Finasteride and Minoxidil

[jpm]

hey.

I was just curious, if you are taking both fin and Minoxidil and got some regrowth from the Minoxidil. if then you stopped on the Minoxidil would all the re growth be lost? even if you continued on fin and that was suppressing your dht levels?

[Tracy C]

I don't know the answer but it makes sense that it would probably be possible to take yourself off of Minoxidil once you have reached a peak in regrowth. It would likely take a pretty long time to reach peak regrowth though. My guess would be somewhere between three and five years - but porbably five years. It takes a really long time to treat hair loss. I think it would be best be to just ramp down to using it only once per day rather than stopping it completely.

[Xandroxuser]

I don't know the answer but it makes sense that it would probably be possible to take yourself off of Minoxidil once you have reached a peak in regrowth. It would likely take a pretty long time to reach peak regrowth though. My guess would be somewhere between three and five years - but porbably five years. It takes a really long time to treat hair loss. I think it would be best be to just ramp down to using it only once per day rather than stopping it completely.

I am surprised by this advice. Dr Lee - and many others - on my reading, most others, but I stand to be corrected - make the point that Fin and minoxidil are doing quite different things and acting in quite different ways - one, mainly, reducing hair loss, the other, mainly, enabling (limited) regrowth. My understanding is that if you stop minoxidil, by around 6 months you will have lost all your 'minoxidil hair'. The fin won't maintain that hair.

There is a view that growth having 'peaked' with minoxidil after a number of years, cutting by half - say two applications a day to one - might maintain the regrowth.

A common error is to suppose that as minoxidil doesn't seem to be making further gains, the time has come to stop it. This is not so. You will lose minoxidil gains, if you do this.

It seems rather extraordinary that we are still debating this issue.

[Tracy C]

I am surprised by this advice.

Did you even bother to read what I wrote? It was not advice. It was a comment. The last sentence in my comment was it is probably best to just ramp down to once per day rather than stop completely.

[Xandroxuser]

Did you even bother to read what I wrote? It was not advice. It was a comment. The last sentence in my comment was it is probably best to just ramp down to once per day rather than stop completely.

My apologies, Tracy.

I have edited my comment accordingly:

I am surprised by this comment. Dr Lee - and many others - on my reading, most others, but I stand to be corrected - make the point that Fin and minoxidil are doing quite different things and acting in quite different ways - one, mainly, reducing hair loss, the other, mainly, enabling (limited) regrowth. My understanding is that if you stop minoxidil, by around 6 months you will have lost all your 'minoxidil hair'. The fin won't maintain that hair.

There is a view that growth having 'peaked' with minoxidil after a number of years, cutting by half - say two applications a day to one - might maintain the regrowth.

A common error is to suppose that as minoxidil doesn't seem to be making further gains, the time has come to stop it. This is not so. You will lose minoxidil gains, if you do this.

It seems rather extraordinary that we are still debating this issue.