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ciaus

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Everything posted by ciaus

  1. Try to embrace it -have you shaved down your head before? Maybe you have a good facial shape and features for that. If not now perhaps as your face matures it will be a better look.
  2. By no results do you mean no re-gaining or no further loss? -if you mean no re-gain that doesn't mean its not working. If most of your missing hair has been gone for years then the DHT has probably already ravaged your follicles to the point of no return. If you've been recently losing and the loss rate has stopped or at least slowed alot then its working. Ultimately finasteride or dutasteride are not able to completely halt all loss now and going forward.
  3. The visible scalp on this last pic you just posted looks normal -but your camera angle, while its still overhead and even closer, it's not as top-down straight overhead as your previous ones. Its kind of looking overhead and forward. Everything else in your last pic being the same, I would re-take the pic with your head tilted back a bit more so that your camera lens is looking directly down at the top of your head like in the previous ones.
  4. Alot of people have a natural spot in the middle of the crown where you can see some skin, before the loss starts or even if they never lose that hair. But your top pic looks like it may be more than that. You have brown straight hair like me, that's how my crown started to look when it started, Finasteride stabilized it. And if you respond and can tolerate rogaine (minoxidilI) -just in terms of skin irritation if you have sensitive skin, that can definitely help too. That's jumping to the worse case scenario though, If you've never had your hair this short and this is the first time you are seeing it, then maybe you are just naturally a little thin back there. The only ways to know for sure are to wait and see, or go see a dermatologist/hair transplant doctor and have them do a hair scalp analysis where they microscopically check for hair miniaturization.
  5. Voxman is right, you want doctor responses. Just adding some textbook images/descriptions for anyone else fascinated by human anatomy and health, or just to help follow the topic. Function The main function of the occipital artery is to supply oxygenated blood to the muscles of the upper neck and scalp, but it is not its only function.1 In fact, the occipital artery is responsible for more than the occipital area as it has several branches, in addition to the upper and lower ones. The individual branches of the occipital artery supply blood to different parts of the neck, face, head, and ears. The muscular branches supply the digastric below the jaw and longus capitis, a pre-vertebral muscle in the neck. The auricular branch supplies blood to the back of the ears. The meningeal branch supplies the dura mater of the posterior cranial fossa. The sternocleidomastoid branch divides the upper and lower branches. The descending branch is the largest of all the branches of the occipital artery starting in the back of the neck and dividing into two parts: one that supplies the trapezius muscle (the large muscle bundle extending from the back of the head and neck to the shoulder) and another part connecting to the vertebral artery (an artery of the neck that is a major source of blood to the brain). The occipital nerves collectively share a variety of functions that stem from the parent function, which acts as the main nerve supply of the scalp and most of the head. These nerves transmit information back and forth between their originating location in the spinal column and the brain. The greater occipital nerve and lesser occipital nerve share this responsibility.
  6. My young friend -yes your hormones are raging now and the opposite sex at your age is peaking in the looks department too. That's the way evolution/god/whatever you believe has setup the hunter-gatherer game that we started with. Back then you were lucky to live to 25 before you were killed by a sabertooth tiger, etc. So yea we are wired to go sex crazy right out of the gate. LOL But we live in modern societies now, life expectancy into the 70s,80s. I'm 43, take good care of myself and can't tell much of a difference from when I was in my mid 20s. We got some guys on here getting hair transplants that are in their 60s. Your making a big mistake by discounting how good life can be in your middle and later years. Be smart and put your nose to the grindstone in your 20s, starting with the time in university and find something you are good at, that you enjoy, and that you can get well paid for. Get your career and finances (and hair) straight first, there will always be 20-something girls as you get older if you get an itch for some of that, and they loooooove guys that are a little older, mature, financially well off and able to provide them the nicer things.
