Will Finasteride Prevent Hair Loss from Accutane?
Two years ago I took accutane to deal with bad acne. During such time I ended up receding a lot around the temples – to the point of NW1.5ish – which certainly wouldn’t have normally happened – considering I was only 17 then.
To deal with the hair loss I’ve recently gone on Finasteride. However, my acne has also returned in a moderate form that like before, doesn’t respond to any creams. I know this second round will fix my skin once and for all, but I don’t want to lose any more hair.
Do you know if my taking Finasteride will somehow prevent hair loss from Accutane? The hair loss I suffered whilst on Accutane appeared to be TE as I was losing a lot more eyebrow, eyelash, and normal hair than normal – all with a white bulb at the end. I just want clear skin, and to maintain my hair. But my skin is so sensitive to acne creams thanks to Accutane, that I’m unable to treat it. It’s a real catch-22 and I’m afraid to go on Accutane again in case I go bald or something.
Propecia (finasteride) is used for the treatment of genetic hair loss, not for loss caused by other medications. I doubt that it will protect against possible hair loss caused by Accutane (isotretinoin).
Why in the world do they still allow this drug to be marketed??
Accutane got rid of all of my acne and I never had a single side effect. My lips were a little dry, but it wasn’t bad at all. Everyone has different reactions to drugs.
A Norwood 1.5 at 17 sounds perfectly normal if this was the early sign of a maturing hairline though. If you had other forms of medication related hairloss I doubt propecia will help, if it was normal genetic maturing of the hairline propecia won’t change that either. It’s only if it’s a Norwood 3 or other pattern that propecia might offer some help.
I’d see what other medications were available. Accutane sounds like it reacts very poorly with your system. I know some people it works great for but the side effects you got sound quite harsh.
I also took Accutane and it worked miracles for my skin. I never had any issues with it.
Accutane is a miracle drug. I literally have had perfect skin since taking it. I had some minor joint pain while I was on it, but nothing terrible. I never had any hairloss from it. The only reason I even read this blog, is because I’m thinking of investing in one of the new biotech companies producing hairloss treatments.
Don’t be so quick to assume a treatment for an androgen receptor related disease is causative of another androgen receptor realted disease…The AR’S cause BOTH hair loss AND acne AND/OR rosacea…People and doctors are very clueless on how to treat these conditions and many people are wrongly afraid of isotretinoin one of the only medicines that can stop the pain. The magic is in the dosing…None of this is easy.
low dose isotretinoin for longer or permanent treatments would be 10-20mg/day most days of the week. I take isotretinon and along with propecia and topical antiandrogen therapy daily my hair loss is significantly less than my YOUNGER brother who uses both finasteride and antiandrogen AND rogaine.
So why do you all think it causes hair loss?
bear in mind treating hair loss medically seems to be a very slow process. I’ve been on propecia for 6 years and isotretinoin for about the same. That may explain why my hair is much much thicker than my brothers. There aren’t going to be any rapid changes in hair no matter what the treatment since you are trying to downregulate AR’S. Advanced transplantation surgery using robots or genetic changes to our scalp is probably a much more effective solution to the problem. However, oral isotretinoin combined with other downregulating agents may provide lasting relief if you’ve been diligent about using your medications since the first observation of hair loss.
I actually think Alex might be on to something. I took a 40mg dose and weigh 195lbs, which is actually a small dose for someone of my weight. I am extremely muscular and very fit. I literally had zero side effects and my hair is thick as ever. I’ve heard people say that their hairloss has actually improved on Accutane, while others have said it causes it. I really think people are given too high a dose. I also took biotin the entire time I was on it, as some people have claimed Accutane hairloss is due to a loss of biotin.
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=54319&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=20