Good to hear you’re not suffering any sides from the meds. Personally, I’d stick to 1mg per day as that’s the recommend dose which nearly all doctors will advise. I’d only drop down if sides were happening. If you do get a consult now, you’ll be able to have your hair checked for miniaturisation. Then in 6 months, if you feel you’re ready for a HT, you can have it checked again to see if it’s improved.
Hi DocHi Ronnie. I am in a similar position to you but a little further down the line. Just had my HT 2 days ago at Farjo with Greg Williams and I am delighted with the result considering the number of grafts I had available in one session (3284 grafts to be exact) . I am documenting my journey on the forum as found this forum helpful in my decision process. I am not looking for the hair I had when I was 20yrs old but just an improvement !
Thanks Ronnie. I thought long and hard about my hairline. A flattened hair line is not the norm for us more mature gentlemen. I personally think a recessed temple is rather flattering on older men! Also the number of graft required to bring the hairline forward and flat to the correct density is significant and would mean that the rest of my head would be very sparse. I chose a sensible age appropriate look Which was guided by my Surgeon. Let’s face it I don’t look 20 yrs old so why should my hair .Hi Doc
Thanks so much for taking the time to view and reply to my thread. It’s great to be connected to the likes of yourself and Jester with similar progression.
I‘ll post on your thread but maybe the most telling thing for me is the hairline you have chosen. My initial reaction is that it should have been ‘flatter’ for want of a better way to describe it, but given further consideration, I think you have done exactly the right thing. Having seen other similar operations I think that once it’s grown in it will seem exactly right. It’s very tempting to design in the hairline you had at 20 years old, but even my friends who I’d say haven’t suffered hair loss at all, even they have a more mature hairline, with slight recession at the temples. I didn’t think I started balding until about 36/37 when I noticed my crown showing through, but looking back at old photos, the temples did start to recede from shortly after 30. I think trying to reinstate the hairline you had as a 20 year old would be a mistake and I’ll take that forward when I go for my consultation.
thanks again and I look forward to seeing your progress.
Thanks Ronnie. I thought long and hard about my hairline. A flattened hair line is not the norm for us more mature gentlemen. I personally think a recessed temple is rather flattering on older men! Also the number of graft required to bring the hairline forward and flat to the correct density is significant and would mean that the rest of my head would be very sparse. I chose a sensible age appropriate look Which was guided by my Surgeon. Let’s face it I don’t look 20 yrs old so why should my hair .
Derma rolling or micro needling could work for you. It doesn’t cost much to try it.
Having a mature hairline is what I would go for if I was in your situation. It will conserve grafts and look age appropriate. Just take your time with your research, a few more months waiting wont hurt.
So I am over a year now on meds and definitely have had some thickening of hair and dare I say it some new hair (although literally a few strands) grow. I am now 50 yrs old so wasn’t expecting much but think it is worth it.Well, I guess I’m about 11 weeks into my regime so time for an update!
I commenced on 1mg of Finasteride daily and applying Regaine twice a day. After about 2 weeks I added Microneedling once a week (1.5mm). I became increasingly concerned about the possible side effects of Fin so reduced to 3x per week. TBH I never got over the mental hurdle of panicking that I might be getting sides, even though I couldn’t say for sure. In the past few weeks I’ve switched my meds to the Hims topical Fin/Min solution and am finding that absolutely fine. It might be as daft as me simply believing that I won’t experience sides with this, whereas my brain is expecting them from the oral form. Either way all feels good and I’ll honestly never know if one or the other treatment is ‘better’ then the other. I’ve recently added Nizoral shampoo, twice a week.
In terms of results so far, it’s hard to say as I shaved down to 3mm to commence this and so have obviously seen a lot of growth in existing hairs in the last 11 weeks! It’s early days and hard to quantify, but I would swear some of the hairs have come back a bit stronger than before and even that some miniaturising hairs have reversed, but I can’t really quantify this as it’s subtle, it’s enough to make me want to continue on with all this though. One annoying thing is that looking back at my photos, I’d stated that I’d done a poor job of shaving the base of my hairline, giving it the false appearance of balding down there. Unfortunately it’s become clear that I was wrong and this is indeed a touch or retrograde alopecia. I’m applying the topical solution there twice a day now and hoping for the best.
My hopes are still the same. I know I’m unlikely to be able to correct all my balding with a transplant as it stands, if I could reverse some of the miniaturisation that isn’t too far gone, I’d be dead chuffed. The retrograde alopecia is quite recent I believe and just thin, not bald, so I have some hope that could reverse to a degree. I suppose just halting the overall progression has to be seen as a win too.
Like many I imagine, I’m considering whether to add additional things in. An obvious one would be cold showers, I’ve read for years of the benefits and even taken to them for a while, but I always come back to the comfort of a warm shower. Might be time to start them again! I guess the other options are Lazer therapy and PRP. I’m very hesitant to go down this route as my current medication costs about £1.20 per day and the Dermastamp cost £20, so it’s all cheap and easy. These treatments most certainly are not and it would be a serious step to start either. I may have this wrong but is lazer a bit like Minoxidil, it’s meant to stimulate the scalp? PRP is more analogous to Microneedling in that it brings growth factors into the right areas? My assumption is that they are more effective then the cheaper equivalents, but you are really paying for the privilege? Has anyone gone down either the lazer or PRP route and what were your experiences and results like?
Cheers!