Balding Blog

First of all congratulations on the great web site. It’s really useful! My question is about Rogaine. I’m 32 y.o. and have been on Propecia for the last 7 years. It seems to be working OK but for the last 18 months or so I’ve noticed my frontal area may be a little worse. Should I consider adding Rogaine to my treatment or will it be useless on the frontal area? Thanks in advance for any help!

You can try adding Rogaine. Chances are, it won’t help a ton in the frontal area (it works best in the crown), but it is worth a shot. I like the idea that only one change will be implemented so you will know in about 6-9 months if the addition of the Rogaine works. As you are probably aware, Propecia will not stop the hair loss all of the time, but it always slows it down. Congratulations on staying the course. This is what every balding man should be doing.

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Doctor,

I have one note regarding one of your lines here at this question http://www.baldingblog.com/2006/10/31/if-minoxidil-and-propecia-work-best-in-the-crown-how-can-i-save-my-hairline/ your words (the hair loss picks up again and makes up for the time the drug was effectively holding the hair there) , does that mean once you stop taking propecia your hair in the front get lost as if this hair was gained by the medicine even though if it was just restored by the medication or it would take the normal way of losing hair as if you havent taken the medication in the first place??!!

Please Clarify..!!

Best Regards..

I use the term ‘catch-up hair loss‘ which means that the hair loss will occur at an accelerated rate over the months after stopping the drug. You can probably expect that you will lose all of the benefits of the Propecia (finasteride) plus whatever hair you would have lost (had you not taken the drug) in the 3-6 months after the time you stop taking it.

If you note that the hair loss has started (after you stop the medication) and you go back on it, some of the lost hair may reverse if you react to it quickly.

Hi doc. I’m 20 years old and nw 1,5. I’ve been using propecia medication for 6 months with very good response but in the last appointment with my doctor he told me ‘it’s time to quit propecia and you will no more lose your hair.’ I have doubts what should I do? Can it be real, is it possible to beat MPB by taking early medication? If my doc is wrong what my decision have to be? Thanks.

Propecia (finasteride 1mg) works through inhibiting production of DHT, which is responsible for male pattern baldness. By stopping Propecia, you allow the DHT to be made from testosterone again, which can deleteriously affect your hair growth. If you look at this diagram of Propecia effect on hair count, you can clearly see that the rate of hair loss increases in patients who stopped Propecia and were put on placebo (solid circles on graph) and even after restarting them on Propecia after one year, the number of hairs doesn’t reach to the patients who continued using the medication.

The only reason to stop taking the medication is that a diagnosis of genetic male pattern hair loss is not present. To make this diagnosis, your doctor can map your scalp and if there is no miniaturization present, I would agree to recommend that you go off the Propecia; however, if miniaturization is present, then you should stay on the drug for the rest of your life as there is no cure for MPB. Talk to your doctor and make sure there is not any other reason for discontinuing the medication. You can take a copy of this blog posting and go over it with your doctor.

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