So after being off finasteride since August due to side effects I've decided to start taking it again. I'm taking half a pill per day now as opposed to the full pill I was taking before to try and cut down on the sides. I managed to go about 8 of the 9 months I was on it without experiencing any sides so my plan if I develop them again is to reduce the dose further or take it more infrequently.
In the last few months I've been using Nizoral, Minoxidil and azelaic acid with fairly good success but I still feel that nothing is going to be able to replace finasteride in terms of effectiveness. Azelaic acid I think is a good DHT blocker but it has a couple of problems. First it's extremely impractical to use if you buy it as a cream like I did. Makes your hair very greasy and matted. Also because it's a topical, it's doing nothing to lower the DHT level in your blood and therefore needs to be on your scalp at all times. Even when applying it in the morning and at night I would still notice about 5-10 hairs coming out when I showered.
In the last few months I've been using Nizoral, Minoxidil and azelaic acid with fairly good success but I still feel that nothing is going to be able to replace finasteride in terms of effectiveness. Azelaic acid I think is a good DHT blocker but it has a couple of problems. First it's extremely impractical to use if you buy it as a cream like I did. Makes your hair very greasy and matted. Also because it's a topical, it's doing nothing to lower the DHT level in your blood and therefore needs to be on your scalp at all times. Even when applying it in the morning and at night I would still notice about 5-10 hairs coming out when I showered.