My temples are producing new hair

Yes, it's definite - new hair is growing. The other day i shaved my hair short with the clippers and noticed a new row of terminal hairs on both temples, and as I looked at my temples under the light at a certain angle i can see lots of vellous hairs about to turn terminal. I also see some isolated vellous hairs regrowing. I know for certain that these hairs were not there before.

I concluded many months ago that a build up of sebum was a major culprit in causing my hairline to recede. The reasons are too numerous to go into now, but for those of you who are interested, please refer back to my earlier posts on sebum and inflammation.

Anyway, when i reached this conclusion that sebum was the culprit, i decided to start washing my hair with soap, as i found that soap completely removes surplus sebum (and also inflammatory sodium chloride residue from sweat), whereas i found that shampoo still left a greasy residue on my scalp. I have been doing this twice per day for several months, and I am certain that this has been helping my hair regrow.

There are other things I've been doing, such as not sleeping on my temples or crown; trying not to expose my scalp to extremes of temperatures; and I also gave up drinking alcohol before christmas, so may be this has also helped in terms of liver function.

I am now going to keep a photo journal to keep note of anymore future progress, and i'll keep you all posted.

Xenon wrote:Yes, it's definite - new hair is growing. The other day i shaved my hair short with the clippers and noticed a new row of terminal hairs on both temples, and as I looked at my temples under the light at a certain angle i can see lots of vellous hairs about to turn terminal. I also see some isolated vellous hairs regrowing. I know for certain that these hairs were not there before.

I concluded many months ago that a build up of sebum was a major culprit in causing my hairline to recede. The reasons are too numerous to go into now, but for those of you who are interested, please refer back to my earlier posts on sebum and inflammation.

Anyway, when i reached this conclusion that sebum was the culprit, i decided to start washing my hair with soap, as i found that soap completely removes surplus sebum (and also inflammatory sodium chloride residue from sweat), whereas i found that shampoo still left a greasy residue on my scalp. I have been doing this twice per day for several months, and I am certain that this has been helping my hair regrow.

There are other things I've been doing, such as not sleeping on my temples or crown; trying not to expose my scalp to extremes of temperatures; and I also gave up drinking alcohol before christmas, so may be this has also helped in terms of liver function.

I am now going to keep a photo journal to keep note of anymore future progress, and i'll keep you all posted.

Your pillow-hairloss theory intrigues me..I am going to check my oxygen levels when laying down to see if the pillow has a negative effect on bloodflow up there, when I get my oximeter that is.

Your pillow-hairloss theory intrigues me..I am going to check my oxygen levels when laying down to see if the pillow has a negative effect on bloodflow up there, when I get my oximeter that is.

Well, I've been sleeping on the galea muscles for over a year, while allowing the temples to hang over the pillow edge, but I noticed no immediate regrowth from that method alone. It's since I've been combining this with keeping my scalp sebum / sodium chloride free, that I have noticed some regrowth.

I mean, it sounds overly simplistic that using soap to remove excess sebum can help to reverse hairloss, but evidently and very surprisingly, this seems to be the case.

As mentioned in the previous post, I noticed that my scalp was still quite greasy after using regular shampoo, this is why i switched to using soap, as it completely removed the sebum.

I don't want to keep repeating myself, but I think that too much heat becoming trapped in the scalp (due to sebum blocking sweat glands) causes inflammation. From what i've read, if cell temperature rises beyond 98F, it has to cool down otherwise inflammation will occur. The same inflammatory process happens if the cell's temp drop beneath 98F and cannot warm up, cue frostbite as an extreme example of inflammation.

Also, overproduction of sebum may also cause inflammation due to oleic acids building up inside the follicle. So this is another reason to keep the scalp clean.

And lastly, i think cutting down on jerkin the gherkin has helped lower DHT levels. Elevated DHT causes overproduction of sebum within the scalp. I mentioned previously that abstaining for 6 months caused some regrowth, but it's success alone was limited, so no need to give up... just cut down a little more than usual.

Please indicate what kind of soap you are using there are lots of products called soap but are different ingredients I'm using dr Bromberg Castile soap which are a bunch of oils with potassium hydroxide I'm interested in what kind of soap specifically removes sebum?

