Month: January 2023

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Would Propecia Help If I Lost Most of My Hair Almost a Decade Ago?

hello Dr.

I wanted to ask a question about regrowing hair on the crown and propecia, and I appreciate your time very much.

I am a male, 34, and have been thinning for about 12-14 years, pretty diffuse. I have slowed the loss substiantially with nutrition and minoxodil, but my hair grows slower than it used to for some reason… I have recently begun adding copper peptides once in the evening along with minox 5% 2X per day.

I only have noticable loss on the top/ crown, but think I lost most of that 5-10 years ago. My hesitation to take propecia is due to cost, side effects, long term health effects, and the fear or worsening the hairline, which I have read on blogs sometimes occurs, but am considering taking it or maybe .5 mg per day to see about helping the crown regrow.

my question for you is, what help can propecia be under the best circumstances for hair lost many years ago?? I have heard that it cannot help beyond 2 years back, but have also read that it sometimes helps bring people back to a state from many years back. Thoughts?

thank you kindly.

Propecia will not benefit you if you have a slick bald area, but hair elsewhere in the thinning process may be helped. If you have not completed your balding pattern, Propecia may have value. I would have to examine you to know what benefits you may have, as the information you supplied is not adequate for me to base recommendations upon. You could take 1/2 a dose, but the recommended dosage is 1mg. Some people do cut the 5mg generic finasteride pill for a substantial cost savings, as long as you have a doctor that will prescribe the 5mg to you (it is a prostate drug).

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Would My Body Adjust Quickly If I Increased My Finasteride Dosage?

If one were to up their daily dosage of proscar could side effects like loss of libido, morning erections, and loss of sex drive happen right away and then quickly go back to normal a few days later. In other words, can the body adjust to the increased dosage of the drug in a matter of days and all the things I mentioned above return to normal?

In general, higher doses of medication can cause an increase in side effects. I usually do not endorse higher than the recommended dose of finasteride for treating hair loss, which is 1mg a day. A higher dose does not equate to better results.

If you’re taking Proscar, that is already a 5mg tablet, so I am hoping you’re taking a split pill, otherwise you’re already getting way more medication daily than necessary. Propecia is 1mg finasteride (for hair loss), Proscar is 5mg finasteride (for prostate). In any case, talk to your prescribing doctor about any changes in dosing.

With respect to your body adjusting for changes in dosage, it is not so specific and everyone’s response is different. I have no way to know how your body will respond to a medication increase.


2014-01-21 12:48:19Would My Body Adjust Quickly If I Increased My Finasteride Dosage?

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Would Minoxidil Help Regrow My Crown if Finasteride Hasn’t Worked There That Well?

Dr. Rassman,

I appreciate your blog. I’m a 24-year-old male who started experiencing thinning and hair loss on my crown shortly before my 20th birthday. I started taking finasteride after my 22nd birthday and experienced fantastic results. However, I still have a somewhat large area on my crown that is much thinner than the surrounding areas.

I am considering using minoxidil on my crown, as minoxidil is supposed to be very effective in that area. I am wondering if, after being on finasteride for two years, there is any chance that minoxidil would be effective? I understand that the two drugs target different hairs (i.e. hair regrown using finasteride doesn’t preserve hair regrown using minoxidil, and vice-versa), but after four years of thinning, would minoxidil show any decent statistical chance of working for someone in my situation?

Finasteride plus minoxidil works better in the crown than finasteride alone in some people. My advice has always been to to start on the finasteride first (with a doctor’s prescription) and if after a reasonable time there is a poor response in the crown, then add minoxidil treatment to see if there’s an added boost to your hair growth plans.

For financial and time reasons, it makes sense to just start with one medication in case that accomplishes what you want it to, rather than committing to multiple lifetime medications from the start.

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Would Minoxidil Help If I’m Supplementing Many Hormones?

Dear Drs., thank you for all the info on this site. I am a 59 y/o female. During menopause, I experienced quite a bit of generalized hair thinning which concerned me. However, it tapered off, and I’ve lived with it. However, six months ago, my drs. found a pituitary adenoma which had shut down many hormones. I am now supplementing thyroid, prednisone (5mg/day), desmopressin, and, starting 6 weeks ago, hgh (nordutropin). I am not taking any other meds. My hair is again thinning pretty dramatically. I realize I need these supplements to maintain my endocrine system. However, my question is: do you think minoxidil might be helpful in my situation?

Thanks for your opinion.

Minoxidil may help, as it works independent of hormone supplements. It is available over the counter for women, so be sure to read the directions on the packaging for proper dosing.

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Would Mini-FUE Be Ideal for Treating Possible Triangular Alopecia?

Good day Dr Rassman,
I wonder if i would be an ideal candidate for your new FUE harvesting technique!

I have been in contact with you before. I am a 44yr old male with a small (1 inch) bald spot on my right side in front of the ear. i have never seen anyone else with this particular condition, i wonder if you have. i can resend pictures as no doubt you are unlikely to have the ones i sent to you some years ago. Hair miniaturised in this area probably at the start of my balding process (was gone by the time i was 30 i think). Many years of propecia and minoxidil have had no effect whilst they have had some effect on the top of my head.

