Should I Bother With Minoxidil (picture)

[churchmouth]

Hi people,

Since going peaty i have noticed I am shedding a lot of hair. And recently I notice my coverage is not good on the apex/crown to prevent seeing the scalp, no matter how I style.

This morning when I run my hands gently through my hair 30-40 very thin, low pigment hairs fail out along with a bit of dandruff.

I am wondering if I should consider minoxidil to try and halt things (I read that it can be good for recent sufferers), I am yet to see much about side-affects. Obvious I have quite abit of hair, but the density down at the scalp is suffering.

Recently I have started taking methlyene blue, cypro occasionally, niacinamide - this was well after noticing hair loss though.

picture attached.

 

[jitsmonkey]

If you're losing hair the least of your concerns should be your hair

 

[churchmouth]

Hell yeah I am doing everything I can to be healthy in general - I have bad skin, nails, temperature and mild fatigue, is that what you mean?

 

[Constatine]

Hell yeah I am doing everything I can to be healthy in general - I have bad skin, nails, temperature and mild fatigue, is that what you mean?

Its associated with a lot degenerative diseases. Have you tried red light and near infrared therapy on your scalp? Light more or less fights hair loss at its root cause (no pun intended) being mitochondria dysfunction.
Low-Level Laser (Light) Therapy (LLLT) for Treatment of Hair Loss

 

[churchmouth]

I have a little red light 850nm in the mail.

The last couple of years eating a starch/ vege/ meat diet / coffee(incl some milk) + fruit, my hair loss appeared slower. The most significant change at the moment is probably the addition of lot more milk, and a lot less fat.

I have also just been sick with a cold for a week.

I need to do a bit of research about the hair cycle.. given that I have only been peating for 3 months (probably with too much cheese and full cream milk initially) I wonder if my hair is a slower cycle to see improvements. Overall I am feeling pretty good on the peat diet and my digestion is supreme.

 

[Peatful]

Hell yeah I am doing everything I can to be healthy in general - I have bad skin, nails, temperature and mild fatigue, is that what you mean?

I would have said that you were healing and that u have shed the thin sick hairs to make way for terminal healthier hair...but seeing the statement regarding bad nails and temp...I question my initial thought...although it may very well still hold true. 3 months is a very normal cycle length.

 

[sladerunner69]

Hi people,

Since going peaty i have noticed I am shedding a lot of hair. And recently I notice my coverage is not good on the apex/crown to prevent seeing the scalp, no matter how I style.

This morning when I run my hands gently through my hair 30-40 very thin, low pigment hairs fail out along with a bit of dandruff.

I am wondering if I should consider minoxidil to try and halt things (I read that it can be good for recent sufferers), I am yet to see much about side-affects. Obvious I have quite abit of hair, but the density down at the scalp is suffering.View attachment 5621

Recently I have started taking methlyene blue, cypro occasionally, niacinamide - this was well after noticing hair loss though.

picture attached.

Where exactly is the hairloss?

 

[churchmouth]

Where exactly is the hairloss?

The Apex is the serious problem but also notice I am quite thin (but easier to cover up) on those areas making the 'windows peak'

I would have said that you were healing and that u have shed the thin sick hairs to make way for terminal healthier hair...but seeing the statement regarding bad nails and temp...I question my initial thought...although it may very well still hold true. 3 months is a very normal cycle length.

I hope this is true, but appears to be in a somewhat MPB shape dominantly.

I have an appointment with the hair loss experts (free consultation). I will see how they categorise the state of my hair. Personally I am unhappy with how it looks from behind (particularly as my hair gets longer and clumps into embaressingly thin tufts), and am considering going short is the only option.

Is there any concerns with minoxidil, at a systemic level?

 

[JoeKool]

Minoxidil increases shedding at first, if you're a responder to it, and then the hair grows back thicker but, those hairs are dependent on minoxidil forever... once you stop, you lose those hairs

I'm here to help... go short with it ... just skip this part of your concern ... and go short

 

[churchmouth]

Minoxidil increases shedding at first, if you're a responder to it, and then the hair grows back thicker but, those hairs are dependent on minoxidil forever... once you stop, you lose those hairs

I'm here to help... go short with it ... just skip this part of your concern ... and go short

In another thread where minoxidil was used on the beard it was believed that the hairs once established would stay after the stopping the treatment.
To be honest I'd be happy to be dependant on minoxidil (keeping those follicles alive) while I sort out the stress/diet parts of my lifestyle.

 

[JoeKool]

Hello Churchmouth

I know the hairs will be dependent on it... they won't stay... but, additionally , anything topical wouldn't necessarily stay there... it does get absorbed, eventually builds up elsewhere... so you won't know what it pushes out down stream, so to speak... and then you have another issue...

go short...

 

[churchmouth]

Thanks for your thoughts Joe. I think I will go short anyway as my roots almost feel sore from sleeping with hair being pushed around on the pillow. Also short will allow me to baseline my hair situation with some photos.

My main fear is actually that I am recently single.. medium long curly strawberry hair has been a part of my character.. will be a test to my confidence.

