Balding Indian!

Hi All, Since my hair loss has progressed, I thought I would try out some hair fibres (& maybe use in addition to Dermmatch as I have read the combo works pretty good). I have black hair but my light brown scalp is becoming quite noticeable now. I have a wedding to attend this Sunday & the usual overcast & crappy UK weather will be absent as it will be a very hot, sunny & bright day and it does not get dark till around 10pm. During the Wedding, I will have to partake in plenty of activity out in the bright sunshine & then indoors where there will be bright lights as well as strong lights from the various videographers/photographers. I just bought some Nanogen & applied just a small amount (it looked quite good in the bathroom), applied a decent amount of hairspray & then went out for the day (very hot & bright) with my nephew & his wife. At one point my nephew commented that I should really wash my chair as it looked very dry & clumpy - he thought it was dandruff or something. I was very upset to be busted so quickly as I have read that many think Nanogen is one of the better fibres out there & especially since I just used a very small amount to try out. I do sweat a lot from the head & was wondering if this caused the Nanogen to clump up - has this happened to anyone else? I am also need to know if it looks, chalky, lumpy or dry (as well as fake) in strong sunlight and/or if it clumps up with heavy sweat as I really do not want to get busted - I am the Uncle of the Bride & will have lots of interaction with many of the guests all day & evening so I cannot go into hiding at any time. Video's of the wedding will also be made & distributed & I do not want to be forever busted on video for all to see & confirm in future. Please kindly help & advise as I hoping some of you might have had to face a similar situation - the wedding is next Sunday so I do not have much time! Many Thanks, Balding Indian!

Hi Dr Meija, Thanks for your help - I will start with the 5% Minoxidil - is it available in the foam/mousse version? Balding Indian!

Hi All, I am planning to start the Propecia/Minoxidil Regime. I believe that Minox is avialable in 2%, 5%, 10%, 12.5% & 15% strengths. Obviously, I wish to hasten hair growth and would like to know which strength is best to use. I am wondering why there is such a range of strengths and what issues there may be between them. Is it just cost vs effectiveness where the strongest is the best but most expensive or are there any issues like tolerance, side effects etc? Which is the optimum strength (if one)? If none, then why do not people just use the strongest one for fastest and best results? Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi all, I did say that coconut oil was in the main seen as a nourishing and fortifying treatment & not in any way as a hair growth solution and even expressed my surprise that this guy grew some hair with it (together with the IHM.I trust no one thought I was implying otherwise! Balding Indian!

Hi all again, Please note, I am not saying this is a treatment or anything - all I am doing was just reporting what I saw! Whether it has any credit - I do not know and cannot say. May it helps on some people and not on others. I can however honestly state that in the bald patch the hair was sparse and in the smooth patches there was no evidence at all of any surgical treatment - it was bald and smooth. Maybe it worked for him or maybe he was taking meds. I do not know. Balding Indian.

