How does finasteride effect hair cycles?

[unplugged88]

Im constantly hearing that Finasteride causes people to shed, especially during the early stages of use.
My question is how does Finasteride cause this? Why would lowering your DHT interrupt your normal hair cycle and cause your follicles to 'reboot' themselves??

Im currently going through an intense shed and the whole process doesn't quite make sense to me. Would love to hear an educated answer.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Doctors believe Minoxidil interferes with the hair cycle as it promotes anagen and wants to "reset" all hair into this phase. But many believe finasteride doesn't promote this.

I think with finasteride the moderate/advanced miniaturised hairs will be shed over time and then gradually replaced with better quality hair. I think even with low DHT the follicle is unable to heal without "kicking out" the crap hair and then starting again.

Personally I haven't shed on finasteride and apparently a lot of people don't. Minoxidil is more likely for this.

 

[unplugged88]

If finasteride does work by "kicking out the crap hair" I hope those hairs/follicles recover from that.
I sometimes worry that finasteride will only help maintain hairs that are still standing AFTER this initial shed.

 

[0-100realquick]

If finasteride does work by "kicking out the crap hair" I hope those hairs/follicles recover from that.
I sometimes worry that finasteride will only help maintain hairs that are still standing AFTER this initial shed.

That is exactly what I believe too and seems logical to me.

 

[zzzzz]

If finasteride does work by "kicking out the crap hair" I hope those hairs/follicles recover from that.
I sometimes worry that finasteride will only help maintain hairs that are still standing AFTER this initial shed.

this shows you don't understand the hair life cycle. When a hair sheds that just means its beginning a new life cycle. Hairs don't shed for good

 

[unplugged88]

this shows you don't understand the hair life cycle. When a hair sheds that just means its beginning a new life cycle. Hairs don't shed for good

I think I understand this concept just fine.
What I was trying to say is that I worry finasteride 'nukes' the heavily diffuse hairs, and these hairs aren't healthy enough to recover back into cycle. This leaves finasteride only able to maintain the surviving hairs/follicles. But of course if this were the case those hairs would soon be gone with or without finasteride.

My original question was why this finasteride shedding phase happens to begin with. Why wouldn't the hairs just improve themselves after their normal hair regeneration period? Maybe nobody knows..

 

[zzzzz]

But of course if this were the case those hairs would soon be gone with or without finasteride.

this is true. As for the other question, I might know from something I read a while ago. I believe the hair follicles are very sensitive to changes in follicle thickness/diameter. So if finasteride causes a follicle to "grow" or reverse miniaturization this change in diameter of the hair it could produce could cause it to shed. But this is an educated guess.