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Is 20 to early to start finasteride?

I went to the dermatologist recently because I’m really worried that I’m starting to lose my hair. I haven’t really noticed any shedding or anything but the hair above my temples seems to be very slightly higher than I remember . Basically the doctor said she couldn’t tell if my hairline was receding or not. When I asked about Finasteride she said that even if i was receding she wouldn’t prescribe me it because my age and some recent studies that showed sexual side effects later in life. I’m honestly sick of worrying about my hair and considering taking it as a preventive measure (both sides of the family have male pattern baldness even though it didn’t affect them until later in there lives 30+) From everything I’d read and seen it seemed like the side effects for this drug are super over blown but after hearing her say that its making me second guess my conclusion. I’m pretty sure If I went to a different doctor I could get them to give me a prescription but I figured I would put something on here first. If I am losing my hair I would like to do something about it before it gets any worse and sitting here going wondering isn’t making me feel any better.

The drug is more effective in most 20 year olds than 30 year old men as a general rule. A lot of that depends upon the hair loss pattern you have inherited. For example, if your father’s pattern is a Class 7 pattern and you are taking after your father from talking with him, I have found that finasteride might slow down the progression to a Class 7 pattern but not stop it; however, if the pattern you are inheriting was not an advanced pattern, then this drug can often slow, stop and possibly reverse it the younger you are. Now with that said, in your situation I would perform a HAIRCHECK test (https://baldingblog.com/haircheck-test-how-it-is-done-video/) to determine if you are in-fact balding before committing a lifetime of taking the drug finasteride because maybe you are not balding. Yearly HAIRCHECK tests will tell you that story and changes in your hairline beyond a mature hairline, could also indicate some genetic factors in you as well. With this approach, you will have developed a Master Plan for your future and with that plan you can stop worrying.

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Is Cutting a 5mg Finasteride Pill Not Recommended?!

Hi Doc,

So a little background. Have been on finasteride for approximately 8 months. I think its working, since I have not progressed at all and maybe perhaps (don’t know if its my mind playing tricks) have seen very slight thickening.

I asked you a similar question before regarding the generic finasteride from pharmascience. You stated that I should be good with this drug as the company is a reputable one here in Canada.

However today my question is about the 5MG. I take that and cut it into quarters and have been doing so since the beginning of my treatment (so that its cheaper for me)…I read somewhere on your site that this is not recommended….and some people/doctors claim that the ingredients of the pill are not equally divided??? could you elaborate on this…am I fine with what I do or should I switch to the generic 1MG (which is available in Canada)…do you roughly (again roughly) still get 1.25 if you quarter the pill with a pill cutter?? So just wondering if I may be loosing ground with what I do, or that I am infact fine with the above regimen?

Thanks in advance

I am not sure where you read on this site that cutting the 5mg finasteride wasn’t recommended, but I’ve been suggesting doing this for years. You just need a doctor to prescribe the higher dose with the instruction that the pill is to be cut.

Cutting a 5mg tablet of finasteride in quarters is just as good as taking a 1mg pill. In a perfectly ideal world the drug companies would make a 1mg version and sell it cheaper than the 5mg version, but for now the 5mg version is about $30 for 90 pills while the 1mg version is $100 for 90 pills.

So in the interest of cost savings, you can cut the 5mg version into four pieces to make 1.25mg. If you know how to cut a small pill into 5 equal pieces to make 1mg each, go for it! In general, when you cut the pill you will never be precise and you may get more or less 1.25mg. This is alright in my opinion as long as you consistently take the medication on a daily basis. My reasoning behind this is that studies show 0.5mg is almost as effective as 5mg dose, so the daily variation should not matter as long as the drug is taken on a consistent basis.

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Is FUE the Best Choice for Someone That Has Had a Lot of Transplant Work Already?

I have followed this site for a few years now and I am so impressed. First off, your integrity seems to be apparent in how you run this site. There is none of the cheap salsmanship common to some of the hair replacement surgeons with whom I have spoken. You provide so much disclosure that it is obvious that you truly want educated patients. It seems to me that the medical hair replacement industry was crying for someone like you.

