Can DUPA affect the entire body? Or would body/facial hair loss be a rare Finasteride side effect?

Question

Hi there. I’ve been struggling with hair loss for 14 months now. It happened abruptly and within 5-6 months of it starting I had to shave my head as it was noticeably thin (diffuse all over) Soon after my eyebrows, beard and body hair have all followed the same pattern. I’ve always had a suspicion it is DUPA- a biopsy done on my beard (on the sideburn) showed miniaturisation in line with AGA. My hairs obviously look miniaturised. Nobody has diagnosed me. I’ve seen 4 dermatologists.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

Ideally, I would need to see your scalp, beard and other hair up close. Blood tests are needed here to rule out underlying endocrinopathy. But to answer your question- yes, facial and body hair reduction is an uncommon side effect of finasteride. Whether it’s the cause in your case needs full review. I don’t think all the variants of what we call DUPA are yet fully understood.

Can DUPA affect the entire body? Or would body/facial hair loss be a rare Finasteride side effect?

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