Hello All, I go to a number of different newsagents/convienance types of shops depending on what I need or where I am in my local area. Today, I went to one I hadn't been too in a fair while and I am on sort of friendly terms with the owner. The thing is, in the past, I have always seen him purely bald on top - hair on the sides and back but totally smooth bald on top. Today, however I was immediately struck on seeing him as he clearly had hair on his bald patch. It was thin and about 3-4cm long. It was not concentrated on any one area, but generally all over the bald patch but was quite sparse. Well, I have been reading up on these forums and doing a lot of research lately for my own hair and immediately said to him had he had a transplant or been taking meds to which he clearly said no many times. I pushed him that he must have as there was no other way hair could grow. He is quite rich so my suspicions on the transplant/meds was I thought valid. Upon asking how he then got the new hair growth, he told me he had been having regular once a week Indian Head Massage and been oiling his scalp with regular run of the mill coconut hair oil. Now, Indian Head Massage is all the rage these days, no one seems to have any issue with it as it helps lots of things like tension, migraines, stress, circulation, etc. but hair growth? That's a new one me! I have read that coconut oil is supposed to be very healthy for maintaining strong and supple hair and some have even reported hair growth with it but in the main, it is seen as a nourishing & fortifying treatment. The only thing is, this guy told me that the person who gives him the IHM would do the regular IHM and in addition slap his scalp quite hard in a certain manner and pattern fairly rapidly for quite some time! (gives a new meaning to the term slap-head I guess!). The only thing I can assume is the this IHM was very good at creating better blood circulation around the scalp which is generally accepted to be very important for hair. In Ayurveda, it is also generally accepted that in order to maintain good hair and help growth, the scalp has to be kept cool which I am assuming the coconut oil does. I would say that the hair growth covered about 80% of his scalp but it was very sparse and I would rate it in terms of amount of hair to be 5% to 10% of his scalp. He said he oils every night and has the IHM once a week and had been doing it for 4 months. Make of this what you will. Those of you considering a HT in a few months or a year down the line, may want to try it - nothing to lose I guess and if you do grow some hair, then you'll have less grafts to do and may be able save a fair bit of money and those of you on meds, it might help the hair growth process and save you money on less meds -in which case, you'll all owe me a pint! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hello All, I go to a number of different newsagents/convienance types of shops depending on what I need or where I am in my local area. Today, I went to one I hadn't been too in a fair while and I am on sort of friendly terms with the owner. The thing is, in the past, I have always seen him purely bald on top - hair on the sides and back but totally smooth bald on top. Today, however I was immediately struck on seeing him as he clearly had hair on his bald patch. It was thin and about 3-4cm long. It was not concentrated on any one area, but generally all over the bald patch but was quite sparse. Well, I have been reading up on these forums and doing a lot of research lately for my own hair and immediately said to him had he had a transplant or been taking meds to which he clearly said no many times. I pushed him that he must have as there was no other way hair could grow. He is quite rich so my suspicions on the transplant/meds was I thought valid. Upon asking how he then got the new hair growth, he told me he had been having regular once a week Indian Head Massage and been oiling his scalp with regular run of the mill coconut hair oil. Now, Indian Head Massage is all the rage these days, no one seems to have any issue with it as it helps lots of things like tension, migraines, stress, circulation, etc. but hair growth? That's a new one me! I have read that coconut oil is supposed to be very healthy for maintaining strong and supple hair and some have even reported hair growth with it but in the main, it is seen as a nourishing & fortifying treatment. The only thing is, this guy told me that the person who gives him the IHM would do the regular IHM and in addition slap his scalp quite hard in a certain manner and pattern fairly rapidly for quite some time! (gives a new meaning to the term slap-head I guess!). The only thing I can assume is the this IHM was very good at creating better blood circulation around the scalp which is generally accepted to be very important for hair. In Ayurveda, it is also generally accepted that in order to maintain good hair and help growth, the scalp has to be kept cool which I am assuming the coconut oil does. I would say that the hair growth covered about 80% of his scalp but it was very sparse and I would rate it in terms of amount of hair to be 5% to 10% of his scalp. He said he oils every night and has the IHM once a week and had been doing it for 4 months. Make of this what you will. Those of you considering a HT in a few months or a year down the line, may want to try it - nothing to lose I guess and if you do grow some hair, then you'll have less grafts to do and may be able save a fair bit of money and those of you on meds, it might help the hair growth process and save you money on less meds -in which case, you'll all owe me a pint! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi Rahul, Thanks for that - Those prices are really good compared to even the cheapest on the web! I think as long as they are from one of the big pharmaceutical companies in India, then they should be OK, as long as they are the same ones that one one would buy from the web anyway, I can save quite a lot. Is Minoxil available in all strengths there - 2%, 5%. 12.5% etc and in the new foam version? What's the prices on those? Thanks Balding Indian!

Hi All, Its funny, when it comes to making money, the so called "Noble Profession" is all of a sudden no longer noble - not in the hair loss industry anyway! From highly qualified & educated, decent moral human beings to basically professional whores. Well, that's one more to the list comprising of Politicians, Lawyers & the modern day media. Isn't it funny how it happens across every culture and country one can think of? (Japan excluded of course!) What does that say about human beings? A labourer or workman ripping people off, though not right, at least, does not do any physical or long term personal/pyschological harm which these so called medically qualified hair experts do. (the few decent ones are excluded of course!) Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi Bill, Thanks for the heads up - I will look into it! Balding Indian!

