I want to log my progress on my receding hair line in this thread.
So a little history, I already noticed my hair line kind of receding when I was 16 or 17. Basically, when I started a roaccutane treatment for acne. Back then, being so young, I thought it may grow back, but it never did, I guess it just kind of kick started the common male pattern hair loss pattern.
I never really had much hair loss in the sense that I would find huge amount of hair in my bed or the shower. I just have been seeing the hair on my temples and front kind of receding over the years.
After stopping roaccutane, I think for years after that, it didn't went as fast. But after some periods of intense stress, the process intensifies again. I don't notice it with seeing much direct hairs in my bed. It just that I notice some hair cuts that I could do in the past, doesn't look good anymore, because the "gaps" in the front of my hair widened a bit more than before.
Also, the hairs on the hair line, are "weaker" and "lighter", and with some hair cuts, this is much more visible, than with other hair cuts.
Now, I read Hair Like a Fox and I started seriously doing Ray Peat around February this year (I tried some Weston Price/Ray Peat hybrids diets since 2014 on and off before that, but without any success). I didn't expect much for my hair, because I figured if Ray Peat hasn't regrown his frontal hair in all those years, why would I?
Non-hair related progress (skip this section if you want)
I have had an abnormal low heart rate and temps since I'm 18. I don't know my heart rate or temps before that, because I never measured it. But my morning heart rate was around 30-40 when I was 18. I'm now 26, and it was still like that until a couple of months ago. This is the main reason I do Ray Peat, because something in me hoped that many of my "abnormal" behaviour could be related to that. So basically, I suffered to some degree from the following symptoms, some I have all my life, some got worse through out the years:
- ADD symptoms, not able to organize my life (I moved back to live at my parents home after some failures living on myself)
- much faster tired than others
- delayed sleep phase syndrome, and needing more than 9 hours of sleep, often 10 or 11 hours
- constipation and diarrhea at the same time
- pale skin
- not able to handle the sun, I just see moles popping up if I'm naked in the sun for a couple of hours
- nail and foot fungus
- puffy face
- constant inflamed skin around my neck and lungs
- low libido
- little interest in social activities (mainly because I get so tired from it)
- addictive/obsessive behaviour (mainly addicted to video games)
- dry/red eyes
- gingivitis
- reacting very badly to fast food, I get super tired, and itchy all over the place
- reacting badly to perfume and shampoo etc.
So after reading Hair Like A Fox and much information here, and way too much experimentation and failure, I have been able to get my heart rate to around 70 and my temps to 37 degrees. Sometimes in the morning it is 50 BPM and 36 degrees. So it is not perfect yet, and I'm crying when saying this, but many of the symptoms I list above are gone or greatly diminished.
I have no puffy face, much higher libido, much more interest in social contacts, no dry or red eyes. Gingivitis is 80% gone. I can handle the sun again!! The last time I was so tan, I was 12 years old. Stools are better, but not perfect yet. I have grown a good looking beard. In the past, I always had gaps in my beard, and they are all filled now.
Best of all, I have constant energy. My brain is working. I'm creative again. I think if I keep making progress like this, at some point I could live on myself, I get in tears writing that really.
Only recently, after taking 50.000 IU of vitamin A for a week daily, my delayed sleep phase syndrome is getting better. I have fallen asleep before 12 PM for two days in the last week, which is a personal record from 10 years old. I also wake up, refreshed after 8 or 9 hours. So I need around 2 hours less sleep. Well, if there is something that improves the quality of my life, it is this, because I used to fall asleep around 2am-4am.
So, I actually didn't plan to write all this, a bit off topic from my hair goal, but I'm literally in tears writing all this. I have tried to fix those "abnormal" symptoms with dieting and exercise since I'm 20. I was convinced that I could make progress initially, but nothing really seemed to work, and at 24-25 years of age, I just kind of given up, and I began to accept that I was doomed. Now since March this year, everything has gotten better. Very slowly, but consistently. Thank you Ray Peat, Haidut, Danny Roddy, and all people that teached me stuff on this forum!!!
My Hair Goal!
So back to my hair. So last week, I was looking closely at my hair line, and I saw a couple of shorter dark hairs. I won't claim this is regrown hair, because I'm not totally sure. Therefore I want to make this log, with pictures and all, so that if I really regrow hair, I can say it for sure. I like try to stay anonymous, because otherwise I don't feel comfortable being so "naked" on the internet so to say. So if you happen to know my real name, I would like it if you keep that for yourself.
I still doubt a bit if I will make real progress. To play the devil's advocate, if you can regrow hair on this diet, why hasn't Ray Peat regrown his frontal hair? In my advantage, I'm only 26, so let's hope that this increases my changes.
