Propecia Effectiveness Timetable?

Hi Doc, quick question regarding propecia if i could. Is there a timetable for its effectiveness, ie, 1-4 months slowing down of loss, 6-12 months possible regrowth ect. Also I have heard people mention that the younger you are the better you may respond but lets say you have minimal crown loss at 42, would you not be as good if not better a responder that a 20 year old with the same loss as his loss would most surely have started sooner. many thanks

Propecia seems to work better in more recent hair loss (miniaturization not frank balding), and in younger men than in older men this is often what is going on. The rule I generally use is that Propecia will impact miniaturization that is 2-3 years old. The longer the miniaturization is present, the less effective Propecia may be. It also seems that the drug works better in the crown, but this may be because crown miniaturization comes after frontal balding in most people and the crown miniaturization process is slower. You should see a response from Propecia in 8-12 months, but some people get another kick after another year. Rarely have I seen progressive benefits for growing new hair or a significant increase in fullness for longer than 1 year.

There are no hard rules and each person is different. I have seen the drug reverse frontal balding (highly unusual) and I have seen many patients who have had thinning on the top become much fuller. For the really bald man, I do not remember ever seeing a patient reverse extreme balding, but I have seen the progression slow down significantly from a Class 6 balding pattern headed to a Class 7.