I began conducting research on the causes of a receding hairline and balding when I myself began to notice a receding hairline at age 27. Knowing that my grandfather on my mother’s side had experienced a receding hairline throughout his life, I suspected that this could be in my future as well. (However, note that hair loss could also be inherited from your father’s side. See this study.) As a result, I did some research and experimented with various solutions. I am currently 30 years old, and this is what I have found so far:
For the first year and a half, I did not invest in any of the three scientifically supported tools of finasteride (Propecia), minoxidil (Rogaine), or low-level laser light. I used more mild “solutions” such as Caffeine-fortified thickening shampoo and a product called Revivogen. As anyone who is familiar with this website knows, there is not enough reliable evidence that such uncertain “solutions” could effectively counteract the process of male pattern hair loss. I found this to be confirmed in my personal experience. Throughout my time using these “treatments,” although there seemed to be temporary positive effects (such as thickening caused by shampoo) at times, I noticed that my hairline continued to recede or hair began to thin in the middle of my head, even in areas that were not receding. As a result, I knew I had to use more “serious” tools if I were to be successful.
In September 2014, I obtained a prescription for finasteride from a local hair restoration clinic. I took finasteride for about two months, and I did not like the side effects, so decided to stop. Most doctors will say that you should not expect to notice any positive results when it comes to hair stabilization or regrowth until after you have used a specific treatment consistently for at least 4 – 6 months. Thus, the fact that I did not notice much difference in the effects of my hair during the two months using finasteride does not really reveal anything significant.
In November 2014, I purchased the Capillus Laser Cap at another hair restoration clinic. The Capillus Laser Cap is the most powerful in-home laser device currently available, with 272 laser diodes. Unfortunately, it costs around $3000. I began using the Laser Cap consistently (every other day for 30 minutes each time) and applying minoxidil (two applications per day, one in the morning and one at night). For the first 2 – 3 months, as expected, I did not notice any positive benefits for my hair. In fact, it seemed at times my hair was thinning faster. Supposedly, this is to be expected as the thinner, dormant (telogen) hairs are being “pushed” out to give room for newer, thicker hair (due to the hair growth cycle). Around 4 months of using BOTH the Laser Cap and minoxidil (Rogaine), the thinning seemed to stop and my hair seemed to be slightly thicker. The treatment seemed to be working.
At some point, I experimented by discontinuing use of the minoxidil and only using the Laser Cap. I noticed no significant negative effect. In fact, as I continued to use the Laser Cap up through May 2015 (a total of about 6 months), my hair continued to thicken noticeably, the hair loss apparently stopped, and my hair growth seemed to stabilize. This occurred from using only the Laser Cap for about two months after discontinuing the minoxidil. However, it is possible that those two months were the remaining effects of using the minoxidil previously. Most doctors will tell you it takes a few months for the benefit of a treatment to be noticeable as well as the effects of stopping a treatment to be noticeable. Thus, it is not possible to conclude that the Laser Cap alone produced those effects. At the very least, I can conclude that consistent use of the Laser Cap + minoxidil was effective.
At this point, I discovered a newer device on the market called the Theradome laser helmet. Theradome has significantly less lasers than the Capillus Laser Cap (80 as opposed to 272) and costs significantly less ($895 as opposed to $3000). I decided I would try this less expensive device and see if it worked effectively enough to keep my hair growth stable. I returned the Capillus Laser Cap, and began using the less powerful Theradome laser helmet in June 2015. I have been using Theradome consistently for 6 months. Since I have used the device consistently for this amount of time, I am able to accurately assess its effectiveness (6 months is the amount of time it should take for the effects of a certain treatment to become established). What can I conclude? Throughout the six months of using the device, I have noticed my hair loss continue to progress, and I have lost more hair (especially on the top of my head) since I stopped the Laser Cap/minoxidil and began using the Theradome. There may be some thickening effects, but it doesn’t seem to be strong enough to stop the progression of my hair loss.
