Wanted to get some opinions on the efficacy and safety of a couple of compounds to prevent hair loss and respark growth. I’m 27 and have a little thinning on the front of the head and temple but zero loss on the back. Probably wouldn’t have much of an issue over my lifetime but I figure why not be proactive here.
Spoke with a guy last night who is 34 with a full head of hair. He used a lot of shit in his 20’s (may or may not have contributed, he didn’t say) and said he lost a bit of hair from 21-27, at which point he started growing it back using a combination of rogaine to clear the scalp of DHT and dutas (generic of duasteride he got online he said) to spark new growth.
Apparently his hair has been growing back steadily ever since and says he has more hair than he did at 25 (he has a LOT of freakin’ hair).
In any case my question to him (and to you guys) is whether the rogaine - and esp the dutas is safe. He praised both to no end and laughed when I mentioned the possible effects on libido and blood pressure - even from the rogaine. I tend to think the guy who was giving me said advice here is a little to carefree when it comes to casually consuming any type of compound if it makes him bigger, stronger, or prettier lol…
Anybody have any info here? I would just as well go mostly bald and do the jason statham thing but if I have a choice I figure, hell, why not try to keep it?
I seem to remember TC posting an article here recently on this very topic but I vaguely remember the concoction he used had some downsides?
Hey man. I’ve 24 and have been using Rogaine and finasteride for over two years now, and during that time have regrown and maintained a good amount of hair. Like you, I was faced with two choices when I noticed my hair thinning, going with the Jason Statham look as you put it, or getting on treatments and keeping what I had. I chose the second, after all, who doesn’t look better with hair?
First off, Rogaine is a hair growth stimulant, and does not clear the scalp of DHT. It doesn’t affect scalp or internal DHT levels at all, nor does it interfere with the fundamental balding process. It was discovered to regrow hair by accident during the 1980s and its mechanisms in doing so are still not really understood. It will, however, regrow a great deal of hair in the majority of cases. Your regrowth from it, as with any hairloss product, with cease upon discontinuation. Since it’s a topical, it’s an extremely safe treatment and no sides have ever been documented that I know of.
While I have no experience with dutasteride, I’m familiar with the drug. Basically, it’s a more potent version of finasteride. Both drugs inhibit internal DHT levels (finasteride-80%, dutasteride-90%). In clinical studies, 85% of those using finasteride had more or equal the amount of hair they had five years after beginning treatment. I would imagine it would be even higher for dutasteride. In that finasteride study, only 2% of men experience side effects, all of which went away after discontinuing usage of the drug. I believe it was 10% range in the dutasteride study but I don’t have that study in front of me. Dutasteride, while the stronger of the two, should only be used in cases of severe hairloss or if finasteride is becoming less effective for you. I plan on switching to it once the latter occurs.
So what should you do? If your hairloss isn’t too bad (which it doesnt sound like it is) and you just want to maintain what you have and maybe get some slight regrowth, your best bet is to just take 1mg of finasteride once a day. Applying Rogaine to your scalp once or twice a day can be a royal pain in the ass and I only recommend you use it with finasteride if you really want extra regrowth. When the two treatments are used together, in conjuction with a DHT scalp lowering shampoo like nizoral 2-3 times a week, you shouldnt worry about going bald for well over a decade unless your male pattern baldness is ultra agressive. Good luck.
Thanks a lot. I appreciate the advice. Good to know you’re talking from experience as well. Did you happen to take a look at that Rogaine link though? Seems like people are either a little nutty or they’re actually experiencing some real side effects. I might do a little more research just to feel a bit more confident. In any case though I guess I had it backwards - the Rogaine helps with regrowth and the dutas or finasteride helps on the DHT side. Sounds like a good one two punch. Finasteride also seems a little less sketchy in that I’d just get it prescribed by the MD I suppose. Same thing as “Avodart”, right? I wasn’t too keen on ordering the dutas from an online pharmacy anyway - especially if that would have been the only way to obtain it.
You couldn’t pay me enough to take a 5AR inhibitor…I wouldn’t even touch it if I had the old man bald ring thing going on…a quick google search of “propecia no libido” pulls up about 4.5 million hits. There are entire forums for this stuff. We see guys on the TRT forum who are perfectly fine in their lives until taking it.
I’m sure most people can use it with no side effects, but for many it appears to cause almost irreversible libidio damage and impotence…not worth the risks IMO
^ Yep…When I finally thought to dig a little deeper, you are right - my fears were substantiated - there is a lot of negative info out there. And it’s funny cuz it really seems to be a very bipartisan issue - people either love the stuff and say it’s perfectly safe or they say don’t mess with it because they’ve done their research (or had a bad experience themselves). From a couple of the posts I read it seems the drug can interact with certain genes (if you have them) and FUCK YOU UP. It seems to be a small percentage of the people who take the stuff but I’m with you - NOT WORTH IT especially if some of the sides can be PERMANENT. Sounds like Russian Roulette IMO…
Do you have a vested interest in pushing people towards its use?[/quote]
Not at all. And good to see you’re back on-topic now
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Yeah I got my wires crossed with generic and brand names…but a 5ARI is a 5ARI…I don’t see a huge reason to differentiate between them…if you would like to offer a reason why I should, then I am all ears…
Like I said before, I’m sure many people can use it without any issues whatsoever…but for many, 5ARIs can cause irreversible libido damage and impotence, and IMO the risks are not worth it to have a full head of hair…
So how harmful is the rogaine foam then compared to any of the 5ARIs? I’ve heard some negative stuff about that as well even though it seems to be a simple, harmless topical. I’m just thinking maybe using something like that with a little shampoo of the same type would be enough and save me from fucking with any more pills.
The results of the study weren’t intriguing (and I could kind of care less at this point) but I thought it was interesting that one guy developed gynecomastia…yea so what, right?..Here’s the kicker: HE WAS IN THE PLACEBO GROUP!!