I've mentioned it before but about a year ago I started using the shampoos from harigasm.com and they have kept my hair the cleanest and shiniest it has ever been. The stuff seems expensive but a large bottle lasts me most of a year since a little goes a LONG way. My. girlfriend has converted to using it to. I used to also have greasier hair but diet changes and this shampoo ahve made that a non issue for me.

bocor wrote:Please indicate what kind of soap you are using there are lots of products called soap but are different ingredients I'm using dr Bromberg Castile soap which are a bunch of oils with potassium hydroxide I'm interested in what kind of soap specifically removes sebum?

I don't use any special brand, nor have I paid specific attention to the soap I've been using over the last few months. I just find that a bar of soap cuts through grease / sebum much more effectively than shampoo. For instance, after washing my scalp with soap, it becomes squeaky clean to the touch, whereas after a wash with shampoo I can still feel the grease when i touch it.

So, due to the fact that shampoo doesn't remove sebum as effectively as soap, I assume that there is a continual build up of the stuff, despite regular washing.

Are you using any other products besides soap? This is great information. Most people have no idea how simply changing little habits can have such a dramatic affect. Thank you for sharing this.

i can relate to the sleeping. i have been sleeping on my stomach, with my face facing the right side for nearly 22 years.. literally every night i slept the same way. my right temple is more receded than my left temple without a doubt, so i know there is truth to that. i also now only sleep on my back because of this incident.

congrats on the progress. i also notice less itching with less sebum. however, i notice increased sebum when i have been doing my scalp exercise so it's kinda funny how that works.

sanderson wrote:i can relate to the sleeping. i have been sleeping on my stomach, with my face facing the right side for nearly 22 years.. literally every night i slept the same way. my right temple is more receded than my left temple without a doubt, so i know there is truth to that. i also now only sleep on my back because of this incident.

congrats on the progress. i also notice less itching with less sebum. however, i notice increased sebum when i have been doing my scalp exercise so it's kinda funny how that works.

+1

Never thought this was a logical connection, but I'm receding a little more in my right temple and the hair behind my right ear is a decent amount more thin than the left.

If you can't sleep on your temples or crown then how do you sleep? What do you just sleep face down or something lol.

I will be honest. I only sleep on my temples and notice my default first position is on my right temple. Yep....and you guessed it....my right temple has worse recession. But how do I not know I am sleeping on my left temple more throughout the night? I toss and turn and basically have 2 positions. Both of them allow my forearm to sit right on my temple area.

I don't get how we can prevent this though. I dont want to start sleeping on my crown. It's very thick

jcreely123 wrote:Are you using any other products besides soap? This is great information. Most people have no idea how simply changing little habits can have such a dramatic affect. Thank you for sharing this.

No other products. Soaps are great for removing sweat, excess sebum and toxins. If you've ever tried washing smelly armpits with shampoo, you'll notice that your armpits still stink when you get out of the shower. As you're likely aware apocrine glands in the armpits produce oily sweat comprised of proteins and lipids, which bacteria feed on. If a regular shampoo doesn't remove all of these substances from the armpits, then nor will it remove them from the scalp.

one thing I'd caution people on when using soap: don't wash, rinse, repeat several times over, as it will leave the scalp feeling dry and tight. One or two washes per day should be adequate.

If you can't sleep on your temples or crown then how do you sleep? What do you just sleep face down or something lol.

If I sleep on my side, I allow the temples to hang over the pillow edge, so they aren't being compressed, and I sleep on the temporalis muscle. If I'm sleeping on my back, then I allow the crown to hang over the edge, and I sleep on the occipitalis muscles at the lower back of the head.



Notice the way hairloss never occurs where these muscles exist, yet it does occur where they do not, i.e., the galea region? I suspect that these muscles - in part - act as cushions to capillaries above them, and when we press our heads against the pillow during sleep, they prevent compression.

if you also look at the temples on the diagram, there is no musculature in the temple area, so I strongly suspect that the capillaries of the temples are being pressed against the hard bone mass of the skull during sleep and this exacerbates compression, as there is no protective cushioning from muscles. This IMO slows down circulation to the temple areas, causes a build up of toxins and makes the area more prone to inflammation.

I believe you and so do my temples but how do normal people who sleep however they want not have this happen is it because their circulation is that much better that it becomes a non issue?

xenon, how would washing your hair with soap cause your hairline to regrow? what i'm saying is, if you all ready have no hair there, are you saying simply washing the skin will cause hair to grow through? or are you saying these are areas that have thinned out, but havent been completely balded out?

Balthier wrote:I believe you and so do my temples but how do normal people who sleep however they want not have this happen is it because their circulation is that much better that it becomes a non issue?