 

[DuggaDugga]

Minoxidil, effective or not, is not addressing the underlying pathology of "male pattern" hair loss. All diseases/dysfunctions short of blunt trauma are the result of systemic dysregulation due to multiple toxicities and/or deficiencies. I can't recommend Danny Roddy's work strongly enough. I've had notable success myself. Know that it will invariably require committed lifestyle changes. Also know that the benefits of these changes are perfectly pervasive to your entire well-being.

 

[churchmouth]

I have now signed up to Danny's Patreon.

Went to the reputed hair loss clinic (ashley and martin) here in Australia to see if they could confirm my hair loss is MPB. They didn't really provide any useful information except that my coverage looks like MPB. I was hoping they would comment on miniaturisation etc.. Though it was interesting to hear from them how safe finasteride is :P (claims 1% of patients experience libido effect and that was quickly resolved by lowering dosage).

I am seeing endocrinologist about my hormone status (high test, high SHBG).

Meaningwhile I will just monitor the hair, continue with massages and practising hand stands :)

 

[lampofred]

I strongly think MPB is due to low dopamine/high prolactin that occurs due to aging. Peat's principles have helped immensely in stopping my hair loss. (I am very young though so that might've been why I saw results so quickly.)

-1200 mg of caffeine daily (by far the most helpful)
-high protein/carb intake (low fat intake in general, almost 0 PUFA intake)
-zinc and magnesium supplements (less important than the first two imo)
-nofap also helps

The goal is to lower estrogen (which is the primary cause of high prolactin/low dopamine) by boosting liver function. Caffeine, Vitamin K, B-vitamins, high protein intake (80+ grams daily of good quality protein), high sugar intake will all help with this.

 

[Scenes]

I strongly think MPB is due to low dopamine/high prolactin that occurs due to aging. Peat's principles have helped immensely in stopping my hair loss. (I am very young though so that might've been why I saw results so quickly.)

-1200 mg of caffeine daily (by far the most helpful)
-high protein/carb intake (low fat intake in general, almost 0 PUFA intake)
-zinc and magnesium supplements (less important than the first two imo)
-nofap also helps

The goal is to lower estrogen (which is the primary cause of high prolactin/low dopamine) by boosting liver function. Caffeine, Vitamin K, B-vitamins, high protein intake (80+ grams daily of good quality protein), high sugar intake will all help with this.

Regrowth though or just stopped losing?

I agree entirely with what you've said but I haven't found immediate success in following that process (about a month now).

 

[Scenes]

I strongly think MPB is due to low dopamine/high prolactin that occurs due to aging. Peat's principles have helped immensely in stopping my hair loss. (I am very young though so that might've been why I saw results so quickly.)

-1200 mg of caffeine daily (by far the most helpful)
-high protein/carb intake (low fat intake in general, almost 0 PUFA intake)
-zinc and magnesium supplements (less important than the first two imo)
-nofap also helps

The goal is to lower estrogen (which is the primary cause of high prolactin/low dopamine) by boosting liver function. Caffeine, Vitamin K, B-vitamins, high protein intake (80+ grams daily of good quality protein), high sugar intake will all help with this.

And are you talking caffeine tabs or just coffee with milk?

 

[churchmouth]

I can't wait to find out what my estrogen levels are. I don't have any of the obvious symptoms except for general poor health , and a androgen imbalance- high testosterone (which is mostly deactivated by high SHBG).

 

[churchmouth]

Scenes I suspect 1 month is probably too soon to see any benefit with the hair regrowth.. it is a slow cycle.

 

[Iron Man]

Yeah... I think I would stay away from minoxidil and finasteride and all those things. In my opinion, they are poison and only add to the issues.

If you're losing hair the least of your concerns should be your hair

While I agree with this post, it is kind of annoying as it only states the obvious and the poster just leaves it hanging... So to further this comment, basically you need to explore what is going on. Are you hypothyroid? Do you have high iron? Is there inflammation going on? Do you have gut issues? You really need to look into things from an overall approach and not just settle for throwing a pill or cream at it. I visited a Dermatologist in 2010 and they advised I had androgenic alopecia and I was prescribed finasteride that very day. I never touched the stuff though and looked at what was wrong with my body. I came across the immortal hair website and made a start in that direction. Several years on, I still have my hair. Sometimes it appears thin and sometimes it seems ok. Sometimes it is hard to tell, but when I look back at pictures dating back to about 2011, I feel that I can say that I have had a win as my hair does not seem to have gotten worse. I recently had a second opinion on the photographs of my hair and that person seemed to think that my hair had improved in the 6 years.
It is up to you, but I believe that hair loss can be a sign of what is going on inside and you need to treat the root cause of the issue. If it were me, I would read up on Danny Roddy, Immortal Hair and Ray Peat and implement all their ideas in a way that works for you (keep in mind that we are all different). I believe each of these guys are credible to a degree and each of these guys are worth listening to.
I am convinced though that finasteride and minoxidil are poison though and these chemicals will destroy you over the long haul.
With regards to results, be prepared to be in it for the long haul. You won't see results in a month. I believe that you would be looking more at 3-6 months or even maybe a year before you can gauge progress. Hair cycles are slow and that is just how it is.