  7. I hear your pain and understand the desire for an immediate solution, but you really need to slow down as far as additional hair transplants go. I know its harder to look down the road when you are so young, but you literally have your whole life ahead of you after university. These people that you have went to school with, that you will be going to university with the next few years -they seem like the world that matters now and forever, but the vast majority of them you will never see again after you graduate, when you go out in the real world and start living real life. Making rash, rushed decisions now is only going to prolong the pain through your adult years. Have you started taking any meds yet? Start on Finasteride to stabilize and maybe restore some of what you've lost. And minoxidil too, but be aware in the initial weeks with that you may have a temporary shedding phase where some of your hairs fall out as they start on the new longer growth cycle - since you don't go back to university until October might as well get that out of the way now. Give that 6-12 months. As far as managing how your hair looks for now -have you cut your hair down to a buzz or shaved before? And if you want to keep your hair grown out and looking fuller in the meantime, look into Dermatch too -you can find it on amazon.com, other places too I would imagine. The pictures of your donor area in the back look pretty good, but you only have so much and you have alot of years ahead of potential loss. Start on the meds and hopefully you respond well, and while you wait research for good doctors here on the forum, and then in 6-12 months re-evaluate with one of two of those doctors you decide on. And here's a link below to for info on Dermatch
  8. Its all about the genetics out of the gate, not time. Each hair follicle is programmed with a sensitivity level to DHT. The guys that have the follicles that are the most sensitive to it are the ones that start to lose early and aggressively. The luckier guys that have some follicles with more DHT resistance will have more hair hang around longer before they start the miniaturization decline too. Sometimes there can be temporary changes in the body that cause spurts of accelerated loss, due to chemistry/external circumstances/unknown sources of hair loss we don't know about yet. And then there are the luckiest guys of all, that have an almost ENTIRE head of bullet-proof donor hair, and seem to never lose a single hair their whole life! Bottom line, there's no port in the storm. Once it starts and you visibly notice the loss -estimates are its already up to 50% gone! So start when you first notice the loss and keep taking it until you don't care about having any visible hair.
  9. I don't see in here anywhere about you trying meds or that you are against them, and how old you are. Seeing your pics I wouldn't wait for stabilizing. Like @aaron1234 said, finasteride -definitely get on that to restore the hairs that are still salvageable and help protect the remaining ones. And start minoxidil to optimize blood flow/nutrients to your follicles and extend their growth cycle times so you have more of your hairs growing and visible at the same time to maximize your coverage/density. Then after about another 6-12 months get back with the doctors for re-evaluation.
  10. I hear you, and I would caution you from this point. Stick with getting medical advice and any monitoring/evaluation from your actual doctor(s), get a second opinion. The internet, even some of its better parts like this forum, are not the place you want to be looking for worse case scenarios, things that can go wrong, scary anecdotes. You'll find them everywhere, some true and some not, and they will have you freaked out and changing your mind every time you turn around.
  11. I started it back around 2006, healthy and no medical tests beforehand, and have never had any issues. If you are otherwise healthy and the doc gives you the ok to start, go for it and don't obsess about trying to detect side effects. There is a small minority of guys that do report those -some are real, but some of those are guys worrying and obsessing so much they actually create mental blocks that mimic the side effects. You may want to try shaving or buzzing your hair down, maybe you have a good face shape for that? and just not deal with HTs or meds at all. But otherwise, starting down the HT road at just 25, detectable loss since 21, its a commitment and there's alot of years for further loss. Which is why your doc wants you to start the finasteride to help protect your remaining hairs that are more susceptible to loss -add minoxidil while you are at it now, or maybe in a few months when you are comfortable about not having any finasteride side effects. They work well together in terms of maximizing the fullness of your hair.
  12. Man you are still in the sweet spot for jumping on the meds to see if you are a responder. Check out this guy's long thread history of using meds -not saying you should expect his results but it's remarkable how much he re-gained. https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/52518-growing-hair-back-the-big-3-journey/
  13. So from what little I know about oral minoxidil, 40-60mg is the strength range for its original purpose -treating high blood pressure. For the propecia-like reduced strength that will give you the hair loss prevention benefits, the dosages I'm seeing generally go up to only 2.5mg -that's two-point-five, not 25. I've been thinking about starting oral minoxidil because I have sensitive scalp skin due to seborrheic dermatitis that is easily irritated by some of the ingredients in the topical minixodil formulations, like alcohol. I'm in the USA and talked with my doctor and he's offering to write me a script for 2.5mg pills cut in two, so essentially it would be a 1.25mg dosage per day. I've read in doses starting around 2.5 mg some might notice a slight increase in their heart rate so I'd be careful about the 5mg and 10mg doses -unless you do actually have elevated blood pressure. But to your question about dosage and shedding, does the same company that made the 10mg pills also make the 5mg pills? Could be a potency, production issue, check with your pharmacy. And have you started to take regular doses of aspirin for anything or any other changes in your life around this time health wise? -Check this out on the effects of aspirin on minoxidil - https://donovanmedical.com/hair-blog/asa-minoxidil And here are some other interesting reads for anyone: https://donovanmedical.com/hair-blog/side-effects-of-lowdose-minoxidil https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/minoxidil-1-mg-orally-vs-minoxidil-5-solution-topically-for-the-treatment-of-female-pattern-hair-loss/88782 from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology https://hairverse.com/oral-minoxidil/
  14. Along with concealers, there's perfect lighting, camera angles, the whole editing process before the finished product is broadcast can hide alot. But an actor like Kevin James has been doing movies and tv with an obvious transplant for years.
