I saw a dermatologist about finasteride/duta. He told me he flat-out refuses to prescribe oral finasteride, and said he'll likely put me on topical finasteride. Is there some amount of topical I could put on my scalp that would do me as well as 1mg oral? I only want to put it on once a day in the evening so that I can shower in the morning and avoid bad hair – I switched to oral minoxidil after a couple of weeks for the same reason.
Is topical finasteride as effective as oral?
- Thread starter Slydegger
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Do it. One guy on this forum claims better results from topical than oral.
I'm likely that guy. I was on oral for 14 years with minor sides the whole time, but manageable. I switched to topical almost 4 months ago, and my hair is thicker than ever and I have zero sides. Oral finasteride kept my hair and topical min regrew some, but I reached a point of stagnation. Topical finasteride/min broke me through that stagnation. Just my personal experience. There is at least one study that shows 0.025% is as effective as 1mg oral in reducing scalp DHT, but only reducing serum DHT by a fraction and plasma DHT by even way less than that.
My advice? Do it 1000%. If you're only applying once daily, try 0.025% and see how it goes. If it's not effective, up it to 0.05%, and so on.
I apply 0.025% 1mL at night, and about 0.3mL in the morning in the biggest problem areas.
My advice? Do it 1000%. If you're only applying once daily, try 0.025% and see how it goes. If it's not effective, up it to 0.05%, and so on.
I apply 0.025% 1mL at night, and about 0.3mL in the morning in the biggest problem areas.
I been using Topical Finasteride since 2011, oral gave me side effects. I have mine compounded with minoxidil.
Check the thread i created, i get mine from MAA compound pharmacy they ship to most world wide countries and give discount.
see here:
Check the thread i created, i get mine from MAA compound pharmacy they ship to most world wide countries and give discount.
see here:
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Do you use minoxidil with it? Also whats topical like as a liquid solution, is it a similar texture and appliance to shampoo
supermusic
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if you only had minor sides with oral finasteride, it is normal that now with the topical you do not have them, which does not mean that over time you will not have them as has happened to many topical users
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I make my own topical finasteride with alcohol/pg. Make a 2 week fresh batch 60ml.
4.5 months on topical, zero sides still. When will these "sides over time" start to happen so I can keep an eye out for them?
Yes. It's a liquid. I just switched from making my own (Proscar and Kirland min) to Happy Head customized 0.025% finasteride and 6% min.
supermusic
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Depending on each person.
by the way, you really haven't stopped oral finasteride. Nor do I see the point in changing the homemade topical that works so well for a much more expensive commercial formula. A bit confusing.
I'm confused...what do you mean by "you really haven't stopped oral finasteride"? I stopped it months ago.
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It goes systemic topically. Finasteride only got 360 molar mass.
supermusic
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If it goes systemically the same as oral, why have all my sides disappeared and I have morning wood every day at age 45?
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How many mg u put on scalp daily? U must be putting Little if thats the case. 0.25% 1ml a day showed more systemic dht reduction than 1mg oral in a study.
I have 0.025% solution (not 0.25%) which is 0.25mg per mL. I'm now starting to put 1mL on twice per day, morning and night. Happy Head now customizes your finasteride %, although their default is 0.25%.
supermusic
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ok. when you took it orally at 0.25mg still had the same sides?
Why are you going to change to a commercial lotion, if the homemade one has gone away it is also much cheaper and at least you know that you are really applying finasteride???
Thanks for the info
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My sides mostly went away when I dropped to 0.25mg oral, but I also know my hair would've gotten worse. On 0.5mg ED, I started shedding.
My topical is not a lotion...it's a liquid. I switched because I can afford to. I wanted to have something pure from a legit compound pharmacy. I figure it could only be a better, more effective product, so I wanted to at least try it.
My homemade version worked really well regardless.
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Where do you source your topical finasteride from? Are you able to provide a link