Topical Finasteride

[UKLad81]

Hi All, I’m considering going on topical finasteride and was wondering if anyone has seen any improvement using this? As the nickname suggests I’m in the UK and considering HIMS Topical Finasteride which also Minox in it has anyone used them and what have been your experiences? 

FYI, I’ve tried oral finasteride and got watery semen and the occasional brain fog and came off of it. 

[Big Rome]

I’m also from the Uk & considering jumping on medication. This looks decent actually, low dose of Fin, 0.3%, and Minoxidl. Is 6% topical min a high dose though?? 
 

[mr_peanutbutter]

you should probably start with 0,025% concentration, does HIMS offer this? if no, you can dilute with some extra minoxidil

 

 

 

this being said i got watery sperm 1 day after i applied topical 0.025% (this is the lowest concentration that is supposed to work)

[A_4_Archan]

23 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

you should probably start with 0,025% concentration, does HIMS offer this? if no, you can dilute with some extra minoxidil

 

 

 

this being said i got watery sperm 1 day after i applied topical 0.025% (this is the lowest concentration that is supposed to work)

Watery sperm just in one day with topical finasteride with such a low concentration ..!! 😳

Edited May 31, 2023 by A_4_Archan

[consequence]

When it works, it's more likely due to systemic absorption than local DHT inhibition. The majority still comes from your prostate. That means the side effects will be present in direct proportion to the effectiveness of hair loss prevention. Also this stuff is made in compounding pharmacies in the USA at least, so it has literally no federal oversight or regulatiion, so each batch can be different. Both of these are likely why studies on it have been so inconsistent.

It's a nice idea in theory but not realistic at the current state of drug delivery. Wouldn't it be nice if people with high cholesterol and atherosclerosis could just rub a statin cream on their chest and neck or wherever they had diseased arteries?

[Gatsby]

@UKLad81 I'm not a doctor or a dermatologist. But over several years of trying oral finasteride and not being able to reduce or avoid sexual side effects I quit the oral drug for good. I now see an excellent dermatologist at the Sinclair clinic in Melbourne. I have now been taking topical finasteride 0.25% everyday for the past three months or so and to date I have had zero side effects of any kind. 🙏All the best.

[Gatsby]

6 hours ago, A_4_Archan said:

Watery sperm just in one day with topical finasteride with such a low concentration ..!! 😳

This is why it's not a good thing to follow influencers. One because they have a conflict of interest if they are getting kick backs. Two because it's always best to see your own doctor, dermatologist and surgeon. And three, everyone's biology is different otherwise we would all grow a hair transplant at the exact same rate, respond exactly the same to the same drug, etc.

[consequence]

14 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I have now been taking topical finasteride 0.25% everyday for the past three months or so and to date I have had zero side effects of any kind. 🙏All the best.

I think it's probably hard to tell at 3 months but have you noticed any slowing of hair loss or regrowth? (ie. how many hairs you see in the shower in the morning, pictures etc)

Edited June 1, 2023 by consequence

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@UKLad81,

The way I look at it is this.  topical finasteride is probably better than nothing but I wouldn’t expect that you’ll get the same level of efficacy as you would by taking oral finasteride which easily find his way into the bloodstream unlike topical finasteride which Hass to be absorbed through the scalp first.  How much of the topical finasteride actually finds it’s way into the bloodstream, i’m not sure.

consider also how finasteride works. It doesn’t directly block DHT from hitting the hair follicle.  What it does instead is prevents the production of DHT by blocking the 5-alpha reductase-enzymes w that has to combine with testosterone in order to create DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

Since as another member indicated, the majority of the production of DHT occurs in the prostate, topical finasteride has to absorb into the bloodstream in order to prevent the conversion.  Once the conversion occurs, I believe it’s too late and any DHT that hits the scalp will do its damage to the follicle regardless of topical finasteride being present.

so again, while top it off an astroid is likely better than nothing, I wouldn’t expect it to be nearly as effective as oral finasteride - even if the quantity and potency of the finasteride is much higher than that of oral.

I hope this helps. 

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[A_4_Archan]

3 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@UKLad81,

The way I look at it is this.  topical finasteride is probably better than nothing but I wouldn’t expect that you’ll get the same level of efficacy as you would by taking oral finasteride which easily find his way into the bloodstream unlike topical finasteride which Hass to be absorbed through the scalp first.  How much of the topical finasteride actually finds it’s way into the bloodstream, i’m not sure.

consider also how finasteride works. It doesn’t directly block DHT from hitting the hair follicle.  What it does instead is prevents the production of DHT by blocking the 5-alpha reductase-enzymes w that has to combine with testosterone in order to create DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

Since as another member indicated, the majority of the production of DHT occurs in the prostate, topical finasteride has to absorb into the bloodstream in order to prevent the conversion.  Once the conversion occurs, I believe it’s too late and any DHT that hits the scalp will do its damage to the follicle regardless of topical finasteride being present.

so again, while top it off an astroid is likely better than nothing, I wouldn’t expect it to be nearly as effective as oral finasteride - even if the quantity and potency of the finasteride is much higher than that of oral.

I hope this helps. 