Hi Rahul, Thanks for the link. Any idea what the prices for Finesteride & Minoxidil are - there is no info on the website. Rahul, Do you have Dark Circles Around The Eyes? Has using Minoxidil made them worse? Indians get them and they are next to impossible to get rid of - I have spent years trying - nothing works. They will get darker even as time goes by so this is very worrying to hear. I have them and they are really bad. I do not want to make them worse - I would really rather go without Minoxidil if it caused that. You aure it is the Minoxidil? Could it also be the Finesteride or may both when used together? Regards, Balding Indian.

Hi, I was wondering if any of our friends who are resident in India can give me an idea of the best or average price of Finesteride & Minoxidil over there either from mail order or via the local pharmacies? I or some family members may be going there soon and I am Hoping to get a good deal whilst there buying so I can buy enough to last for a good while! Any help would be appreciated! Thank you, Balding Indian!

Hi, I would NOT use it as there simply is not enough evidence as refards its side effects. I really do not know thatmuch about drugs but my sister is a very high level director for a company that checks, tests and analyses drugs and research from the pharmaceutical companies and she travels all over the world. She has told me that these big drug companies use very trick in the book to make their drugs as marketable as possible and she has to threaten them sometimes to get them to reveal everything. Even then, they play all sorts of tricks, especially on what the declare as side effects and dangers. Also they play about with the research to make it look better than what it is. Now consider that alot of these drugs get approval. My point being that Avodart is not approved for hair loss, no serious studies have been conducted on its safety, side effects or dangers and even if there was, chances are it would be made, the evidence would most likely be made to look better than it would probably be. Don't mess with anything until it has been at least been approved and you have some sort of idea what it might to to you. Regards Balding Indian.

Hi Mrjb, What a surprise! I can't figure out what all those ingredients mean or are so thanks to you, we can most probably discount this stuff as well! Thanks mrjb! Balding Indian!

Hi all, Balding Indian here! Thats some great stories - gives me assurance that if ever I need one - I wont look kije a freak or be riduculed! I do wish to play devil's advocate though, I have been going through many websites for transplantations and would to know, if the photo's they show are the 'very best' they have produced? They must be must they not? After reading on these forums that there are only a very handful of decent HT docs out there, I am mindful that for many this is primarily a business - I am a sucker for hype and would have gone to just anyone that convinced me had it not been for you guys. If, then, all these HT websites are only showing their best work, about about the rest we never get to see - the average or bad results we may be unaware of? I have sadly read too many bad experiences on these forums. I think, it may be wise then to say, yes, one can get a really good, near undetectible HT BUT only if done by the handful of decent docs as recommended on these forums or am I being too harsh? A major big thank you to all for your knowledge and input. Balding Indian!

