Finasteride Or Dutasteride? Which Is Better? 7 Words

[Zach288]

Hey everyone,

Hope your journey to defeating hairloss is going good.

I’m currently on finasterside for the past 3 weeks, only thing I’ve noticed so far is maybe my hair is slightly thicker, but I know it takes time.

Just wondering when/if you guys made the decision to switch to Dutas?

I heard it removed 99% of DHT whereas Finesteride not as much? Not sure if that’s true.

If you did move to Dutas, where did you guys buy it from? As it’s not readily available at a lot of places.

I’m in the U.K., anyone know where to buy Dutas? (IF I SHOULD EVEN MOVE FROM FINASTERIDE TO DUTAS)

 

[Alphalete]

Duta is obv better but I'm sure it comes with more sides tbh. Why do you want to switch though? Shouldn't you be on finasteride for longer?

 

[Zach288]

Duta is obv better but I'm sure it comes with more sides tbh. Why do you want to switch though? Shouldn't you be on finasteride for longer?

Hmm, I guess that’s why more people aren’t using Duta.. the sides?

Haha I’m not switching, was just wondering is all.

 

[Alphalete]

Hmm, I guess that’s why more people aren’t using Duta.. the sides?

Haha I’m not switching, was just wondering is all.

Idk honestly. I personally don't use it cus I just got finasteride and I think it'll do good enough for now, but yeah the sides should increase considering more DHT is ''restricted'' or what you wanna call it

 

[itsjustsimon]

Hmm, I guess that’s why more people aren’t using Duta.. the sides?

Haha I’m not switching, was just wondering is all.

Because dutasteride is not FDA approved for hair loss ( expect on the East ).

And yeah, it's potentially more dangerous.

 

[Michael1986]

Dutasteride is more effective than finasteride because it inhibits more DHT. Dutasteride taken at 0.5mg a day removes 98-99% of DHT from the 5ar type 2 enzyme, and about 50% of DHT from the 5ar type 1 enzyme. Finasteride taken at the standard dose removes 85-90% of DHT from 5ar type 2, and none of the DHT from 5ar type 1.
The DHT from the type 2 enzyme is that which is primarily responsible for male pattern baldness. The DHT from the type 1 enzyme may play a role in hair loss too. If it does play a role, its role is believed to be minor.
Dutasteride's greater effectiveness than finasteride as a male pattern baldness treatment is likely due to both its more complete inhibition of 5ar type 2 as well as its additional partial inhibition of 5ar type 1.
Side-effects will of course be more severe from dutasteride that finasteride because it removes more DHT. The 5 ar type 1 enzyme is present in the brain tissue in measurable amounts, and as dutasteride inhibits DHT production from this enzyme whereas finasteride doesn't, there are additional risks associated with using dutasteride. It makes sense that there could be side-effects unique to dutasteride usage that result from the inhibition of 5 ar type 1 which are not experienced by finasteride users.
I have been using dutasteride for the last four years, and it has completely stopped my hair loss. Despite the risks associated with using dutasteride, I am happy with my decision to use it. I get it from AllDayChemist.

 

[Retinoid]

It probably depends on your genetics. Some people respond better to one drug or another. There was a genetic test that was floating around that people took to see if Finasteride would be successful...this was like 10yrs ago and it seems to have disappeared. Duasteride inhibiting 5AR1 does basically nothing for hair loss but increases the risk of long term side effects. Finasteride is definitely the safer of the two. 5AR2 is what is implicated.

 

[Norwood's Son]

On paper Duta is better than Fina due to its inhibiting properities.
HOWEVER, irl there are alot of factors that change what ppl experience.
If Duta was superior to Fina in every way to combat hairloss everyone would be taking it instead.
Not sure 100% of the reason why but some ppl have more success with Fina when they make the switch from Duta and it can ofc work vise versa.
If you are contemplating which one to start or continue on, I'd say keep doing Fina until you're 100% sure its not working.

 

[Michael1986]

It probably depends on your genetics. Some people respond better to one drug or another.

It would seem very odd to me how someone could actually respond better to finasteride than dutasteride given the fact that dutasteride inhibits more DHT.

Duasteride inhibiting 5AR1 does basically nothing for hair loss but increases the risk of long term side effects. Finasteride is definitely the safer of the two. 5AR2 is what is implicated.

