Hair Update: October 17, 2025

I was pretty pumped thinking that maybe the next progress photos would show some significant gains.

 

Sadly, it did not.

 

So some lessons I have learned since the previous update. I am still using the same routine when it comes to medication, but my micro-needle every day theory ended up doing more harm than good. It wasn't anything catastrophic like my scalp getting infected, it just seemed to stop my hair growth. 

 

Perhaps I was damaging the hair follicles too often or maybe the hair itself.

 

But since I am writing this backwards, I have some good news that in my future update which will catch us up to the current day. I have some fresh lessons which actually gave us results, I promise.

 

 

And I really have to hand it to OpenAI and their ChatGPT, it helped guide me in my research and discovery, Instead of having to sift through chats, posts, threads, and all that to search for legit information.

Since my last update, I have change the micro-needling to just once a week using a longer needle length. I also changed my diet as I realized I was severely under eating when it came to protein, I was using AI to track what I ate and to estimate what I was putting in my body, and the things I assumed were good enough were actually just full of empty calories. So I was just getting heavier while not adding any  protein to my body, and when I tried to lean out I was basically just starving myself which cut down those proteins even more. Long story short, I am eating now more than ever but boring foods like Greek yogurt, eggs, and cottage cheese.

Since our hairs are made of protein, a healthy supply of it should make it want to grow like lush grass... in theory.

A Revolutionary Product For Dental Hygiene

Am I the only one who did not know about this?

I want to share with you an absolute game changer for your dental hygiene, it is 2025 and I am seeing more and MORE people with abysmal teeth. Like stuff is built up so thick you could see it, do people brush their teeth anymore? 

 Orthodontic Toothbrush

 There is it!

 

 

 

I could have sworn I had gum disease with the way my gums were receding. But one day I took a closer look, and saw at my gum line there was stuff my toothbrush missed. This is where I was receding. If I went in there and tried picking it out, there would be this gunk. Imagine eating a mouthful of baby powder and getting it stuck in all the nooks and crannys. Which is tough, because not only was my hairline receding now my gums were too. And I was not using just any old toothbrush either, this was one of those fancy vibrating, 5-mode, rechargeable, water-proof, whatever toothbrushes.

But these orthodontic brushes, if you stick it right in the gum line you'll be able to get all of it out. You don't even need to have orthodontics or whatever that is, I am too lazy to Google it but I am using them on my plain old natural teeth. This has been amazing, it was like using a small soft-bristle brush to detail the interior of a car.

Shower Mirror 

Around the same time I thought of these brushes... another idea hit me. A shower mirror.

Something you could stick to the wall and get a good close up look at those chompers, actually my original plan was to use a shower mirror to water pick my teeth. I don't know how people do it or maybe my mouth had holes in it, but I simply cannot use a water pick without water getting absolutely everywhere. Hence, my idea to do it all in the shower!

 

 

 

Being able to see what you are doing is much better than going by feel, and after a week or so of picking at my gums, it seems to really like what I'm doing. My gums look less red and more pink, the swelling flattened out making them come back down to cover up roots which were exposed. My teeth was looking healthier too. 

The main thing which concerned me was how "sick" it looked. Right at the gum line it just didn't look right and I knew something was wrong. Like your teeth isn't supposed to look like that, it concerned me enough to schedule a dentist visit and start doing something.

Overall, these brushes excel at getting the fresh stuff out. But you still need a dentist for the buildup that has solidified. For that stuff, you need to physically scrape it off with a metal tool and I am for sure not qualified.

Another Hair Loss Breakthrough: But Sadly, It Means More Products To Use

My friends!

I've come with good news, one of my friends suddenly started growing hair... and fast. I was curious, so I asked him. But before I tell you what it is, I just need to vent.

I'll give you a hint, it isn't surgery.

I've been going about this for how long now, couple years or so? And this guy managed to totally change his hair within a few months! Impossible! I've been slathering that Minoxidil and Finasteride junk on my head for EVER. The results are not even close to what this man achieved in just THREE months, I was flabbergasted... bamboozled... there is just no way what I am seeing is physically possible.

New Products To Reverse Hair-loss

So let us cut to the chase, here is what my friend used:

1. Minoxidil

2. Finasteride

3. Red-Light Helmet

4. Pre-Natal Vitamin 

5. The Ordinary Hair Care Serum

6. Folligen Original Tonic Spray

Now that is a lot of stuff.

I've pretty much decided to try everything except number 4. Everything is reasonably priced with an exception for the red light therapy helmet. Here is what I've learned: not all helmets are the same, you want the lasers not just red lights, and prices vary from $20 to $2000.

