Is Propecia (Finasteride) Required to Maintain Hair Transplant Results?

Recently, I took the plunge and went for a follicular unit extraction hair transplant. I am 11 days post-op and lately this thought has been disturbing me a lot: Are hair transplants dependent on finasteride and/or minoxidil?

I have been suffering from hair loss for 7+ years and have never taken finasteride because I was too sacred to try it. I had been on minoxidil (Rogaine 5%) on and off before I went for my hair transplant and I hated that, primarily because I felt that minoxidil had aggravated my hair loss by making my weak hair follicles too dependent on it and secondly because I did not want to apply a drug on top of my head for the rest of my life.

I think what you are getting at here is whether or not hair growth drugs are necessary for the transplanted hair follicles to grow. The answer is, no. The hair follicles that are harvested from the permanent donor site at the rear and sides of the head are genetically programmed to be immune to the effects of genetic balding.

However, the medical hair loss treatments, Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) can work to enhance and prolong the benefits of hair restoration surgery by slowing the progress of hair loss and potentially regrowing your remaining natural hair.

Now, for a guy who is a VI or VII on the Norwood Scale, with virtually no existing hair on top, hair loss drugs are probably not going to help. But, for guys with less hair loss and a lot of existing natural hair, using these drugs offers the best opportunity to preserve the hair they have and even regrow hair.

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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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