Hair Loss from Testosterone Therapy: How Can I Regrow Hair?

I am a 47 y/o man with no known predisposition for pattern baldness. I was prescribed intramuscular testosterone supplementation 5 years ago. About 6 months ago, I noticed thinning hair in the front and middle area of my scalp. I have since discovered the very well-known correlation between Testosterone supplementation and hair loss (something that was never explained by my physician).

I am now on the typical 1.25/day Proscar (finasteride) regimen. I have read many other posts and understand that an initial thinning period can occur. That was consistent with my experience, and was followed by a period of regrowth that lasted for about 2 months, but has now been stagnant for 3-4 months. I am planning to wait another 6 months before evaluating the total efficacy of finasteride. However, if my hair is still relatively thin after 12 months, I am wondering if stopping Testosterone could possibly result in complete regrowth of lost hair (assuming no genetic factors). I am also curious to know if Rogaine (minoxidil) is known to effect regrowth and should be added to my current treatment.

Thanks for your assistance.

I’m sorry to hear that your Testosterone therapy has led to balding. As you’ve already stated, hair loss is a known risk with this treatment, even for men with no known history of balding.

I am not a physician so I cannot give medical advice. However, I can tell you that the general thinking is that, even though a given patient such as yourself has no signs of hair loss and no recent family history of it, the patient may carry a gene for hair loss that is then awakened by the additional testosterone.

There are a number of possible outcomes when taking Propecia.

No effect.
Slowing of hair loss.
New hair growth.
Slowing of hair loss and new hair regrowth.

Your plan to give finasteride one full year before judging your results is a good one. Just remember that even if you see no further hair growth, it may still be working to slow the progression of your hair loss. Thus, you may see hair loss accelerate again upon stopping it.

I don’t think anyone will be able to tell you with any certainly if quitting testosterone will result in a full recovery but I’m skeptical about the possibility if, in fact, a genetic condition was triggered. .

Finally, most hair loss experts recommend using Rogaine in combination with finasteride. The thought is that they work synergistically. Minoxidil is a vasodilator and can work to create thicker, darker hairs by increasing blood flow to the follicles, lengthening their growth cycles and resulting in longer, darker hairs. .

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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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Technorati Tags: baldness, thinning hair, hair loss, Proscar, finasteride, Rogaine, minoxidil, balding, hair regrowth, hair growth

David aka - TakingthePlunge

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View Comments

Karen says:

November 7, 2012 at 4:33 am

Ey! Heard from testosterone site that it is really possible to loss hair when suffering from low testosterone. Thanks for the post by the way!