Category: Drugs

I am a 52-year-old woman with diffuse hair loss. I’m using Toppik and thinking about starting Rogaine. My question: do I have to wash the Toppik out of my hair in the evening before I can put the Rogaine on?

The Toppik tends to “clump” on my scalp by the end of the day, so if I don’t wash it out, I’ll be rubbing the Rogaine on top of the Toppik fibers. But having to wash my hair twice a day (morning and evening) seems excessive.

Thanks for any advice.

It is best to use Toppik as the last thing you do. The Rogaine should be applied first and give it some time before the use of Toppik.

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Hi:

I am a 30 year old male that started taking Propecia 10 years ago. For almost that entire time, I have been very happy with the results. However, starting just 6 months ago, I have noticed a considerable amount of daily shedding, especially in the shower. I have also noticed a great deal more of recession in the hairline. To help combat this, I have started applying Rogaine Foam, and taking Procerin tablets regularly.

I am sure I will have to wait a little longer to see if the added products help combat the shedding, but my question to you, is should I increase the Propecia dosage as well? Right now I am only taking 1mg. Hair Loss is common in my family, as my two older brothers are almost completely bald. I’d like to do what I can to avoid ending up there myself. If you could share your initial thoughts with me, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks

The 1mg dose recommendation is across the board, but it might be worth a try at 2mg as more and more doctors are now trying a slightly higher dose. Double check with your prescribing physician, but if you do not have side effects, go for it.

We really do not know how finasteride will alter the long term (15+ year) balding pattern. We are hopeful that it will slow the balding down, but the real question is, “Will you still eventually wind up at your final hair loss pattern?” Propecia has been on the market only about 12 years, so we don’t really have the experience over a 20 year time period.

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Ester-C has greatly reduced the amount of hair that I naturally shed. I have tried this three times and have experienced the same results. There are several people that have witnessed my results. Shedding has been reduced by approximately 80%. I also take Avodart, but it is the Ester-C that has had this effect. I haven’t noticed any increase in actual hair growth from Ester-C. I just seems to make the hair stay in the follicle better. To sum it up, by taking Ester-C my hair would survive a pull test far better. This is factual information and could easily be proven.

Thanks

I am unfamiliar with the connection of vitamin C to hair loss prevention or increasing the strength of your hair while pulling on it. Maybe the use of Avodart (dutasteride) is somehow potentiated by it, but that is like playing roulette and any guess is as good as another one.

Dear Dr, Rassman,

First of all i’d just like to say what a source of support your blog has given me over the past year, when i first noticed my hair loss. Being resident in the UK, we really are in terms of awareness, knowledge and treatment of hair loss years behind america! To give an example, my GP had never even heard of propecia! So thank you for creating such an informative forum that really helps people such as myself, educate themselves about the multitude of issues and treatments regarding MPB.

I staerted noticing about a year ago that my hairline was begining to receed above the temples, i was 23 at the time. I went to see a trichologist within a month of this and basically, was given so called “snake oils” and high frequency treatment which i payed a lot of money for. When i look back on this, i cannot believe how naive i was to trust that this approach would work. Basically i was scammed! and i believe wasted precious time, which could have been spent pursuing one of the 2 medically proven treatments.

I’d say in the last year the hairline has gone back about half an inch on the left side, but hardly moved on the right side, but the hair there seems less thick. To be sure i’m doing everything i can to provent further loss- i started propecia 2 months ago, and apply revivogen (natural DHT blocker, medically unproven, but i’m a medical student and have read the trials revivogen performed on its efficacy cf. propecia and they looked promising) once a day to the hairline along with minoxidil 5 per cent 3 hours later daily.

I know that the sooner you catch the hairline recession the more chance you have at getting results- as theres a smaller window of time to restore the hair follicles in the frontal region, as i understand it. What i would really appreciate is your advice on the steps i’ve taken (after noticing minor recession in the past year) have i done the right thing? and in your experience, would you say that if you catch frontal recession right at the beginning, can it be controlled?

I would really appreciate your expert opinion on this, as we don’t really have many specialists in this field in the UK and in general GPs are clueless about hairloss! Having your assessment would really mean a lot to me and take away some of the anguish i have at the moment as all the doctors i’ve consulted up until now have been completely clueless.

thank you in advance

You’re still in your early 20s with early hair loss — so yes, it does sound like you’re doing the right thing by starting Propecia. Having only taken Propecia for two months, you aren’t likely to see any benefits just yet, but stick with it. The Revivogen/minoxidil combo isn’t something I’ve heard tried before, but best of luck with that. It sounds like you’re taking proper steps and even being a little creative with your approach. As long as you’ve got the finances to handle so many treatments at once, then go for it.

I’m glad you’ve found this site helpful in the time you’ve spent here, and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for your kind words.

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