A consultation with a dermatologist diagnosed triangular alopecia (although that was simply by looking and he may have just have piggy backed onto my suggestion that it was!!). A course of steroids both topical and injections have had no effect.

i wonder if this new technique could be the answer. My only concern is that if this is an immune system rejection of hair in that area, then i assume placing more hair there will be rejected as well but i am no expert just looking for a solution. many thanks

If you have a 1 inch area on one side of your head, a mini-FUE would possibly be ideal.

Before assuring your candidacy for surgery, I’d of course have to see precisely what you’re referring to and I’d want to know for sure what the diagnosis was. I don’t know why you’d think your immune system would reject hair transplanted into an area of your scalp.

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Would it be always be better off taking finasteride than without it?

You can never be absolute with such a statement. Everyone is different. If there were no side effects from finasteride and you were balding, then yes, you would be better on it to slow down the coarse of hair loss which is the benefit for all men taking this drug, one way or another. If you don’t get side effect, the drug can, in the long term, also reduce your risk for prostate cancer in your senior years if you continue to take the drug throughout your life.


2020-12-04 10:59:15Would it be always be better off taking finasteride than without it?

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Would Increased Minoxidil Absorption from a Scalproller Be Safe?

I’m considering purchasing the Scalproller but i’m concerned as to the safety of the increased absorption of minoxidil. In your opinion do you think it is safe if the increased absorption is so much greater? And would using the Scalproller lead to a shed similiar to the shed when switching from 2% to 5% minoxidil?

The following response is by UK-based physician Dr. Bessam Farjo:


Response by:
Dr Bessam Farjo, United Kingdom
Dr Bessam Farjo
United Kingdom

5% minoxidil is the safe limit. More may cause systemic side effects such as dangerously low blood pressure. It is speculated that the absorption of minoxidil in a lot of people is not as efficient as it could be. This is most likely due to method of application which can be influenced by the amount of hair present. I have prescribed 6% in the past without side effects and I know of a clinic in the UK that gives a 12.5% preparation! I don’t have any data with regards to their side effects. One possible side effect of too much minoxidil is a lowering of blood pressure and resultant light-headedness.

I don’t know if the scalproller will cause any shedding, but it will be one of the observations I will make when I start a clinical trial. I emphasise that at this point I see the scientific basis of such a device but cannot actually endorse the scalproller itself or support any claims that it will help with hair loss.

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Learn more about the author of this article, Dr. Bessam Farjo, on his BaldingBlog profile or at his website.

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Would Hair Regrow in a Scalp Scar?

(female) I’d had a bald spot since birth, possibly a birthmark and possibly a scar from my extraction. At 20 I had an stapled excision. Now I’m curious, Is hair meant to grow in the area where the staples were, or will there always be a bald line? Is there anything I can do to improve my chances?

The general concept you should understand is that if you have a scar where hair previously existed, regrowth in that area more than likely won’t occur on its own (though it can depend on how the closure method was done). However, transplanting hair into the scar should see growth just as it would if we put it on the frontal hairline area or on the tip of your nose. I’ve performed hair transplants procedures into scarred areas from head trauma, but I’m not sure how big of a bald spot you’re talking about and whether it’d even be worth having a transplant to fix it.


2010-03-18 09:36:35Would Hair Regrow in a Scalp Scar?

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Would Hair Cloning Make New Follicles or Regenerate Old Ones?

Dear Doctor,

I know you have had many questions on hair multiplication over the years (but here is another one).

When/if hair cloning becomes commercially viable will it regenerate old, dead hair follices and make them DHT resistant so they continuously grow or will it create new follicles? I imagine it would be better to regenerate old follicles so that the hair grows in the same direction. I know that intercytex have managed to grow hair on a high proportion of their volunteers in phase 2 of their product, but was wondering whether you have any inside knowledge of whether they are creating new follicles or creating new ones. Also, what do you think of their progress? Many thanks

Some people think that there is a missing protein, and that when present, it will kick in hair growth from some residual hair elements that are in the scalp. If a missing protein is the answer, then the growth cycle may be dependent upon that molecule (see Scientists Find Hair Growth Molecule in Mice). There are many approaches to creating hair — some with existing hair follicles that are weak, from dead hair follicles that may not really be dead, or from stem cells which may actually turn into a hair organ/follicle.

I do not really keep up with Intercytex, but you can go to their site and get an update from their various news releases. Just as most press releases, they are written by a public relations person to hype the product or company, so take what you read with a grain of salt.

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Would Dutasteride beat hair loss 90% of the time?

There is not a relationship between the effectiveness of the drug as a competitive inhibitor and its ability to beat the balding process. I can’t give you statistics as everyone is different.


2020-12-21 05:43:50Would Dutasteride beat hair loss 90% of the time?