  15. On the medication front you just started finasteride two months ago and you are still pretty young, so hopefully you'll not only maintain but get some re-growth at least in the middle and crown areas. And after about 5 days post procedure (follow your doctor instructions), re-start the rogaine to keep more of your hairs in the growing phase to help give you the thicker look. Like John said I wouldn't give Bosley anymore of your money, research docs here and stay positive -the meds could really help boost your final result. Maybe look into some concealers like toppik, dermatch (search on amazon) to touch up/thicken your hair each day too until you find the right doctor and are financially ready for your next procedure.
  16. -Time tracking devices such as watches, wall clocks, calendars...be patience and in the moment -Google searches on the internet for topics such as imploding hair transplants -Negative input/energy from negative folks
  17. If you scroll down here there's a gallery section for thickening before/afters, maybe he can put you into contact with some of them https://aheadink.com/gallery
  18. You say your hair loss is stable now and you've been on fin for 5 yrs -have you been paying attention to your sides during that time and noticed much of a change there? If its been stable there too you may be alright for now, but Fin and Minox usually don't help much anywhere in the front for most guys so I'd start taking some profile pics occasionally to help you and the doc evaluate down the road. On the number of grafts question I'm not good with that, you still have some pretty good definition there, just a little filling and bringing forward to define the edge of your battle line, so to speak. You don't want to be too aggressive in case you continue to lose alot behind that new front line, it could force your hand to get a smaller (and therefore more expensive) procedure to fill in behind -I would also look into dermatch/toppik concealers for your transplant recovery and as a tool in planning/delaying your subsequent procedures. They are on amazon, relatively cheap, easy to apply well when you already have a good amount of hair, and can give you enough coverage for months or even years so that you get the most bang for your buck.
  19. Be careful with the seborrheic dermatitis, minoxidil solutions can dry out and irritate your skin, potentially cause the s. dermatitis to flare up. Same goes for hair styling products that contain alcohol. Its why I don't use topical minoxidil, hopefully your case is not so sensitive like mine. Helpful shampoos to try. I use Nizoral and H&S a few times a week to help keep things calm. Pyrithione zinc (Dermazinc, Head & Shoulders) Selenium sulfide (Selsun Blue) Ketoconazole (Nizoral A-D) Tar (Neutrogena T/Gel, DHS Tar) Salicylic acid (Neutrogena T/Sal)
  20. Hairline you draw looks good across the top, but your sides are thinning and receding too, not real bad yet -and that is what will eventually not look natural over time when you have a strong hairline on the top and your temple points are receding and thinning, eventually to the point where your side hair line is almost a straight line down. Lot of guys neglect the sides and alot of doctors are reluctant to address them because they are more difficult to fill in and define, but I would want them addressed sooner rather than later while you still have some of your natural hair to help guide the doctor instead of having him just make up what he thinks your temples should look like after they are gone -and it would be easier to conceal during your recovery if you have surrounding and nearby hairs that you can grow out and comb/style forward a bit to cover the area while it heals.
  21. I think his hairline across the top has had work -the temples and top usually recede together from what I've seen and it looks like he had a HT to address the top but didn't do anything to his temples. But then maybe its the way he parts his hair..
  22. Alot of guys wait too long before addressing their hair loss -and then there are the trigger-happy guys on the other end of the spectrum ->you are closer to the latter. Keep taking pics, at month/year intervals based on your comfort, to give yourself and doctors a more accurate reference than your memory. Like has been said, concealer/thickeners like Toppik/Dermatch (search on amazon) can give you that childhood level scalp coverage. And going forward keep accumulating your picture album and show it to some good HT/derm doctors when you need some feedback/confirmation on what you are thinking.
  23. Growing up until just before my high school years (puberty) i had swedish-like blonde hair that I didn't style at all -if a comb went through it, it was to comb it straight down thank you very much. Then I got a home haircut where my mom accidentally cut a feathered look and ....just in the knick of time for the girls I added some hair spray and things took a turn for the better ...for a pretty long while! LOL
  24. Just a PSA for helping to keep your HT under the radar gents -keep an eye on your temple points and widow's creeps and address as needed too! I love Mad Men and Don Draper, but his temple points bother me! am I the only one? or is it just the way he combs his hair??
  25. No problem, so you are maintaining that's great, and you are already planning to address your hairline/temples surgically - I agree those are the most vulnerable hairs and least likely to improve from anything less than a hair transplant. If it were me, and the maintaining areas are already of adequate thickness for me, I wouldn't add to the regimen until/if I notice I was starting to lose again -and I would evaluate by taking pics at regular intervals so I have better references than the memories of looking in the mirror months/year ago. And from a personal health risk/reward comparison, additional drugs is potentially a dice throw to some extent given each of our own unique genetic/environmental factors we each bring to the table. From what I can find most countries haven't officially approved this, its still considered a research chemical, so that would also make me trigger shy. That's me though, interesting topic and and interested in what others think, and know from any personal experience.
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