Hi Mrjb, Thanks for that - I did see a programme once where a man had his hand & arm transplanted and indeed, he did have to stay on these anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life. I now know thanks to you, that in familes these genetic traits can skip which would explain why siblings can have different hair traits but, why is that if one has say, blood, heart, kidney transplants one does not need anti - rejection drugs (as long as it matches) but there is no such thing as matching hair? It obviously cannot be done but I just wonder why - what makes hair different to say a heart or a kidney? Funny huh, For thousands of years, virtually every culture on the planet has been trying to find a cure to hair loss & regrowth and modern science has been continually been trying for decades - probably hundreds of institions around the world simulataeneously but the humble hair has beaten them all! I believe that hair even grows once one dies so there is something that is very stubborn and obstinate about where it decides to and not to! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hello, I am really just learning about all topics and remedies associated with Hair loss and would like to ask the experts the following regarding hair transplantation: These days, as long as there is a donor match, many tissues and organs can be transplanted between people - blood, heart, liver, kidneys, etc., not to mention all the cloning & genetic stuff going on. It may be a very stupid question, but if one can transplant matching organs, why not hair from another person which 'biologically' matches ones own hair and that ones body will not reject? The theory as to my very basic understanding is that transplanted hairs from the back of the head are very resistant to balding but currently one is limited to any HT procedure by the level of baldness and the amount of suitable hair in the donor area. If one could source 'biologically matching' hair from willing donors - then will this not make the process more effective (if possible) or does every human being on the planet have totally 'biologically' unique hair? If so, why? Is not the case with many other organs. Also, if in some baldness is genetic, then why, in some families does one find some siblings that are totally or very bald and others that have a full head of hair and do not bald? I am sorry if the questions are ridiculous or stupid - I am just trying to learn! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hello, I am really just learning about all topics and remedies associated with Hair loss and would like to ask the experts the following regarding hair transplantation: These days, as long as there is a donor match, many tissues and organs can be transplanted between people - blood, heart, liver, kidneys, etc., not to mention all the cloning & genetic stuff going on. It may be a very stupid question, but if one can transplant matching organs, why not hair from another person which 'biologically' matches ones own hair and that ones body will not reject? The theory as to my very basic understanding is that transplanted hairs from the back of the head are very resistant to balding but currently one is limited to any HT procedure by the level of baldness and the amount of suitable hair in the donor area. If one could source 'biologically matching' hair from willing donors - then will this not make the process more effective (if possible) or does every human being on the planet have totally 'biologically' unique hair? If so, why? Is not the case with many other organs. Also, if in some baldness is genetic, then why, in some families does one find some siblings that are totally or very bald and others that have a full head of hair and do not bald? I am sorry if the questions are ridiculous or stupid - I am just trying to learn! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi Dhoose75 & Blowdry, THanks for the input - I must admit I was and am still overweight but working on it - I was around 235lbs but am currently around 190 which I ahve lost over the last 5 months or so. I ahve to lose about another 20-30lbs before I am at an ideal BMI of 22.5. Hopefully within a few months I should reach it. I do not excercise that much these days but do eat far more healthier - pretty much cut out all the fast & processed foods, snacks, sweets, sugars etc. I do have mid belly prob as thats where I accumulate fat but I have been told that alot of men do. I will hopefully get it flat again - gone done froma waist 44" to a waist 36" so I guess I am getting there! I lost my job a while back and feel real guilty in indulging in any way but I guess I need to do sorm form of excercise. Time to look for squash partner I guess! Its just that man, my performance in the sack just went downhill real fast - over a very short period of time and the very little semen output got me real scared. I spoke to the doctor about this but he said it was totally normal at ages over 40 and nothing to worry about - I am not so sure - do most nen over 40 really last such a short period of time and have a very small semen output? It's really ironic - the two industries that probably have the world biggest snake oils & scams - hair loss & 'getting your Mojo back' and I have to sift through both of them! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi All, This may bring out a few hidden demons or upset some people but we are all human and as men we too have our issues. I apologise beforehand if it offends anyone. I am 44 and to be honest, sexually, I am honestly no longer any where near potent as I was was. I really tend to shoot my load pretty muxch within a couple of minutes (sometimes much less) which in itself is real cause for concern. My volume of ejaculation is just a fraction of what it once was (really not very much at all) - again, concerning. Is this normal with most men my age? I know it is an issue guys do not like to talk about as it goes to the very nature of our 'Manhood'. The reason, I ask, is that, if I start on Propecia, I am really worried that this situation will get even worse - I knwo that stats say the sexual side effects are only in about 2 or 3% but with my situation.... Can anyone around my age, (may be with a similar situation) provide some input or guidance on how Propecia has affected you in terms of sexual side effects? What would your advice be - should I take it considering my situation? Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi Bill, I will look into this "Calosol" more - they have a number and address - so thats something - I will see what else I can find out and user opinions and let you know! Balding Indian!

