I Have Significantly Less Body Hair After Taking Propecia for Years
Hello,
I’m 29 and started taking finasteride (Propecia) three years ago, a couple of months before I turned 26. Since that I have seen a significant loss of body hair, especially on my legs. At first I didn’t pay much attention to it, but then I started getting comments from friends and relatives. Can’t say it bothers me too much, but you may find it interesting to know that my body hair loss has become rather pronounced.
One thing that might be relevant, is the fact that I have elevated estradiol levels. Part of the reason that I ordered a test to evaluate my hormonal profile in the first place, is this reduction in body hair. I suspected low testosterone, but my testosterone was actually quite high, which could possibly in turn explain the rise in estradiol. Anyway, I’m still on finasteride and have no plans to quit.
Thanks for sharing your story. Body hair growth in men is stimulated by DHT, and since finasteride inhibits DHT, reports of body hair loss after taking finasteride are not unusual. Having less leg hair is nothing you should be concerned about, unless of course you really want that hairy leg look.
Slightly elevated serum estradiol levels from finasteride have been noted as far back as 1999 — “Slight increases in serum estradiol levels were seen but, like testosterone levels, these remained within the normal physiological range and the ratio of testosterone to estradiol was unaltered.”
I did notice a reduction in body hair and the speed of my beard growth on starting propecia but since it never impacted my sexual function and regrew my hair I have happily continued. Just to note I do take medication to reduce serum estradiol as I am an athlete (though no longer competing as the testing inhibits options) but if you do feel estradiol has impacted your quality of life there is a lot you can do to control it. Personally the lower body hair was never a down side for me since I waxed anyway!
The off-label use of drugs to reduce estradiol levels by ‘”athletes” as part of their steroid cycle is prohibited in almost all athletic competition and ill-advised.
So is the use of steroid cycles – reduction of estradiol is the lesser of two evils in this case.