Quote from: myloginacct on May 02, 2018, 07:37:53 PMDo you still have to take finasteride after the hair transplant?
My transplanted hairs along my new hairline (aka recipient area) are permanent and are resistant to falling out, just like the hairs from the sides and back of head (aka donor area).
However, I still have hair loss behind the hairline and also the crown. I'm a Norwood IV though not "complete," as in I don't look like the illustration. I'm heading towards it though!
The finasteride is to slow down my natural existing hairs from falling out. The plan is for another transplant in the thinning areas so that I can stop taking the pills. Some patients with progressing hair loss take it for life since it's cheaper to maintain compared to another session or because they've run out of donor hairs.
Quote from: myloginacct on May 02, 2018, 07:37:53 PMEDIT: Do you also know anything about that supposed "cure" that was developed in South Korea?
Maybe you mean this, not much is known aside from the fact that it's PRP with some tweaks. Looks good, they claim it's permanent, but there's not enough info to pull the trigger. You also need to be local for 2-4 months, since you need three injections 3-6 weeks apart.
There's always a cure right around the corner, the joke is that it's always 3-5 years away. The US hair loss industry earned $3.6 billion in 2016, so the race for a cure is very competitive, but it also opens the gates for a ton of charlatans preying on desperate people (much like pills that promise height increase for adults).
Quote from: Android on May 02, 2018, 08:19:46 PMMy transplanted hairs along my new hairline (aka recipient area) are permanent and are resistant to falling out, just like the hairs from the sides and back of head (aka donor area).
However, I still have hair loss behind the hairline and also the crown. I'm a Norwood IV though not "complete," as in I don't look like the illustration. I'm heading towards it though!
The finasteride is to slow down my natural existing hairs from falling out. The plan is for another transplant in the thinning areas so that I can stop taking the pills. Some patients with progressing hair loss take it for life since it's cheaper to maintain compared to another session or because they've run out of donor hairs.
Maybe you mean this, not much is known aside from the fact that it's PRP with some tweaks. Looks good, they claim it's permanent, but there's not enough info to pull the trigger. You also need to be local for 2-4 months, since you need three injections 3-6 weeks apart.
There's always a cure right around the corner, the joke is that it's always 3-5 years away. The US hair loss industry earned $3.6 billion in 2016, so the race for a cure is very competitive, but it also opens the gates for a ton of charlatans preying on desperate people (much like pills that promise height increase for adults).
Thanks for all the info.
The side effects of finasteride seem terrible, though, so I can see how you want to stop taking it. Is there no other good option to prevent hair loss besides an antiandrogen like finasteride?
Quote from: myloginacct on May 02, 2018, 10:40:51 PMThe side effects of finasteride seem terrible, though, so I can see how you want to stop taking it. Is there no other good option to prevent hair loss besides an antiandrogen like finasteride?
Finasteride is the best option for now, along with dutasteride (similar drug), if a person is just noticing thinning. There's PRP, but I'm not sure how well it works even though I did it. Minoxidil, generic Rogaine, is a messy ritual and I really didn't like it (twice daily, oily, smelly).
The problem with prevention and maintenance medicine is that it's hard to tell if it's working until you stop doing it! Any improvement will be wiped out once you stop as well.
I don't like the uncertainty, chore of maintenance, and the potential for side effects either, so that's why I advocate hair transplants until a real cure is readily available. Trying everything above adds up over time, especially if you use pricier shampoo that promotes hair growth too.
Anyone considering shaving should try it, since it might turn out to be a pleasant surprise. You could even combine that with micropigmentation if you want to make it look like shaving down was a choice, not because you're balding. There's really a solution to everything, isn't there?
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