Minoxidil and Temples

[lukeyb1687]

Hi!

 

This month I decided, after 4 years of my hair line receding, to actually do something about it and stop praying for some form of miracle overnight regrowth! So I went out and bought Generic Minoxild from Kirkland, some GNC Mega Men Sport tablets (for general vitamin dosages), Provillus tablets and ARG Matrix (a new L-Arginine formula that is meant to help with keeping the hair healthy as well as many other benefits)

 

I started using the Minoxidil and Mega Men Sport tablets on the 22nd April and the next week ordered the provillus and began taking that as well. I just started taking the ARG Matrix a couple of days ago so I will have to keep everyone informed on that at a later stage when I can start noticing effects. I've been reading all sorts of stories from all different websites but my favorite is Hair Restoration Network, so much info and research and so in depth!

 

This first month has been hard, I like my hair long but I began to notice that keeping it long was making it hard to put the Minoxidil treatment on my scalp and also I began thinning in the middle of the crown I thought I originally was just receding and that I was a lucky one and was going to miss the whole crown balding... apparently not! So I cut my hair short so it was easier to apply the solution,but it has been tough to watch as there is ALOT of shedding! But I can only view this as a positive! I have started to notice some very fine white hairs coming through at the temples where there hasn't been anything for a few years, and today was the first day I have noticed that some are getting a little darker! Which has me overly excited!

 

I know Minoxidil is supposedly not for temple regrowth but there certainly is no harm in trying and besides I was inspired because of Zeroheats story at the Hair Loss Talk website http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewtopic.php?t=56072

I figured that it wouldn't hurt to document my journey on here!

 

I have attached some before pictures and pictures that I have taken today. There is a couple of long hair.

[1966kph]

hello lukeyb1687, if i'd have known as much as you know now when i was your age i probably would not have progressed to my present norwood 6,all you can do at a younger age can only benifit you in the long term,i tried provillus and to be honest had no noticable results,i'm on minoxidil and generic proscar and have noticed results after only two months but like i say being a norwood 6 i'm urinateing in the wind and getting wet. all the best and have a nice day....

[lukeyb1687]

Hi 1966kph!

 

Thanks for the comment Yeah I;ve heard mixed reviews about Provillus but thought I would try it for 6 months...if it doesn't work for me then I guess Proscar it is! Did you have any side effects from it at all? Haha well who knows maybe you can urinate a little longer and the direction might change down the road

[1966kph]

hello lukeyb1687..i hav'nt noticed any side effects at all from the fincar and just a ocassional itch from the kirkland minoxidil,provillus might work well for you[i hope it does] everyones different and have differing results from the same medication,i'm starting to believe i may well be stuck in the centre of a tornado as my whole life i seem to have been pissing in the wind...all the best with the meds and have a nice day....

[lukeyb1687]

So I have now been using my regime for 1 1/2 months....and it has been tough! The shedding made my hair loss look worse then it had...but it has been the greatest decision to combat my hair loss as now I have significant regrowth of white hairs(and some are growing darker) The pictures I have added you can just about see where the regrowth is recurring! Hopefully in a month of so they will be darker and you will be able to see! The quality of the rest of my hair is fantastic it feels so thick! I think this is mainly because of the ARG Matrix. It's the safest does of l-arginine you can buy and has 25 years of testing with 0 side effects! I know it's not meant mainly for hair loss but it is supposed to help maintain current hair and make it healthier, So I figured what I am regrowing back will make it stronger then just peach fuzz! It really seems to be working! I never though that minoxidil, provillus, GNC mega men sport and ARG Matrix would take effect so soon! I am sooo over the moon, every morning instead of waking up down and not wanting to look in the mirror because my hair is falling out I am waking up excited to see how it has changed over night...haha I know you can't really notice but it's SUPER exciting to see progress!!

[lukeyb1687]

Ok I am just shy of posting this at the 2 month mark, I still have till the 25th June....and I realise now that I posted the 1 1/2 months early...but hey I had results!! Haha!

 

These last weeks have slowed in progression and the only reason I can think of is I stopped taking the ARG Matrix because I ran out of supply and don't get paid till the end of the month...but managed to get some ordered by borrowing some cash and will hopefully see more results! So the hairline is defiently filling in the temple more! It's amazing! I know they are still fine little hairs but I am sooo excited...especially as no more hair is falling out at the moment...I don't have any excess hairs coming off in the shower...I think I am going to give this credit to Provillus and it's key ingredient Saw Palmetto! The temples are certainly filling out more and creating less of a drastic recession...they are currently forming a straighter hairline simmilar to what I had at 17/18! So here are the pictures at the moment, I am getting my haircut on tomorrow and will see whether they notice the change! The hair that wasn't receding has been getting thicker and healthier looking! I'm actually excited to get my haircut now and even more excited to get more of the ARG Matrix!!

