Managing Hair Loss By Yourself — Not a Good Idea

Hi Doctor

I’m 21 and my experiences with meds that lower DHT like Propecia for a year, and Dutasteride for 5 months have been bad, very bad, in fact it didn’t just not work for me, it made matters worse. like my body was rejecting it. Propecia made things worse, and Dut made things a LOT worse…seems the higher the anti DHT the worst it got which is the opposite affect. Im not gonna complain and say lifes not fair! but I am curious as to what went wrong… if 9/10 can maintain their hair with propecia, what goes wrong with that 1/10. what are the possibilities. just very curious. Thanks a lot in advance!

The blocking effect of finasteride on DHT formation is only one factor that impacts hair loss; your genetics are another and they are completely independent from each other as separate variables. At your age, if you were going to be very bald by the time you reach your mid-20s, then your genetics are far more powerful in producing hair loss than finasteride (or dutasteride) is for preventing it. I am fairly sure that the drugs are slowing down the process, but when the impact is not dramatic, then the user often thinks that the drug treatment is a failure.

If you got your hair measured and mapped for miniaturization, the impact of these drugs could be established and followed over time. You need a Master Plan for your hair loss management and should find a good, caring, competent doctor who will establish this with you. It sounds like you are trying to be your own doctor and are not being scientific about managing your hair loss.