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Thanks for the information ....can you please answer one more question ....like many of them say that topical dutasteride would work locally to reduce scalp dht...is it true? Or it has to absorb through the bloodstream to reduce dht? And if it has to absorb through the bloodstream to reduce dht and don't reduce the dht on scalp directly than imo applying on scalp wont make any sense ...if there is an issue of side effects than its better to have a very low oral dosage of it or to stop it completely rather than applying on scalp..

[Big Rome]

4 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@UKLad81,

The way I look at it is this.  topical finasteride is probably better than nothing but I wouldn’t expect that you’ll get the same level of efficacy as you would by taking oral finasteride which easily find his way into the bloodstream unlike topical finasteride which Hass to be absorbed through the scalp first.  How much of the topical finasteride actually finds it’s way into the bloodstream, i’m not sure.

consider also how finasteride works. It doesn’t directly block DHT from hitting the hair follicle.  What it does instead is prevents the production of DHT by blocking the 5-alpha reductase-enzymes w that has to combine with testosterone in order to create DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

Since as another member indicated, the majority of the production of DHT occurs in the prostate, topical finasteride has to absorb into the bloodstream in order to prevent the conversion.  Once the conversion occurs, I believe it’s too late and any DHT that hits the scalp will do its damage to the follicle regardless of topical finasteride being present.

so again, while top it off an astroid is likely better than nothing, I wouldn’t expect it to be nearly as effective as oral finasteride - even if the quantity and potency of the finasteride is much higher than that of oral.

I hope this helps. 

Rahal Hair Transplant 

appreciate your willingness to give good knowledgable feedback & help to us guys 👏🏻👏🏻

[UKLad81]

On 6/1/2023 at 2:16 AM, Gatsby said:

@UKLad81 I'm not a doctor or a dermatologist. But over several years of trying oral finasteride and not being able to reduce or avoid sexual side effects I quit the oral drug for good. I now see an excellent dermatologist at the Sinclair clinic in Melbourne. I have now been taking topical finasteride 0.25% everyday for the past three months or so and to date I have had zero side effects of any kind. 🙏All the best.

@Gatsby thanks a lot for the information. How have you been getting a long with it? I know its only 3 months but seen any improvements?

 

On 6/1/2023 at 5:03 PM, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@UKLad81,

The way I look at it is this.  topical finasteride is probably better than nothing but I wouldn’t expect that you’ll get the same level of efficacy as you would by taking oral finasteride which easily find his way into the bloodstream unlike topical finasteride which Hass to be absorbed through the scalp first.  How much of the topical finasteride actually finds it’s way into the bloodstream, i’m not sure.

consider also how finasteride works. It doesn’t directly block DHT from hitting the hair follicle.  What it does instead is prevents the production of DHT by blocking the 5-alpha reductase-enzymes w that has to combine with testosterone in order to create DHT or dihydrotestosterone.

Since as another member indicated, the majority of the production of DHT occurs in the prostate, topical finasteride has to absorb into the bloodstream in order to prevent the conversion.  Once the conversion occurs, I believe it’s too late and any DHT that hits the scalp will do its damage to the follicle regardless of topical finasteride being present.

so again, while top it off an astroid is likely better than nothing, I wouldn’t expect it to be nearly as effective as oral finasteride - even if the quantity and potency of the finasteride is much higher than that of oral.

I hope this helps. 

Rahal Hair Transplant 

@Rahal Hair Transplant thanks so much for the insight. This makes a lot of sense. I’ve tried the oral back in 2017 and almost within the first week i noticed a change in libido straight away. I carried on with it daily for a bit but things never improved. It wasn’t until i contacted my HT clinic who suggested there is no need to take daily and taking MWF is still as effective. Which i did. Semen was still pretty watery and persevered. I then went on a Mon and Friday dosage which did help and noticed some change ‘down below’. It wasn’t until a few years back i started to have the occasional ache in the testicles (which was quite scary actually - at one point it was quite bad and had to see my GP!) and also started to feel really low mentally (I’m not saying this was a directly associated with Propecia as there were some personal things going on as well) and just came off the meds. Since then everything is fine. It’s a bit scary going back to the oral route for the reasons as stated above. 

[UKLad81]

Anyone else tried HIMS Topical finasteride with Minox, would be great to hear from others and their experience

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@UKLad81,

I can certainly understand why you would be opposed to get back on oral finasteride. If I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn’t either.  Potential side effects like the ones you were experiencing is exactly why I always suggest people discuss using finasteride with the doctor prior to simply just using it. I know finasteride can be purchased online pretty easily now with minimal doctor involvement if any.  Personally, I think this is a bit scary because in my opinion, not only should every medication with the potential side effects go through a doctor but should be discussed in detail with him or her prior to taking it. After all, there are some people that may be predisposed to certain side effects that doctors may be able to diagnose beforehand, etc.

Now, regarding the efficacy of topical finasteride, I suspect based on knowing how finasteride works that it won’t be nearly as effective as oral finasteride however, I also suspect that the potential for side effects will be substantially reduced as well.  I still think that any use of finasteride should be discussed with a doctor, even topical finasteride so I do encourage you to do that if you haven’t already especially because you did undergo side effects using oral finasteride.

if you do end up using topical finasteride, please let us know how it goes, whether or not you feel it is effective in treating hair loss for you and whether or not you experience any side effects. 

I wish you the best with it and I look forward to hearing how it goes.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant