I just bought the Nioxin cleanser. Please tell me:
1) is the cleanser enough? do I need to get the scalp treatment and Scalp Therapy too?
2) did you get any results?
3) how long typically for the results to show (I have a wedding in 2 months!! yikes!)
I just bought the Nioxin cleanser. Please tell me:
1) is the cleanser enough? do I need to get the scalp treatment and Scalp Therapy too?
2) did you get any results?
3) how long typically for the results to show (I have a wedding in 2 months!! yikes!)
Thank you for your assistance!
Kora
I think the first and most important thing to remember is that Nioxin does NOT regrow hair. It is NOT a hair regrowth treatment and if you read on the bottle it states that 9 out of 10 people PERCEIVE increased hair density. I say all that because I see and hear so many people bash it and talk about how expensive it is and you get ripped off. But it's only a rip off because people for whatever reason think that it's suppose to regrow your hair. What it does is cleanse your scalp and put it in prime condition which depending on your type of hairloss, medical conditions, etc. will allow the hair follicle a prime ground for growth. But that doesn't mean that your hair is going to be able to use that prime ground to regrow if there's something else that's keeping it from growing in the first place.....unfortunately, that probably means PCOS.
Now with all that said, I'm currently using it. I haven't seen any regrowth or even perceived more density but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way it makes my scalp feel so to me, that's worth the money.
I can say that my grandmother used it for several months and she (and the family) noticed definate hair regrowth,especially at the frontal hair line. I have a great uncle that was nearly totally bald on top and same thing....he has almost a full head of hair now. But I have a great aunt who used it and got nothing.
So it's really dependant upon the person and their bodies and what's going on with them.
Normally I would say the cleanser is enough, but since you have a specific time frame and event, I'd go for the extra stuff for the next couple of months. It can't hurt and if you don't get results, then stop using it. I have nothing but time and the cleanser alone makes me happy so that's all I use.
As far as time frame, most people that I know that saw results did so in 2-3 months.
Thank you Glitter Star for your assistance on this! I am now more knowleadgeable because of you.
In the past I have used like a Roggaine For WOmen, and after 4 months I did get peach fuzz poking through my hair... however, because of Pcos most of it fell out quickly
I am excited to use Nioxin, Hopefully there will be a difference, if not, I'm glad that even some DHT was stripped.
I honestly don't know whether it's helped me or not. (Helpful, I know!!) But like Glitter, I this shampoo (I use the color restorative one) and would use it regardless. The smell is amazing. I find it an awesome clarifier for someone like myself with fairly oily hair. I know my hair definitely looks fuller after using it because of the cleansing factor.
Thank you Glitter Star for your assistance on this! I am now more knowleadgeable because of you.
In the past I have used like a Roggaine For WOmen, and after 4 months I did get peach fuzz poking through my hair... however, because of Pcos most of it fell out quickly
I am excited to use Nioxin, Hopefully there will be a difference, if not, I'm glad that even some DHT was stripped.
Cheers.
It's funny because I actually used Nioxin for the first time BEFORE my PCOS and hair loss started. It was when my grandmother first started using it and was telling me how great it felt so I tried it and loved it. But since I had a full head of hair back then I couldn't really justify the cost of it. But now that I have a bare scalp, the money is worth it to me because although I wear a wig, the sides and back of my hair still get SO oily and that transfers to my wig cap and then my scalp breaks out in pimples and it's just uncomfortable and gross. So I like it because it makes me feel so clean and keeps what little natural hair I have left from getting totally greased out.
I used Rogaine for Women as well when my loss first started. It did nothing for me. When it got so bad I couldn't be seen in public anymore w/o people staring at me; I finally started doing hair replacement. I did that for about 10years and just decided to go with a wig about 3 months ago because of the cost and a few other factors. So now that I'm wearing wigs I went back to Nioxin and I've started using Rogain Men's 5%. It's been 2 and a half months and nothing so far, but I didn't really expect too much. I'm on flutamide now as of this week so I'm going to give that a few months and am hoping for some results...although realistically I'm not very optimistic about it happening.
I know what it's like to be bald... because I am. I dont' wear a wig, I just wear a pony tail because that covers most of it. I've tried rogaine too, and really nothing. Some frail, white hair showed up after 4 months and slowly fell out. I would imagine transplant hair would fall out too.
I'm thinking tho, Rogaine Plus nioxin might work. DHT is said to block the growth of new hair. So nioxin (in theory) should remove some of that block, while Rogaine would stimulate hair growth.
It's a good theory =) I started Rogaine 5% about 3 months ago, but just started reusing Nioxin about a month ago. It says to use Rogaine 3-4 months to see optimal results and no longer than 6 if no results are seen so I guess I'm not really even suppose to be seeing results at this point. But now that I'm on Nioxin with it, maybe my remaining 1-3 months usage will start to speed up some results....probably not, but hey, like ya said, a good theory - and a girl can still dream, right? lol.
But I think like ya said, even if it does grow some it will be more than likely sparse and frail....and white for sure. I know that because when I put the Rogaine on, when it dries it turns any part of my hair that it touches a gryish/white color. Weird. Some people say it makes theirs greasy but it doesn't mine - just makes it white.
