Gene_Fighter

Hey all, I'm considering starting Rogaine Foam sometime soon, but I'm still torn about whether or not it will be worth it, so any advice/ personal expereinces/ suggestions/ questions or comments will be very helpful. I'm 22 and I've been losing my hair since I was about 14, although I doubt anyone could really notice it until I was about 19 or 20. My hairline recedes from just above my sideburns back in a widow's peak, and in the past year or so I've noticed general thinning on the top of my head as well. My primary concern is keeping the hair on my temples where it is or even regrowing some of it--but I'm not sure if Rogaine Foam would work well for this. I've read a lot of personal experiences about Rogaine Foam and while many people do use it for frontal balding, there also appears to be a pretty brutal shedding period associated with this, and not much regrowth afterwards. All the men on my mother's side are bald and I feel that fate (and genetics) are set against me, so I'm not sure if Rogaine Foam would have any significant effect--or if my hair would even survive the shedding period. Also, I've considered using Finasteride (Propecia) but I'm just not really cool with the potential side-effect of permenant impotence. Has anyone here tried Finasteride, and was it successful/unsuccessful? Any advice on either of these products would be appreciated.