Balding Blog

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4314881/

This article concludes: Topical finasteride can be considered for hair density maintenance after initial improvement with oral finasteride, thereby obviating the indefinite use of oral finasteride.

What are your thoughts on this “new” topical Finasteride formulation which claims that, “The effectiveness appears to be equal to oral Finasteride, but serum levels are 1/18th that of the oral route.”

My problem with this is the function of Finasteride. Doesn’t Finasteride work to effectively inhibit the formation of DHT? If the serum levels of Finasteride are 1/18th, then DHT is still being formed in the rest of the body as normal, which will eventually circulate to the scalp. Do you think it’s possible that somehow this topical route actually effectively inhibits DHT in the scalp properly? Or do you think this study is not well done (it was done by the creators of the gel, so there’s obvious conflicts of interest)?

If the only prescribed strength is 2.5% gel, which is equivalent to 1.5mg orally, how would one reduce the dose of this as you mentioned in this blog post: https://newhair.com/what-dose-do-you-usually-recommend-for-people-who-want-to-take-reduced-dose-of-finasteride/

I really don’t know. You want to reduce the topical dose, but I don’t know evidence that this works. Frankly, we are flying blind here.

This is a nice review of Topical Finasteride, which so many men ask me about. This is available through our offices.

This is a great result. I suspect you might have gotten the same results in the crown from finasteride alone. The crown is very sensitive to finasteride, generally speaking.

This man took topical finasteride with minoxidil and applied it to the frontal hairline for 3 months and already has reversed some of the balding

We have seen that topical finasteride is not the magic bullet we had hoped, and in some men, the side-effects still persist.

Hasson & Wong Topical Finasteride (what I’ve noticed) from tressless

At a meeting in Manchester UK (which I attended this past week), there was a wonderful presentation about the combined use of topical finasteride and minoxidil. The presenting doctor from Italy, Chiara Insalaco, showed some wonderful results on men of varying ages for thinning and balding both on top of the head where thinning may have occurred as well as in the crown. Sometimes it took a year or more to get some amazing results which she demonstrated. While I was there, I sourced the topical finasteride which seems to cost about $60/month. According to her presentation, the sexual side effects from the pill, which drove the patients to her treatment approach, were significantly less or absent in many of the men she treated. When I return to Los Angeles, I will inquire into the ‘tele-medicine’ rules that may allow me to prescribe this through a telephone consultation. If this can be done, I might consider offering this avenue of treatment to people who link to me on this blog, those who are not within traveling distance to one of my two Southern California offices. For my own existing patients or those who can visit me, this will not be a restriction on what I can do and will most likely offer it to my patients. I asked Dr. Insalaco to write up a post for me which I will make available to my readers and bloggers. Stay Tuned!

So three months ago, I decided to hop on a min/fin 0.1% formula that made my derm (my anxiety and depression were still strong during this time). I applied it once a day in the mornings. The formula really works, in only these three months, I have recovered a lot of my hair to the point that it looks/feels like my hair from last year.

But my anxiety has been the worst, my derm says it is not possible or common.

Can a low dose of topical fin exacerbate these symptoms?

Topical finasteride at a dose of 0.1% will be absorbed systemically and can add to depressive symptoms that you already have. The alternative, if you want to take finasteride, is to take the liposomal topical finasteride, which largely stays in the scalp, This is a compounded medication made specifically to your specifications. I often prescribe it to people who can’t take oral finasteride.