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I Stopped Propecia For 1 Year and Restarted It But I Am Still Losing Hair.

I have been taking Propecia for 2 years than stopped for roughly 1 year.

I recently started to taking the medicine again for the last four month, but it seems I am losing a lot of hair.

I am wondering if one experience initial shed again if one stops it for long time and take it again?

We occasionally hear about it with Rogain use but there is no “shedding period” with Propecia.

If you stop taking Propecia for several months (6+ months), you will experience “catch up” hair loss where you lose the hairs that benefited from Propecia. Catch up hair loss basically means you will catch up to where your hair loss would have been if you never took Propecia in the first place.

When you restart taking Propecia at this point, you will never regain the hairs you lost (the benefits it provided a year ago). You are basically starting from a new set point. It will also take about 6+ months for you to see some benefit or slowing of hair loss.

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I Stopped Perming My Hair Months Ago and Still Have Bald Spots

For the last couple of months my hair has been falling out all over my head. I have bold spots everywhere and i dont know what is going on. I stopped putting perms in for about 2 months know and i dont know what to do. Can someone please tell me something that i can do im young and i have a daughter.

If there’s chemical burns on your scalp from the perms, it could take up to a year to see regrowth… if it will grow at all. I have no idea what’s going in your particular case though, so I’d suggest you see a dermatologist in your area to get to the bottom of it. The bald spots could be related to the chemicals or could be something else entirely.


2011-01-06 09:03:26I Stopped Perming My Hair Months Ago and Still Have Bald Spots

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I Stopped Parting My Hair and Realized I Had a Bald Spot at My Hairline

Hello Docs,

I’m a female, 18, and a few years back I’ve been parting my hair at my right. Recently, I’ve been combing my hair back with no parting and I realized I have a bald spot in the front of my head. Is there anyway my hair can grow back in that area? I would love any information you can give.

The photo you sent was blurry and honestly, without examining you, I can not tell what the spot is about. It could reflect a disease called alopecia areata, or it could just be the way your hairline is, or perhaps you had an injury earlier in your life (or a variety of other possibilities). There is no substitute for a good examination, and that should be your next step if you’re concerned.


2012-11-05 19:58:18I Stopped Parting My Hair and Realized I Had a Bald Spot at My Hairline

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I Stopped Finasteride Due to an Increase in Body Hair, But Now My Scalp Is Thinning

Hi Doc. i’ve been on finasteride 1mg for 3yrs without major sides just an increased in body hair. i quit for 2yrs and now my hair has thinned so much that i’ve started fin again. now will i get sides this time? or should i expect the same.

Increased body hair from finasteride is not a common side effect I have seen, but I have been asked about it before. I have seen decreased body hair in a couple patients over the years.

If you restart the medication I cannot say if you will get the same side effect. You should follow up with your doctor.


2012-01-27 13:10:02I Stopped Finasteride Due to an Increase in Body Hair, But Now My Scalp Is Thinning

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I Still Have Gynecomastia 7 Months After Stopping Finasteride

Hi Doc!

In several posts you state that breast enlargement (gynecomastia) caused by finasteride (propecia) is reversible after stopping this medication.

Well, I developed a slight breast enlargement (“puffy nipples”) after a year of taking propecia so I stopped immediately when noticing this condition. However, the puffy nipples are still present even though I have been off the propecia for about 7 months now (I have no other medical condition).

I have heard that the only way of getting rid of this “gynecomastia” condition is an operation, so how do you know that it should be reversible upon stopping propecia?

You need to speak with your prescribing doctor, as Propecia does cause gynecomastia in a very small proportion of men. This condition should reverse on its own when you stop taking Propecia and if it did not, then you need to see your doctor for other potential causes.

Something else to consider is that according to one study for those men (not taking Propecia) over the age of 44, the prevalence of gynecomastia was 57% (possibly the effect of being overweight in some men and this therefore may not be breast tissue, but fat buildup). This data indicate that palpable gynecomastia may be more common in normal adult men. See Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism – Gynecomastia as a physical finding in normal men

You need a good medical evaluation by a doctor, in person. I wish I could offer more, but I’m limited by the Internet in that regard.

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I Started Losing My Hair at 40

I’m 40, male and have always had a very health head of hair. I am in good health. In the last 3 or 4 months my hair has started to fall out (pretty much all over my head) but primarily on the entire top of my head. Does hair loss not usually start at a younger age? The loss has been pretty significant and I’m fearful that it will be all gone in the next few months. What can I do?

I have heard that a high fever (had one a few months ago) could have an impact.

Also, my scalp has been itchy – Nizoral has not helped.

My grandfather and great grandfather (mothers side) were partially bald.

Thank you

Assuming that the hair loss is very short-term (it may not really be that way), then for a man with short-term hair loss, Propecia has a good chance of reversing it. I believe that this is the case on a man of any age. Your bout of high fever could have been a precipitating cause. The causes of hair loss in most men are:

  1. genetic
  2. hormones
  3. stress
  4. time

The fever, if severe, is a real stress producer.


