Hair Growth Diary

This picture was taken a few weeks before I decided to do something about my thinning hair. Except for the hair receding at the temples, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of male pattern baldness. Yet, there is a significant thinning across the top of my head. I am not bald, but my hair loss has accelerated over the past four years, which makes this the perfect time to treat it.

I did a lot of research before choosing to treat my hair loss with 5% Minoxidil (Rogaine). I chose it because it was the safest clinically proven, FDA approved treatment for male pattern baldness. Finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) is the only other clinically proven, FDA approved treatment for hair loss. Although studies show is that it is more effective than Monoxidil, I chose the saftey of Monoxidil over the risks of Finasteride. Further, Finasteride is by prescription only and costs considerably more.

I started Rogaine 5% three days ago and believe I have a pretty good chance at preventing a total loss of hair due to male pattern baldness. Also, I believe I have an excellent chance at maintaining the existing hair but I hope that some will regrow. As you can see from the photo, my hair is thinning evenly across the top of my head. The photo exaggerates the amount of thinning because it was taken under very bright light. Yet, about half the hair is gone and I want it back.

There is no noticeable changes in my hair but my dandruff is remarkable. When I comb my hair, large flakes clogged the bristles of my comb. I don't have a history of dandruff, especially this bad. So, I guess the Rogaine is giving me dandruff. Anyhow, getting the flakes out of my hair was easy. I simply bought a large hair brush with sparse rounded bristles to loosen the dander. By brushing my dried hair vigorously, I could free most of the dander. Additionally, I bought some Nizoral A-D; a highly recommended anti-dandruff shampoo. I use it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Since I started using Nizoral, my dandruff has become manageable.

Just prior to the August 8th (first) photo, I trimmed my hair (on top) to the 1 inch. Since then, my hair had a chance to grow another half inch. So, I cut my hair before taking this photo. As you can see, there is no noticeable change on top, but I think I see peach fuzz and fine hairs growing at the hair line. Of course, it is too early to see new growth. So, I am forced to dismiss this as wishful thinking. Interestingly, my hair has become much lighter in color. I'm not sure if this is caused by the hair treatments or the summer sun out on the links.

Oh $#*!, my hair has been falling out like crazy this week! I have never noticed my hair falling out before but this week I see hairs laying all over my desk at work. I know the information on Rogaine states the this is normal and is the prelude to regrowth but it is still uncomfortable knowing that my hair regrowth treatment has caused my most significant hair loss in my life. Oh well, the plan is to stay on Rogaine for four month. If I regrow hair, we stay with Rogaine. If not, I'll be looking into another treatment.

It may be wishful thinking, but I believe that my hair is thicker now than in any of the previous photos. Of course, I haven't cut my hair for two weeks, which might account for a slight thickening. Also, Rogaine isn't claimed to produce result for at least two month - usually four. So, I'll have to wait another month for better confirmation. A couple days ago, I started taking saw palmetto because it is supposed to be good for the prostate. Anyhow, I did some studying saw palmetto and it has the exact same effects as Finasteride but there are no studies that link saw palmetto to hair growth. In any case, saw palmetto has been shown to be a DHT inhibitor - that is how Finasteride gets your hair growing. So, I mention it here because there is a chance that it is affecting my hair growth.

There's not doubt about it now. I definitely have grown new hair. I cut my hair to 1 inch just before taking this photo. As you can see, it is much fuller around the edges and some of the central region has filled in. What isn't apparent from the photo is that my hair is also thicker. It doesn't feels like down feathers any more. Also, Dandruff is not a problem any more and I have reduced my use of Nizoral to about twice per week. So far, I am very happy with the results. I believe that I am getting better than average results from Rogaine, Saw Palmetto, and Nizoral.

This is it - a full head of thick hair! And, I grew it back in less than four month with Rogaine 5%, Saw Palmetto and Nizoral. If you don't believe I grew back my hair, scroll up to the first picture and look at the difference! The camera settings for the two photos are the same - same lighting, same location, same camera, same model. However, I must confess, my hair is about an inch longer in this picture. For fairness, I wanted to cut it before taking the picture. However, my hair looks too nice to cut, now.

This is what my hair looks like cut to a length of 1 inch.

I have been losing hair for about a month and I am having a hard time figuring out why. I am still using minoxidil 5%, saw palmetto and Nizoral. Yet, I was using a generic of the former for the last month. Albeit, I don't believe that was the cause of my hair loss. Instead, I believe it was my hair brush. You see, after applying rogaine, it will drip slowly down the scalp. So, prevent this and to massage it into the scalp, I would immediately brush my hair thinking the Rogaine was being evenly distibuted and rubbed into my scalp. However, from the looks of my hair brush, I think it all the minoxidil stuck to the bristles on the brush. So now, I am letting the Rogaine run across my scalp. If any starts running down my forehead, I rub it with my finger along my hair line.

My hair continues to shed. I think I have about as much hair now as I did when I first started my hair treatment. However, I think I have discovered the cause. I believe it is the Saw Palmetto because it has the same effects on the body as Finasteride.

Apparently, users of Finasteride experience massive hair shedding starting 11 to 16 weeks after starting the treatment. This is how long I have been using Saw Palmetto. So, if Saw Palmetto and Finasteride truely do have identical medicinal properties, then it is believable that this shedding is caused by the Saw Palmetto. In which case, all my hair should return within the next 100 days. I say 100 days because that is the average time hair takes to cycle through the normal loss/regrowth phases.

Over the past two month, I wasn't sure if my hair was growing back or not. From the looks of the picture, it is growing back. Isn't as thick as it was in November, though