Some people will think that my receding hair line may actually get worse, because my testosterone levels seem to have gone higher. To be honest, if I can keep my hair line like this, and get the hairs on the hair line to look strong again, I'm already happy. Actually, even if I get bald, and can keep feeling like this, I would probably sign for it.
But for the sake of an independent experiment, and especially for the fun, I'm going to give this a real shot. Let's see if Danny Roddy's theory actually works! So here is my protocol:
1. Logging temps and pulse, in the morning, after lunch, and in the evening. Trying to keep them around 36.7-37.3 degree celsius and 75-85 BPM.
So this is the hardest part, and according to Danny Roddy the most important part. The last time I measured, it was 36.5 in the morning, 37.0 after lunch, and 36.8 in the evening. Heart rate in the morning 55, and around 65-75 during the day.
I follow pretty much the same diet as Danny Roddy. I take a bit less milk (2 quarts) and bit more orange juice (3 quarts). For the rest it is basically the same.
I take a lot of supplements. Much more than Danny Roddy would advice probably, but I have failed to get my temps up and stress low without it. I hope to need less in the future, because it is quite expensive.
I will try to log the temperature and pulse a couple of times a week. And probably post all of it, once a week.
2. Shining Red Light on my hair line for 10 minutes each day.
I haven't actually done this yet consistently. I actually shine it on my thyroid. I use the Red Light Device from Red Light Man • Light Therapy & Grow Lights. To increase my changes of success in this experiment, I will also shine it on my hair line from now on.
3. Applying Solban (caffeine, niacinamide, aspirin) to my hair line
I think haidut posted a study that topical caffeine can be helpfull with hair loss. So I will apply solban to my hair line every morning. I also haven't done this consistently yet, but I will start today.
4. Getting adequate sleep
I want to sleep from around 11PM-12PM until 8AM. This is one of my struggles, but I'm sure that sleep is one of the most important aspect of health. The problem is that which increased energy and social activities, I have the tendency to go to bed late. For the sake of this experiment, I will try to keep those nights to a minimum.
5. Measuring insulin resistant every once in a while
Every time I have a meal in public, often people come tell me that I will get myself insulin resistant if I continue to do this. In reality, my blood sugar readings have only improved. Most of the times, it is less than 140 within 45 minutes after a meal. But I will continue to measure this, if only, to prove the world wrong and that you can eat 500 gram of sugar daily, and have perfect blood sugar readings.
Okay, so that's all. I will start my protocol today. And I think I will post the "before" pictures, or the "first month" pictures somewhere this week, after I get a shorter haircut.
So a little history, I already noticed my hair line kind of receding when I was 16 or 17. Basically, when I started a roaccutane treatment for acne. Back then, being so young, I thought it may grow back, but it never did, I guess it just kind of kick started the common male pattern hair loss pattern.
I never really had much hair loss in the sense that I would find huge amount of hair in my bed or the shower. I just have been seeing the hair on my temples and front kind of receding over the years.
After stopping roaccutane, I think for years after that, it didn't went as fast. But after some periods of intense stress, the process intensifies again. I don't notice it with seeing much direct hairs in my bed. It just that I notice some hair cuts that I could do in the past, doesn't look good anymore, because the "gaps" in the front of my hair widened a bit more than before.
Also, the hairs on the hair line, are "weaker" and "lighter", and with some hair cuts, this is much more visible, than with other hair cuts.
Now, I read Hair Like a Fox and I started seriously doing Ray Peat around February this year (I tried some Weston Price/Ray Peat hybrids diets since 2014 on and off before that, but without any success). I didn't expect much for my hair, because I figured if Ray Peat hasn't regrown his frontal hair in all those years, why would I?
Non-hair related progress (skip this section if you want)
I have had an abnormal low heart rate and temps since I'm 18. I don't know my heart rate or temps before that, because I never measured it. But my morning heart rate was around 30-40 when I was 18. I'm now 26, and it was still like that until a couple of months ago. This is the main reason I do Ray Peat, because something in me hoped that many of my "abnormal" behaviour could be related to that. So basically, I suffered to some degree from the following symptoms, some I have all my life, some got worse through out the years:
- ADD symptoms, not able to organize my life (I moved back to live at my parents home after some failures living on myself)
- much faster tired than others
- delayed sleep phase syndrome, and needing more than 9 hours of sleep, often 10 or 11 hours
- constipation and diarrhea at the same time
- pale skin
- not able to handle the sun, I just see moles popping up if I'm naked in the sun for a couple of hours
- nail and foot fungus
- puffy face
- constant inflamed skin around my neck and lungs
- low libido
- little interest in social activities (mainly because I get so tired from it)
- addictive/obsessive behaviour (mainly addicted to video games)
- dry/red eyes
- gingivitis
- reacting very badly to fast food, I get super tired, and itchy all over the place
- reacting badly to perfume and shampoo etc.
