Submitted 4 months ago by TheMinions@lemmy.world to [deleted]
I’ve noticed my hair thinning and hairline receding since I was about 25 or so.
I’ve been using Collagen and Biotin “thickening” shampoo but never noticed any difference. My dad swears by some pills he started taking.
What’s Lemmy think? Is he just paying for pills that are placebo effect?
I use topical Minoxidil. It’s clearly made some difference, replacing a bald patch with a thin patch, and making my scalp noticeably warmer to the touch due to the extra bloodflow. It wasn’t the brilliant instantaneous wonderdrug some people told me it would be, nor totally ineffectual like others said, so I guess it’s something whose efficacy varies from person to person.
The Big 3 are: Hair Transplant, Hair Systems, or Shaving.
The Medium 3: are Oral Dutasteride, Oral Minoxidil, and Microneedling.
The Small 3: are Oral Finasteride, Topical Minoxidil, and Ketoconazole.
The Meh 3: are Head Massage, Vitamins, and Laser Caps.
Minoxidil and finasteride will prevent further hair loss and thicken up what you still have. I highly recommend them.
Finasteride is a hormone based therapy which prohibits the production of DHT which strangles hair follicles, but it can effect male reproductive health so I recommend taking it typically instead of orally to prevent systemic exposure.
I have been using a combo spray for almost a year with great results.
Ive been taking oral 1 mg finasteride daily for a few years, and it has totally frozen my receding hair line, also my hair is fuller and healthier than it has ever been. No side effects yet, other than during the first week or two I couldn’t feel pleasure while ejaculating (but it came back after that). I’ll stop taking it if I ever try to conceive but for now it’s just nice being able to delay hair loss by a few years
It’s all bollocks. You’ll can buy your hair back like Musk, but it takes fuck you money.
Shave it off. That’s how poor people look good when they’re balding. It’s not a disease. Throw off the shackles of the advertising industry and just roll with it.
No there are no thickening products that fix hair loss. Monoxadil and other similar products work but you can never stop using them or your hair will fall out again.
Minoxidil is produced in 5% concentration creams and foams, and that study is comparing rosemary oil to a 2% preparation. It’s impressive that rosemary oil is comparable at all, but obviously if you’re not taking a therapeutic dose of Monoxidil, it’s not going to work properly.
As per my cosmetologist friend, those thickening products are great! At thickening the wallets of the company.
They’re not any better than a good conditioner.
Same with the pills that aren’t prescription.
It’s not that they don’t do anything at all, it’s that they don’t do anything a healthy diet and decent hair care can’t do. Now, if your diet is shit, those supplements can fill gaps. And, if you’re using shit hair products (and by that I don’t mean inexpensive, it’s about how they’re made and what’s in them), those extras can help if you’re willing to pony up for them instead of finding a good sulfate, paraben free products.
Seriously folks, just avoiding sulfates will improve the health of your hair. Parabens are more about overall health, what with cancer suspicions. Phthalates aren’t great either. Shit with “ethicone” as part of the name are bad for hair, but you don’t really see them on shampoos much any more.
In general, everyone should look up the chemicals in anything they put on or in their bodies, there’s a lot of shit used as preservatives or for other uses in cosmetics and skin/hair products that really shouldn’t be in them.
But for basic hair care, sulfate free is likely to be on the packaging in big letters, so that’s easier to find. Parabens aren’t always advertised the same way, but can be. So avoiding one or both of those requires no more effort than looking at the bottle.
There’s a lot of people that get their balding stopped with DHT blockers. It all depends on what is causing the hair loss. It isn’t all snake oil.
Most of what you’re recommending is just stuff to treat the dead hair after it grows out of your head, and not treating the follicles no longer growing hair.
Exactly.
The OP was asking about things other than prescription and medication options, unless I totally misread the post. I’ll go back look, but I’m sure there was something specified about vitamin type products, not stuff like minoxidil
Any recommendations on brands?
Eh, based on what I’ve been told by cosmetologists, brand is a matter of what smells best to you, when it comes to shampoo.
I personally favor aveeno and hask since they’re inexpensive, smell good, don’t irritate my skin, and are easy to find at pretty much any store that carries shampoos and conditioners to begin with. Just check labels.
Garnier has several options available last time I looked. I think dove does too. But I don’t personally use those brands, so I can’t say anything about them beyond them having sulfate and paraben free options.