I'd say that this was the case. For instance, men who have an expanded skull or tight galea / high DHT are definitely susceptible to pillow compression to the temples, whereas guys with small craniums, looser scalps, lower DHT would less likely be affected by pillow compression issues.

Once again, I have to stress, that I do not cite one particular factor as the cause of MPB. if it was just down to one issue, then it would be an easily curable condition. i try to identify as many factors as possible and set about negating them from the equation.

For instance, through careful observation, i have been able to identify a number of inflammatory pathways. One of them being overproduction of sebum. It is however, particularly difficult to understand precisely why sebum is causing an inflammatory reaction, but through studying, i have come up with a number of possible explanations. All that really matters is, i know in my own individual case, that sebum has been causing inflammation, so I set about making sure it did not build up upon my scalp.

i noticed something quite interesting which likely indicates high sebum production in the scalp. If ever I've rested my temples against a window, i.e., if I've been on a bus or train, I notice a patch of grease left upon the window. whereas if I put my hand on the window, there will be no greasy residue left behind. This layer of sebum would cover sweat glands and prevent both release of toxins, as well as hinder the scalp from cooling. Both issues cause heightened inflammation.

sanderson wrote:xenon, how would washing your hair with soap cause your hairline to regrow? what i'm saying is, if you all ready have no hair there, are you saying simply washing the skin will cause hair to grow through? or are you saying these are areas that have thinned out, but havent been completely balded out?

Hi Sanderson, what i'm saying is, these areas of the temples had previously balded out, but since I've switched to using soap, it has been cutting grease much better than regular shampoo does. My reckoning is, lower sebum production prevents sweat glands from being covered, which then allows detrimental toxins / heat to escape from the scalp much easier, thus leading to lower inflammation.

The galea region is much tighter than anywhere else upon the body, and it's my contention that toxins build up so much easier here than anywhere else. This is because toxins are generally released from sweat, and there is a high concentration of sweat glands within the temples. If these sweat glands are covered with a thick layer of sebum / dead skin, pillow compression, etc, then there will be an overload of toxins here, hence a heightened inflammatory response.

I don't know if all my hair will regrow, but i am going to keep a photo journal and keep observing for any new regrowth.

Hey xenon,
I am no stranger to a greasy inflamed scalp. I may try Dove soap as an experiment to see how it goes. At the moment I am using homemade soap i bought on ebay with castor oil and rosemary in it. It gets the hair clean no doubt but cause sebum has always been an ongoing issue with me and the fact that i suffer from acne at 29 years of age has got me thinking that homemade natural soap wouldn't exactly peel off the layers of sebum and it's mainly oil based, if anything it may help clog up the pours further.

I was going to buy an ultrasonic cleaner for making liposomal vitamin c an i saw those big 2 liter ones. This thread got me thinking that if it can clean the most uncleanable dirt and grit off jewelry,
What if you were to bath your scalp in it for a few minutes while having it running. I have never heard of anyone trying this before. Would it be dangerous or could it effectively get rid of every bit of bacteria an fungus build up within your scalp or effectively take down your hair too? It sounds so stupid that it just might work

EDIT:
Never mind, it would be insane to use an ultrasonic cleaner to bath your head in. I am nearly certain it would strip all your hair away as well as beneficial nutrients. I read somewhere it is not advised to put your hand or finger into the cleaner as it has the potential to transport air bubbles through the skin and cause some damage.

I am no stranger to a greasy inflamed scalp. I may try Dove soap as an experiment to see how it goes. At the moment I am using homemade soap i bought on ebay with castor oil and rosemary in it. It gets the hair clean no doubt but cause sebum has always been an ongoing issue with me and the fact that i suffer from acne at 29 years of age has got me thinking that homemade natural soap wouldn't exactly peel off the layers of sebum and it's mainly oil based, if anything it may help clog up the pours further.

Yes, apparently, high DHT causes elevated sebum production. I know i produce quite a lot of it in my scalp, but using soap has helped prevent too much of it building up.

Some people say that 100% olive oil based soaps are best to use, as they leave no residue on the scalp that causes irritation. But I find that if the scalp has been thoroughly rinsed, then this isn't an issue.

I don't see how sebum can be inflammatory in itself. It seems to be a result of inflammation and increased androgen activity, not a cause. Think about all the hobos you see with full heads of hair. They probably have layer upon layer of sebum and gunk but have healthy hair growth cycles. I don't think soap is the reason you are regrowing, but what do I really know..