Hi Bill, Thanks for that great info - I guess then I have diffuse pattern baldness - my hair loss is happening mainly at the front and top of my head - the back and sides are pretty much OK - the temples have really receded a bit. Can you confirm that I have diffuse pattern baldness as opposed to diffuse alopecia then as it is certainly not all over the scalp. Is there any hope for me or any treatments that you can recommend? If you gather any info on this Calasol stuff let me know - if it is some benefit then great - if not at least our efforts will then help others to be warned against it. Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi All Again, Balding Indian Here! I have just learnt that I suffer from something called "Diffuse Alopecia" which the 'Big 3' I was planning to undertake may not be suitable. Anyway, the desperate but futile search continues for something to help, even though I probably know already not to believe anything out there any more but it is funny how one does things to make them selves feel better, keep a modicum of hope in place, try to avoid denial etc!! I came across another forum called Keratin or something and there is a very divided camp on the benefits of a treatment called 'Calasol'. To respect rules I have not posted a link. It is made by a herbalist in the UK and I just had a look at the website, again with some pretty impressive claims and pics (they are actually good quality pics this time!) and they look way to good to be true - even has some write ups from the press etc. Has a sort of money back guarantee one needs to read into carefully but seems OK. I did a search on this forum before hand and there was no posting I could find. Has anyone heard of this treatment - any info, good or bad? I have mixed feelings - my intelligence tells me - if it is as good as it shows, this guy would now probably be richer than Bill Gates and some big Pharmaceutical company would have got their dity hands on it, then again, there is that human condition called 'denial & desperation' (which lately, I seem to have a lot of!) and wants to keep hoping something out there might be for real - At this stage, I would love something to magically grow my hair but if something can help keep what I have without losing more at least thats something! Please have a look at this 'Calasol' treatment (google it) and share your thought and/or experiences! Sorry if I sound stupid or desperate - as they say, 'A drowning man will clutch at a straw'! Regards, Balding Indian!

Hi All, After reading alot on here, I decided to heed everyones advice on start on the "Big 3" - Minoxidil (2% or 5%), Propecia/Finesteride and the Nizoral Shampoo. I have just read carefully from the Propecia and Rogiane Web-sites and they clearly state that these two primatily only work for MPB and at the Crown area of the head and not to use them for balding anywhere else. Ok, my crown can do with some help, but I have very fine, thin hair and my balding is mainly on the front and top of my head - the back and sides are ok - I am Indain with black hair and a very light brown scalp which really freaking shows through. I found that using Dermmatch to conceal the scalp made me lose hair badly so I have stopped using it. So, what do I do? Surely there must be many in the same position as me and if Propecia/Rogaine may not be an option, what are we to do? I am really very depressed at the moment - I am really fed up and tired at looking for a solution and the thousands out there all seem to be snake oils and the only ones that may work may not do so for my type of hair loss - I really feel cursed. If anyone can give some help or guidance, I will really be grateful, Its funny how ordinary, everyday people can be so cruel sometimes - some of the comments I get these days are really quite hurtful. Peace to all of you. Regards, Balding Indian.

Hi All, After reading alot on here, I decided to heed everyones advice on start on the "Big 3" - Minoxidil (2% or 5%), Propecia/Finesteride and the Nizoral Shampoo. I have just read carefully from the Propecia and Rogiane Web-sites and they clearly state that these two primatily only work for MPB and at the Crown area of the head and not to use them for balding anywhere else. Ok, my crown can do with some help, but I have very fine, thin hair and my balding is mainly on the front and top of my head - the back and sides are ok - I am Indain with black hair and a very light brown scalp which really freaking shows through. I found that using Dermmatch to conceal the scalp made me lose hair badly so I have stopped using it. So, what do I do? Surely there must be many in the same position as me and if Propecia/Rogaine may not be an option, what are we to do? I am really very depressed at the moment - I am really fed up and tired at looking for a solution and the thousands out there all seem to be snake oils and the only ones that may work may not do so for my type of hair loss - I really feel cursed. If anyone can give some help or guidance, I will really be grateful, Its funny how ordinary, everyday people can be so cruel sometimes - some of the comments I get these days are really quite hurtful. Peace to all of you. Regards, Balding Indian.