This record-keeping thing looks hard

[Jonulous]

Should start my first post with a Hi 🤝nice to meet you etc,

So this is obviously not such a bad problem for me to have, but the rate of change in my hair - real though it may be - is kind of glacial in its slowness. I've uploaded four 'outdoorsie' shots spanning the past 13 years, beginning at midway into my thirties. No interventions to mention besides tinting up until 2017, then just medicinal for past couple of years.

Now that I'm some way down the rabbit holes of being proactive on a Maintain and Improve strategy, I need to figure out some ways to more closely monitor how I'm tracking. The challenge is to pick up on either the little improvements, or also the onward creep in the unwanted direction.

So I guess any prior message threads that really get into the weeds about taking good closeup shots, or devising a repeatable self-assessment method, would be good to know of.

I think I'm going to send some photos of my current hairline to one of the reputable restoration clinics who offer online consultation, and see what might be if budgets were no obstacle. Probably for the next 2-3 months it's going to be more about trying out some extra at-home routines, on top of the small dose of Finasteride I've been taking for a couple of years.

The threads here on micro needling, Minoxidil, etc have been good to read also. And many of the surgery threads look remarkable.

I undertake as far as possible to not be annoying!

John in Australia

[LaserCap]

Beautiful place!

Your hairline has receded to a mature placement and it will serve you well.  The corners are also receded but not terribly.  But if you've lost, this will continue.  Propecia, Rogaine, Laser and PRP are the modalities we typically discuss when dealing with this debilitating condition.  Have you spoken to a doctor about this?

Take a photo from the top and back.

[Melvin- Admin]

Welcome to our forum Jon, 

I'm glad you found us, and I think you will find our surgeon reviews and treatment progress threads helpful in your battle against hair loss. I will say that you've held on remarkably well to your hair in the past decade. I think you will find that salt and pepper hair actually makes hair look denser, because it camouflages the scalp better.

[Jonulous]

Thanks Laser and Melvin.

I'm going to have to get a lot better at taking head-selfies but here is my set to represent 2 weeks into using topical Minoxidil. About 7 weeks since the last haircut. Maybe I'll shift to taking them immediately after haircuts for better consistency.

 

 

[Jonulous]

I'm definitely going to have to switch to taking record-keeping shots immediately after haircuts. And probably in natural light.

So with all the caveats that my camera technique was lax, the intense lighting casts random shadows, and that I'm sort of trying to measure for a status quo effect (arresting thinning was the most likely response, as compared with something growing in at a higher density), here is my checking-in after six months of including topical medication twice a day, and a little bit of weekly needling.

My subjective feel is that I've squeezed just a little bit more resilience from these additions to the previous tablet-only based routine. And happy for a small change....unless I'm imagining it ha!

I can't claim to have experienced shedding in the early months of the Minoxidil. I do prefer a brand I found where they'd gotten the alcohol content a bit lower.

Left = before; right = now.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Jonulous
Clarification

[Melvin- Admin]

Yes natural light is Always best, but you’re doing a pretty good job man so kudos 👍🏼