That is a huge range, and I am still very skeptical of this whole red light idea. Though as of this writing, I have decided to go with the $250 option from Amazon. That is much more digestible for something to just try out, I didn't want to "give it a shot" with something that costs as much as a used motorcycle. I was going back and forth on it for weeks, do I just give it a try and quickly return it if things don't work out? But no matter how I tried to spin it, $2000 is simply too much. There is a cheaper $1000 option but it seems to be a big step down from the most powerful and tricked out helmet which is $2000. Prices are rounded up but that is basically how much you will be spending, probably more if you account for tax and ect.

 

Or if you wanted to be super fancy, there is a battery pack option which adds on another couple hundred!

Here is the one I went with:

 

 

 

As you can see, it is also battery powered so you don't have to attach yourself to a wall outlet plus it has lasers! Although it doesn't look like lasers to my untrained eye, I'll report back in a month or so with results. And I'll let you know if what is left of my hair catches fire or if the helmet itself catches fire. My plan is that if things look good, then maybe it is worth the investment to get the Ferrari of therapy helmets.

But up until this point, the Minoxidil and Finasteride have helped me not be skin bald. Although the results aren't exactly spectacular like "whoa, you've got the hair of an 18 year old" which is what I was hoping for. I have maybe reversed 3 or so years of balding from where I was. 

Hair Update: February 28, 2025

In this hair update, I've been going with the same routine. Sorry, nothing too exciting going on with this one.

My Experience With Dr. FORHAIR Made for Hair Loss and Thinning Hair: Honest Thoughts After Disappointing Results

Hair loss and thinning are tough battles to fight, and like many others searching for a solution, I came across Dr. FORHAIR—a shampoo brand marketed specifically for people dealing with hair loss, scalp sensitivity, and thinning strands. With bold claims and plenty of glowing reviews, I had high hopes that this would be the game-changer I’d been looking for. 

 

Unfortunately, after consistent use, the results didn’t live up to the hype.  

Why I chose Dr. FORHAIR

I did my research. Dr. FORHAIR is a Korean haircare brand that’s gained a lot of attention for its Folligen line, which claims to: 

1. Strengthen weak and thinning hair

2. Reduce hair shedding

3. Improve scalp health with ingredients like biotin, panthenol, and niacinamide

I saw the product at Costco, and like most things in life, it is better when you buy it from Costco. There were some eye-catching claims on the bottle, which really helped sell me on it. Like thicker hair and so on, and all for a very decent price. Plus, I had many good experiences with Korean products so I let my guard down as soon as saw that.

What Happened After Using It

The issue? 

After months of consistent use, I saw little to no improvement.Hair shedding continued just as much as before, if not more on some days. No noticeable thickening or increase in hair volume. 

It’s not that the shampoo made things worse—it just didn’t do anything noticeably better either. For a product marketed so heavily around results, I was left underwhelmed.

To be fair, hair regrowth and restoration are complex. No shampoo is a miracle cure, especially when the root cause might be hormonal (like DHT sensitivity), genetic, or stress-related.

So I am not placing any blame on the product itself, it just did not work for me. But what did seem to make a difference and quite quickly was the Kérastase product line, I will talk more about that experience later. Another idea thanks to the good ol' girlfriend, she's been telling me to try it but I assumed it was another one of her fancy hair things which wouldn't work on me. Because she has a lot of hair and I obviously don't, so it might have been one of those things where if you had hair then it would make it even better. With the main catch being, you gotta have hair first.

Right now I am going to finish the product to see what happens, but I've been going at it for months and months and just not seeing anything.

Hair Update: January 7, 2025

Man, am I glad to finally see some good progress.

Luckily, I am too poor to move anywhere else. So nearly all of my pictures are from the same house, same bathroom, and with the same lighting. And it is under those super bright lights that you can truly judge whether you had made anything meaningful in terms of progress. Except for this one, which is in my car. But I tried to get the brightest lighting I could get.

 

You guys remember the phase where I decided to try taking Finasteride orally instead of as using it as a topical treatment? I ended up flip flopping again after seeing progress start to stall out, so I think around the end of December, I switched back to my original routine.

But you can see a difference in the density of the hair, especially the front portion where it was very bald. The only  new thing I tried was stabbing myself with a dermastamp daily. And this time, I made sure to stay consistent. I have to admit, it really made a difference in the speed and quality of my results.

So my routine change from using the Minoxidil and Finasteride mix once a day to basically twice a day, but with my green liquid for the second application. Then dermastamping twice a day as well before my liquid treatment, but since I am doing it twice a day, the sessions are extremely short at around 30 seconds just to quickly cover my scalp in some holes. I feel like going nuts with 5 minute sessions or longer and with that frequency would probably not be good for my skin.

I finally have enough hair to style and have a need for styling products. You truly don't appreciate those little things in life until you cannot do them anymore, even a cosmetic thing as basic as hair. For a long time, I really missed being able to style my hair. And I wished I could have truly appreciated having it when I was younger, I remember being so obsessed with those stupid little details. Being too afraid to experiment with my style and just sticking to what everyone else was doing. If I could go back to my early 20's, I'd for sure take preventative actions way sooner, I would also be rocking the styles I've always thought was cool but was too afraid to do. Slicked back mafia boss? Hell yeah! Asian mullet? Hell yeah! The perfect crew cut? Hell yeah!

My Experiment with Dermarolling Twice a Day for Male Pattern Baldness: A Personal Trial

Male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia) is a common condition that affects millions of men worldwide. As someone who has been grappling with thinning hair and a receding hairline, I’ve tried countless treatments—from minoxidil to biotin supplements—with varying degrees of success. 

I came across dermarolling as a potential solution for hair regrowth, combined with other mainstream and generally accepted treatments. Intrigued by the promising studies and anecdotal evidence, I decided to take the plunge and experiment with dermarolling twice a day. Here’s my story, the results, and what I learned along the way.

What is Dermarolling for Hair Loss?

Dermarolling, also known as microneedling, involves using a small device covered in tiny needles to create micro-injuries on the scalp. These micro-injuries stimulate blood flow, increase collagen production, and enhance the absorption of topical treatments like minoxidil. Studies have shown that dermarolling can be an effective complementary treatment for male pattern baldness, especially when combined with other therapies.

Typically, dermarolling is recommended once a week or every other week for hair loss, as the scalp needs time to heal between sessions. However, I wanted to see if increasing the frequency to twice a day would accelerate results. I tried a range of depths from 0.5mm to 0.75mm, with 0.5mm considered the most safe.

Why Twice a Day?

The idea behind dermarolling twice a day was to maximize the stimulation of hair follicles and improve the absorption of my minoxidil solution. I hypothesized that more frequent microneedling would lead to faster and more significant hair regrowth. 

While this approach went against conventional advice, I was willing to take the risk in the name of experimentation. 

Plus I just like seeing what happens.

As you may have already known, I started with your typical roller found all over Amazon then moved to a stamp style dermastamp. I like the stamping action much more, since it is less painful and I feel like I can better control the penetration depth.

The Experiment: Week 1

I began my experiment with a clean slate. Every morning and evening, I sanitized my stamp then did a quick 1-minute session, focusing on my hairline and crown. The process was slightly uncomfortable but not painful, I found the 0.5mm to be the most comfortable. After each session, I applied minoxidil to enhance absorption.

By the end of the first week, I noticed some redness and mild flaking on my scalp, which I expected. However, I also felt a slight tingling sensation in my scalp, which I interpreted as increased blood flow. I was optimistic but cautious, knowing that overuse could lead to irritation or damage.

The Experiment: Week 2

By the second week, my scalp had adjusted to the routine, and the redness had subsided. I continued with the twice-a-day stamp moving to a depth of 0.75mm, making sure to keep my tool clean and my scalp moisturized.

I figured, might as well start with the highest setting that I can comfortably use. The pain level shoots way up the deeper you go, plus I noticed a clear liquid coming out of my scalp. Which after a little Googling, I found to be lymph fluid. Or at least, I think so? It was shockingly hard finding relevant information.

And by this point, I noticed tiny vellus hairs (baby hairs) sprouting along my hairline. Much quicker than what I was getting with my previous routine. While they were barely visible, this was an encouraging sign that the treatment might be working. My scalp also felt healthier, with less oiliness and flakiness than before.

 

The Experiment: Week 3

By the third week, the tiny hairs along my hairline had become more noticeable, and my crown area seemed slightly thicker. However, I also began to experience some painful pimple-like bumps, likely due to the frequent needling. I realized that twice-a-day might be too aggressive for my scalp, so I decided to scale back to once a day.

The Results

After three weeks of stabbing my scalp twice a day, and moving back and forth between twice and once a day. Here’s what I learned:

1. Short-Term Gains: Doing it twice a day did yield some promising results, including the appearance of new baby hairs and improved scalp health. The increased frequency seemed to enhance the absorption of minoxidil, making it more effective. By the end of the period, my hairline moved down significantly. It was noticeable and quick, and I like quick.

2. Long-Term Risks: Overuse of dermarolling or dermastamping can lead to scalp irritation, dryness, and even scarring. It’s important to strike a balance between stimulating hair growth and allowing the scalp to heal. For me, I was most worried about building up scar tissue that would stop hairs from growing.

3. Consistency is Key: While I saw improvements with twice-a-day stamping, I realized that a more moderate approach might be the best long run approach. For your scalp and for the ease of staying consistent.

My experiment with needling twice a day for male pattern baldness was enlightening and humbling. While I saw some encouraging results, I also learned the importance of moderation and listening to my body (or in this case, my scalp). If you’re considering dermarolling for hair loss, I recommend starting with a once-weekly routine and gradually increasing the frequency if your scalp tolerates it. Always consult with a professional if you are unsure of what you are doing.

Hair loss can be a challenging journey, but with patience, consistency, and the right approach, it’s possible to see improvements.