starting fin before hair loss

[InBeforeTheCure]

If you have a history of hairloss in your family (both grandfathers are bald, father is bald, siblings, etc.), then I would get tested to see if you have a genetic propensity for hairloss (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...oss-early.html). If that is positive, then I WOULD get on proscar preventively. I wish I had - I started losing my hair at about 18 or 19, but didn't notice until I was 20. I started on proscar, and it helped me maintain a descent head of hair for a decade. If I had started even earlier, I believe I wouldn't have lost much hair at all.

That test sounds like a ripoff. You could do the 23andMe test for less money, find out your genotype on almost 1 million markers (including the one they test for, rs6152 on the androgen receptor gene) and look at several other markers associated with MPB.

This is wrong:

Those whose results are negative will almost certainly keep their hair well into old age.

In this study, 62% of those with rs6152 = G were balding, but 40% of those with rs6152 = A (the "protective" allele) were also balding. It decreases your odds, but you can get a better idea of your risk if you consider several genes:


Phenotype category 1 = balding, Phenotype category 2 = not balding

Even then, you won't know for sure.

[pkipling]

Yeah.... As pretty much everyone else has stated, I would hold off. I don't really see the benefit of it. It's hard enough for a lot of guys to justify the potential risks of finasteride even when they know they're losing their hair. To take those risks when you don't even know if your hair needs saving doesn't seem like a great idea.

I would simply keep an eye on your hair/hairline and start weighing your options once you start seeing signs of actual hair loss.

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

[burtandernie]

Yeah by weigh your options he means use propecia or dont. Its not like you have 20 different things that you could use that actually work

[pkipling]

Yeah by weigh your options he means use propecia or dont. Its not like you have 20 different things that you could use that actually work

There are quite a few more viable options that men are choosing these days besides Propecia alone. Yes, Propecia is top of the list as far as drugs are concerned, but I don't think taking or not taking Propecia is the only thing to consider when you begin to see you're losing your hair. You also have hair transplants, SMP, and Rogaine to name a few other paths should someone see themselves heading down the path to significant hair loss. Heck, some guys are even finding that simply buzzing their head is a very viable option to deal with their hair loss and it lifts a huge weight off their shoulders to go that route if they're able to pull off the look. Point being - he should wait until hair loss is an issue for him, and then see which route he wants to take depending on his own unique situation.

I do appreciate the snark, however.

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.