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You have nicely brought back your hairline with the combination of minoxidil and microneedling. Congrats!

Would my weight loss be due to a hormonal shift brought about by losing weight and thus speeding up the MPB?

I am not sure about the mechanism, but what you are suggesting is possible. Weight loss that is rapid often triggers male pattern balding but rapid weight loss itself, can cause hair loss in many people.

I was wondering if I should stop taking my oral minoxidil dose of 1.25mgs/day/

[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]

If you are worried about it, or if you had periods of light-headedness, or if you had rapid heart beats from the oral minoxidil, skipping a daily dose will have no negative impact on your hair.

I’m currently only 17 and I noticed recently that my hairline is starting to go. It’s not so noticeable at the moment, but does bother me a bit. I’ll drop some pictures so you can get an idea. I have no idea what to do right now and I want to stop it and regrow to make it thicker in the areas in a bit thin. I currently only take a multivitamin everyday since that’s all I feel safe taking until I get some solid advice. I know about a derma roller, finasteride, and minoxidil but I’m not sure what I need to take. Please let me know!

First I would advise you to find a good caring doctor who will build a Master Plan with you to allow you to maintain your hair for many years. Getting a HAIRCHECK test is a good thing because it will quantify the amount of hair you have lost so far. Things like the Dermaroller with minoxidil works well. So does finasteride but make sure that you really have hair loss and are at the beginning stages of hair loss before you commit to these treatments which have to be maintained.

The pictures show a reversal of the finasteride with an almost perfect hairline that is obvious in the photos

It takes courage to embark upon microneedling. This process should be repeated weekly until there are results and then I believe you can pull back. Adding minoxidil to it before and after the microneedling and rubbing it in, might increase the value and accelerate the benefits. With a man I recently helped doing it, I applied Xylocaine gel 40 minutes before the process started to reduce the pain.

This proves my point that young men (under 25 and especially under 20) have a higher benefit from taking finasteride than men over 25. Good job and stick to it and maybe you can avoid more hair loss for many years. The photo shows that the miniaturized hairs in the front seem to have become thicker ‘terminal hairs’ which are essentially normal growing hair.

A lot of press coverage recently about the latest protein (prostaglandin D2 or PGD2) identified that may hopefully bring a cure for male pattern baldness, based on a study published in Science Translational Medicine. We will have to wait out the FDA process and see where this is all going to take us.

The suggestion is that this may be a cure to prevent the balding process, but it does not imply that this can reverse the damage from hair loss in the past. The team of researchers was lead by dermatologist Luis Garza (then of the University of Pennsylvania, now at Johns Hopkins University) and by Penn dermatologist George Cotsarelis. Here are some quotes from articles around the web:

From Bloomberg News —

“Male-pattern baldness may be caused by a protein in the scalp, according to research that raises the possibility drugs being tested by Merck & Co. (MRK) and Actelion Ltd. (ATLN) for other uses might prevent hair loss. Bald spots had an excessive amount of a protein called prostaglandin D2 or PGD2, according to a study in Science Translational Medicine. Merck’s experimental treatment for facial flushing and Actelion’s allergy compound, both in late- stage studies, block the protein.“

From The Los Angeles Times —

“The discovery that prostaglandins might be the catalyst that sets baldness in motion, was a surprise to the researchers, who ‘hadn’t thought about prostaglandins in relation to hair loss,’ said Cotsarelis. From there, researchers were able to identify the receptor — the cellular landing dock — for D2, called GPR44. Find a way to block that receptor, or somehow thwart PGD2’s path to it, and, voila! —baldness doesn’t happen. That, say the researchers, will be their next effort — to try topical treatments that block the GPR44 receptor. They hope the same approach might help find treatments that prevent hair thinning in women.“

From MedPage Today —

“To explore the possible mechanisms, Cotsarelis and colleagues examined scalp tissue from 22 white men ages 40 to 65 who underwent hair transplantation for male pattern baldness. None of the men were taking either of the two approved medications for baldness — minoxidil and finasteride. Through genetic analysis of bald scalp tissue and hair-covered scalp tissue within the same individuals, the researchers discovered that levels of prostaglandin D2 were about three times higher in the bald scalp tissue.“

From HealthDay —

“Several companies have compounds in development that block the receptor for PGD2. Those compounds are being studied to treat asthma. We think using these compounds topically… could slow down and possibly reverse baldness.“