TrueGround wrote:I don't see how sebum can be inflammatory in itself. It seems to be a result of inflammation and increased androgen activity, not a cause. Think about all the hobos you see with full heads of hair. They probably have layer upon layer of sebum and gunk but have healthy hair growth cycles. I don't think soap is the reason you are regrowing, but what do I really know..

i was thinking about the hobo thing today actually, and i think hobos can have full heads of hair because they are not breathing in any toxins whatsoever from being outside all the time. just like rdklm says, mold is a pretty potent issue in hair loss. usually if i'm outside, i don't experience itch as much as i'm inside. i'm doing a lot of airing out of home because of this and even considering a move.

it could be something like.. mold/airborn toxins could have a greater effect of producing hair loss versus sebum.. but when one is present.. it could make the other more potent..

TrueGround wrote:I don't see how sebum can be inflammatory in itself. It seems to be a result of inflammation and increased androgen activity, not a cause. Think about all the hobos you see with full heads of hair. They probably have layer upon layer of sebum and gunk but have healthy hair growth cycles. I don't think soap is the reason you are regrowing, but what do I really know..

Every vagrant I ever encountered always wore a hat, so no way for me to ascertain if they had hair on top or not (and no I don't have a dogma to defend, I just don't know if it's true that hobos are immune to baldness). But I will say, long hair may help absorb excess sebum and prevent it building up on the scalp.

Remember also, I do not cite sebum as the primary cause of mpb, but I do consider it to be a factor in leading to inflammation. The temples secrete lots of toxins due to increased sweat glands located there. If excess sebum covers these sweat pores, toxins cannot be released, and they will build up, contaminate cells, and cause inflammation.

Increased DHT is implicated with increased sweating / sebum production, so maybe this is part of the problem.

usually if i'm outside, i don't experience itch as much as i'm inside. i'm doing a lot of airing out of home because of this and even considering a move.

This also happens to me, and also thanks for reminding me to open my windows. It is mainly due to heightened C02. For instance, if you are on a long train journey and all of the windows are closed, you will feel the 'itch' or inflammation in your scalp even more so.

The reason being, when more people are in an enclosed and poorly ventilated environment, they will be breathing out waste C02 gases. When we breath these C02 gases in they are very harmful to cells.

C02 acid gases tend to accumulate in areas of the body that have problems processing oxygen, and this is why the tightened galea is prone to asphyxiating from these gases moreso.

C02 gases are major inflammatory inducers. This is why I have previously stressed in past threads the importance of a well ventilated house.

Xenon wrote:
Remember also, I do not cite sebum as the primary cause of mpb, but I do consider it to be a factor in leading to inflammation. The temples secrete lots of toxins due to increased sweat glands located there. If excess sebum covers these sweat pores, toxins cannot be released, and they will build up, contaminate cells, and cause inflammation.

Increased DHT is implicated with increased sweating / sebum production, so maybe this is part of the problem.

I had a very slight acne issue on my forehead until maybe 28....small bumbs that you could barely feel and only see up very close. Today my forehead is smooth and perfect...but it is unfortunately getting larger, heh.

Interestingly at the same time the last vestige of my youthful acne disappeared I began to discover some diffuse shedding/thinning which is more prominent at the crown, and very slight temporal and frontal hair loss. Signs of excessive DHT and inflammation in the forehead have abated, yet hairloss begins (to be noticed).

Any thoughts?

I went ahead and bought Dove soap today. I have not used any shampoo or soap that wasn't natural in over 9 months. I washed my hair in the Dove soap, I hope i don't eat my words but it felt good. In fact my scalp does not feel as dry as it normally does which seems completely counter intuitive considering i have been using natural oil based soap for some time now. After rinsing my hair i wash it again in baking soda, this is nothing new in my routine. I have been doing that for quiet a while now. I like to think it balances the ph levels on my scalp and it also makes it easy to style my hair after rinsing out the baking soda. Here is the ingredients to the Dove soap i am using,

Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Palmitate, Aqua, Lauric Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Parfum, Glycerin, sodium Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Alumina, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Alcohol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, CI 77891.

