Category: Drugs

Snippet from the article:

New hair loss treatments on the not-too-distant horizon may be game-changers.

“The development of new treatments, including drugs and cell-based approaches for hair loss, is at an all-time high,” says Kenneth J. Washenik, MD, PhD. He’s a clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center and the medical director at Bosley Medical. “We have never had this many provocative treatments in the pipeline.”

Washenik spoke about advances in treating hair loss during March’s annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in Denver.

Read the rest — New Hair-Loss Treatments in the Pipeline

Topics included cell-based hair follicle regeneration, Latisse, combination therapy, FDA-approved medications, at-home treatments, and hair transplants.

Hi Dr. Rassman,
I am 19 years old with no signs of hair loss but I have a family history of mild MPB (Dad has thinning in crown + vertex, no recession). I was just wondering if there was anyway starting Propecia now could worsen my hair. I understand that it doesn’t make sense to take a drug if there is no hair loss, but I’d rather not play catch up. Also, have you had patients where there is no recession but thinning on the top near the mid scalp + crown? Thanks!

Propecia (finasteride) is not something you take to prevent balding when you don’t have a diagnosis of androgenic alopecia. You don’t use an antibiotic when you are healthy to prevent getting an infection. You don’t take blood pressure lowering medication to prevent high blood pressure that you don’t have.

This is one of the many reasons that you need to see a doctor before starting medication. You should begin by finding a doctor who can examine your hair for possible miniaturization and/or bulk changes, and ONLY if you are diagnosed with androgenic alopecia can you consider taking Propecia.

This is not about catching up or waiting for hair loss to occur. It is about a medical process that is logical and safe for you.

Hi, am hoping you can provide a clinical opinion on my experience and usage with 5% minoxidil.

I am a 52 years old male. My main area of thinning/hair loss has always been my crown area (about a 2-3 inch diameter). My crown started thinning noticeably in my mid 40’s. I have been using 5% minoxidil for almost 4 years now. At first it seemed to definitely halt further hair loss in the crown, but it has never filled in that area. I only get peach fuzz type hairs that never fully develop into mature hairs. Am I wasting my time continuing to use minoxidil on my crown? I appreciate any response on this, thanking you in advance.

Even though some people get good hair growth from minoxidil (Rogaine), the majority of people are like you, getting peach fuzz rather than really good, strong hair. Whether the limited results you’re seeing is wasting your time is up to you to decide.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

Firstly, thank you for your awesome blog, it’s a brilliant resource for hair loss sufferers.

About 2 months ago I started using liquid rogaine in the evening instead of foam (I still use foam in the mornings). I did this because my hair is relatively long and I felt that the foam was just going on my hair rather than my scalp. My hair has been shedding like crazy recently and I’m wondering if this could be due to the switch to liquid in the evenings?

I’m hoping that now more minoxidil is reaching my scalp it’s causing miniaturized hairs to fall out rather than the balding process accelerating. What do you think, could my theory have any credibility?

PS. I have been on proscar split in 1/4s for over a year.

Many thanks in advance.

I suppose it’s possible that you could have an allergy to something in the liquid that isn’t in the foam, but the active ingredient in both versions of Rogaine is 5% minoxidil. Some people notice increased shedding in the first couple of months, so continue using it and see what happens over time.

You should be managed by a competent, experienced hair doctor who uses the HairCheck device to accurately measure your hair bulk to see if you are losing hair. Once baseline measurements are made with this instrument, you can repeat it in a year to see what, if anything, changed.

I am 17 years old almost 18 in 5 months. I am starting to thin in the back of my head but no signs of thinning in the front. So in order for this to stop, can I start on propecia or should I seek a doctor first? Also my dad is bald and my grandpa is somewhat bald. But my uncle (dad’s brother) is not bald. On my mothers side, my grandpa has a full head of hair.

So does propecia really help in this situation or what should I do? Because I am really considering taking this medicine. So please help me because I don’t want to be bald at all.

Many men don’t want to be balding, but genetic hair loss can happen as early as 16 years old. Propecia (finasteride) is a treatment for genetic hair loss in men, but it is by no means a cure (there is no cure). It is a prescription medication, so you must see a doctor to find out if you should be taking it. By seeing a doctor who can measure your hair bulk, you will know for sure if you are starting the balding process. If so, then Propecia would be the best approach to slowing it down or halting it.

Propecia isn’t a guarantee to stop all of your loss, but it should at the very least slow down the process. You could even see some regrowth, especially if the loss is early and limited to the crown (I assume that is what you mean by the back of your head). Each person responds differently, so without an examination I couldn’t give you any real indication of what benefits the drug will provide. That is why a good examination of your hair by an expert hair doctor will get to the bottom of what you are fearing.

I am a 22 year old male who has had thinning hair for almost 5 years and have got to a point where my quality of life has deteriorated, due to this I decided to take the plunge with propecia.I took my first dose of propecia yesterday at 0.25 mg and plan to take this twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday, having read about success with this regime.

I know propecia only has a half life of 8-12 hours but it takes the body around a week to start creating the enzyme that creates DHT in the body and studies show that 0.25-0.5 mg has up to 80% success of 1.0 – 5.0mg. This is because I’m terrified of sides on propecia and also I would not be comfortable taking any medication every day of my life. I just wondered what you think of this regime?

When the Propecia (finasteride) studies were performed that eventually led to the medication’s FDA approval, various doses were tried. The 1mg dose gave the most consistent results for treating hair loss. Above the 1mg daily dose, the results were no better than the 1mg daily dose; however, below the 1mg dose, it was found to be less effective. In your case with taking a 1/4 dose only twice a week, the medication will be out of your system for days at a time, so the benefits might be fairly limited.

The side effects you are concerned about may happen, but statistically it is a small risk; however, I have found that the risk of sexual side effects increases in those young men who obsess over the possibility of having side effects, somewhat talking themselves into it. It is your call, of course.

All of my male relatives on both sides are bald, and I have been bald since I was 30 (currently 45). Is rogaine still an option for a head that has been basically dormant for 15 years? I have very little growth at all on top and in the back and I don’t know if it is a mid life crisis but I would like to have natural hair again. My brothers use toupees, but I refuse to go that way.

Please let me know if it would worthwile to try it, or if there would be little likelihood for success. Thank you.

I would want to see you to determine just how bald you are and to figure out if these medications could help; however, if you have a full Norwood class 7 pattern of balding, you most likely will not have much of a benefit from Rogaine (minoxidil). Even if there is hair regrowth, it will be scant growth and not enough to make a notifiable difference.

Hi Dr. Rassman,
I have read about Propecia and you said to take it once daily no matter what time. I have been taking it for about 4 months now but I just realized I need to be taking it around the same time every day. I have been taking it at various times, 8 am all the way to 3 pm. Will this cause Propecia to have less of an effect?

As long as you take it daily, the time of the day will not matter.