I got nothing when it comes to higher dollar brands since the only time I’ve used them is when they were free samples. But I can not tell a difference between any of them other than scent. My beard and hair are in good shape across the board since my homie gave me the advice to switch sulfate free, no matter the brand.
I started using Rogaine (generic versions) when I was around 25. I’m 40 now. It slowed my hair loss considerably and I have a pretty good head of hair still. My dad was completely done by 35.
I recently added Finasteride to the mix and I’m comfortable with the results.
Some people will tell you to embrace it and that’s ok too. I just didn’t want to if I didn’t have to.
Please don’t take it as an offense, but how do you know it worked? Like, what are you comparing against? If it’s your dad, maybe you just got the right genes from your mom to give you a benefit.
DHT blockers (like what he is taking) are proven to work, but not everyone’s hair loss is due to dht sensitive hair follicles. That’s a genetic lottery.
It can also come with side effects.
I started thinning rapidly in my early 20s which prompted me to act. Within a few months the thinning stopped and in the back I’ve been about the same since. Front started thinning a few years ago which prompted the finasteride and that seems to be slowing it.
I don’t know for sure, you’re right, but I also see no incentive to prove my experience wrong since the risk isn’t worth it, to me.
There no point holding onto hair when it’s really gone. It looks worse than shaving it. Unless you want to pay for hair transplant use need min and fin.
People with hair transplants need to go on finesteride anyway.
I think if you are beginning to bald. Might as well go on finesteride and minoxidil.
They are both proven to work (though not for everyone).
I think the thickening products just try to coat your hairs in oil or something to make each individual hair appear thicker to make the overall hair appear more full.
There are products like minoxidil that actually promote hair growth.
the only thing that works is finding out if you have nutriotional deficencies. minerals, vitamins. protein fat, and fiber. all of this is important. in my case, i had diabetis. so i ate keto. i developed copper deficencie, which led to vitamin c deficencie. very hard to find out. many vitamins and minerals battle each other. what nobody totld me: you dont need fiber to have good poop. you need it for the short fatty chain acids that turns into fuel for cells, or does catalyst stuff that needs be doing to absorb all kinds of things.
fat is essential for hair, likewise proteins. proteins and fat are the building blocks, minerals and vitamins are the cement. nothing will work without the other.
oh yeah you need the sun. if yu have copper deficency, you cant take in iron. and there is many more things like that.
so go to a lab and mak a mineral and vitamin profile.
Yes…or no. There’s more than one reason for balding. You might try a DHT blocker. Caffeine(more caffiene helps, supposedly), vitamin B, and many other things could effect your hair loss.
For a non guessing approach, you want a full blood panel and testosterone/dht level done up at a legit specialist for hair loss.
Or just go the Mr.Clean route.
Not really, but some drugs can help. Minoxidil, either topical or oral, can help for some people, but it’s hit and miss. Finesteride works for a lot of people, but there’s a 3% chance that you permanently lose your libido, and your penis shrinks. I’m not going to play with that, despite the low odds. As for appearance, Topik powder actually does make it look better. That combined with a fibrous hair paste can hide the loss for a time.
For what it’s worth, there’s decent evidence that rosemary oil works just as well as Minoxidil. It’s certainly a WHOLE LOT cheaper…
It’s also much safer to use around cats than topical minoxidil is!
Essential oils are still pretty bad for cats.
Essential Oil Toxicity in Cats
The reason why these oils are risky is that they contain compounds such as terpenes, ketones, and phenols. Your cat’s liver cannot metabolize these chemicals, as it doesn’t have the enzymes necessary for processing and excreting them. As a result, there is always a possibility of their accumulation in the liver building to toxic levels.
I’d probably use the pills regardless, but good to know! I have two cats!
I’ve also heard pumpkin seed oil works as a topical dht blocker. Never dug into it to fact check much, since I still have great hair.
balding < bald
just shave it. get a buzz cut if you’re uncomfortable. i know once my hairline starts receding i won’t try to kid myself by spending money on temporary fixes.
I’m the first guy in my family to actually have facial hair and the first one to start balding haha. My dads hair is pretty thick and he gets a tiny mustache. My grandpa’s hair wasn’t bad before he passed away in his 90s and really nothing for facial hair. Never met my great grandpa but he was chickasaw and the few pictures I’ve seen he has very thick hair.
In the next few years it’ll be to the point where I start shaving. It’s right on top where it’s getting really thin and I’m 6’2" so most people don’t actually see it. The other day at a self check out it thought I didn’t scan something and showed a top down camera view and I was like damn that’s bad.
