JustRelax!

I started Propecia mid November of last year. It is now the end of May. Within the past 2-3 weeks I am going through an enormous shed. Probably losing 40+ hairs per shower and whenever I comb in the sink hairs come out with each run through. All types of hairs. Shorter ones, longer dark ones. I recently switched to rogaine foam but this was already after the switch began and was for convinence away from the liquid. I am on Fin 1.25mg EOD after experiencing side effects. Again, I switched to EOD after the shed was already underway. Is shedding 6-7 months in a "good" sign or... what is going on here? I am going to stick it out because to be quite frank, I don't give a shit anymore. I've dealt with a horrible receding hairline at 21 years old for the past 3 years and am just about to buzz it all down and not look back. I will however remain on treatment because well... who knows. Advice/tips/opinions/tricks? Thanks.

I'm in the same situation as you Ben. I noticed hair loss when I was 18/19 and blamed it on everything other than MPB. My hair loss is nearly identical to yours. Especially in the first pic. Same type of thinning while retaining some weak hairs on either side. First off, I would start Rogaine RIGHT NOW. 2x a day. Let me save you some trouble: Buy the foam. Purchase it on ebay or amazon for a better deal. The liquid takes far too long to dry and 2 hours of your day will be spent waiting for the stuff to do so. Then at night you risk rubbing it all over your pillows as you toss and turn. Make the investment in foam. Second, STICK WITH IT. I don't care how much you shed or think it isn't working. Ceasing its application will make it worse. Trust me, I did it and went nearly bald in those two frontal areas before I started it up again. Give it at least a year NO MATTER WHAT or DO NOT TRY IT. Also, and here is the biggest tip I can give. Do not procrastinate along any step of the process I explained and will explain below: Go to the store, buy the first bottle of Rogaine Foam even if it costs more than online. Start using it TODAY. Make an appointment with your Doctor tomorrow morning and get those pills asap. It literally takes him 2 minutes to prescribe. You go in, show him your hairline, say I want "x" and you're done. Every day you sit and say "tomorrow" is one more day that hair continues to fall out that you will most likely not recover. When you go to the doctor ask him for a prescription of *5mg* Finasteride. Explain the process of cutting the pill into 4ths to save money. I ended up spending hundreds of dollars on Propecia over the course of 6 months. This was until I simply informed him of the pill cutting "trick". Now I have a 2 years supply of 5mg REGULATED Finasteride for $50. Meaning no "what ifs" that you may have when dealing with online generics. Don't risk it. Be smart. Who cares what the doctors and/or nurse will think when you go there the first time and talk about hair loss. Walk in, get what you need, walk out and fuck them. I mean that. Who cares. GET OVER IT. I would also invest in a shampoo. I use Revita. It is somewhat pricey($28 a bottle on amazon). However it lasts in my experience 3 months or so using it even as directed(2 applications per shower). It is also a BOMB shampoo in its own right. These three treatments, according to "most" are the big 3 and will give you the best chance to grow back or maintain what you have. I too went to a well known doctor and was denied a hair transplant due to my age(21). In my opinion that entire thing is bullshit, but whatever. We "waste" the best times of our lives unable to get a transplant because a doctor doesn't label us as ready. Well guess what, I have the money, understanding, and ACCEPTANCE that while it might not be the "smartest" time to get one, I simply DO NOT CARE. Hair loss has been a huge "curse" for me over the past years and I would be willing to get 10 transplants over the course of the next 10 years if it meant having a full head of hair in my 20's and then wasting away and being scarred and completely bald in my 30's. And I mean that 100%. I have used Dermmatch as a hiding agent, and while it works I quickly became tired of the process of wearing a paint on tupee. In any case, you get an essay for an essay I suppose. If others don't like it, don't read it. Good luck. I am also adding in: Start taking a good multi vitamin(not centrum or some other lackluster storebought, use something like Life Force). Try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Obviously I have no proof if this works... but you'll be improving all other aspects of your life by eating and living right and hopefully it will aid in your struggle.

Yup, I researched this a bit more. They are indeed regulated generics. Good stuff. Wish I would have made the switch months ago. Would have saved hundreds.

