Let’s face it. Hair loss really stinks. I have expressed that sentiment in one way or another many times. It stinks because of the effect it has on self esteem. Even moderate hair loss can take it’s toll when you get the inevitable drifting gazes to the forehead from people you’re having a conversation with, or when you just look in the mirror and compare what you see to the way your hair looked when you were 16.
But the reality of the situation is that most people lose hair as they age, to some degree. Hair loss is quite common. Sure that doesn’t make you feel better, but its reality. Also, the way you perceive your hair loss is often much worse than it actually is. I say this because I personally used to fret over my hair loss when I had way more hair than I now have. Now I wish I didn’t worry about it so much when I was a Norwood 1 or 2, or even early 3. I still had a lot of hair. It’s all relative my friend.
But that’s not why I started this rant. There’s another reality that I want to talk about, one that you may not want to hear, but someone’s got to tell you.
Yes, Minoxidil and Propecia work. Yes there are other potentially effective treatments. Yes some people get amazing regrowth with these treatments…but…
For the vast majority of people, these treatments work well to stem the tide of hair loss, but won’t give you amazing regrowth.. Sorry to break the news, but if you’re wanting to go from a Norwood 5 to a Norwood 2 the chances are it ain’t gonna happen. You’ll most likely be able to maintain what you currently have, and perhaps regrow a moderate amount of hair. That’s a reasonable expectation. If that’s not good enough for you. You should consider hair transplants or even a hair system. My preference if I ever have to go that route is the transplants. I have seen what some of the more experienced and artistic doctors can do first hand and it’s nothing short of amazing.
However, if your expectations are reasonable in that you basically want to maintain the hair you have, and you’re suffering from androgenetic alopecia, then the Minox+Prop combo is worth sticking to. Just make sure you visit a qualified dermatologist, preferably one specializing in hair and hair-related conditions, before you embark on using them. This is to pin down the exact kind of hair loss that you have. By the way, don’t use Propecia if you’re a woman that ever plans to have children.