The End of Hair Loss and Balding by 2020

Start reading this post at the bottom under the “Background” heading; then move up to the Update 1 section; then to the Update 2 section.

Update 2: Scott has added his 4 week post hair system video. He also e-mailed me the following:

“So due to my heavy training program and the record-breaking heatwave we have had in the UK since I put this thing on, I did need that re-glue at week 4. I go in tomorrow. The total lifespan of the system is 7/8 weeks, but with my training and heat I might need the re-glue in between each at week 4, or maybe just for the summer months then in winter I go in only every 7/8 weeks. Not sure yet. As before, I included some training footage on the end, because it was how bad it looked on training footage that made we want the system. In this footage I have the hair :-)”

Scott’s 4 Weeks Post Hair System Video

Update 1: The after hair system video has now been added by Scott. What do you guys think? I was expecting his new hair to be combed backwards, but this works! Maybe some of us at HLC2020 will think that we can tell it is a hair system. However, Scott told us about it in advance and showed us his before hair system face and scalp, so we are a bit biased. Even with this past image of Scott ingrained in my brain, I thought that the rear, side and crown views in the after video looked entirely believable as being native hair. The frontal view was a bit suspicious due to the length of the hair.

I think people on the street probably won’t be able to tell, especially since Scott’s face looks like a younger (mid-20s) person’s face. So the lengthy floppy frontal hair does not look out of place.

Scott’s After Hair System Video

Background

For the past 5 months, one of this blog’s readers named “Scott” has regularly posted interesting comments. A majority of these have been useful and intelligent. I mention this fact because it allows me to trust him. Over the years, I have seen many crazy or fake or spamming or agenda-driven commentators whom I would never take seriously, but Scott is legitimate. He has always posted from one IP address and used one name in all his comments. Moreover, he uses his real e-mail address (only visible to me) while commenting, which is rare.

Scott is 36 years old and based in the UK near Manchester. He has had two hair transplants in the past. I am assuming neither were megasessions involving too many grafts, since he still has significant hair loss. Several weeks ago, Scott decided that he was finally going to get a men’s hair system and use it until a cure for hair loss finally arrives. I told him that if he sent me before and after photos, I would add them to a post on this blog. I did not really expect him to take up that offer, but he went one better! He created a before hair system video for this blog’s readers, and will post an after hair system video in several more weeks. I have embedded the before video at the bottom of this post.

In the past, when I conducted a poll on hair systems and hairpieces, 56 percent of voters said that they would never consider such a solution to their hair loss problem. A nevertheless respectable 26 percent said that they would definitely consider it, and 18 percent said that they might be open to the idea. The responses to Scott’s hair system plans from other commentators have followed a similar pattern, with far more on the skeptical side than on the positive side.

I can’t imagine that even a modern day high quality customized hair system will be able to continuously withstand Scott’s crazy outdoor parkour hobby. Especially when adding the weather and elements into the mix. Scott told me that he made the hair salon aware of his hobbies and asked if the hair system would come off during a back flip. They responded with a negative and said that even if he goes swimming, driving a convertible in the wind and so on, the piece will not come off his head.

Even if you hate the idea of hair systems and hairpieces, it is still worth watching the latter part of the below video to see Scott in action (FYI — he has had fibromyalgia for the past 7 years).

Scott’s Before Hair System Video

I first published this post on February 26, 2018, but am now updating and republishing it because of an important development.

Update:

Yesterday (June 4th, 2018), Ashton Kutcher appeared on Conan and discussed his past 10-year usage of Avodart (Dutasteride) to maintain his hair, prior to quitting several years ago. The video was officially published today and is embedded further below. I was impressed by Mr. Kutcher’s knowledge that a testosterone byproduct (DHT) rather than testosterone itself is the root cause of hair loss. He seems like a true hair geek, although later on he fumbles a bit when he agrees with Conan that less testosterone = usually more hair.

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels and your scalp hair’s genetic sensitivity to the ravaging effects of DHT are together what cause male pattern hair loss. Men with somewhat low testosterone levels can still have sufficiently high enough levels of DHT to end up going completely bald. And men with high testosterone levels can still not go bald at all if their follicles are not genetically susceptible to the attacks from DHT.

In any case, to the best of my knowledge, no major celebrity has ever admitted to using Dutasteride for hair loss in the past. Many have admitted to using the comparatively weaker drug Finasteride, including our sitting US president. What makes this admission from Mr. Kutcher even more striking is the fact that Dutasteride is not yet officially approved to treat hair loss in the US… although tens of thousands of people have surreptitiously been using the drug for that purpose for over 15 years now.

