Does Propecia (Finasteride) Permanently Stop Hair Loss?

This question, from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums, was answered by Coalition hair transplant surgeon Dr. Michael Beehner:

Does finasteride have a finite amount of years that it will potentially work on hair loss? Does it sometimes lose it’s effectiveness over the years in your experience or could a person take it for the rest of their life and never make it to a V on the Norwood Scale even if they would have without it?

I can definitely assert that Propecia (finasteride) does not halt the balding process. One lecture I heard a few years ago by an expert in this area stated that a majority of men taking the drug have an increase in “hair mass” for 4 1/2- 5 years, and then thereafter there is a gradual diminishment in hair mass. Hair mass is determined by a combination of both hair diameter and hair length. Obviously, if one’s barber cuts it short, then increased diameter is the only way hair mass will increase.

A man is still ahead of the game by staying on the medication, even after 5 years, because the rate of hair loss is still less than if one went off the drug.

Dr. Mike Beehner
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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
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