There is evidence that 5ar1 might play a role too. It has been found to be present in the hair follicles.

 

[itsjustsimon]

It would seem very odd to me how someone could actually respond better to finasteride than dutasteride given the fact that dutasteride inhibits more DHT.

It could. https://jme.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/jme/34/3/0340617.xml :

Comparison of the apparent Ki values for each inhibitor suggests that dutasteride may be a more efficient steroid 5α-reductase inhibitor (due to its lower apparent Ki) than finasteride for most of the enzyme variants, including the wild-type enzyme and the A49T mutant (Tables 1 and 2). The P30L and A49T mutants, in particular, display a more than 100-fold lower apparent Ki for dutasteride than for finasteride, independently of reaction time (Tables 1 and 2). However, two of the enzyme variants do not follow this trend: the F194L variant (independently of reaction time) and the P48R variant (but only in the 10-min reaction) display lower apparent Ki (higher affinity) for finasteride than dutasteride (Tables 1and 2).

 

[Michael1986]

It could. https://jme.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/jme/34/3/0340617.xml :

Comparison of the apparent Ki values for each inhibitor suggests that dutasteride may be a more efficient steroid 5α-reductase inhibitor (due to its lower apparent Ki) than finasteride for most of the enzyme variants, including the wild-type enzyme and the A49T mutant (Tables 1 and 2). The P30L and A49T mutants, in particular, display a more than 100-fold lower apparent Ki for dutasteride than for finasteride, independently of reaction time (Tables 1 and 2). However, two of the enzyme variants do not follow this trend: the F194L variant (independently of reaction time) and the P48R variant (but only in the 10-min reaction) display lower apparent Ki (higher affinity) for finasteride than dutasteride (Tables 1and 2).

The F194L allele has a frequency per chromosome of 1/960 according to this study:
Biochemical and pharmacogenetic dissection of human steroid 5a-reductase type II:
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._II_comparison_of_finasteride_and_dutasteride
The chance of a person being homozygous for F194L would be less than 1 in 900,000. The chance of being heterozygous for F194L would be about 1 in 480.
The P48R allele has a frequency of 2/428. The chance of being homozygous for P48R would be less than 1 in 45,000, and the chance of being heterozygous is about 1 in 100.
As you quoted, F194L and P48R are the only variants of SRD5A2 that finasteride inhibited more strongly than dutasteride, and the latter only in the 10-minute reaction and not the 30-minute one. As these variants occur at such low frequencies in the human population, especially in the homozygous state, it can be assumed that only a very tiny proportion of hair loss sufferers will be better responders to finasteride than to dutasteride.
You are correct that it is possible for someone to respond better to finasteride than dutasteride, but it would be extremely uncommon based upon these findings.

 

[itsjustsimon]

Nice, great info @Michael1986

 

[Kendell]

I took 3 pills of Dutasteride every other day and got the typical side effects ( Ed, low libido, lethargic, etc). It has been 5 days since I stop taking the pills and my body seem to be back to normal with side effects seemingly gone.
I have tried Minoxidil and Finasteride in the past and they didn’t really help me with regrowth or thickening. With that being said, I really want to give Dutasteride a try.

So my question is-
Do side effects go away with continued use or should I just stop taking Dutasteride because I got the initial sides. I was thinking about maybe taking two a week. Any advice is helpful. Thanks

 

[itsjustsimon]

I took 3 pills of Dutasteride every other day and got the typical side effects ( Ed, low libido, lethargic, etc). It has been 5 days since I stop taking the pills and my body seem to be back to normal with side effects seemingly gone.
I have tried Minoxidil and Finasteride in the past and they didn’t really help me with regrowth or thickening. With that being said, I really want to give Dutasteride a try.

So my question is-
Do side effects go away with continued use or should I just stop taking Dutasteride because I got the initial sides. I was thinking about maybe taking two a week. Any advice is helpful. Thanks

How long have you been taking dutasteride?

There were some users that I remember who had been on dutasteride for a while and side effects subsided over a couple of months. Is that a good idea? I don't know...

 

[Kendell]

How long have you been taking dutasteride?

There were some users that I remember who had been on dutasteride for a while and side effects subsided over a couple of months. Is that a good idea? I don't know...