So after reading Hair Like A Fox and much information here, and way too much experimentation and failure, I have been able to get my heart rate to around 70 and my temps to 37 degrees. Sometimes in the morning it is 50 BPM and 36 degrees. So it is not perfect yet, and I'm crying when saying this, but many of the symptoms I list above are gone or greatly diminished.
I have no puffy face, much higher libido, much more interest in social contacts, no dry or red eyes. Gingivitis is 80% gone. I can handle the sun again!! The last time I was so tan, I was 12 years old. Stools are better, but not perfect yet. I have grown a good looking beard. In the past, I always had gaps in my beard, and they are all filled now.
Best of all, I have constant energy. My brain is working. I'm creative again. I think if I keep making progress like this, at some point I could live on myself, I get in tears writing that really.
Only recently, after taking 50.000 IU of vitamin A for a week daily, my delayed sleep phase syndrome is getting better. I have fallen asleep before 12 PM for two days in the last week, which is a personal record from 10 years old. I also wake up, refreshed after 8 or 9 hours. So I need around 2 hours less sleep. Well, if there is something that improves the quality of my life, it is this, because I used to fall asleep around 2am-4am.
So, I actually didn't plan to write all this, a bit off topic from my hair goal, but I'm literally in tears writing all this. I have tried to fix those "abnormal" symptoms with dieting and exercise since I'm 20. I was convinced that I could make progress initially, but nothing really seemed to work, and at 24-25 years of age, I just kind of given up, and I began to accept that I was doomed. Now since March this year, everything has gotten better. Very slowly, but consistently. Thank you Ray Peat, Haidut, Danny Roddy, and all people that teached me stuff on this forum!!!
My Hair Goal!
So back to my hair. So last week, I was looking closely at my hair line, and I saw a couple of shorter dark hairs. I won't claim this is regrown hair, because I'm not totally sure. Therefore I want to make this log, with pictures and all, so that if I really regrow hair, I can say it for sure. I like try to stay anonymous, because otherwise I don't feel comfortable being so "naked" on the internet so to say. So if you happen to know my real name, I would like it if you keep that for yourself.
I still doubt a bit if I will make real progress. To play the devil's advocate, if you can regrow hair on this diet, why hasn't Ray Peat regrown his frontal hair? In my advantage, I'm only 26, so let's hope that this increases my changes.
Some people will think that my receding hair line may actually get worse, because my testosterone levels seem to have gone higher. To be honest, if I can keep my hair line like this, and get the hairs on the hair line to look strong again, I'm already happy. Actually, even if I get bald, and can keep feeling like this, I would probably sign for it.
But for the sake of an independent experiment, and especially for the fun, I'm going to give this a real shot. Let's see if Danny Roddy's theory actually works! So here is my protocol:
1. Logging temps and pulse, in the morning, after lunch, and in the evening. Trying to keep them around 36.7-37.3 degree celsius and 75-85 BPM.
So this is the hardest part, and according to Danny Roddy the most important part. The last time I measured, it was 36.5 in the morning, 37.0 after lunch, and 36.8 in the evening. Heart rate in the morning 55, and around 65-75 during the day.
I follow pretty much the same diet as Danny Roddy. I take a bit less milk (2 quarts) and bit more orange juice (3 quarts). For the rest it is basically the same.
I take a lot of supplements. Much more than Danny Roddy would advice probably, but I have failed to get my temps up and stress low without it. I hope to need less in the future, because it is quite expensive.
I will try to log the temperature and pulse a couple of times a week. And probably post all of it, once a week.
2. Shining Red Light on my hair line for 10 minutes each day.
I haven't actually done this yet consistently. I actually shine it on my thyroid. I use the Red Light Device from Red Light Man • Light Therapy & Grow Lights. To increase my changes of success in this experiment, I will also shine it on my hair line from now on.
3. Applying Solban (caffeine, niacinamide, aspirin) to my hair line
I think haidut posted a study that topical caffeine can be helpfull with hair loss. So I will apply solban to my hair line every morning. I also haven't done this consistently yet, but I will start today.
4. Getting adequate sleep
I want to sleep from around 11PM-12PM until 8AM. This is one of my struggles, but I'm sure that sleep is one of the most important aspect of health. The problem is that which increased energy and social activities, I have the tendency to go to bed late. For the sake of this experiment, I will try to keep those nights to a minimum.
5. Measuring insulin resistant every once in a while
Every time I have a meal in public, often people come tell me that I will get myself insulin resistant if I continue to do this. In reality, my blood sugar readings have only improved. Most of the times, it is less than 140 within 45 minutes after a meal. But I will continue to measure this, if only, to prove the world wrong and that you can eat 500 gram of sugar daily, and have perfect blood sugar readings.
Okay, so that's all. I will start my protocol today. And I think I will post the "before" pictures, or the "first month" pictures somewhere this week, after I get a shorter haircut.