Original Post:

For those who read this blog regularly, you might have noticed that I have an especially keen interest in the drug Avodart (Dutasteride) because for a large number of people it is currently the best option to treat hair loss if willing to tolerate the potential side effects. My post on Dutasteride for hair loss reviews now has close to 300 comments, with a surprising number of people reporting great results. I often say that Avodart (Dutasteride) is like Propecia (Finasteride) on steroids. Buyer beware.

I have been taking the drug for the past year and a half with good results. However, a few months ago I reduced my dosage to 0.5 mg once every other day (half the recommended 0.5 mg per day). I think that I may have gained some body fat while on Dutasteride, and I have definitely seen a sudden appearance of significant forehead acne after starting to take generic pills from a different manufacturer (since my local pharmacy switched suppliers). Dutasteride moderately raises both estrogen and testosterone in those taking it, so the side effects I am getting are not surprising and I therefore cut my intake in half. I also wanted to reduce the daily processing load on my liver.

Celebrities Never Mention Taking Avodart for Hair Loss

We have all heard of 100s of celebrities and athletes who have admitted to using Propecia (Finasteride) to combat their hair loss. The most recent case was US President Donald Trump. I still cannot believe that it now says on one corner of the official White House website that the president uses Propecia for his hair loss. The most powerful man in the world really cares about his hair.

Besides celebrities, we often hear about athletes who get banned from competitions for using Propecia. The reason for this is because Propecia apparently masks the usage of other more serious banned performance enhancing drugs. Edit: Finasteride no longer banned for athletes since 2009 per wikipedia (h/t Scott).

However, you never ever hear of any major celebrity or athlete admitting to taking Avodart (Dutasteride) to tackle his or her hair loss. For one, Avodart has only been approved to treat hair loss in Japan and South Korea. In other countries, you have to figure out a way to get a prescription and convince your doctor that you want it even though you do not have an enlarged prostate (the original approved usage for Avodart). I also think that most people (including doctors) do not know much about using Dutasteride for hair loss.

Ashton Kutcher used Avodart for Hair Loss

This past week, well known actor Ashton Kutcher admitted that he used Avodart for 10 years to tackle his hair loss. I was amazed to read that statement. He might very well be the first ever world renowned celebrity to admit to taking this drug for hair loss. Moreover, he took it for a pretty long time, and seems to have had no major side effects. Some key points from the interview and my thoughts:

Mr. Kutcher says that he took “the Avodart” from the age of 25-35 and stopped five years ago. He is currently 40 years old. So he took the drug from around early 2003 till early 2013. Considering that Avodart was only approved for treating enlarged prostates in November 2001 and probably not easily available for treating hair loss in 2002, Mr. Kutcher did a great job doing his research and getting a hold of the drug in early 2003. I wonder if he was on the hairsite.com forums in 2002 when they led the worldwide discussion about this new magic drug that would be the cure for hair loss.
Mr. Kutcher’s two children are currently 3 years old and 14 months old. So he had them both after quitting Avodart. Perhaps that was the reason he originally quit the drug? It is recommended that pregnant women not even handle Avodart. Moreover, many men taking Avodart stop taking the drug when trying to become fathers due to fears that it could lead to some changes in their sperm quality and potential birth defects in their children. However, there are no warnings on Dutasteride bottle labels in relation to men. There are, however, clear warnings for both women and for children regarding never handling the capsules.
I am curious how Mr. Kutcher got his hands on Avodart in 2003. Did he buy it online, or was there any American doctor who was willing to prescribe it to him for the off-label hair loss use?
Mr. Kutcher claims that he quit Avodart five years ago, did good for a year, but now (five years after quitting) he is losing his hair again. In his own words: “And I think like, five years ago I stopped and I did really good for a year, and now it’s thinning out”. The half life of Avodart is around five weeks, so it does seem strange that he was not losing any substantial hair for five years after quitting the drug. Or (my interpretation of his quote): not losing his hair at all for a year after quitting the drug, then losing it minimally for the next four years, and now finally losing it much more rapidly.

In any event, even if Mr. Kutcher’s time frames are a bit off or confusing, it is wonderful to get a data point regarding Avodart from a well known celebrity. The majority of hair loss forum members who try Avodart never seem to continue to take it for a decade.

Scott is Getting a Hair System