7 replies to this topic

[Llama Chris]

I seem to have started losing my hair over the past year. It has me really concerned because it doesn't look good, it doesn't bode well for the future (I'm 31), and I wasn't expecting this to happen.

There has been some recession at the temples, it is pretty noticable to me now - like the bit in the middle sticks out a bit - and it has thinned out a bit around these areas. I'm really concerned because this was non existant just one year ago. I didn't think I would have to deal with this, at least not for a long time - my father still has a full head of hair, in fact looking at a photo now I don't see any recession; and both my grandfathers had hair into their 90's.

As this has been (I think?) rather rapid; I believe the best thing to do is to book into see a dermatologist and find out if there is something wrong with me that may be related, maybe nutritional or thyroid or something.

But I also want to be prepared for dealing with this.

I've read that the two main hairloss products are minoxidil and finasteride. I believe that propecia has pretty common low libido and erectile dysfunction side effects?

What seems to make the most sense from what I've read is - topical retinol and minoxidol on the areas of hair loss/thinning?

Is it safe to use finasteride?

Additionally a tocotrienols supplement may be beneficial?

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions for what I can do would be greatly appreciated.

[Heyman]

I think finasteride is much much safer compared to the horror stories on the Internet:

http://informahealth...634.2013.813011

You can look at my thread about fin here:

http://www.hairlosst...ng-fin-my-story

theres also one more study quoted in the thread that i made in the link above regarding libido. Its not common, it may be a possible side effect but that does not mean it is common, its a small minority that (may) get it.

I can only advise you to not read too much about fin on the internet, or at least give the research some preference. On the one hand you want to be informed, on the other hand you don't want to suffer the nocebo-effect by people attributing whatever condition they have and telling scary (sometimes ridiculous) stories.

The other option you have is Nizoral shampoo.

Fin and maybe Nizoral may maintain your hair long-term. Minox will not. It "creates" new hair, but this plateaus after about 2 years and decreases from there. It doesn't combat the cause of hair loss, it just creates more hair short-term, while the hair loss progresses normally (but is offset by about 2 years since it looks like you have more hair initially).

[SanjayK]

Do some research on scalp calcification.  The theory is that we don't have enough K2/Mag/D3 in our diet and inflammation leads to a calcium build up in the scalp which is what ends up causing hair follicles to fall out.  I believe DHT is a factor - but not sure I buy into the full theory here.

 

I can say that by changing my diet (paleo - with an emphasis on fruit/veggies/fats more than just meat) my hair loss has stopped completely.  My hairline is no longer receding and has stabilized in the last few years.  People notice my hair is thicker -but when I look closely I think it's just better body - not new hair follicle growth.

 

I'm looking into beginning some magnesium / D3 oil on my scalp and also micro needling.  Micro needling could help break up the calcification and a study was recently shown that micro needling with minoxidil turned around some amazing results.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3746236/

 

Micro needling in my opinion is breaking up the calcium deposits in the scalp.

 

Disclaimer: These aren't my theories - they're commonly disclosed on hair loss forums.  Hat tip to all those people :-)

 

-S

[mustardseed41]

Interesting post SanjaK. I am 47 and started balding around late 20's. I shave it now an am fine with that but have wanted to see if I could regrow some hair back. I've tried some things in the past with no luck. I have taken high dose MK7, and 500 mg Magnesium, 5000iu+ D3 for over 5 years and have not noticed any change. I eat mainly Paleo now. Maybe topical application like you suggest would help.

 

I've Derma rolled now for almost 3 years to my face/neck/hands. I've thought of trying it on my scalp but just have not gotten around to it. I noticed the link you gave say's that a 1.5mm roller was used once a week. For the face/neck/hands this would be too often a frequency for me from all I've read on the subject. You need to wait around 4 weeks between rolls at that length for the skin to recover and produce collagen. Too frequent rolls will result in constant inflammation which people confuse with better skin. Not saying what the link said is not true. Have you read about people using shorter length needles more often (0.2mm-0.3mm), like daily, for product (minoxidil) penetration?

Edited by mustardseed41, 05 June 2014 - 05:09 PM.

[SanjayK]

From what I've read - it can activate hair growth where it already is still present but thinning.  There are some studies also on head massage helping - the massage was done in a very specific way and took months to see improvements.  But the underlying theory I think this points to is that calcification is the cause.  If the area is fully bald - it's unlikely that it can re-activate the growth.

 

I agree with you about being cautious on the # of times to use the derma roller.  You can end up damaging the scalp when all you want to do is create some mild inflammation (derma roller/massage) to improve blood flow.

 

I plan on applying the magnesium and D3 oil topically - we'll see how it works.  I suppose if I want better results I should use 5% minoxidil - I'm just not fully up to speed with what's in minoxidil to say that's something I feel comfortable using regularly (I'm fairly adverse to avoiding anything I don't fully understand touching my body :-) ).

 

My hair loss has stopped for a few years now.  In addition to mostly paleo (with the same vitamins you're referencing) - I don't use shampoo or any conditioners.  Just some apple cider vinegar from time to time and also coconut oil.  Strangely enough, I think my hair is actually healthier and shinier than it's ever been before.

 

Every month or so I'll do a deep shampoo/conditioning with sulfate free shampoos.  

 

To be honest, I think the hair transplant is probably the most effective way to tackle this problem - I'm more or less just playing with these things to better understand what's going on inside me.

 

-Sanjay

 

 

[misterE]

Inflammation.

Lack of circulation (decreased VEGF).

Reduced insulin/IGF-1 signalling.

Decreased leptin signalling.

Depletion of subcutaneous-fat in the scalp.

 

 

These seem to me to be the main causes of baldness.

 

 

[gt35r]

Inflammation.

Lack of circulation (decreased VEGF).

Reduced insulin/IGF-1 signalling.

Decreased leptin signalling.

Depletion of subcutaneous-fat in the scalp.

 

 

These seem to me to be the main causes of baldness.

 

 

 

 

Add to list.

Excess DHT is often cause of hereditary male pattern baldness. 

 

I think item number 2, decreased VEGF, is the main issue for most. Rogaine, for example, It alters membrane polarization in increase vascularisation of follicles. 

Edited by gt35r, 27 June 2014 - 06:00 PM.

[holdout]

I would be careful with chronic/long-term use of finasteride because I stumbled upon many anecdotal reports from people insisting that it caused them idiopathic chronic depression.  I even found a website once where it was dedicated to this very fact suffering from incurable depression after taking finasteride for a long time.

 

From a nutritive approach you can purchase a Hair/Skin/Nails supplement which contains keratin (the protein that's used to make hair/skin/nails), as well as all the B vitamins, especially biotin (take a B-100 complex supplement daily).

 

For a more dramatic approach if you're only now losing your hair, you can try that FDA-approved laser product Hairmax or whatever it's called.  I've seen progress videos of it on YouTube and it works well for people who are in the early stages of losing their hair.

Edited by holdout, 11 July 2014 - 04:13 AM.