Propecia and minoxidil have stopped working. Any reasons?

Question

Hello. I have used minoxidil and propecia for about 4 months and have had very good results. Almost no hair loss. I shaved my hair completely before I started the cure. In the 4 months I have had a thick and nice hair. But now my hair has had big hair loss and I do not quite know what the reason is. Does anyone have experience about this?

Robert Nettles, MD · Answer

So both of these medicines are not perfect.  
Propecia/finasteride is only 60% effective.  It has a very short half life meaning it only works part of the day and it only blocks one of the three DHT receptors in the body.
Rogaine only works for about 30% of people, mostly very young men and some women but also is only a mild PGE type agonist (hair growth stimulant).  It is also a vasodilator which means it brings more DHT infused blood to the scalp than would normally be the case.
There are now newer more effective medicines available.  I would recommend seeing a specialist hair growth doctor who can create you a solution based on precision medicine.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

You would need to provide alot more information and up close photos of all regions of the scalp to really get to the issue. One can't determine the cause with the limited information provided.

Robert Jones, MD, FISHRS · Answer

I usually tell patients that propecia and minoxidil take 4 to 6 months to start working. My suggestion would be to continue the medication and give them 1 to 2 years to assess the results,
Dr. Robert Jones

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Propecia and minoxidil have stopped working. Any reasons?

Answers (3)

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