Can minoxidil increase finasteride's effectiveness?

[Barry_Blue]

Hi guys,

Have been using minoxidil for what will be 3 years this autumn. I've gained absolutely nothing from it in that time except for severe dandruff. Obviously this made me very downhearted as I assumed I'm doomed to be a baldie and will not respond to any treatment. I guess I'm only continuing to use it because I'm clinging on to the hope that it's slowing down my hairloss although I've gone from a NW1 to NW2.5 in those 3 years.
However I finally took the plunge and started taking finasteride 3 months ago and am wondering if this will assist minoxidil into working better as presumably there's less DHT to "fight off" the minoxidil? Or would it be better to just quit minoxidil altogether as it seems to be counteracting the useful effects of my nizoral?

Thanks

 

[iamnaked]

minoxidil is useful in some people for regrowth but won't stop you from going bald if that's your genetic destiny. It is possible, however that your use of minoxidil has acted as a counterweight against the increasing ravages of male pattern baldness. Thus it could have been working, but it's effects may have been outweighed by the damaging effect DHT in your scalp. Be honest with yourself. If you really think it hasn't helped at all, then drop it, but if you have any doubts, there would surely be little harm in persisting for awhile longer. A fair few people have had good results with finasteride and minoxidil.

 

[Barry_Blue]

Thanks, youarenaked!

I've just ordered a 3 month supply of minoxidil (doh) but I'm gonna dissolve MSM in it to see if that makes any difference. If no change after this latest concoction I think I'll drop it altogether.

 

[dead]

Minoxidil does not stop the balding process

Minoxidil simpy increases the length of the growth phase of scalp hair.

Finasteride (Propecia/proscar) slows or stops the balding process.

 

[iamnaked]

Minoxidil simpy increases the length of the growth phase of scalp hair.

Ty, you must allow that it causes some regrowth too. I have new terminal hairs where there were none before. You can't ascribe the sudden appearance of new hair to lengthening growth cycles. There was no growth cycle going on in bits of my scalp which now have hair...

 

[dead]

Minoxidil simpy increases the length of the growth phase of scalp hair.

Ty, you must allow that it causes some regrowth too. I have new terminal hairs where there were none before. You can't ascribe the sudden appearance of new hair to lengthening growth cycles. There was no growth cycle going on in bits of my scalp which now have hair...

A very short growth cycle will result in a minaturized, very small vellus hair much like peach fuzz and almost invisible to the eye.

 

[Dinzy]

Minoxidil simpy increases the length of the growth phase of scalp hair.

Ty, you must allow that it causes some regrowth too. I have new terminal hairs where there were none before. You can't ascribe the sudden appearance of new hair to lengthening growth cycles. There was no growth cycle going on in bits of my scalp which now have hair...

Tyan is right it increeases the growth phase but it also improves the effectiveness of the growth phase so no hair > velus > terminal over a few cycles.

 

[Cornholio]

http://www.regrowth.com/hairloss-remedy ... cia_12.cfm

There are no studies of combination therapies on humans, but the balding monkey study above shows that the combination of minoxidil and finasteride have independant and additive effects... Taking both together is better than taking either separately as shown by hair weight and count.

from the study... "One of the most intriguing findings in the present study was the additive effect on hair weight of the combination of finasteride and minoxidil. The mechanism underlying stimulation of hair growth in balding stumptail macaques appears to involve the conversion of telogen and early anagen follicles (resting phase) into more advanced anagen stages (growing phase). Folliculograms of scalp biopsy tissue showed a higher frequency of late anagen follicles in balding stumptails treated with 5% minoxidil than in those administered a 2% concentration. Since the increase in scalp hair weight in the current investigation is consistent with folliculogram analysis, shaved hair weight seems to be a sensitive measurement of the response to therapeutic agents. Shaved hair weight and folliculogram analysis have also been used to substantiate that the 5a-reductase 4-MA prevented baldness in the stumptail macaque."