Mikey1970

I have been taking 2.5mg Oral Minoxidil for 9 months. Pleased with some thickening of scalp hair but pretty sure it has given me significant puffiness of the eyelids as a few friends are commenting. Anyone else experienced this? I read on some other forums a diuretic can help?

Hi Melvin. Yes, i have had my own nightmares with the Hair journey as i think you will remember. I have settled a lot since that time but as you are no doubt aware, it can leave some psychological scarring if you do not tread carefully and deal with ethical practitioners in this industry, thats for sure. Cheers.

It does look like classic recession at the temples but the good news is you are aware of it & addressing it early. With preventative medications, good shampoo's etc you can greatly slow down the loss almost indefinitely. I say that because when i was 18yo i was receding on the temples and now at 50 i am still fortunate to still have most of my hair. Do you have dandruff, scalp psoriasis, excessive itching etc? If so i am a strong believer in the benefits of Ionil T shampoo or a coal tar based shampoo - that helped the general healthiness of my scalp so much in the early days. Look after your hair now and if you can control the loss you can always surgically correct the hairline with a top Dr down the track. Best of luck.

Definitely not normal to have "severe pain" a week post op.

I think anything that can increase blood flow to the hair follicles is good. That said, imho the lasercap's are likely to be the least effective. GET ON THE ROLLER! 🙂

1.5 mm roller, Tuesday & Friday nights Melvin. I roll over back and forth across the weaker area's to the point of light bleeding right before I go to bed. In the morning I wash my hair normally & apply the rogaine foam. I would never have even tried microneedling if it wasn't for Shifty's posts - I have followed the regime that worked so well for him.

Here is a close up just taken. No fibres, just natural. I have been a member of this forum for 5 years & think a few senior members would acknowledge i am a genuine poster.

I have been using minox via rogaine foam for 10-15 years. Been using Fin for 5 years. I use the rogaine foam the morning after rolling as per normal.

I do it in the thinning area only, to the point of light bleeding. I was a bit worried about making my hair worse at first but the gamble paid off. Obviously the wounding significantly attracts increased blood flow to the affected area and the follicles have responded like wildfire.

You should regain most of the native hair 3-4 months post op. If it was strong hair it almost certainly will come back unless something has really gone wrong. IMHO.

I posted on this forum a month or so ago seeking advice for some thinning that I had been experiencing behind my transplanted frontal hairline. Thankfully I stumbled across a post by Shifty in which he reported amazing results from microneedling. Deciding to give it a go myself I have been rolling twice a week (Tuesday & Friday nights) with a 1.5mm roller and truthfully, am blown away with the results too. The thinning part has almost completely filled in within just one month! I could notice improved results by the 2nd week! Seriously guys, imho it is about time derma-rolling or micro-needling gets a boost in recognition! Im not sure if it can bring follicles back from the dead, but it can definitely give a big boost to sick, thinning follicles.

Should get more recognition on this forum than it does imho. Id go so far as to say the Big 3, should be the Big 4 with microneedling included.

I would be guessing mate but personally I wouldn't touch the transplanted area's with a dermaroller for 6 months! Just my gut feeling.

1) Anti Androgen medication - Finasteride or Dutasteride 2) A good shampoo such as the coal tar variety or nizoral. 3) Minox / Rogain Foam 4) Research micro-needling & do that on area's of the scalp with weakness. I think its about time we start giving micro-needling a bit more respect & credibility. There have been some incredible results highlighted recently & I myself have had some good early results with it.

An inspiring thread Shifty. Congrats on your results thus far. For what its worth, I agree that a good regime of hair care can virtually stop MPB in its tracks. I was receding quite sharply on both temple points by 18 years of age, now 48 and although I have had transplants for my hairline and temples, the crown is still intact and most people consider I have almost a full head of hair. Ionil T shampoo which is a coal tar type is what I have used for almost 30 years and worked brilliantly at rectifying a psoriasis type of condition which I think was exacerbating my hair loss at such a young age. Your thread has resulted in me just ordering a 1.5mm derma roller for the first time - I have some weakness behind the transplanted front in my frontal third (particularly on one side) that hopefully I can thicken up. I will give this up to 6 months and if still not happy will likely try PRP. Reluctant to go for more transplants as I have had my own nightmare experience with shock loss although good/ethical doctors really should be able to minimize that risk. Thanks for sharing your results with the forum, it truly is valuable information from a great responder to non surgical hair loss intervention. Cheers.

There is a thread going on here atm with a guy who is having incredible results with the big 3 and micro needling! His results are smashing the ball out of the park - definitely worth a read.

Depends on the condition of your scalp. I am a big believer in Coal Tar shampoo's, especially if you suffer excessive dandruff. Yes the Minox Foam would be a good idea for you too.

If you look after it you should be able to maintain your hair all your life. I was losing mine at 18, was referred to a dermatologist - have since used Ionil T shampoo, Minox Foam, later added Fin - im 48 now & have held onto most of my hair.

Thanks for the response guys. It is a minor aggravation only & from front on it isn't visible. I live in Australia so a likely overseas visit for a touch up HT or PRP if I do something. The surgeon that did my repair work was okay but I was disappointed he didn't nail the result I was looking for given the price I paid. Perhaps I will contact him again or do you think a new surgeon would be interested in a small job like this? I see Dr Laorwong in Thailand is now recommended by this forum - that appeals more than travelling half way around the world to me but I would do it if I had too. Cant seem to find my original posts on this forum "Shock Loss. A warning against repeat procedures", but my experience has certainly opened my eyes to the ruthlessness of this industry and nothing is more important than trust in the surgeon.

Yes. Fin, Minox foam, lasercap. I was an early receder (18 years old), really slowed the loss down with a good coal tar shampoo ( Ionil T)...first HT at 33, now 48. Really blame my initial surgeon for my frontal 3rd thinning. His agenda seemed to be to keep me committed to a series of small procedures always leaving something minor to fix. The last "touch up" for only 30 grafts he aggressively stuck the needle into the major artery which runs from the nose up to the forehead in the middle of my front hairline. Three months after that i lost a chunk of hair overnight from the forelock area. Eventually had a repair job with another surgeon that undoubtedly has improved it.

Or could PRP possibly thicken up this area without surgery? Or can PRP in itself cause shock loss?

Hi guys, Some might remember me from my posts on this forum 3-4 years ago. Overall in a better place than where I was but have never been completely happy with my repair work. The hairline looks good from the front but I still think there is significant weakness on one side of my forlock area in the frontal third that I would one day like to get addressed. Any thoughts on how many grafts might be required & risk of shock loss? After what I went through back in 2015 I am ultra cautious of shock loss leading to repeat procedures. Cheers.

Fantastic result. Have to be happy with that. Congrats.