Can finasteride "take over" for hairs that are brought back with minoxidil?

[kj6723]

Hello all,

Fairly new to the hair restoration thing, but been doing a fair share of research for the last several months. A little about me: I'm somewhere between an NW2/3 right now. I've been wanting to try finasteride for a while, but at the moment don't have access to a prescription (in the military for about 1 more month...getting cosmetic help from these doctors is a ridiculous hassle.) I'm throwing around the idea of starting Minoxidil right now, but I'm not real thrilled with the idea of bringing back hairs that will be dependent on me continuing to apply a topical solution every day for the rest of my life.

So my question is, if I respond well to minoxidil, will hairs that it "resurrects" forever be dependent on minoxidil to stay alive? Or is it a possibility that if I respond well to finasteride, that the finasteride will strengthen these same hairs, and I can eventually "phase out" the minoxidil?

Thanks for your help!

 

[RhinestoneHLT]

Hello all,

Fairly new to the hair restoration thing, but been doing a fair share of research for the last several months. A little about me: I'm somewhere between an NW2/3 right now. I've been wanting to try finasteride for a while, but at the moment don't have access to a prescription (in the military for about 1 more month...getting cosmetic help from these doctors is a ridiculous hassle.) I'm throwing around the idea of starting Minoxidil right now, but I'm not real thrilled with the idea of bringing back hairs that will be dependent on me continuing to apply a topical solution every day for the rest of my life.

So my question is, if I respond well to minoxidil, will hairs that it "resurrects" forever be dependent on minoxidil to stay alive? Or is it a possibility that if I respond well to finasteride, that the finasteride will strengthen these same hairs, and I can eventually "phase out" the minoxidil?

Thanks for your help!

There is no cure for male pattern baldness, you want to use everything possible to delay your predisposed genetic pattern. finasteride and min together could buy you 10-15 years. Possibly less, possibly more. Hopefully we have something better by then. Unless you count hair transplants, those with meds can last you for decades if not life.

finasteride will help keep your min growth longer if you continue to use both, but quitting minoxidil will cause you to lose the hair.

Both minoxidil and finasteride are best for keeping hair and slight to moderate thickening of thin weak hairs. There is no treatment that works greatly at reversing miniaturization.

 

[M.G]

I'm no expert but atleast some of the minoxhairs should be able to exist by finasteride "taking" over.

I mean because if you eliminate most of the cause of your hairloss (DHT), then how can the hair fall out again if the reason for your loss is hardly there anymore?

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I know minoxidil work by a different mechanism in terms of regrowth, but in the end the hair falls out because of DHT-sensitivity and if DHT is not there anymore they should be able to remain in some extent.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

I'm pretty sure of two things:

1) There are no long-term studies of minoxidil + finasteride use, only studies of one or two years or less, never dealing with switches and so on;
2) The mechanism of action of minoxidil is unknown.

Ergo, you are unlikely to find an answer. Some believe minoxidil makes no long-term help, others say you can maintain with minoxidil alone for a decade plus. You won't find an answer here.

What I do know is that minoxidil does work for a lot of people, not everybody, but that it's a pain. You need to apply it twice a day, forever. I'm not taking it because I'm taking enough **** already.

 

[kj6723]

Thanks for the responses. It doesn't sound like there's a clear cut answer I was hoping for, but I kind of expected that.

The whole minoxidil twice a day thing just seems like such a handicap, like it would take so much spontaneity out of life...no more crazy nights out...always gotta get back home for that nightly application. I'm thinking I may be better off waiting until I can get a finasteride prescription and seeing how I respond to it by itself, and holding off on the minoxidil for now. I figure i can look into getting transplant down the line to fix my hairline if there is decent stabilization from just finasteride. If I don't respond well to the finasteride, I can always try adding minoxidil later...seems better to start out trying less rather than immediately making myself dependent on a product that may forever put limits on my lifestyle.

 

[cuprous]

Thanks for the responses. It doesn't sound like there's a clear cut answer I was hoping for, but I kind of expected that.

The whole minoxidil twice a day thing just seems like such a handicap, like it would take so much spontaneity out of life...no more crazy nights out...always gotta get back home for that nightly application. I'm thinking I may be better off waiting until I can get a finasteride prescription and seeing how I respond to it by itself, and holding off on the minoxidil for now. I figure i can look into getting transplant down the line to fix my hairline if there is decent stabilization from just finasteride. If I don't respond well to the finasteride, I can always try adding minoxidil later...seems better to start out trying less rather than immediately making myself dependent on a product that may forever put limits on my lifestyle.

Dude I think you can have a night out and skip an application of minoxidil and be fine. Consensus seems to be that after the first six months (when most regrowth happens) you can switch to daily application. I don't think missing a day here and there is going to result in all our hair falling out. Look at it like brushing your teeth. You really should do it 2x day, worst case 1x, but you aren't going to suddenly get cavities if you miss one day.