more or less impossible. I need to emphasize the sensation of it reverberating through the skull, like having teeth drilled.
The depth to 0.5mm will do nothing, as all stem cells lie under the epidermis (which is 0.5mm thick). If you are in pain, you can go to the pharmacy and purchase a numbing medication, which would be applied 30 minutes before your weekly treatment.
These photos suggest that continued use will increase the benefits you are seeing. The suggestion from this photos is that the hair regrowth is heading in the right direction. You can add microneedling if it doesn’t respond and it may completely reverse the hair loss. How old are you?’
Nice early results suggest that you are getting some benefits. There is no point in using both topical and oral finasteride. The topical goes systemic so you might as well control what is happening to you. With the added topical finasteride, your systemic dose through the skin increases systemic levels more than you realize. Some nice early results, keep it up.
I have a question regarding womens hairloss. Is that also treated with finasteride? Or is Minoxidil the only method? I’m asking for my sister who has a lot of loss in density and has a visible spot on her scalp near her forehead. I’m also curious if oral minoxidil is as effective as topical assuming that is the only method for treatment in women.
Sounds like she needs to see a doctor who specializes in hair. There are many things that can cause the problem you described, so first get a working diagnosis.
I’ve been doing 1.5mm every week using a dermastamp. I don’t press down too hard. Sometimes I do get some pinpoint bleeding, now a lot. I was wondering though, that even if I barely bleed or don’t really see redness/soreness the day after, that I could still be damaging my skin/hair follicles. Is there any other signs I should be looking for?
The Dr. Pen is a better instrument. When you buy it, get the 36-needle version and set it to a depth of 1.25mm. Hold it firm against your skin for 10 seconds and then move it to the next area. Only apply the microneedling where you have lost your hair, but do not go so low that you go below the mature hairline. The Stamp doesn’t give you the control you need.
I want to say for the past 4.5 years my scalp has been having problems that I am not sure if it is due to hair loss, is causing the hair loss or what. The top part of my scalp is often (has been worse) sore and feels stiff. It is itchy sometimes, and is oily when I don’t wash it after a day. If I push my hair up, it feels weird and uncomfortable, especially if my hair isn’t in a natural resting position. There was a comment I saw about someone scratching their scalp and the dandruff would stick to the underside of the nails. I honestly thought that was normal. My temples have receded quite a bit, with diffuse thinning going on in the area that I just mentioned. In the last year and a half, the diffuse thinning has become more noticeable. There are miniaturized hairs and different sizes.
Some men who get itching associated with hair loss have an associated autoimmune disease of the scalp. A dermatologist should be able to recognize this by taking a biopsy of various areas of the scalp as well as performing a detailed trichoscopy. There are diseases that are known to cause this and these diseases must be ruled out. These diseases include psoriasis, lichen plinoplaris, seborrheic dermatisis and others. Are you sure that you are not scratching your scalp to produce the soreness?
I’m 24 and have been on topical minoxidil and 0.3mg finasteride for 1 year now with no response. I’m depressed and see no future for myself.
60% of men will not respond to topical minoxidil. but 100% will respond to oral minoxidil. Men taking 0.3mg of finasteride are not getting the full benefit of this drug. Move it up to 1mg/day. Speak with your doctor about switching to the oral minoxidil. You may get a response. Move up your finasteride to 1mg. If you are treating yourself, that is also a problem, as you are not an expert.
This great video tells you what you need to know if you are considering these options!
If somebody adds grafts to a transplanted hair line is shock loss to these prior transplanted hairs likely?
Shock loss impacts miniaturized hairs, so transplanted hairs very rarely get hit by it. I believe in thousands of patients I have performed surgery upon, maybe two have had shock loss of previously transplanted grafts. I remember them well and their hair returned within less than 6 months. Also, the first hair transplant on a person not taking finasteride, can produce shock loss impacting all of the miniaturized hairs on the head. For a person having two surgeries, the first takes the toll, the second does not.
You may or may not be a candidate for a hair transplant. However, good surgeons need to evaluate your donor supply and paint a realistic picture of the results that can be achieved. I wrote an article in the most prestigious journal for Plastic Surgery on how to get a hair transplant, with good results in almost 100% of men, even with the most advanced balding patterns, provided that the donor area is healthy. That is what you need! You can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com, and I would be happy to talk with you.
