Regimen question

[hardcastle]

Hi all,

I'm 23 and a NW2 (I said this in the personal stories section, but I just joined so I thought I'd mention it again in case it helps). I'm planning on starting with the finasteride/minox combination (Proscar 5mg/4 with 5% minox) but I'm wondering if there's anything else I should consider? Although I've heard good things about Revivogen, I got the idea that it wasn't as tried-and-true as Rogaine or Propecia.

Thanks!

[HairLossFight.com]

Hmmm... A bit of a lull in the forums it seems.

Revivogen hasn't been FDA approved for hair loss whereas Propecia and Minoxidil have been. But that doesn't mean that Revivogen isn't effective. If you look at the list of ingredients in Revivogen, there are plenty of active ingredients that have been proven to have either anti-androgenic properties, dht-inhibiting properties, or hair stimulating properties. All in all it is a very well rounded product. If I were you, I would start with Propecia and Minox and give those enough of a chance to see if they work well, then I would consider something else if and only if I wasn't getting good results.

You need to give Propecia and Minox a minimum of 6 months to really start to guage their effectiveness for you. I think even 3 months (which some people suggest is a good initial trial run) can be too short a time frame. Even people that have had hair transplants done don't see much results in terms of regrowth of the transplanted follicles for about 3 months or so. Hair follicles that have atrophied from androgenetic alopecia take even more time to regenerate as they have to go through several iterations of anogen (growth) phases before they become cosmetically significant...

I've just started putting together an FAQ for hair loss which I will update regularly as time permits at the following page:

Hair Loss FAQ

Regards,
Sam

[hardcastle]

Thanks Sam. I see you have some good questions there. I'll keep watching that page.

About minox: what % should I start with, 5%, or 15% Xandrox? Will the shedding be worse if I start off with a larger amount?

I'm probably going to start with just two things, like you said. I'll get an idea of how effective they're going to be, and more, if I have any side effects, I'll have a better idea of what's causing them than I would if I were on a bunch of different things.