A patient sent us an email regarding his hair loss condition. He has male patterned baldness and it is still progressing. He already met with a dermatologist and had several studies done prior to the email and was even using Chronostim for approximately 3 months. Now that he’s used up the bottles of Chronostim, he has noticed no change is his hair loss situation. He wants to have a full head of hair and does not want to take hair loss medication for the rest of his life. Before we forget, his wedding is in 2 months.

Chronostim has not been clinically proven to correct or prevent male patterned baldness or any other form of hair loss. It should not be considered a replacement option for medications that have been both proven effective and FDA approved safe for consumption like Propecia (finasteride) DHT blocker.

We highly suggest that all patients experiencing any form of hair loss to be seen by a good hair transplant surgeon and have a miniaturization study done. If the condition is in fact male patterned baldness or androgenetic alopecia, finasteride should be a part of your everyday hair loss treatment plan.

Hair restoration surgery can restore the areas damaged by hair loss by transplanting healthy permanent hair from the donor. In this situation, however, neither of the aforementioned will make enough of a visible difference for the day of your wedding. These procedures take time to show their fullest effect. There are cosmetic options available like Toppik that can cover the balding or thinning areas of your hair through the use of microfibers. If anything, you can use that product for the wedding day while you either consider a hair transplant surgery or at least try using Propecia (finasteride) so that you may see true results a few months after your wedding.

We received a distressed email from a young patient who wrote saying he took Propecia after consulting with a doctor but it aggravated my situation and it catalyzed the hair fall instead. I was suggested that the hair fall will be temporary. I was scared so I discontinued the medicine.  He was also concerned if malnutrition may have also caused the patchy hair fall and the possible sexual side effects associated with Propecia medication.

When it comes down to hair loss, the first thing that needs to be verified is a family history of hair loss.  The reason for this is because most hair loss is genetically linked.  In this case, we can use this information to help prevent and reverse hair loss.

Vitamin deficiency can cause hair loss but generally if a person maintains a balanced diet they should be okay.  If vitamin deficiency is the issue, vitamin supplements can help correct that.

Finasteride (Propecia) has been clinically tested and proven effective for the treatment and prevention of hair loss and has been FDA approved.  You may experience some level of hair shedding during the first few weeks or months but hair growth should become evident within or after 6 months of treatment.  Sexual side effects have only been reported in only 1 out of 100 patients tested but the effects are usually temporary.  If Propecia medication impedes your libido too much, it is safe to either discontinue usage or reduce the prescription amount.

At this point, we highly suggest starting to establish a good relationship with a good hair transplant surgeon and consider getting a proper evaluation of your hair loss.  If male pattern baldness or typical male hair loss is the final diagnosis, we recommend starting a medication regimen and maybe even considering a hair transplant in the near future if need be.

We are getting another question on the Propecia use in men whom their wives are pregnant.  A hair loss patient just asked about possible side effects that finasteride (Propecia) may cause. He has read on the manufacturer’s instructions that broken tablets must not be handled by women who are or may become pregnant.

“Can finasteride cause damage to pregnant womens health or to the health of the developing fetus? Here I’d like to know also if finasteride can be found in body liquids such as men’s saliva, sweat or sperm. In such case is there any risk that a pregnant woman is exposed to finasteride? Are there any recommendations concerning taking or not Propecia before planned or during wife’s pregnancy?”

The answer to this patient’s question, which is a common question that many of young patients may ask is that finasteride (Propecia) blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydroxytestostrone (DHT). DHT does not have any known role in adult men development, but it is crucial in development of a male fetus and child external genitalia (their penis). We at our Los Angeles, California hair transplant clinics don’t recommend taking finasteride for hair loss prevention and treatment before adulthood while maturation of external genitalia is not completed. Pregnant women should not take finasteride because of its effect on the external genitalia of their male unborn baby.

As we all know, finasteride (Propecia) is designed to block the enzyme that converts testosterone to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT does not have any real known role in an adult male but it is crucial in the developmental stage of a male fetus as well as the development of a young male’s external genitalia (penis). After reviewing the facts at our Los Angeles, California hair transplant clinics we do not recommend taking finasteride for hair loss prevention and / or treatment before adulthood while maturation of external genitalia is not completed. For this same reason, pregnant women should not take or handle finasteride because of its effects on the male external genitalia of an unborn baby.

Although the pharmaceutical company suggested that pregnant women should not be exposed to finasteride. They should not even be cutting pills that might increase the chance of inhaling small particles of finasteride. You are right about finasteride being present in body secretion such as semen and saliva. However, the amount of the medication is so small that it is considered negligible or safe for pregnant women.  So the research shows that it is safe for pregnant women to be exposed to the secretions of a man whom takes finasteride. That is why we do not recommend men to stop taking finasteride if their wife becomes pregnant. There has been no evidence of any risk to a male baby from secretion of finasteride through the father’s saliva, sweat or sperm.

They even mention cutting, ingestion or inhalation of small particles of finasteride to be harmful during pregnancy. You are right to be concerned of finasteride being present in body secretion such as semen and saliva. You can find a very small trace of finasteride in body secretions but the amount of the medication is so small that it is considered negligible or safe for pregnant women. Studies show that pregnant women can be exposed to male secretion even if they are currently taking finasteride. Studies have not found any evidence of risk to a male baby from secretion with trace of finasteride through the father’s saliva, sweat or sperm. So in short we conclude that men do not need to stop using finasteride while having their wives pregnant.