I just went to the Doctor and explained how I'd like to make the switch from Propecia to Proscar and explained the process of splitting into 4ths. He agreed and sent the prescription in. I was expecting to pay 75$+ every 4 months for Proscar as I had been paying monthly with Propecia. To my surprise... I now have 12 refills of "5mg Finasteride" x30 for... $10 a refill. Who puts these tablets out? They are not Proscar. They are night time blue color and say "F5" on one side. The other side has a wavy design but it doesn't look like Mercks? I'm not complaining.

I recently decided to start ordering Pefect Hair Solution 15% Minoxidil w/Azelaic Acid 5%. It came to about 40$ for a 60 mL bottle. Taken once a day thats 2 months worth. Money isn't a concern, the most effective mixture of drugs to combat my hair loss is though. I had previously used generic 5% equate brand minox and was developing velous blonde/weak hairs. I was also looking to cut my use down to once before bed as the grease doesn't work during the morning for me. So I figured "why not?". Nearly 2 months later I feel like I have definetly thinned out where I am using this new, "stronger" minoxidil. My question is: Is this Perfect Hair Solution mixture legit? 2nd.. if I am definitely seeing thinning, could this be because of the increased potency of the minoxidil? I just want to know if what I am taking IS infact the real deal and not just holy water placed into a slick looking bottle. Thanks.

I just recently started taking Minoxidil again since last year. Last year I had redshot eyes throughout the few months I took it and wasn't 100% sure if it was caused by the 5% minoxidil I was taking. I eventually stopped, and since starting a few weeks ago I once again have bloodshot eyes upon waking up(almost looks like pink eyes.. very red). It disipates during the day a bit but its still there. Anyway to get around this? I was thinking it might be rubbing on my pillow then on my face or something but I really dont think thats the only reason. I refuse to stop using it in conjunction with Propecia.. but yea, its an annoyance id like to get rid of. Ideas? Opinions? Experiences?

I'll preface this by saying that I just turned 21. I was denied a HT by Dr. Fellar due to my age in combination with my hairloss not being quite "bad enough". I disagree, but whatever. My hairline is receeded about an inch or more on both of the frontal sides. However, I have retained a small number of hairs. A few thicker black ones that can literally be counted, and a bunch of tiny white/clear hairs on either side. He recommended I begin using Propecia.. he also said to avoid rogaine because he has seen no results outside of peach fuzz grown. I had been taking liquid Minoxidil(5%) for only 4 months prior to my meeting and I personally saw a DEFINITE improvement in both sides of my hairline. The hairs were not thick nor black by any means, but it was additional HAIR. I stopped because of several reasons. Silly I know.. it would have been nearly a year and who knows what improvements in my hairline I would have seen, or not. In any case, I've been using the "Big 3" since seeing Dr. Fellar; Propecia, Minoxidil 5% liquid, and Revita Shampoo. While my entire upper scalp is thinner than the sides and back, it isn't bad enough to focus on. Aslong as I can maintain what I have there it only will be visible with a buzz cut. My main focus is solidifying the hairline. I don't expect the hairline I had when I was 15, but it has gone a bit passed the normal mature hairline in the frontal area(sides). I've researched as much as I can for an answer to the question: Does Propecia/Rogaine work on the hairline? Since starting Propecia for 2 months now, I recently decided to add Rogaine to my regime once again. I am in the middle of what I perseve as a shed. Most people say the answer is NO. It does not work. Then a good number say it DOES work, however they cannot claim this due to both products only being tested on the crown/vertex. I am interesting in opinions on this matter. I don't quite understand how a product can be effective in just one specific area and useless on another(the midscalp/hairline). Perhaps not as effective as the crown, but something must be possible. How do others feel about this? Any personal experiences outside of simply reading "NO IT DOES NOT WORK"? I should point out that the blonde/weak hair I KNOW I gained in the frontal area using minoxidil was quickly lost after I stopped using it. Infact, it made my hairline look quite a bit worse. Where I once had a limited amount of colored hair amongst many blonde/weak hairs, it looked like just a 1x1 inch patch of baldness(but still had those weak hairs). Is my outlook better because of my young age and the fact I am not bald yet in the area I want to attack? Time will tell if I see improvements from this combo.. and to be honest I am somewhat positive I will. Personal opinions?