My plan to go from Norwood 2 to 0

[bdp31770]

I started losing my hair in the mid nineties at the age of 25. Since then I've been taking Minoxidil once a day and my hair loss has slowly progressed to a Norwood 2. I'd like to stop or even reverse the loss and would like some feedback on my plan:

 

Minoxidil - Increase to 2x a day.

Dutasteride - .125 mg a day (I read it's more effective than Propecia).

Nizoral - Twice a week.

 

Will also be doing some all natural home made shampoos but those are for cosmetic reasons. Just curious if anyone has any feedback or suggestions about this plan?

[home1212]

Also consider supplements such as Saw Palmetto, Glucosamine & Chondrotin w/MSM, Biotin, Folic Acid, can help...

[Melvin- Admin]

I'm going to be completely honest with you, the only way to go from Norwood 2 to 0 is through surgery, even if you take dutasteride, transgenders who remove their genitalia do not go to norwood 0 they still require surgery. Sorry to be brutally honest with you, you may get a little regrowth but you will never get a full head of hair with medication alone.

 

Now if you were going to combine your regimen with a well thought out surgical plan I think you could make significant improvements, however, I don't think many ethical surgeons would give you a low teenage hairline given your age, I think they could definitely give you a full dense age appropriate hairline that would look amazing.

[HairLostYears]

You've got a bit of age and don't seem to have aggressive loss, so you might not ever need a "big gun" like dutasteride. I'd def just start on finasteride if I were you.

 

Also, I think dutasteride typically comes in a gel capsule form. Would obviously be trickier to quarter those in a cutter vs. a Proscar tablet.

[Mikey1970]

You have done really well & with the benefit of my experience I wouldn't go playing around with it too much - you could make it worse!

 

Id say add finasteride to your regime & if you want surgery - look for a one & done procedure with a top Dr.

 

I was in a similar position to you & have been suckered into several smaller procedures & the last one has really landed me in hot water. Tread carefully....

[gillenator]

I agree that finasteride would be a more appropriate option for now and would not recommend applying minoxodil twice daily as this might induce a shed and make you hair mass thinner.

 

You have a diffused thinning pattern and makes you more susceptible to shock loss. If it were me, I would just stick with the meds and no surgery for now.

[bdp31770]

...I didn't realize my type of hair loss was more susceptible to shock loss. I'll do the once a day Rogaine and Finasteride for now, and maybe try Saw Palmetto or something else down the road. Thanks again.

[Shampoo]

the last one has really landed me in hot water.

 

Mikey what does that mean?

[Mikey1970]

I had a tiny touch up into the front of my hairline as the surgeon had gone too low on one side.

 

Within 3 months of that tiny bit of work i had significant shock loss in the left temple region. It has diffused out that entire left corner. I think your hair looks ok as it is & i would leave it alone but thats just my opinion. Just be aware that sometimes any cosmetic procedure ends up in a worse result.

 

From what i have seen, the best HT candidates have significant loss.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Mikey1970

[robc]

I think you are smart to start a program now, a lot less $$ in prevention than a HT cure later.

 

Once a day minox should be fine and about 1 mg fin as others suggested. I'm a big believer in the laser comb, really helps lower DHT and improves the health of all your hair and scalp. Works as well as the Fin for me.

One time investment no brainer.

[pkipling]

Way to be proactive and try to fix this in the early stages. The other guys have given you great advice regarding your regimen, so hopefully whatever you end up doing works well for you. Best of luck.

[gillenator]

robc,

 

Just curious....what type of laser comb are you using?

[bdp31770]

Thanks again for the replies everyone, I may try the laser comb at some point. I have one more question that maybe should be separate thread... I've read here and there, something to the effect that Propecia builds up in the system over time, and after a while you can reduce dosage to maybe every other day as opposed to every day. I'm having trouble finding any mention of that now, so Im curious what you all think of that idea?

[gillenator]

What you heard is true and it's referred to a "shelf life". And sometimes some docs will recommend taking it every other day when the individual is experiencing side-effects from the drug.