Exciting times ladies and gentlemen!!

I've added a few pictures with and without flash

[Shyguy]

congrats. keep posting your results.

 

what does ARG Matrix do? i've never heard of it and can't find too much info on it relating to hair growth.

 

thanks

[lukeyb1687]

congrats. keep posting your results.

 

what does ARG Matrix do? i've never heard of it and can't find too much info on it relating to hair growth.

 

thanks

 

Hi Shyguy!

 

Well it's an adaptogen, which basically means it will adapt to help your body with what it needs, in my case help promote faster hair growth and strengthen new and existing hair follicles. Other people it may help with Irreitable Bowel Syndrome, or will help people get into a deeper sleep. Especially as it defiantly has improved my temple hair regrowth, as from not taking it, it seems to have slowed down. Also minoxidil isn't really meant for temple regrowth but it sure is happening for me

 

The ARG Matrix is the highest and safest dose of L-Arganine that can be taken, the scientist behind it has done 25 years of research on it and tested it on over 250,000 people and the results were that they all had 0 negative side effects. L-arginine is an amino acid, which means it is one of the building blocks of protein. What is of interest where hair growth is concerned, however, is not the protein connection but the unique properties of this amino acid. It turns out that L-arginine serves as a precursor in the body for the production of nitric oxide (NO), which is a gas. In other words, the body takes L-arginine and manufactures NO from it.

 

I hope this helps. A good thing to google is L-Arganine or Nitric Oxide and Hair Growth/Loss.

Edited June 17, 2010 by Future_HT_Doc
removed promotional link

[Shyguy]

thanks for the explanation. i will do more research on this

 

do you have plans to use propecia a well?

 

and how many times a day/week do you use rogaine (foam?)

 

the reason i ask is that i have been on propecia since it came out and started using rogaine foam roughly one time per day (at night). i'm just looking for another avenue to try without causing a break in my current protocol

[lukeyb1687]

thanks for the explanation. i will do more research on this

 

do you have plans to use propecia a well?

 

and how many times a day/week do you use rogaine (foam?)

 

the reason i ask is that i have been on propecia since it came out and started using rogaine foam roughly one time per day (at night). i'm just looking for another avenue to try without causing a break in my current protocol

 

 

 

Awesome. I highly recommend it and will def be keeping this post updated with my results!!

 

At the moment with the results I am seeing I don't plan on taking propecia anytime soon...kinda scared about the side effects lol. Have you experienced any? But I will keep my options open for the near future.

 

I use a generic 5% Minoxidil topical solution (Kirkland- bought 6 month supply from Amazon for $20) 2 times a day. It was kinda messy to begin with but now I have quite a bit of "peach fuzz" it stays on my scalp easier. I use it every single day! I would recommend if you are using it only once a day bump it up to twice a day...once when you wake up after a shower and then 2 hours before you go to bed.

[lukeyb1687]

OK So I have been following my regime for almost 3 months now and I must say I am super excited!! My hair line has never looked better (well not within the last 5 years) and it feels so thick too!!! Unfortunately I ran out of ARG Matrix for a 2 weeks and only got back on it a couple of days ago....I can already see increase in thickness and growth of even more white hairs!!! The Temples have really thickened out compared to what they were and now even more white hairs are appearing even lower then before!! Hopefully next month you will see an almost Straight hairline!! But check out my pics and let me know what you think

[TakingThePlunge]

lukeyb1687,

 

A comparison of your last month photos with your latest seems to show significant improvement. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your update next month.

 

All the best,

[Shyguy]

Looks good. How much of the growth do can you attribute to ARG Matrix and how much to Minox? Did you notice any difference when you went off ARG?

[lukeyb1687]

Thanks David! I feel so much better and confident within myself now that I know my hair is filling out

Edited July 16, 2010 by lukeyb1687

[lukeyb1687]

Looks good. How much of the growth do can you attribute to ARG Matrix and how much to Minox? Did you notice any difference when you went off ARG?

