Hair Character Changes, Prescribing Proscar, and Finasteride OTC?

I was wondering a couple of things about hair loss/thinning.

I am half Asian and half Caucasian. I have read that Asian people tend to have fewer hairs per square inch of scalp VS Caucasians. When I was younger, I had very thick hair typical of a small Asian child. As I’ve gotten older my hair seems to have gotten thinner. Does it make sense that this is a result of some sort of genetic maturation? As far as physical appearance, I also went from appearing like a purely Asian child to look so white that most people think I’m adopted upon meeting my mother.

Second, I was wondering how difficult it is to actually find a doctor to prescribe generic Proscar for hairloss treatment. Is this a common thing or will I be pretty much forced to get Propecia which is much higher in cost?

And finally, I was just wondering what is keeping Propecia(or just generic Finasteride) from being an over the counter medicine available the same as Rogaine. Is it really so dangerous, for lack of a better word, that the general public can’t handle responsibly acquiring and taking it?

Hair changes its character as we age. It is not unusual for an 8 year old boy to have a coarser hair than he has when he is 20. We see that even more often as a person gets older (greater than 50-60 years old). Your physical appearance has little to do with your hair character and hair thickness (coarse vs finer).

Propecia/Proscar (finasteride) is a prescription medication. Some doctors may have an issue prescribing Proscar, but you’ll just have to ask them and let them know you’re aware that the pill needs to be cut and you just want the generic (only available in 5mg) to save money. There are many doctors in the New York area that can see you for a consultation if you are losing hair, one of which is my colleague Dr. Robert Bernstein in NYC.

As for why finasteride isn’t available over-the-counter, sometimes it can be a danger issue, other times it can be political. The FDA must decide upon a drug’s safety, effectiveness, and whether it can be managed without a doctor’s supervision. There’s an article about the road from prescription to OTC, relating specifically about the emergency contraception medication known as Plan B, but a good overview all the same.