Taking Minoxidil and Propecia Together

Hello Doctor,
How effective would a combination of propecia and Minoxidil be to fighting hair loss in the initial stages ? My hair started thinning in the past 11 months and now the scalp is noticeable. I recently started propecia and the Dermatologist advised taking Minoxidil 5% with it. I cant do it twice a day so he advised to apply it at least once a day at night. My question is I cant commit to the cumbersome process of applying it for more than 3 months. Will it benefit me if i take the combo for 3 months and then stop minoxidil 5% but continue on propecia indefinitely ? Will I gain/thicken my hair with minoxidil 5% once a day and will it sustain after 3 months once I stop taking it ? Please Reply
Thanks so much

I get this question quite a bit. Using minoxidil once a day has limited value. Using it for 3 months and then stopping has no long term value — once you stop it, you will lose any hair you may have gained. For men, Propecia is the right thing to do for hair loss caused by genetics. I generally tell people to start Propecia first, then to consider minoxidil after a year, only if the result from Propecia does not get them what they want. There is no guarantee that one or both will work for you.

Using the higher 5% dose of minoxidil may be more effective than the 2% solution, but unless you are really willing to commit to the process required for either of the drugs, do not embark on that path.