Friedman

So, i have continued with the "big 4": Topical minoxidil and finasteride, microneedling, and plasma therapy for my hair. I think my hair is fine-ish (I still wish were a bit thicker). However, I think the topical minoxidil and finasteride has caused my face, particularly on my temple, to age a bit and get wrinkly and leathery. I think what happens is that when I sleep, the solution gets on my pillow and then to my face. I'm contemplating what to do about this. Someone else who just used minoxidil also reported this. Some steps I'll take are: 1. try to change my pillow-cases almost each night. 2. Maybe wear a nightcap when I sleep so that my hair doesnt' directly touch my pillow 3. Do a better job of applying the liquid in a way so that bits don't end up on my face. 4. do microneedling on my face 5. A friend who is 50 with no wrinkles swears by using facial cream to prevent wrinkles. 6. I may look in to botox...

^I guess the other three things you can do are: (1) don't drink that much (2) eat lots of fish & seafood (3) get lots of natural sunlight, & take vitamin D tablets in winter. (4) don't do things that impair your sleep. Don't stay up super late. go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. dont' stress yourself out. However, none of these are going to have a noticeable impact on your hair but you should do anyway for other reasons.

^Ah, also, there are a couple other things I do. One, I noticed that my minoxidil tends to just make my hair look thicker. So I tend to add that in as well. Lastly, sometimes I add Caboki. Just a powder which makes it appear like I have a fuller head of hair than I do. These are also two nice tools in the arsenal. Am I missing anything?

My topical Fin is MinoxidilMax. It's minoxidil and finasteride. So, I've now added PRP to my regime the past 3 months. So, its Minoxidil, topical finasteride, Microneedling, and PRP. This seems like the "big four". I seem to go back and forth on whether I see progress or not. Certainly, it's not like the obvious progress of getting a hair transplant, but often I suspect I see some progress. Or at least I'm keeping my HT gains from 2018. Also, it's too soon to see any additional benefit of the PRP. I'm still planning another HT this fall/winter. I'll probably do Belgium. I don't want any developing country BS.

Well, I cannot leave Russia, so that limits me quite a bit... Was thinking now is a good time to do, given social distancing, closed-down nightlife, etc. etc.

For those interested (not sure there are), I no longer think my current treatment regime: -- topical finasteride + minoxidil + microneedling -- is going to see any noticeable results. I was quite positive at first, but I seem to think I've seen some hair thinning. This may just be my paranoia. I now have given the topical finasteride + minoxidil about 10 months, and can't say I see any benefit. I fear I might have regressed a bit even. Even before, I had been doing minoxidil + microneedling. Thus, I'm going to look into another transplant.

^Wow, I thought everyone was microneedling by now... Cheap, safe, relatively effective. No reason not to do.

Cheddar, why not also add minoxidil plus microneedling, and see if you can get some growth/improvement?

^as this poster said, the shed might have been a good thing. How long did you give topical fin? Why don't you try fin + minoxidil + micro-needling and giving it all 9 months? Also, your hair doesn't look that bad.

Switch to topical fin, and hit the weight room. Lost 20 pounds if overweight.

Why not do topical fin instead? And add in microneedling?

I am using it. I have been for a bit over three months. So far, so good. I feel like I'm seeing results. I also do aggressive microneedling. The one major drawback is -- don't touch your hair and then touch your face, and keep away from your eyes! Also, I change my pillowcase every night to keep them clean, and even sometimes wear a nightcap to keep the minoxidil from my hair from getting onto the pillow where I rest my face. You don't want this stuff on your face or hands. Same goes for minoxidil. All told, my initial results are very promising. I'm going to give it a few more months and see what happens.

I would have tried topical Finasteride plus my minoxidil + microneedling regime and given it at least six months first. This seems to be working for me. A HT also helped, and I'm glad I did, but perhaps had I tried topical Fin first, I might have needed fewer grafts, or even none at all. What treatment regime are you using? The other thing is to talk to a handful of surgeons and choose the one you feel most comfortable with.

Why not try topical fin? That's what i'm using now...

Blonde bearded bro here. Definitely give topical finasteride + minoxidil + microneedling a go for 6 months before trying a HT. It's way cheaper and could be a permanent solution.