GROW – Fight hair loss

What is Finasteride

Finasteride is an FDA-approved drug that helps treat male pattern hair loss as well as an enlarged prostate. It comes in the form of an oral tablet. The amount of finasteride per tablet is 1 milligram for male pattern hair loss.

Finasteride is available in both branded and generic form. It usually requires a prescription, but regulations differ from country to country.

How exactly Finasteride helps with hair loss

Finasteride prevents testosterone being transformed into DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Lowering the amount of DHT in the scalp helps to protect DHT-sensitive hair.

Finasteride lowers the production of DHT by blocking a specific type two 5α-Reductase enzyme. In other words, it hinders the enzyme responsible for regulating the conversion of testosterone to DHT.

Marco's note: There is a remarkable difference between serum DHT and scalp DHT. The former is the DHT present in your blood, whereas the latter is the DHT that sticks around your hair follicles. Scalp DHT is what causes hair loss and the one we will focus on here.

Finasteride can decrease scalp DHT averagely by 60%. Studies have shown that a full 1 mg per day dose of finasteride lowers DHT by 60%; however, a smaller dosage of finasteride is believed to reduce DHT enough to prevent hair loss. More detail is below in the micro dosing paragraph.

What happens when you take finasteride?

First and foremost, finasteride requires patience, and everyone responds differently to it. Yet, it is possible to list the most common phases of the finasteride journey:

1. The initial phase

As soon as you start taking the medicine serum, DHT start decreasing-within 24 hours from the first pill. However, it takes longer for the scalp DHT to decrease and stabilize to a hair-friendly level. This build up phase may take between 3 and 4 weeks.

2. The shedding

Once DHT is not harming your hair follicles anymore, a shedding phase begins. In this phase, hair that was in the resting phase accelerates shedding to leave room for the new hair.

The duration depends from person to person, but on average, you can expect this phase to last between 2 and 3 weeks.

Marco's note: This phase can be quite scary, especially if you start finasteride for the first time. You will be asking yourself, "Why am I actually losing more hair and looking thinner, even though I am talking a medicine against hair loss?" My advice is to arm yourself with patience and believe in the process. Your new hair will look stronger, but it takes time.
Shedding it is actually a very good sign that you are responsive to the medicine.

3. Stabilization/regrowth

Once the shedding stops, your hair will have a favorable environment to grow and stay healthy. For some men, this means reducing hair loss and stabilizing their current situation. The primary goal of finasteride is to prevent further hair follicle to miniaturize and disappear; therefore, achieving stability is the primary goal.

Some men will also experience an increase in thickness and regrowth during this phase, following the 50% size rule explained in the earlier section about causes of hair loss.

What is the efficacy of finasteride?

A long-term study that took place in Japan evaluated the efficacy and safety of finasteride in 532 Japanese men who were treated for androgenetic alopecia for 10 years. The results were that 90% of the men improved their hair loss condition.

Other studies with 1,879 Caucasian patients have shown an 83% efficacy after 2 years of treatment.

What are the side effects of finasteride?

A small minority of men experience side effects while taking finasteride. The advice is always to ask your doctor first, before researching online. A professional has the knowledge and the data to answer you in the correct manner.

Marco's note: "Before starting finasteride, I read and documented myself online for weeks. There are a multitude of different opinions out there, and if you have seen the movie Inception, you know that when an idea is planted in your mind, it will grow bigger over time. Basically, I started the treatment fearing that something would happen, and that is the wrong attitude to start any treatment. Listen to your health care professional's advice, and be positive that it will work for you"

What is finasteride micro dosing?

The literal meaning of micro dosing is to take a smaller dosage than the recommended one.
If you do happen to be within the 3% of men experiencing some side effects from finasteride, you may think that the medicament is not for you. This might actually not be the case.

Studies have shown that even a lower dose of finasteride is enough to lower scalp DHT. As mentioned in the previous section about the causes of hair loss, DHT has a great importance in the human body. It is fair to assume that a significant reduction of DHT could cause some kind of unbalance in some sensitive individuals. Micro dosing can help.

Marco's note: "The reason why I have developed this application is because the full dosage of 1 mg/day finasteride wasn't working very well with my body. I needed a tool to understand what dosage could prevent side effects and at the same time show satisfactory results for my body type."

Studies have shown that lower dosage of finasteride is equally as effective in reducing scalp DHT. Hair restoration doctors Dr. Vikram Jayaprakash and Dr. Russell Knudsen, in a video on their "The Hair Loss Show" YouTube channel, discuss and agree on the efficacy on customized doses of finasteride. In their opinion, the sweet spot for people experiencing side effects would be around 3 milligrams per week.

Everyone is different, so contact your health care provider for a professional visit and individualized advice.

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