How Finasteride Works to Reverse Hair Loss in Men

Is hair loss causing you to lose self-confidence? Men with male pattern baldness can start losing hair at their temples before the age of 21, and nearly half of US males have moderate-to-extreme hair loss before the age of 50. Fortunately, there’s a medication that can help address hair loss in men.

At SLENT, with offices in Slidell, Hammond, and Mandeville, Louisiana, our team of medical experts can help restore your healthy head of hair by prescribing finasteride for hair restoration. This medication both stops hair loss and promotes new hair growth. 

Testosterone, DHT, and hair growth

As a man, you have naturally high levels of testosterone. About a tenth of your testosterone gets turned into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which works like testosterone but is highly potent. Your body needs DHT for healthy hair growth, but too much DHT can have the opposite effect.

 There are two main phases in the hair growth cycle:

• Hair growth phase, which lasts 2–6 years
• Hair resting phase, which lasts 2–3 months

After the hair resting phase, the hair falls out, and the cycle starts over. Different follicles are staggered in different phases at any given time, which is why all your hair doesn’t just fall out every few years and have to grow back in all at once. 

When too much of your testosterone gets converted into DHT, the follicles can get stuck in the resting phase. The hair eventually falls out, but no new hair grows in. In most men, hair loss starts at the temples and works its way back in what is called male pattern baldness, the most common form of hair loss.

How finasteride helps reboot your hair growth

Finasteride is a medication that blocks the conversion of testosterone into DHT. It was originally developed to help treat prostate cancer, but doctors noticed patients on the drug experienced new hair growth. They realized they could use finasteride to treat male pattern baldness.

If you’re on finasteride, less of your testosterone gets converted into DHT, so your levels of DHT go down. Your hair follicles recover, and your hair can enter its growth phase again. As long as you take finasteride, your hair growth cycle normalizes. If you stop, your hair follicles will eventually enter resting phase again, and your hair loss will resume.

You’ll want to start looking for signs of new hair growth about three months after you start taking finasteride. If you don’t see results by the 12-month mark, you may need to try and find another solution. 

Finasteride warning

If you live with a woman who is or might become pregnant, make sure to let her know not to touch your medication. It can be absorbed through the skin and into her bloodstream, causing birth defects in the fetus.   

Are you excited about the possibility of getting your hair back? The sooner you call us, the sooner you’ll know whether or not finasteride is right for you. Contact your nearest SLENT location today by phone, or schedule an appointment online.