I know Sodium Choride is not something you want to have in your hair but i wonder if there is more pros than cons to this. Zinc Oxide in the ingredients can't be a bad thing. Regardless of the harsh ingredients, if it washes out the excess oil and sebum off the scalp, then perhaps it may be a necessary evil to allow the scalp to release toxins instead of having them trapped and causing inflammatory responses.
I know people will say you need to address the internal issue first and then there will be no need to go at the scalp with harsh chemicals as the inflammation should be gone but the truth is, for me personally i have gone above and beyond with diet, parasite elimination, heavy metal cleansing & among other stuff with very limited success in the take down of scalp inflammation. There were a few days were i was pain free but things soon reverted back to inflammation city.

Truth is natural shampoos are not helping me control anything in regards to inflammation and dandruff so i hope this works better regardless whether it was chemically produced or not cause Dove is widely available and dirt cheap compared to natural shampoos.

@Lutz: Yes, I recall feeling immense inflammation in my temples when I was around 13 - 14, then when my acne subsided (around 15 / 16) my temples began to recede. My reckoning on this is, excessive masturbation multiple times per day throughout teenhood plays a role in the demise of the hairline.

Before anyone mocks me or dismisses this as an old wives tale, I can tell you, if you masturbate around 3 times per day, pay attention to your temples and you will feel immense inflammation. Repeat it enough times and watch as your hairline recedes even worse. I know for a fact that my hairline began to wither away because of excessive masturbation, and I'm not alone in noticing this.

One possible theory is, everytime we have an erection vast amounts of Nitric Oxide (a vasoldilator) is used up by the penis. Erm, due to the galea area being tighter in some men, it's oxygen levels are reduced furthermore because the penis is using up vast amounts of Nitric Oxide in order to stay erect. Consequently, acidosis begins to form within follicles of the galea and inflammation results.

Whenever i weight train, i feel even worse inflammation in my scalp than I do after masturbating. Once again, Nitric Oxide is directed to stressed muscles, as to allow greater oxygen flow, and when this happens hypoxia induced acidosis occurs within the galea, and follicles become inflamed.

I read many sources which state that minoxidil mimics the vasodilating effects of Nitric Oxide, and this is one way in which hair begins to grow back. So, if there's truth to the NO theory, then it makes sense to me that the erections / musclular tension are both culprits in reducing NO to the galea.

if you look closely at the bald areas of skin on your scalp, you might see that it is whiter than areas of skin lower down on the forehead (look very closely). This whiteness is usually indicative of vasoconstrictors being active in cell tissue, which basically means that blood is being purposely reduced to a specific area of the body, so that it can be directed to parts that need it more, i.e., to the muscles or the penis.

Many guys will pose the obvious question on why all porn stars aren't bald if this was the case, but like i said, this only becomes an issue if the galea is tighter than usual. A tighter galea leads to reduced oxygen levels, and oxygen is reduced even moreso when the penis or muscles are constantly using up Nitric Oxide.

In my previous post to Sanderson, I explained that the galea is affected by high C02 levels in the atmosphere. When we're in a stuffy room filled with C02, the galea is first affected because it struggles to receive oxygen due to it's tightness. When oxygen levels are drastically reduced, the hypoxic effects within the galea are even more marked than anywhere else. Acidosis is increased within cells and so is inflammation.

As an experiment, sit in a small room with no air con, and you'll soon notice inflammation in your scalp. The way to reverse this, of course, is to make sure your house or workplace has plenty of fresh oxygen circulating.

BTW: here is a study on Nitric Oxide gel and hair regrowth:

"Preclinical studies showed the Nitric Oxide (NO) gel significantly promoted hair follicle formation and growth in both rat and mouse models. The NO gel induced major physiological, developmental, and structural changes in the skin of mammals to increase the number of hair follicles, follicle stem cell development and regeneration as well as hair shaft elongation, and accelerated hair growth rate. Based on our animal model findings, the investigators hypothesize that the nitric oxide releasing gel could be used as a medical treatment for hair growth in humans. The objective of this trial is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this NO gel (XN-001), in comparison with a placebo gel in subjects in a 24-week treatment schedule."

http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01347957

@summersnow

if it washes out the excess oil and sebum off the scalp, then perhaps it may be a necessary evil to allow the scalp to release toxins instead of having them trapped and causing inflammatory responses.

Well, the dove soap sounds like a much better option to be honest (I've also read about other people who have been using dove to wash their hair). I just find, that soap is better in my own case for removing excess sebum and toxins. No side effects so far, but i don't know how you or others will react to it, so i'd advise you to remain vigilant in case your scalp is sensitive to it.

Best of luck.