My experience and experimentation with different hair growth methods leaves some questions, since I have not tried every tool or every possible combination of tools. So far, it seems that the Laser Cap plus minoxidil or possibly the Laser Cap alone seems to do the job, if I am consistent. I also know that the less powerful Theradome alone does not do the job. Does that mean 80 lasers + minoxidil would work? Or 80 lasers + finasteride? Or perhaps 80 lasers + minoxidil + finasteride? Or possibly minoxidil + finasteride, or finasteride alone? I cannot draw any conclusions at this point about any of those options, since I haven’t tested any of them for a sufficiently long period of time (6 months). Perhaps one or more of those would work. The question to ask then is: What conclusions can we draw from my experiences?
If I were to classify the level of aggressiveness of my particular hair loss, I would say it is moderate. I define “moderate” as not aggressive enough to go mostly or totally bald by age 30, but more aggressive than having a slowly receding hairline and no other type of hair loss up until age 60. I will define aggressive as beginning to experience hair loss at age 20 or earlier and/or becoming completely bald (except at the sides and back of the head) by age 30. I will define mild as having no receding hair line or having a very slow receding hairline that hardly changes even into the 50s. In summary, the levels of aggressiveness are:
Mild – No receding hairline or a very slowly receding hairline, with most hair still apparently intact at age 60.
Moderate – Receding hairline begins at late 20s, hair thinning occurs noticeably to the individual over a short period of time even on the top of the head. Complete baldness will probably not occur right away, but may occur after 60.
Aggressive – Receding hairline and/or noticeable hair thinning begins at age 21 or earlier. The hair loss occurs quickly, and most or all of the hair on top of the head is completely gone by age 30 (in the absence of any treatment or tools).
What can we conclude from my experience trying various solutions, someone who apparently has a moderate level of aggressiveness for hair loss? It seems that a combination of minoxidil and the more powerful (i.e., with high laser output), 272-laser diode Laser Cap is strong enough (at least for awhile) to counteract my particular hair loss, and even increase my hair’s thickness. It also seems that the less powerful, 80-laser diode Theradome is not powerful enough to counteract a moderate level of aggressiveness, at least on its own. Based on all of these results, you could try to determine the level of aggressiveness of your particular hair loss, and then take into consideration my particular recommendation to counteract that level of aggressiveness:*
Mild – You can choose to do nothing, or you can choose to try minoxidil (Rogaine or generic). A ketoconazole shampoo might be beneficial as well. It may not be necessary to take finasteride (Propecia or generic) or use the more powerful laser caps with over 200 laser diodes.
Moderate – A laser device with less than 200 laser diodes (on its own) may not be enough to stabilize your hair growth. It is possible that an 80-laser diode device would work in combination with minoxidil (Rogaine) and/or finasteride (Propecia), but you would have to test that over a period of at least 6 months to know for certain. The more powerful laser devices (with more than 200 laser diodes) may or may not be sufficient on their own to stabilize your hair growth, but you could try that for 6 months – 1 year to know for sure. However, a combination of the 200+ diode Laser Cap and minoxidil might be sufficient to halt your hair loss and even improve hair growth. It is unknown whether or not finasteride (Propecia) on its own would stabilize your hair growth, or finasteride + minoxidil only. I base all of these conclusions on my own experience of what I have or have not tried. It is possible that finasteride alone might be enough to slow down this type of hair loss significantly, since studies show that its effect is quite powerful (see this study, for example).
Aggressive – It is uncertain what the minimum treatment would have to be in order to halt your hair loss and stabilize hair growth, but the most effective tools known are finasteride/dutasteride, minoxidil, 2% ketoconazole shampoo, and the more powerful laser cap devices (the ones with over 200 laser diodes). It has also been found that using a combination of two or more treatments produces the most powerful effect (see this study about various combinations and this study about combining treatments with laser therapy). If you are experiencing an aggressive type of hair loss, you probably need to use a combination to effectively slow or stop it. Make sure that when you do so, you use the regimen consistently and over a time period of six months to a year before drawing any conclusions, otherwise, you will not be able to make an accurate assessment.
If you are reading this and can identify with any of the above categories of the type of hair loss and would like to experiment with any of these treatments, I would also be interested in seeing what you find out. You are welcome to share with me what you discover if you would like to, so that I can gain a better understanding as well.
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* I am not a doctor. You should always consult a board-certified hair restoration doctor before making any decisions about hair loss treatments. The opinions on this blog are solely those of myself. However, I try my best to develop informed opinions by basing them on the results of clinical studies that I reference here on my website.
Maintaining Hair For Men 