Is Minoxidil More Effective If Treating Early Hair Loss?

Dr. Rassman,

You truly have a very informative site here! I don’t know where I would be without it. Anyways, in one of your responses to a question you stated that when you first start treating hairloss it is better to start off with propecia for 8-12 months, then if not satisfied move to Rogaine (minox). If a person wanted to keep/re-grow as much hair as possible wouldn’t this be a mistake as the Rogaine would cease to be as effective as it would’ve been if used in the very beginning?

From my experience, I have found that Propecia (finasteride) is more effective than Rogaine for men with genetic hair loss, particularly in the crown if it is early and/or they are younger (under 30). Technically, you may not need to use Rogaine at all while being on finasteride. I have noticed that most patients do equally well being on finasteride alone vs. finasteridewith Rogaine. The most important message which I wanted to get across is that you should always start out using finasteride as early as you can. You can always add Rogaine (minoxidil) if you are not satisfied with the results of the finasteride.