Author: Dr. William Rassman

Hi doctor,
I just wanted to know your opinion on xalatan (Latanoprost) on its effectiveness to regrow hair?
I ask because I have sparse eyebrows from overpluckig and was wondering if theirs anything I can do to regrow them.

Thank you

Xalatan is a prescription drug used to lower eye pressure in people with high inner eye pressure or open-angle glaucoma. The stimulating effect of this medication on the growth of eyebrows and eyelashes and pigmentation of hair was accidentally found in a group of patients who were using topical Xalantan for treatment of glaucoma. This finding was published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in 1997. Since then, many other studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of Xalantan on hair growth in human and animals. Here’s one — Prostaglandin analogs for hair growth: Great expectations

Despite the above mentioned reports, Xalantan is currently not one of the recommended medications for prevention and treatment of hair loss and probably more studies are needed for its efficacy and side effects in comparison to other available hair loss medications.

As for the second part of your message — sparse eyebrows from over-plucking will likely result in permanent hair loss over time. Aside from using eyebrow makeup, hair transplantation is a possible option.

I have been using Finasteride successfully for the last 10 years. In addition I recived progesterone scalp injections every 3-4 months in the same time frame. Lately ( the last 4 months)my front is thinning and something aint working anymore. I think the scalp injections may be novel and maybe never worked? However I split a 5mg finasteride, and take a 1/2 every other day.

Is it time to try the avodart? It looks like the dosage might be suspect.Can you take it at 0.5 mg everyday, as I realize the 1/2 life is longer than proscar? I am a 56yr old male,good health. please help!

You need to discuss these issues with your doctor! I do not prescribe or inject progesterone in my practice since I see no medical or clinical benefit from doing it. I also do not recommend 2.5mg of finasteride since 1mg works just as well for the treatment of MPB. In other words, there is no benefit that I can see and the reports on the 1mg do seem reasonable. Furthermore, I generally recommend taking finasteride as directed once a day, since the medication is cleared from your bloodstream within 24 hrs. Before considering dutasteride (Avodart), I would try taking finasteride in the correct dosage and correct regimen. You suggested that the finasteride may fizzle out and become less effective. That may be, but are you willing to deal with more side effects with dutasteride? Before changing any medications, please consult with your doctor that prescribed you these medications.

the doctor that did my hair transplant told me that i “should not” use proscar because when the droplet of finasteride drips into the 5mg proscar pill, all the finasteride could be on one side. so when you cut the pill into 5th or 4th you might not get anything in a couple of 1/4 pills. is this true??

I highly doubt this is true. If this information is true, wouldn’t there be a chance that a “droplet” of the active medication (finasteride) can also miss the pill, making it a dud? This just goes to show you that have to be very careful about what to believe and what not the believe. Or hope that there is someone out there who is very careful about where they put the “droplet”.

The only concern I have heard about cutting Proscar in to 1/4 pieces is that the dosing may not be exactly accurate and that if you cut more than one in advance, the cut pills may be able to hydrate from the humidity in the air and then become less effective. I do not think this is of clinical importance. If you elect to cut the pill, but sure to store only one cut pill in a sealed small air tight container.

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Hi Dr. Rassman,

In an earlier post you said that it is safe to take accutane and propecia concurrently because they do not interact. However, is it possible taking both at the same time will lead to some kind of liver damage? Another, related question is: how taxing on the liver is propecia?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

The combination of these two medications is not reported to be causing any liver problems. Propecia (finasteride), like many other medications, is metabolized in the liver. Metabolism of this medication in the liver does not affect the function of the liver in normal individuals. If you have severe liver insufficiency, doctors may need to adjust the dose of Propecia, as well as any drug that gets metabolized in the liver.

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