2006-07-20 15:09:50I Started Losing My Hair at 40

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I Started Losing Hair Before I Hit Puberty!

dear doctor,

PLEASE HELP ME!
i am a 16 year old male teen. the hair on the top of my head has been thinning since age 9-10, and i fear that at the rate i will not have hair on the top of my head by this time next year. this has been 6 long years that have been devastating to my self-confidence and i dont know if i can deal with being bald at age 16.

i did plenty of research on my dilemma, and i didnt find any record of a case that is similar to mine. i have been to a doctor, and have been tested for things such as thyroid, but it always come out negative. my doctors dont really seem to care much to help me. they tell me its just hereditary, but i dont understand how it could be. i started losing my hair before i hit puberty, and also my my whole family still has there hair. even my grandma and grandpa who are in his 70’s have nearly all there hair.

at age 12 i was told to start using rogaine, but stopped because i know that there is something else wrong that is not being found. every day i wake up and look in the mirror to see that i have lost more hair. it getting harder and harder to hide it from my friends. and everywhere i go im constantly reminded of it because my hair shows up everywhere like in my sink, or on my desk at school.

anyway, please please please answer me back. you’ll be the one person in the world that cares enough to truly help me find out the problem and hopefully the answer. thank you for listening.

I wish I could offer you some solid advice or anything of substance, but you really need to be examined, as your case is quite unusual. I couldn’t do you any justice by just guessing at your problem via the web. As you indicated in your email that you’re located in New Jersey, try to arrange a visit with Dr. Robert Bernstein (with offices in Fort Lee, NJ and Manhattan, NY). He can examine you and offer suggestions.


2008-06-10 12:07:31I Started Losing Hair Before I Hit Puberty!

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I Skipped 2 Weeks of Propecia — Did It Cause My Hair Loss?

Hey Doc, I have been on propecia for almost 2 years now, last summer marked my 1st full year on the drug. Last summer (late August) I missed 2 weeks of the pill and soon after realized that my crown got a bit balder. Now the crown has gotten a bit more balder – my question is, is there any way to tell whether the 2 weeks of missed dosage caused this or whether its just MPB taking its course?

Thanks Doc

There is no way to truly tell other than not having missed the drug (and comparing the results to the you in an alternate universe that never missed a dose). In other words, it just isn’t possible to tell if that 2 weeks made a difference. I would doubt that you’d notice hair loss so soon after stopping the drug, but I’m not sure how long “soon after” was. If you’re talking months, then it is possible.

You might want to consider adding Rogaine Foam (or any minoxidil 5%) to see if that makes a difference in the crown. Perhaps Propecia is slowing the loss and minoxidil could regrow some.

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I Shaved My Pubic Hair — Now It Is Growing Back Weird

Dear doc,
I am a male, and a shaved my pubic hair. The hair has now regrown with multiple hairs in each follicle. it looks very strange. What is happening? also… can sleep depravation speed up mpb?

Let a professional evaluate your pubic hair. I don’t quite understand what you’re describing. Yes, sleep deprivation can promote hair loss in genetically prone men.


2007-10-09 08:33:20I Shaved My Pubic Hair — Now It Is Growing Back Weird

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I Shaved My Eyebrows and They Never Regrew — So Should I Get a Transplant or Wait for Cloning?

Dear Doctor Rassman
My question concerns my eyebrows. I shaved them for some reason I cannot even comprehend myself. They never came back. What makes it so much worse is the fact that i am a man. It bothers me more than anything else in my entire life has. It haunts me from when i wake up to when i go to bed. I have two questions i guess.

1. First of all, i don’t know why but i really don’t want to have a eyebrow transplant probably because it is in fact considered plastic surgery and is considered weird by most people i have asked. Also the continual growing could become annoying but i am not ruling it out. If you yourself were in my situation would you in fact have it done? Are most of your patients honestly happy with the results?

2. Second i am 25 years old now and by visiting your site learned of hair cloning. this seems like a much better option obviously but i have yet to understand if it is only for the top of your head or could it be implemented in something like my eyebrows. what i am getting at is if they cloned eyebrow hair would it grow normally (not like head hair)? if it is possible to clone eyebrow hairs then would you wait? probably not from reading your other responses. either way i really want to do something about this.

thank you so much for your time and again what do you think my best option is?

I find it difficult to understand how shaving your eyebrows once would cause them never to grow back. Please see a doctor and get a good diagnosis. Maybe you have other medical issues that may cause the absence of eyebrows (such as alopecia areata).

Eyebrow transplantation is a very reasonable option for many men and women who do not have eyebrows (or have thin brows). Again, please consult with a hair transplant doctor for this. It is not my place to say if you should have surgery or not. This is purely a cosmetic procedure. If you think you will be a happier person for having more eyebrow hairs, then it is your prerogative. If you would like a private consultation, you can call my office (800) NEW-HAIR or (310) 553-9913 to speak to me or Dr. Pak.

At this time, cloning isn’t an option.