Minoxidl + Propecia and Topical Finasteride

[spinny]

Hi there,

i'm currently on Minoxidil twice a day and propecia. Is it Ok if I add Topical Finasteride. Will it make a difference to my regimen.

look forward to your response.

 

[Bryan]

It's probably not worth the cost to use finasteride topically. Just use it orally.

 

[longhair1983]

If topical finasteride is as effective as Propecia, it should save some money, right?

 

[knowingyou]

Hi there,

i'm currently on Minoxidil twice a day and propecia. Is it Ok if I add Topical Finasteride. Will it make a difference to my regimen.

look forward to your response.

I would just take finasteride orally if it works for you, and no need to add it topically, unless you have sides from it orally.

 

[knowingyou]

If topical finasteride is as effective as Propecia, it should save some money, right?

If topical finasteride is as effective as oral, then yes for me, because my health insurance will pay for topical finasteride but not oral one.

 

[Bryan]

If topical finasteride is as effective as Propecia, it should save some money, right?

Topical finasteride isn't as effective as oral Propecia. I can show you a study by some big-time researchers in which topical finasteride had no effect at all on hair. Admittedly, there's a study or two which claimed to find such an effect, but taken together, topical finasteride appears to have little (if any) beneficial effect. I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[Shma]

Hey Brian, would you mind refering to that study where topical finasteride had no positive effect on hair growth?

 

[Bryan]

Hey Brian, would you mind refering to that study where topical finasteride had no positive effect on hair growth?

Here's something I posted about that study a few years ago over on HLH:

We have to keep in mind that doctors and scientists are regular people just like the rest of us, and sometimes jump to conclusions and make errors, also just like the rest of us. I was amused by something written in the following study from 1996, which certainly doesn't seem that long ago: "Topical 0.05% finasteride significantly reduced serum DHT concentrations, but had no effect in preventing the expression of genetic hair loss in men", D.H. Rushton, M.J. Norris, and I.D. Ramsay. From the book "Hair Research for the Next Millenium", 1996.

I don't recall the names Norris and Ramsay, but Rushton is DEFINITELY well-known as a hairloss researcher. I've seen him and his articles/studies referenced many times. However, in the one above, they unsuccessfully tried topical finasteride (the title pretty much says it all), and they made the following amusing statement at the very end of their paper (added emphasis is my own):

"...These findings suggest that in individuals in whom hair follicles have little or no type-II 5a-reductase activity, topically applied inhibitors like finasteride are unlikely to be effective. Oral Proscar (5 mg finasteride) is also unlikely to be effective unless metabolites with different specificity to 5a-reductase isozymes are produced. We therefore eagerly await the arrival of a type-I or mixed 5a-reductase inhibitor."

Ok, now I know that hindsight is always 20-20, and it's not nice to poke fun at what was said a few years ago when there was less information available than there is today. But I think those guys deserve at least a LITTLE ribbing, because there was a study with stumptailed macaques published as early as 1992 (four years BEFORE this one) which successfully tested finasteride for hairloss. I find it amusing that just because of the failure of their little topical experiment, they conclude that Proscar isn't going to work for male pattern baldness, and they're "eagerly awaiting" the arrival of a type 1 inhibitor, which they think is going to do a slam-bam job against hairloss! :mrgreen: