This may be my answer to dark spots (aka, age spots) on the backs of my hands. I've tried so many creams over the years I could have bought a couple of laser machines with the $$ I spent. I've heard of Hand Spa but cannot find a salon that has one. I think that may be laser, but I'm not sure.

Janice, like many others I waited so long to try Rogaine. But I did try it on June 27th. Just a small amount in one spot to see if I had any reactions (the burning and itching) that some people had experienced. All I felt was just a SLIGHT burning. I gathered up my courage and used a full dropper for my evening dose and have been using Rogaine (the 5% extra strength MEN'S forumula) ever since that day. It's been about 14 weeks since I started it, and I *do* see a difference in my hair. Like you, I was scared to see more shedding than I had been going through before I began the treatment. Before using Rogaine I was shedding hair allll day long. I'm looking at my journal now.... hmmm.... okay in the middle of July (about 2-3 weeks after starting the Rogaine I reached a peak shedding incident when I counted 76 hairs that fell out onto the bathroom vanity after I had washed and just fluffed my hair very gently with my fingers. THAT was scary, but I decided to keep up the routine with the Rogaine. It took a lot of faith to do that, but then about a week later only 36 fell out after a shampoo. On Aug. 23 there were only SIXTEEN hairs that fell out. Now I have about that many shedding hairs, sometimes much less. I figured an AVERAGE is just that... some days I am going to have more and some days less, but I would say on average it is less than 16 a day, sometimes I see only 5 or 6 fall out! Wheeeeeeeee!!!! I am thrilled with what the Rogaine has done for me. I have little hairs, about an inch or two long over much of the crown of my head now. The other day I even got a compliment on my hair. Not only does it look thicker, it feels thicker, too. Just a couple more things... I had been under a very big amount of stress the last few years. I first noticed the hair loss after having surgery and having to wait for the biopsy results, negative, thank God, but the hair thinning sent me to the dermatologist, who diagnosed me as having telogen effluvium (TE). I waited and watched some regrowth, but then I had to deal with marital problems. Every time I made some progress, something seemed to set me back. I begain seeing a marriage counselor (by myself...husband refuses to go). Just talking to her reduced my stress levels enormously. i highly recommend this option to others who feel that stress is contributing to your hair loss. This has been long, but I hope it has given you some guidance in making your decision as to use Rogaine or not. I know that there were times that I was really frightened by the initial shedding, but I just kept using that great stuff twice a day. :-) take care... daisy

Johannabanana said ".... but now I am getting a shadow above my lip" I wondered about that discoloration above my upper lip. It's a Rhett Butler mustache that can't be removed! LOL I like to stroke it when I'm looking in the mirror and raise my eyebrow like Rhett and say stuff like "Frankly Myself I don't give a dam....." Anyhoo...hair loss I wondered about why I had handfuls everytime I brushed my hair. I thought about not brushing my hair and sometimes that works. :) But at some point it needs to be brushed and I pay with twice the amount in my hand. I wonder if superglue would work? Washing my hair in the bathtub becomes quite the ordeal. Sheesh it's like taking a bath in seaweed!! HELP HELP!! ATTACK OF THE HAIRWEEDS! It gets tangled around me and I especially hate it on my hands. EWWW it's touching me!! I know about that fine furr jaws. Nice...when the sunlight hits it, it sparkles. Very pretty....on a troll that is!! pfft! The one recurring dark hair on my chin is a mole (I like to pretend) and we call those "fast hairs". They come out of nowhere...but I'm onto it and either I touch my face a lot or I just get a premonition that it's sneaking out. HA! GOTTCHA YOU LITTLE &$# (I also wondered why I was forgetting what I was doing. It's like my mind moves faster than what I'm doing and I'm onto the next thing (in my mind) before I finished the first thing (with my body)and then can't remember what the first thing is (in my mind) as I stand there in the basement...wondering (it's always the basement isn't it?) Then as I trudge up the basement stairs planning on going onto the next thing that made me forget the first thing, I forget the next thing and at the top of the stairs (it's always the top) I remember what I was going to do in the basement....I must say it's darned good exercise though! I also forget that last important word in the sentence. The word that kind of makes sense of the whole sentence. My family fills in the blanks for me thank goodness. I hate it when I stand there struggling and the other person doesn't tell me what I was going to say!! LOL "YOU'RE MEAN!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FILL IN MY SENTENCES FOR ME!!!" My Mom says what she does is say "blah blah blah" LOL It's just easier. It's also easy to repeat what others just said in a conversation instead of coming up with new words. My husband does it too then we do it back and forth for a few minutes...laughing like crazy. Nice to meet everyone here. Thanks for the giggle. And I'm so glad I'm not alone with this crazy stuff. As I read through all the threads I laughed and sometimes cried at the poignancy of the pain. I know I babbled on but I'm seriously giddy with relief that I'm not abnormal...(in this anyways) LOL

Well, I've resorted to Rogaine applications and have had great success. However, I am one of the rare examples, from what I have read. Rogaine IS reported regrow hair and it has for me. Of course, it won't work on bald heads. Be sure to do your reading on the product and its application. It took about three months for me to notice an improvement, but I've been very pleased with the results. My hair stylist is impressed, too. I use the 5% foam for women, applied once a day. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, you can message me privately via my Houzz home page.