I started it last Saturday and took a pill every other day and ended on that Wednesday. So three pills since Saturday ( every other day )

 

[itsjustsimon]

I started it last Saturday and took a pill every other day and ended on that Wednesday. So three pills since Saturday ( every other day )

Duta can be a b**ch because it has a long half-life, but it also takes some time to build up in your body.

 

[Kendell]

Duta can be a b**ch because it has a long half-life, but it also takes some time to build up in your body.

So do you think my body will get used to it and sides go away once it builds up in the body?

The sides are gone now but I’m sure that’s because I quit this Wednesday.

 

[Kendell]

Dutasteride is more effective than finasteride because it inhibits more DHT. Dutasteride taken at 0.5mg a day removes 98-99% of DHT from the 5ar type 2 enzyme, and about 50% of DHT from the 5ar type 1 enzyme. Finasteride taken at the standard dose removes 85-90% of DHT from 5ar type 2, and none of the DHT from 5ar type 1.
The DHT from the type 2 enzyme is that which is primarily responsible for male pattern baldness. The DHT from the type 1 enzyme may play a role in hair loss too. If it does play a role, its role is believed to be minor.
Dutasteride's greater effectiveness than finasteride as a male pattern baldness treatment is likely due to both its more complete inhibition of 5ar type 2 as well as its additional partial inhibition of 5ar type 1.
Side-effects will of course be more severe from dutasteride that finasteride because it removes more DHT. The 5 ar type 1 enzyme is present in the brain tissue in measurable amounts, and as dutasteride inhibits DHT production from this enzyme whereas finasteride doesn't, there are additional risks associated with using dutasteride. It makes sense that there could be side-effects unique to dutasteride usage that result from the inhibition of 5 ar type 1 which are not experienced by finasteride users.
I have been using dutasteride for the last four years, and it has completely stopped my hair loss. Despite the risks associated with using dutasteride, I am happy with my decision to use it. I get it from AllDayChemist.

Hey dis

Dutasteride is more effective than finasteride because it inhibits more DHT. Dutasteride taken at 0.5mg a day removes 98-99% of DHT from the 5ar type 2 enzyme, and about 50% of DHT from the 5ar type 1 enzyme. Finasteride taken at the standard dose removes 85-90% of DHT from 5ar type 2, and none of the DHT from 5ar type 1.
The DHT from the type 2 enzyme is that which is primarily responsible for male pattern baldness. The DHT from the type 1 enzyme may play a role in hair loss too. If it does play a role, its role is believed to be minor.
Dutasteride's greater effectiveness than finasteride as a male pattern baldness treatment is likely due to both its more complete inhibition of 5ar type 2 as well as its additional partial inhibition of 5ar type 1.
Side-effects will of course be more severe from dutasteride that finasteride because it removes more DHT. The 5 ar type 1 enzyme is present in the brain tissue in measurable amounts, and as dutasteride inhibits DHT production from this enzyme whereas finasteride doesn't, there are additional risks associated with using dutasteride. It makes sense that there could be side-effects unique to dutasteride usage that result from the inhibition of 5 ar type 1 which are not experienced by finasteride users.
I have been using dutasteride for the last four years, and it has completely stopped my hair loss. Despite the risks associated with using dutasteride, I am happy with my decision to use it. I get it from AllDayChemist.

how long did your side effects last, if you got any?

 

[itsjustsimon]

So do you think my body will get used to it and sides go away once it builds up in the body?

The sides are gone now but I’m sure that’s because I quit this Wednesday.

Nobody knows. It's up to you to take the risk. Here's the graph:

 

[Retinoid]

It would seem very odd to me how someone could actually respond better to finasteride than dutasteride given the fact that dutasteride inhibits more DHT.


There is evidence that 5ar1 might play a role too. It has been found to be present in the hair follicles.

Duasteride in studies have been shown to be slightly more effective (not amazingly so) but this is moreso because it more completely inhibits 5AR2. While inhibiting 5AR1 will further decrease DHT serum levels, 5AR1 has very little, if anything, to do with balding. Merck tested a 5AR1 inhibitor and it was barely more effective than the placebo. 'BARELY', so it was slightly more effective but not nearly enough to use it. Pseudohermaphordites who never go bald also lack 5AR2 but still have 5AR1.