Wouldn’t Delaying the Final Balding Pattern by Taking Finasteride Cause a Delay in Having a Transplant?

Dear doctors, love the website. I come here as much as i can and its helpful in learning and coping with hair loss, which is the worst thing a man can go thru.

I understand that a lot of transplant doctors tell their patients its better to wait to get a final hair loss pattern rather than going for a hair transplant when the hair is still falling out. So wouldn’t finasteride be a bad thing to take then because if it merely slows down the hair fall out rate and doesn’t stop it, then a patient wouldn’t really reach his final pattern at a proper age where he can have a full HT?

The drug would just keep on delaying the patient from reaching the final balding pattern but he would still be losing hairs, albeit not as many as he would have if he were not on the drug, but he would still be losing hairs and can not get a hair transplant.

Delaying the need for surgery is sort of the point.

The goal for finasteride in many patients is just what you said. Why rush into surgery that may not be necessary? If you are lucky, the drug may delay the final pattern for many decades. Surgery is more of a last step unless the pattern impacts your appearance and you want it restored.

Many young men find themselves in the situation you are talking about and may never develop a pattern beyond a Norwood class 2 and could keep the hair throughout the scalp.