 

I have noticed a significant difference when I'm taking the ARG Matrix. Although I think the Minoxidil is what's causing the hair to grow the ARG Matrix definitely is making the hair grow faster and making it stronger quicker. I came off it for a little bit as I ran out of ARG and had to wait for my pay check lol and I seemed to stay pretty much the same, but hten a couple of days into taking the ARG again new white hair sprouted up and the exisiting ones got darker and thicker. I can't explain why it works so well the results just seem to keep coming stronger and quicker when I'm taking the ARG. I know it's an adaptogen and is designed to help your body heal so I figure my body realizes there are new hairs on myu head growing and uses the ARG to fix them. Plus my spots and everything have cleared up!

[1966kph]

hello Lukeyb1687,glad to see things are looking up for you may i wish you further success in your battle against the shinny scalp,all the best and have a nice day......

[lukeyb1687]

Hey 1966kph Many thanks for the encouragement Hopefully if things keep up I'll at lest maintain what I have already. Have a great day yourself

[carlos27]

Hey luke, congrats on your progess. Im 22 yrs old, and the hair on the top of my head is thinning. I ran into your post when researching hair loss. I like to thank you, cuz reading your thread has allowed me to go ahead and fight to stop my balding. Right now, all im using is Rogaine. (Im not shedding much of anything yet, been at it for a week only tho, hopefully it doesnt get too bad =/) Im looking for other stuff to add to my regime to reverse my thinning. Im also trying to convince myself to try finasteride, but im also scared of the side effects.

 

My main question to you is why did you chose to use ARG Matrix to your regime, i read your eariler explanation, and i also research it a bit on google. It seems to have alot of cool benefits but I cant find anything saying it helps hair growth. In a sense i am asking, What made you say, "ARG Matrix will help my hair growth?" Did you read in on a website somewhere?

The stuff is expensive, haa, its hundred bucks. And also how long does one jug last you??

 

Im gonna stay tuned on your progress man, good luck and i hope you attain/keep the hair you desire to have.

[lukeyb1687]

Carlos!

 

That's fantastic news! Start your regime now to try and prevent any more future loss...or at least slow it down alot! I wa 22 when I started on minoxidil too! I've been using it since May/June last year if I remember right.

 

I actually was using the ARG Matrix for a different reason, my gym regime, I found that it seemed to increase the response time for Minoxidil. I've given up on it myself unfortunately because it is SUPER expensive. 1 tub would last me 15 days...so I was spending about $140 a month for 2 tubs (I got a discounted price at the time) but now it's back up to $200 a month. I've not used it since August of last year unfortunately...I wish I was still on it as the other benfits from it were great too! I might go back on it, espcially now that I am on Finasteride. Just from the stuides I read about, I know it helps balance out hormome levels (DHT included).

 

I was skeptical at taking Finasteride too...mainly about the erectile disfunction. But I really started to thin out on my crown and can't afford a transplant right now so after much debate I decided to try it. I started with .5mg a everyother day for 2 weeks then went on to 1.25mg every other day and after another 2 weeks I went up to 2.5mg and now I'm on 5mg a day. I think that I was lucky and haven't had side effects, also perhaps that I weined myself on it that it might have helped as it wasn't such a shock to my system.

 

I can't reccommend Finasteride for you and nor can anyone else. It's a personal decision and unfortuantely some people are unlucky with. don't feel forced to do it because other people have had results. It has helped me so far. I've had ALOT of temple regrowth and the hairs are thickening every day! Although the initial shed period wasn't fun haha! I will try and upload some current pics later on today

 

What options have you considered so far?

[carlos27]

Appreciate the feedback Luke

Are you just thinning at the crown, or overall?

 

Would you say that taking minoxidil and finasteride help to thicken your existing hair? Honestly the thought of being bald is depressing, especially at my age. My hair is get thinner and even with my long hair the scalp is starting to show. My goal is to hopefully thicken my existing hair alil bit and cut it shorter when its less noticeable. That way i can atleast get use to having short hair before i, if i ever, go bald. Also, did taking these drugs increase your amount of body of hair?

 

Yea, the ARG stuff sounds cool, but unforunately its out of my budget. I am a student with my fair share of bills so i gotta keep it cheap, ha. Maybe i will pick it up when im more financially stable.

 

I think every man is gonna be scared of taking finasteride intially, because who wants to take a chance at such a horrible side effect. But if finasteride helps to thicken my existing hair then i will probably go ahead and take the leap and hope im not one of the unlucky ones. I like your approach of"weining" yourself on the drug, and if i do decide to start it, i will probably use your method and hope for the best.

