When 25-year-old Rob James noticed his hair starting to thin, he feared he was heading for the same fate as his older brothers: going bald.
The social media content creator first spotted the change at the crown after a stressful year spent jumping between jobs.
He tried everything he could think of – thickening shampoos, supplements, miracle ‘hair growth’ products – but nothing made a difference. The shedding continued.
‘It really knocked my confidence, especially as I’m on camera a lot,’ says Rob, from Nottingham. ‘I was scared to even run my hands through my hair in case more came out.’
As the thinning worsened, he turned to hair fibres – a coloured powder shaken onto the scalp to disguise bald patches. ‘I never left the house without them,’ he says. ‘If it rained, if I went swimming, even if someone touched my hair – I’d panic they’d notice.’
Now, however, that anxiety has gone – replaced by a thick, healthy head of hair.
The turnaround, he says, came down to a simple at-home routine that has exploded in popularity online: a combination of prescription medication and microneedling.
After seeing others share dramatic results, Rob began using a topical treatment containing minoxidil and finasteride – two clinically proven drugs that tackle hair loss. Minoxidil boosts blood flow to hair follicles, helping to stimulate growth while finasteride blocks the hormone DHT, which shrinks follicles and drives baldness.
25-year-old Rob James’s thinning hair and, right, the end result of medication and dermarolling
Alongside this, he used a dermaroller – a handheld device covered in tiny needles that is rolled across the scalp to create microscopic punctures in the skin.
The process, known as microneedling, is thought to increase blood flow and improve the absorption of medication. Rob used the dermaroller once a week, alongside daily application of the treatment. He says: ‘It felt like the dermarolling supercharged everything.’
He says despite it being a brush of needles, the procedure ‘only prickled’ and it wasn’t painful.
By around six months, he began to notice regrowth in areas that had been thinning for years. By month 11, the change was enough for him to ditch the hair fibres.
‘The biggest moment was when my barber asked if I’d had a transplant,’ he says. ‘That’s when I realised how much it had worked.’
Dermarolling, which some experts say can enhance the effects of topical hair loss treatments, isn’t new.
Developed in the 1990s, it was once largely confined to specialist clinics. But with home-use devices now available for as little as £10, the trend has found a new audience on social media.
Also known as microneedling, these handheld gadgets come in two main forms – rollers and stamps. The rotating heads contain hundreds of tiny needles.
When Rob’s hair started to thin, he thought he was going bald like his older brothers
Typically ranging from 0.2mm to 2.5mm in length, the needles create controlled micro-injuries in the scalp. These trigger the body’s wound-healing response.
As the skin repairs itself, a cascade of processes is thought to stimulate hair growth – including increased activity in hair follicles and the production of proteins involved in the hair-growth cycle.
Microneedling may also increase blood flow to the scalp, delivering more oxygen and nutrients, and help treatments penetrate.
The drugs are already used by millions of men to slow hair loss and, in some cases, regrow hair.
Studies suggest more than four in five men taking finasteride stop losing their hair while nearly three in five see regrowth, often within months. However, in tablet form, the drugs can cause side effects, including erectile dysfunction and, in rare cases, mood changes.
As a result, many specialists now favour topical versions applied directly to the scalp. Research suggests the combination approach may be more effective.
For the approach to be effective, experts say patients need to follow key safety rules.
Hannah Gaboardi, a London-based trichologist, says: ‘The safest needle depth for at-home use is around 0.5mm. Longer needles can cause bleeding, increase the risk of infection and potentially damage hair follicles, which can actually hinder growth.’
Experts also recommend using a dermaroller no more than once a week and stopping if it causes significant pain.