With that, I am happy to share with you my story and ask you my questions. I am a 45 yr old male who began losing his hair at 19. I was told early on by a few surgeons that I was an excellent candidate for hair transplantation because my donor hair was so good (it was rated a 9 out of a possible 10). I believe that I am a Norwood 6 but I know that I have long lost all the hair that I was to lose. I have had 13 hair transplant procedures with Dr. X [editor’s note: name removed] and 2 scalp reductions with another doctor. The procedures were performed between 1989 and 2001. In total, I had 1679 “large” grafts, 379 “medium” grafts, and 321 “single” grafts. My hair provides decent coverage for someone who by this time would have been left with only what I call “clown fringe” (I am sure the visual will resonate with you) but I do use a concealer (Fullmore) to hide some small patches of my crown which show, and some of the scarring. My goal is to surgically get more coverage – or at least more uniformity in my existing coverage – so that I can stop using the concealer. I would like a good evaluation on what surgical options may be open to me, as I have already had so much work already performed and donor hair is not so plentiful. These are my questions:

  1. Do you ever do any work in NYC/LI?
  2. If the answer to #1 is no, can you recommend any good and caring surgeons in the NY/LI area?
  3. It seems like FUE2 would be a natural choice for someone who has had so much work performed already and where so much donor hair might not be harvestable in one strip. Is this a correct assumption?
  4. Is it possible to do many smaller strips so as to increase yield for someone who has had so much work performed already? Does it matter from where the strips are taken? I think that I may have some donor hair on the high sides.
  5. I have not heard of too many people having as much work as I have had. Does the work I describe sound like it is so much? Are you aware of many people who have had more work?
  6. I have been using a concealer for 15 years – just during the week and just during the day. Are there any health affects of such prolonged use?
  7. How does the cost of the FUE2 compare with the normal strip method?

Any of these questions which you can answer would be appreciated.

Keep up the site.

  1. At the moment, I only have offices in California and do not plan on going to New York.
  2. Dr. Robert Bernstein is a caring and competent doctor with a Manhattan location.
  3. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is less productive when donor densities are down from multiple surgeries and when there is lots of scarring.
  4. With regard to taking high strips, it is generally not a good idea as high strip scars tend to show and they may not be in the permanent zone, so the hair may not last your lifetime.
  5. I have seen many patients that have had more than a dozen surgeries plus scalp reductions. One patient I met had 27 procedures, of which I believe most were sham surgeries. Without seeing you, I can not comment on what you did and did not get.
  6. Your approach with the use of concealers is well defined in my new book, Hair Loss and Replacement For Dummies, for the readers who do not know much about them.
  7. FUE costs are high compared to the strip method, but more important, they may not be very productive. FUE costs roughly 2x the amount of strip procedures, per graft.

The problem with your situation is donor scarring and your donor area must be a mess. It’s difficult to make any real advisable points without first seeing what I’m dealing with, but you might be able to excise the highly scarred donor area (probably using a balloon expander) if that is bothersome to you. Good luck.

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I am 45 and am worried about more hair loss if I get a hair transplant (photo)

You have a Class 3 Vertex pattern of hair loss which means that you are losing frontal hair and crown hair. At your age, I would suspect that if you lose more hair, it will not be very dramatic. You could try the drug finasteride (requires a doctor write a prescription for it) or you can transplant it. Transplants will work well for someone of your age and probably you will be stable so after a hair transplant you will just look like you never lost any hair

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Is it OK to Use Hair Dye and Minoxidil?

I started using Minoxidil yesterday. As I started getting grey hair since 25 years of age I have to dye my hair. I would like to know whether it is ok to dye the hair while using minoxidil and if so what precautions I should take ? Do I need to stop minoxidil for a few days after dying or I can continue as normal. Thanks

I would think that you’re fine to use minoxidil topical after you dye your hair. If you are worried, just wait one day. Otherwise you can read the medication’s instruction or call the drug company itself.

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5 month finasteride then dutasteride (Photo)

This man started on finasteride for 2 months and then switched to dutasteride. The arrow shows early growth. I suspect that he would have had the same result had he stayed on finasteride. I suspect that the left side will eventually catch up to the growth we see on the right side.


2020-09-28 08:49:025 month finasteride then dutasteride (Photo)

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Is Long Hair More Susceptible to Falling Out?

So it isnt true that hair is more susceptible to fall out when its longer? I ask you this because i am from a pretty bald family, and i grew my hair out pretty long when i was 17, and three years later my hair has never been the same density wise as it was before i had long hair. I was only wondering if growing ones hair out longer could kick start the genetic balding trait, if youve ever heard of that happening.
thanks!

That is a myth. The length of your hair has nothing to do with genetic balding, unless of course you are pulling on your long hair or getting it caught in things and having it ripped out… but that is another story.

Remember that as you age, if you do have male pattern baldness (genetic hair loss), your hair will thin until your final pattern is achieved. Get yourself checked out for miniaturization if you think that you may have genetic hair loss.


2008-05-08 10:45:17Is Long Hair More Susceptible to Falling Out?

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5 months on finasteride (photo)

This is a young man getting early growth from finasteride on the hairline. Persistence will guarantee the results. The picture on the right shows early miniaturization while the picture on the left is highly suggestive of early reversal of the miniaturization


2020-08-29 09:26:445 months on finasteride (photo)