Kind of. I’ve never bothered with them myself because it requires constant use and is kind of more trouble than it’s worth.
…finesteride works, not a placebo…
If possible, save up for a trip to Turkey. My barber 1/2 jokes about it, says its like $6k, includes airfare, and are all inclusive. Turkey has entire villages that have become dedicated to cosmetic surgeries, like hair transplants. Some of them filled with men walking around with their head in bandages 😅
So we can add to the list now?
Turkey Teeth
Turkey Tits
Turkey Toupee?
I’ve never tried any. My friends have been telling me since the '60s that I’d be bald tomorrow. Still have hair, and though ‘see through’ on top, there’s no ‘dome’; I’m not bald.
That being said, I went from long-ish hair to brush cuts 40 years ago, and they’re the best. Lowest maintenance, wash 'n wear, never care. True freedom.
Free yourself from the wear and tear of hair care.
You, sir, are a poet. And now we all know it.
No product here, more like an advice. Instead of trying to thicken your hair, just embrace what’s happening. You will save a lot of time and money.
I think Minoxidil is the only thing proven to work. You can take it orally or apply it to the scalp via a serum or shampoo.
I’m in my early 30s and started taking hims about a year ago. I’ve definitely seen regrowth of hair in my slightly receding hairline, but it’s just the more ‘recent’ stuff that had started falling out. I saw about a third of an inch regrowth, it isn’t full on thick regrowth but it’s enough to make a difference in how my hair looks.
I started taking it because it was as easy as just taking a pill in the morning, if it had been more involved like creams and stuff I wouldn’t have bothered. My hairline wasn’t all that bad either before tbh but I figured this product was to help keep it that way so I went for it.
If anyone is interested it’s worth checking out their website for information about how it works and seeing before and after pics of people who take it.
It’s a doctor prescription and you can do everything through the app including getting prescribed through in app texting with the doc.
I’ve also heard biotin pills help, these are otc and my hims prescription actually include some too. I can’t verify how much they help by themselves but people online seem to think they do, it might be worth starting with some research there if a doctors prescription is too involved for you at this time.
My hairstylist told me to get biotin gummies even the really cheap ones. I did, and my hair is noticeably thicker
Rogaine (sp?) worked to trigger better facial hair growth for me. I read that somewhere online and it actually worked.
Oh interesting. I have trouble growing the middle bit of my mustache, so maybe that will help.
As DHT is partially responsible for androgenetic scalp hair loss, dutasteride (a 5α-reductase inhibitor) at least has some evidence of slowing hair loss, as it blocks the action of the 5α-reductase enzymes that convert testosterone into DHT [1]. I am not a medical professional, so do your own research, but this is one of the few substance shown to have a positive effect on hair loss prevention. As this is usually a genetic problem your mileage may vary significantly.
[1] Bostwick DG, Cheng L (24 January 2014). Urologic Surgical Pathology. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 492–. ISBN 978-0-323-08619-6.
What’s your motivation? Do you want to appear attractive, and you decided that you are not up to your own level of expectation based on your hair? Do you want to attract a partner or an audience? Do you require respect from peers and you think hair will help?
Any supplement is likely not going to bring the required results. If you are not satisfied with your hair, get a toupee or a transplant. Don’t fuck around with half measures. You will only waste time and money.
In general, hair is not suitable for half measures. Don’t kid yourself. People notice thin hair. People notice a tattooed scalp. People notice a calm over. These all make you appear insecure and the opposite of what you might be aiming for. You must be comfortable, but be aware that you are not buying into the wrong comfort.
No but they can make amazing sauces.
AFAIK you can only slow down hair loss, not regrow any lost hair.
soft water with low calciumhydrocarbonate also makes soft hair and skin.
Ovation cell therapy
Look it up
Iirc only caffeine shampoo works
sicarius@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I started balding in my late teens. Shaved my head for the first time at 20. Never looked back. Wished I’d done it sooner.
Still remember an offhand comment from a girl who said I have a nice shaped head.
A quick once over with the clippers once a week and you’re good.
Whatever you decided to do don’t stress about it! I’m sure that will only make it worse.
Bonus: the freshly shaved head acts as velcro to keep your hat on during windy days!
arefx@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
See I have a lumpy awful shaped head but thankfully I’m 37 with thick full hair still, so I might be in the clear
ThoranTW@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Same situation, started at 17 and besides a bit of melancholy right after I first buzzed it all off ai haven’t looked back either.
Shit’s just so convenient.