Finasteride stops increasing hair after 2 years?

[Piccolo]

I've read this in more than one post now, I just wanted to understand it a little better. I read that regrowth peaks after 2 years and then your haircount slowly declines every year after. Is this the case? If so, aren't we just postponing the inevitable for a few years by taking propecia and similar products? Isn't there any treatment that maintains hair forever?

 

[leonbelmontsam]

generally, the best results are seen at the end of year 2. However, this does not mean that growth stops and then the hair count begins to decline. Everyone reacts differently to propecia. Some regrow hair but most simply maintain what they have and possibly thick (reverse miniturization) their hair. Some people may retain their hair count forever using propecia and some have been seen to develop a tolerance for propecia in a very short time. The average user sees the most benefits at the end of year 2, and has a slightly lower hair count at the end of year 5 (based on the 5 year propecia study). In terms of the majority of users, no there is no treatment that will simply stop male pattern baldness dead in its tracks.

 

[the_swami]

this sums it up well:

http://rxlist.com/cgi/generic3/propecia_cp.htm

In short, yes there is a peak but you "on average" still maintain more than if you didn't use finasteride (according to studies).

 

[Bryan]

I've read this in more than one post now, I just wanted to understand it a little better. I read that regrowth peaks after 2 years and then your haircount slowly declines every year after.

Actually, in the well-known huge multi-center Phase III trial, the average haircount reached a peak after the very FIRST year; there were slow average declines from that point onward.

My own pet theory is that at least part of that slow average decline was a result of natural ageing, and not a continuation of the balding process per se.

Bryan

 

[Subliminal]

male pattern baldness progresses because genetic changes in the hair follicles make them more sensitive to DHT as you get older. finasteride doesn't reduce DHT 100%, nor would you really want to slam DHT to the ground anyway. So when "tolerance" kicks in, it's not that the drug stops controlling DHT, it's because the hair follicles are now becoming affected by the residual DHT that is still hanging around.

My feeling is that the more severe your male pattern baldness is, the more likely you will develop "tolerance" to finasteride.