I think a transplant would just fall out too. You can transplant the hair but if PCOS make the original hair fall out it would make sense that the transplant would too. At one point I discussed transplantation with a doctor and we decided no way. First and foremost it's excessively costly. Secondly, my hair pretty much all fell out on the top/crown of my head. I'm like a peeled onion, lol. But I also lost a lot on the sides and back. It actually still covers my scalp there but it's very thin and PCOS didn't even leave me enough there to use as donor hair for a transplant.
Last edited by GlitterStar; 08-22-2008 at 02:08 PM.
GlitterStar- I read your story and I feel like I'm reading my own story. PCOS really sucks. I love this forum because I can learn from it so much! <>
I am gonna try rogaine again too, even it's white mesh it makes me feel like at least it's something. I am also using a hair/skin/nail supplement called "Country Life Maxi Hair". I read lots of reviews before I bought it and people are so satisfied with it. It's fairly cheap too. So I have been using it for 2 months. My nails grow like crazy, I love it! Hair... stil a bald patch (bloody testosterone). Altho the hair that I have left grew really long and fast. Maybe this will help my Nioxin/Roggaine theory? lol
I hope so.
I'm also looking to lose some weight. My doctor said that testosterone can be stored in fat cells. The less in the body the better.
I've never heard of that supplement, but I may check it out. I was taking just a regular daily vitamin but then one day I realized that ya know, it doesn't have calcium and a few other things that are essential for us hormonally challenged PCOSers. I was having problems with my teeth and losing enamel and it was more than likely low calcium because of the lower estrogen too. So I started taking a generic version of GNC's Women's Mega which has all the normal daily vitamens, plus calcium, plus things like niacin and biotin that I was taking as a seperate supplement. So I got to ditch a few pills a day and combine it all to one. And so far it's worked well for me. Not with the hair of course, but my nails grow and grow strong now. Before I could get then to grow but they were very weak and would bend and break in no time.
Weight loss really is a key in PCOS treatment. The problem is that it piles on so quick and easy and takes much longer than a normal person would have to do to get it off. Months and months of diet and exercise and I only lost 10-15lbs. It gets so frustrating!! But what I think back to is when I started losing my hair, around age 17 it started thinning and really hit a shed at 18 and by 19 it was in full force balding, that's also when my weight began to go up. Until then I had always been athletic and very active, always had been my whole life so the weight along with the hair loss was my first clue something was wrong, although every Dr. kep telling me otherwise. But I remember my weight then and my goal is to get back to under that weight. Excess weight causes the IR and vice versa but it's also a big part of what causes the excess androgen too. So I'm hoping that by getting back down under the weight where those symptoms began, it will also help in the regrowth of hair. The met, spiro, and flutamide will hopefully start working together now to make it a bit easier for me to do that. But since I just started the flutamide this week it's way too early to tell how much it's going to help; if any.
looks like your suplements are working for you. Hopefully it will help with the hair too. You should see results in 4 months or so with Rogaine.
As to weightloss: have you thought of strength training?? I've started it a couple of weeks ago and I already can see that I am getting stronger. You see, testosterone is suppose to help build muscle, and muscle burns calories. I have done cardio before with not much results. I am loving weights tho
hey!!
This is EXACTLYYYYY what i'm dealing with.
My hair is soooo thin and i feel with my large(not obese but overweight)body it looks ugly. I have tried nioxin for at least a year and I have tons of baby hairs at my scalp yet my hair keeps falling out from the root(long hairs)I'm like whattttttttttttttttt!!!!!!
It doesnt make sense
I cant even wear my hair down
Thanks
I landed on this thread hoping to find out more about Nioxin because it's recently dawned on me that my ponytail is about half the size it used to be only a year or so ago.
I'm grieving because up until this point, I've been one of those hairy PCOSers. Never had to worry about hair loss before. And I've been on BC and Spiro for almost 9 years now, and was very happy that though the meds cocktail was helping to make me less of an ape over the REST of my body, I still had an enviably thick, glossy, dark head of hair. Now I can actually see my scalp when I pick up pieces of my hair on the side of my head. Waaanh.
My stylist told me about Nioxin. I'm not sure if I want to use it yet. I'm concerned about getting something hormonal like Rogaine or Minoxidil because I don't want to undo what the BC/Spiro are doing for the hirsutism on the rest of me. Aaaaugh! Can't me hormones make up their minds about how they want to torture me?
What's odd is that I have intentionally lost weight -- 45 lbs since the beginning of the year. It makes sense that if I lost weight and were burning off the testosterone in the fat cells that I'd have hair growth on the head, not thinning. Positively baffling.
__________________ TheTomato
West of the PCOS since 2002 "Some women have an hourglass figure. I have an hour and a half."
I'm so sorry to hear that Tomato I am thinking tho, that perhaps as you were losing weight, the testosterone in those fat cells was released. This is only my theory, but if it's correct, it should get better from here! Keep Positive :>
NIOXIN: does it work? 
this shampoo (I use the color restorative one) and would use it regardless. The smell is amazing. I find it an awesome clarifier for someone like myself with fairly oily hair. I know my hair definitely looks fuller after using it because of the cleansing factor.
DHT is said to block the growth of new hair. So nioxin (in theory) should remove some of that block, while Rogaine would stimulate hair growth.
