Why Doesn’t Finasteride Keep/Maintain Minoxidil Gains If You Switch?

I was reading about minoxidil and finasteride as I am wanting to start one or the other but am curious about something.

According to the wikipedia article for minoxidil, the reason minoxidil gains are lost when treatment is stopped is that DHT is then able to re-shrink the follicles unimpeded. But if finasteride inhibits or blocks DHT, shouldn’t one be able to keep minoxidil gains longer if they switch to finasteride with a, say, 6 month overlap of the two? Everything I’ve read indicates you lose everything from minoxidil if you ever stop it no matter what.

Wikipedia is not a substitute for a doctor or definitive information – especially when it comes to personal medical related topics that can impact your health. It is not a substitute for seeing a doctor.

Minoxidile does not have an impact on DHT. We really don’t know the exact mechanism why it works but did observe that new hair was grown on people who used the drug (1960s) when it was used as a treatment for high blood pressure. Once you stop using the medication, what you gained will be lost (despite being on Propecia) because the hair grown on the drug is directly from the drug effects on the skin. Propecia works by blocking the DHT at the hair level and unlike minoxidil will not grow new hair. Propecia may reverse the effect of miniaturization, the start of the balding process in men. If you stop using Propecia once you have been on the drug for awhile, what you gained will be most likely lost. These two medication work in different ways and it doesn’t always have the same efficacy or same effect on the hair. The best of both worlds would be to use both medications and stay on both medications for as long as you are concerned about your hair loss continuing.