 

As for my options, i am thinking about the big 3: Minoxidil, Finasteride, and Nizoral (Or revivogen) Maybe some vitamins, and saw palmetto. And also pray for major breakthrough in hairloss in the next 5 years, and hopefully just hold on to my hair until then. Haaa Let a man dream. =)

[lukeyb1687]

I've been thinning on the front part of my scalp and temples. The crown is pretty thick and the rear of my head is like a jungle lol.

 

I completely understand how you feel about being depressed about it. The best thing is though that you are taking action now to try and prevent any further loss! I would certainly say that the existing natural hair has gotten thicker, although I've only applied minoxidil to the temples and center of my widows peak. It certainly has helped thicken and renew some of those hairs. I noticed after a year of just Minoxidil that I had reached the max potential for that regime, so that's why I decided to go for Finasteride as well.

 

You've got a great regime so far and if you do decide to try fin then I hope that you're not one of the unlucky few! I'll be posting some pictures of updates today/tomorrow for the last few months. I;m going to get my haircut to the same style it was before, just for continuity reasons and comparisons.

[Sean]

This is an awesome thread. I wonder if minoxidil/rogaine foam would work better or minoxidil/rogaine liquid for the temples/hairline. The minor shed is a little depressing. I guess it stabilizes by the 2nd/3rd month? Reading about your hair getting thicker is reassuring. Can't wait to see you progress/pics. Thanks.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Sean

[lukeyb1687]

With the Minox it stabalized around the 3 month period, the fin is starting to stabilize a little over the 1 & 1/2 months / 2 month mark. So only time will tell how well it will work out.

 

I haven't tried the foam...I really want to and I know that they will be releasing the generic version in Feb 2012. The liquid as great as it is does take a LONG time to dry and is also a little oily.

 

What are you currently using Sean?

[Sean]

With the Minox it stabalized around the 3 month period, the fin is starting to stabilize a little over the 1 & 1/2 months / 2 month mark. So only time will tell how well it will work out.

 

I haven't tried the foam...I really want to and I know that they will be releasing the generic version in Feb 2012. The liquid as great as it is does take a LONG time to dry and is also a little oily.

 

What are you currently using Sean?

 

 

Lukeyb1687, thanks for the tips and advice. I just had my FUE transplant 58 days ago, but I have been on finasteride on and off for about a year (since August 2010) but have been continuing it daily since my FUE transplant August 31st, 2011. I did realize it working especially in my crown as you can see in the one year before surgery to the post op one month pics of my crown. I can say for certain that I did respond well to finasteride though all around my scalp.

 

On September 20, 2011 I started using rogaine foam for the first time and have been doing so regularly. I am also taking MSM as well. Prior to my transplant I was also using Nioxin shampoo and Nizoral Shampoos, along with a few other natural supplements I listed in my hair loss website, however, I have not continued the Nizoral/Nioxin shampoos nor some of those herbal supplements yet. I am just using Rogaine Foam, Finasteride (estimated 1.25 mg once a day from a 5mg Proscar tab), MSM, Dove or Pantene ProV shampoo, and even drinking green tea regularly (may help may not, it's a good antioxidant anyway).

 

I did post pics in my surgery thread and I intend to every month. I did notice some minor shedding on the sides of my mid scalp region and slight shedding around my crown area. This is when I started Rogaine foam. I am applying the Rogaine foam from the front of my head (my recipient zone)/midscalp/as well as the crown. Pretty much full coverage from front to back. I only had surgery in the frontal/hairline/temple region but was told I can apply Rogaine there after a certain amount of time to speed up hair growth as well. I do think some of my hairs in the center of my scalp seem to be getting stronger or the texture to me feels that way right now. However, again, the sides seems like they have shed slightly, but the center is coming in thick and strong.

 

The foam is actually very easy to apply. It does not leave any oily or patted down feeling on the hairs. I'll try it for a few months and then give the Rogaine solution a shot? Maybe to compare the two? I really want to see which one is more potent/absorbs better/produces results better.

 

Really looking forward to seeing your progress and I hope I made the right choice with Rogaine. I can't wait until they make the generic version of this Foam stuff though, this stuff is not cheap at all.

[lukeyb1687]

Thanks Sean! Loving your results so far and can not wait for the results this month!!

 

Well I've noticed quite a lot of miniaturized hairs grow around my temples, as you can see the camera doesn't quite capture all of them...hopefully in the next few months I will be able to see them become a lot thicker. I've reduced to 1.25mg 5x a week dosage of Fin.

 

Going to be uploading a bit more consistently now! I'm going to be assessing my hair after 12 months of Fin and will see whether I want to still require a transplant or if I am happy with my results.