EDIT: Guys, be sure to check out the wiki too. LOTS of good info here to go along with my personal story and suggestions. http://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/wiki/index
EDIT: because people have been PMing me and accusing me of being part of a marketing promotion. Do you REALLY think I'm marketing for $ 4 a month generics?
Here's my latest Finasteride pack for proof that I am actually on this medication myself : http://i.imgur.com/i6WyEOa.jpg
"What do I do? Do I have options??" Yes, but you really only have 1 option….."Do 'The Big 3'".
1: Propecia
2: Rogaine
3: Nizoral shampoo.
Get generic Proscar (have your doctor write you an RX). Proscar is 5mg of Finasteride (propecia is 1mg of Finasteride) used to treat BHP. Get a $ 3 pill cutter from walmart and cut them into quarters. This means $ 9 for 120 days of propecia, whereas getting actual name brand propecia is around $ 70 or so a month. Tell your doctor that you can't afford name brand, and that Proscar is LITERALLY the exact same thing as Propecia, just a 5x stronger dose. Most people can be sympathetic towards wanting to save money. Just be upfront and honest with him. If you don't have a doctor, PLEASE DO NOT GET GENERICS ONLINE!! Pay for one doctor visit (or a dermatologist visit) and then get the RX for Proscar. You will STILL pay less overall for that than you will getting generics online. Source? I did generics for 4 years before I wised up. I think I paid around $ 30-$ 40 a month for generics. You'll save money in the long run, so long as it's not $ 400+ for one doctor visit.
Get generic rogaine from walmart. Start with 1 month of the liquid and see how it works. Only get 1 month to start because it MIGHT irritate your scalp (PPG is the delivery vehicle, and some people get really itchy where it's applied [I had a horrible itch]). If it doesn't bother you, then after a month get the 3 month supply (I say liquid because it has a slightly better rate of growth than the foam). If it bothers you (either because it's itchy or because it feels like it makes your hair too greasy), then get the 3 months supply of Rogaine foam.
Nizoral is hard to find these days, but what you want is a shampoo that has at least 1% KETOCONAZOLE as the active ingredient. Keto has been shown to have anti androgen properties. By itself it's not going to do much, but it helps in conjunction with the other things. It's usually back on Amazon for about $ 14. Another option for Keto shampoo is Regenepure DR. I haven't used it, so I can't attest to it, but many others have said it worked well.
I also use Bosley Revive for my normal shampoos. It SAYS it's suppose to help with thinning hair. I have my doubts, but I like the way it makes my hair feel. It's much more manageable and better looking when I use it. It's not super cheap, but buy the liter bottles and they'll last you for at least a couple months, if not closer to 3 or 4 months. You need to get 2 kinds, cleanser and scalp therapy. Buy them both, then just buy them individually as needed.
Propecia: Some people say that taking propecia makes them kinda tired for the first few hours after they take the pill. I think that's kinda bogus, but I always take mine right before bed…just in case.
Rogaine: Take a shower in the morning, towel dry your hair, then put the rogaine in and let it sit while you get dressed. After that, style your hair as usual. Put it in again before you go to bed (needs to be in 2x a day), but do it as the FIRST thing before your nightly ritual so that it sits on your head and can be absorbed and not run down the side of your head when you're sleeping.
Nizoral/Nioxin: You want your hair to be somewhat clean from normal oils so that Nizoral will suds up and hit your scalp. I use generic T-Gel from walmart for the first round of hair washing. Rinse, then apply Nizoral. After you do that, then start washing yourself off. Get all sudsy and clean, then rise your hair out (you do this to let the Nizoral sit and soak your scalp for a while. DON'T RINSE OFF YET!). Next you use the Nioxin cleanser. It doesn't have to sit, so just lather up and rinse out. Now for the Nioxin cleanser. It's basically a conditioner, so put it on and let it sit while you rinse off. You want it to sit on your head for about 2 minutes. After that, rinse off, get out of the shower, towel dry your hair, then put on your Rogaine.
Source: I've been doing this for about 6 or 7 years.
Proofs:
7 years ago with totally dry/no product hair ("That's not so bad!!!" I know, it wasn't THAT bad, but it had gotten to that point in about 2 years, and it was only going to get worse. Imagine what it would be like after 7 additional years)
4 years after starting, with wet hair
Still from a short film I was in. Outside in the bright sun this Feburary
Modeling gig I picked up, with a bright flash from my right (about 2 months ago)
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Tressless: a hair loss community for sufferers of alopecia and balding.
