After 5 Years on Propecia, I Noticed One Corner of My Hairline Was Slightly Thinner
I been on Propecia for 5 years. I’m almost 27 years old. I have early front hair loss especially thin corners. Up until a few days ago my hair looked just the same like 5 years but now I noticed my left corner got slightly thinner it’s easy to tell there. I know Propecia can’t hold hair forever and since I noticed this slight loss will it continue again and fast or may it be a slow process? I read a lot of guys used Propecia for years and once the effects weaned off they would lose hair super fast. I don’t want that to happen so I’m strongly considering to switching to Avodart and try to save what I have because I still have a full head of hair.
I realize many men take Propecia to treat the front hairline thinning, but it generally rarely works for that area. Propecia works mainly for the thinning on the top/crown area.
Please speak with your doctor regarding stopping or starting any medication. Stopping Propecia abruptly can potentially cause “catch up” hair loss. Almost every week, I see a patient who told me that they tried stopping the drug or ran out of supplies of it for a few months. In every case the patient lost hair, and most of the time it did not come back upon restarting the medication.
Finally, Avodart (dutasteride) does not work any better than Propecia at the hairline since the mechanism of action is similar. At some point you may have to face that hair loss is genetic and there is no simple answer.
I don’t know why the doctor keeps saying Propecia doesn’t work on the hairline or frontal hair loss because it does! It may not regrow a hairline but can definitely stop it from further recession. And to say Avodart is not better is a bunch of bull! It is! I was on fin for 7 years then switched to Avodart and it thickened my hair even in the front!
I think the doctor is saying it is less successful in the frontal areas – however Dr Rassman has pointed out his own son stopped frontal loss with propecia and continues to take it.
I regrew a good degree of my Norwood 3 hairline back to a Norwood 2 but I was in my 20s when I started propecia and I did start very early in the hairloss process. There’s been lots of anecdotal evidence that propecia can and does work in the front, although without a mass study its impossible to quantify.
I’d suspect that many hair restoration surgeons don’t get to see men who are brilliantly successful with propecia on the hairline because these men often will be happy enough not to require surgery. If its working why bother seeing a surgeon after all?
I think what we can say is that propecia seems to be most effective in the crown but its certainly worth trying for front loss – even if it doesn’t regrow much hair, slowing loss down can give you many more years and lots more options. I think Dr Rassman is just being honest about what he sees in his clinics but we’ve heard many times of success with propecia in the front and hairline so clearly there’s some disconnect somewhere.
If DHT is responsible for hair loss and Propecia blocks it I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for the front. Yes, regrowth it may be useless but halting the front from thinning it may work just as good as in the crown.