Switched from Taking Propecia In the Evening to Taking it In the Morning

Dr. Rassman,

I started taking finasteride (1 mg) back in early March of this year. Each evening I would take my daily 1 mg at about 6 pm to about 7 pm. Reading your blog, I have realized that testosterone levels are at their highest in the morning after one wakes up from sleeping. For the past few days I have been taking my 1 mg at around 9 am. I am doing this because – in theory, at least – this should improve the effectiveness of the medication I’m taking. I am not suggesting that Propecia hasn’t done anything for me because it certainly has – my hairline is actually proceeding! I just want it to work even better – if it can.

My question is: Will this sudden change affect me negatively in any way? I don’t imagine that it would, given that the information that comes with my medication says nothing about what I’m bringing to your attention.

I just want to be extra sure.

Thanks a lot!

It really doesn’t matter when you take Propecia, so long as you remember to take it every day. Dosage consistency is more important than what part of the day the medication is consumed. I’ve written before that taking it in the morning is best, but there’s no proof that says morning dosing works better. It was just my opinion.

Propecia does work on the hairline. In some cases it may help slow down further loss and on a few occasions I have seen it reverse frontal loss (very rare out of thousands of cases I have treated over the years). I tell my patients not to expect the medication to regrow a receding hairline, but if it does do it, that’s an added bonus. Propecia works best on the top and crown areas of your scalp.

So to answer your question — if you switch from taking Propecia in the evening to taking it in the morning, I wouldn’t expect any problem. But just be consistent.