Best Hair Loss Treatment Reviews

Unbiased treatment and product evaluation

We created this website to find the good hair loss treatment. In the process we had the chance to try out, look at, and review a lot of hair loss products. Not surprisingly, we have found that a lot of them does not really work. Here are a couple of pages on my site you might want to look at:

• Hair Loss Treatment Reviews

• Articles About Hair Loss

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Finasteride Reviews

What Is Finasteride?

Finasteride is a pharmaceutically designed synthetic drug that acts as anti-androgen inhibiting type II 5-alpha reductase from converting testosterone into DHT or dihydrotestosterone that binds in hair follicles to progressively weaken and destroy it. It was first approved by the FDA under the brand Proscar to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostrate cancer and in 1997, the FDA approved it to treat androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness (MPB) under the commercial brand Propecia.

Over the years, other brands cropped up like Proscar, Fincar, Finax, Prosteride, Finasterid IVAX, Alternova, Tectum,, Prezepa, among others. Any of these brands requires a doctor’s prescription to use the medication.

How Does It Work?

It is a known medical fact that the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the scalp causes hair follicles to weaken and eventually die causing baldness at the vertex and loss of hairline. This happens through the enzymatic action of 5-alpha reductase in converting testosterone produced in the testes and adrenalin glands into DHT which is required in its normal functioning at the right levels.

But overproduction can cause problems in the prostate glands as well as in the scalp. Finasteride is has been shown to inhibit type II isoform of 5-alpha reductase and accounts for its efficacy first in treating prostate BPH and now in androgenetic alopecia.

Is It Good?

Finasteride is often formulated at 1mg and, like Minoxidil, only works on the vertex and top hairline areas of the scalp. A 5-year clinical study among men with mild to moderate androgenetic alopecia resulted in 48% of those treated with Propecia containing 1mg of Finasteride to regrow hair while another 42% showed no more hair loss. There is 5 mg of Finasteride in the FDA-approved drug Proscar prescribed to treat BPH and 1 mg for Propecia prescribed against MPB.

Both drugs are manufactured and distributed by the giant Merck & Co. Studies have shown that anything less than 1mg in the formulation for treating androgenetic alopecia has no effect in its treatment.

Any side effects?

Finasteride is not indicated for women. While FDA-approved as a prescription drug, it is in the FDA pregnancy category X which means it causes birth defects or physiological abnormalities in the fetus even when exposed to its particles as they can be absorbed into the skin easily. Until 2009, when some athletes use the drug to treat hair thinning problems, a number of sports organizations have banned the substance as it can mask testing for steroid abuse.

It is also suspected to cause male breast cancer when taken at 5mg which is often done by overly eager balding people who use Proscar instead of Propecia for faster and more potent hair loss treatment. A warning on this risk is expected to be printed on its product literatures.

Other side effects considered serious include:

• Sexual impotence (18.5% chance)

• Abnormal ejaculation (7% chance)

• Gynecomastia (2.2%)

• Erectile dysfunction (1.3%)

• Testicular pain

Discontinuing the medication in men can stop or reverse these side effects. It is always prudent to consult with your doctor before taking any prescriptive medication and to report these side effects for possible other alternatives.

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