About Finasteride

Finasteride is a prescription medication that halts the hair loss associated with male pattern baldness. Hair loss though not a life-threatening medical condition can cause emotional distress and a lack of self-confidence. If a man chooses to treat his hair loss with Finasteride, he will no longer experience hair loss within a year of starting treatment, and most men will experience some new hair growth.

How does Finasteride work?

Sensitivity to the androgen DHT is the underlying cause of male pattern baldness. Finasteride blocks the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone into DHT, thereby reducing the rate of hair loss or preventing it altogether. A daily regiment of Finasteride is best because if you stop taking the medication, DHT levels will increase, resulting in hair loss resumption.

Why should you go with Finasteride?

Finasteride as an effective treatment for male pattern baldness through clinical trials. According to the findings, treatment with Finasteride successfully reverses hair loss in 67 percent of men while also reversing hair loss in 90 percent of men. Finasteride is an easy-to-use medication because it comes in the form of an oral pill taken once daily and eliminates the requirement to apply messy creams.

The following are the instructions for taking Finasteride:

Finasteride comes as a discrete, once-daily pill that is only a few milligrams in size. You can take Finasteride any time throughout the day, regardless of whether you are eating. While some men see results in as little as three months, it can take up to 12 months to see noticeable results. Because of this, most doctors recommend their patients continue taking Finasteride for at least a year before analyzing the results. Even after your hair has regrown, you must continue taking Finasteride, or it will start up again.

How Long Before Finasteride Begins Working?

Finasteride, an oral medication, begins to work as soon as you take it, reducing hormone levels that impede hair growth. However, it will probably be 3 to 12 months before the drug’s hormone-lowering effects materialize in the form of new hair growth.

Men who experience male pattern hair loss have a limited number of treatment options. Finasteride is the brand name of a prescription drug called Finasteride and a treatment for male pattern baldness, the most typical hair loss issue.

Male Pattern Hair Loss

Male pattern hair loss happens because hair follicles are susceptible to androgenic miniaturization. Hair follicles shrink and eventually reduce hair production due to the conversion from normal testosterone to a form of testosterone called DHT. Some men’s scalp hair follicles respond to increasing levels of DHT by shrinking and producing thinner hair until sometimes stopping hair production altogether. It affects up to 70 percent of men over their lifetimes.

Finasteride works by blocking the conversion of testosterone into DHT, and in many men, this process stops male pattern hair loss. Ninety percent of men taking Finasteride over five years grow new hair or do not lose more hair, while 75 percent of men taking a placebo continue to lose hair. The following table outlines the effectiveness of five years of treatment with Finasteride versus placebo.

Hair Cycle: A Quick Refresher

Hair goes through three distinct phases during its lifespan — a three(ish)-month period of active growth (anagen), a transitional phase (catagen), and a resting phase (telogen). After around three months in the resting phase, the hair disappears to make room for a new one. Hair growth cycle.

Usually, around 90 percent of the hairs on your head are in the active growth stage, with the remainder in transition or rest. At this rate, you lose about 100 hairs a day.

Being subjected to severe stress or shock can cause up to 30 percent of hairs to prematurely switch from active growth to the telogen or resting phase. Stress can lead to hair falling out three times faster than expected, a condition called Telogen Effluvium, or TE.

Is There a Link Between Hair Loss and Erectile Dysfunction?

Highlights

• Is the link between hair loss and erectile dysfunction an urban legend?

• Dihydrotestosterone causes hair loss and supports sexual appetite.

• Hair loss drugs like Finasteride block DHT.

• Hair loss treatments may cause erectile dysfunction in some patients.

• Erectile dysfunction and hair loss share many triggers.

• Have you heard that if you’re losing your hair, you may be able to reclaim it at the cost of your sexual performance? If so, you may have wondered, what does one have to do with the other?

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) affects erectile dysfunction and hair loss. It is a strong androgen that causes hair loss and supports sexual function. Hair loss treatments that reduce the amount of DHT in the body can cause erectile dysfunction.

DHT is one of the most potent androgens linked to hair loss and erectile dysfunction.

For a hair-loss sufferer, DHT is a bad guy. It is an undesirable entity that is the root of many problems plaguing the scalp.

But for a man struggling with declining sexual performance, DHT is a potential savior. Its lack, rather than its presence, is the problem.

DHT is a Target for Hair Loss Treatments

Doctors looking to cure baldness discovered that DHT might be the main culprit in hair loss. The follicles of hair loss sufferers are more sensitive to this hormone. It binds to follicular receptors, signaling to stop producing hair.

Most hair-loss medications work by suppressing DHT.

Researchers know that 5-alpha reductase plays a role in male sexual development before birth and during puberty. There are two unique types of 5-alpha reductase enzymes:

Finasteride, which inhibits 5-alpha reductase type 1. Dutasteride inhibits both types of 5-alpha reductase, achieving better DHT suppression. Considering the role of 5-alpha reductase and DHT in male sexual development, it’s not surprising that their suppression can cause sexual side effects.

Can Hair Loss Drugs Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

Theoretically, they can. Whether they will, however, is a different question.

According to data from 2017, young men taking Finasteride or dutasteride for hair loss assume a greater risk of developing persistent erectile dysfunction than those who don’t take 5-alpha reductase inhibitors.

The same study established that the longer you take Finasteride, the more likely you are to develop erectile dysfunction.

Stressed-Out Fall-Out

It’s thought that, in addition to any direct aftereffects of COVID-19, recovering from the infection and the disruption it causes to normal life can trigger this stress-induced hair loss.

Common Triggers for Telogen Effluvium

• Major physical or psychological trauma

• Surgery

• High fever severe infection or other illness

• Abrupt hormonal changes

• Extreme weight loss or dietary changes

• TE is different from more common causes of hair loss like androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness). It can affect both sexes, and only appears two to four months after the triggering event — the length of time hairs stay in the rest phase before falling out. Instead of the gradual, age-related hair loss experienced by many men, stress-related hair loss comes on fast and intensely.

That can be a little disconcerting, as you may suddenly notice a large amount of hair accumulating on your pillow, in the shower drain, or on your hairbrush. Your scalp hair may also feel or look thinner. An excellent way to tell if you have TE (versus another cause) is to tug gently on a few hairs on your scalp. If four or more come out, it’s likely TE.

Fortunately, TE doesn’t affect all your hairs at once, so there’s no risk you’ll suddenly go completely bald. But if you have large clumps of hair or new bald spots, you should see a doctor quickly so they can determine the cause.