What to do against hereditary male pattern baldness?

My name is Chris, and I am the founder of Moquer Hairstyling and Grooming. I also suffer from hereditary male pattern baldness. When I was 16, or perhaps earlier, I noticed that my hairline was receding. I never really had any hair loss issues at the crown of my head, but only a widow's peak. I am of course not the only man that has male pattern baldness, so I would like to tell you what I did to counter or even stop it.

Stay realistic

First of all, let me tell you that I am not a doctor and you should always consult with your general physician when you are thinking of taking medication. You can be allergic for certain medicine or ingredients and some medicine can have severe unwanted side effects. There are a lot of advertisements online that claim to cure male pattern baldness or foreign websites that offer cheap medications. Never buy any of these because they not only work usually, but they can be even harmful to you.

This blog is not sponsored and at Moquer.com we also do not sell any products or medicine that claim to solve male pattern baldness, because you should obtain those products after consulting with your doctor.

Two proven medicines against male pattern baldness

To be completely honest there are basically only two products that help against heredity hair loss. Those two are Minoxidil and Finasteride. They are also the only two products that have been FDA approved for helping against hair loss.

Minoxidil is available in a 2% solution and a 5% one. Finasteride is a medicine that originally was used for men with an enlarged prostate, but in small dosage it also works against male pattern baldness. You need to take 1 milligram a day in that case [1].

You also see a lot of things online about head and scalp stimulation, but scientific research did not find any proof of slowing down the hair loss that way.

Research did show however that Minoxidil and Finasteride slowed down the hair loss for men. Some men even noticed hair coming back again, but you should not expect miracles. These two medicines are primarily for stopping the hair loss, not for getting back the hair you lost. Finasteride is a 1 milligram pill you take every day. Minoxidil usually is a lotion or foam that you apply on your scalp. Also, you must do this every day.

Minoxidil versus finasteride: wat works better?

Scientific studies showed that the 5% solution of Minoxidil is more effective compared to the 2% solution, but both show improved for most men in the studies. Finasteride was more effective than Minoxidil, but it also has more and severe possible side effects. The medicine tempers with your testosterone level. Originally it is a medicine for men with enlarged prostates. They get 5 milligrams a day, so they have a bigger chance of experiencing side effects because their daily dosage is 5 times higher. In this group there was even an increased risk in developing breast cancer for men [2].

The side effects of Finasteride can be severe, but they do not occur often. Possible side effects are erectile disfunction, having no sex drive and becoming depressed. Even when you stop with the drug it is still possible that you experience these side effects for a while, so that is something to consider if you want to slow down your male pattern baldness with this medicine [3].

Minoxidil should be applied to your scalp. Side effects of it are a dry scalp, itching and a burning feeling. It is also very important to only apply it on your scalp, because if it comes in contact with your face or arms, it can cause unwanted hair growth there.

The biggest downside of Minoxidil is that you must apply it every single day and it must happen meticulously. That is a reason why a lot of men stop using it after a while and that will cause the preserved hairs to fall out rapidly and then you are back at square one. The price varies between 12 and 25 euro per month, but it depends on the brand and the amount of bottles you buy.

So, compared to Minoxidil, Finasteride is easier to use, because it is just a pill you take every day. The possible side effects however are serious. Finasteride also has to be taken the rest of your life, otherwise you will lose the preserved hair more rapidly when you stop taking it. Finasteride is about 70 cents to 1 euro a pill in the Netherlands, which makes it a bit more expensive compared to Minoxidil. I presume these prices vary by country.

When I was 25 years old, I decided to do a hair transplant to restore my hairline a bit. Read this blog post if you want to read my story about my hair transplant. I wanted to stop my male pattern baldness, so I did the hair transplant and after that I decided with my doctor to try Finasteride to keep the rest of my hairs in place. Hairs that are transplanted will never fall out, but all the other hairs can just fall out.

Conclusion

After two years of using Finasteride my hair loss seems to be slowed down significantly. Maybe it even stopped all together and it seems I even have some hair returning. I take 1 milligram of Finasteride a day to preserve my hair. I do not take it hoping it will restore my lost hairs. I just wanted to stop the problem from getting worse. It is important that you have realistic expectations. I did not notice any side effects, so for me this works perfectly. Minoxidil I never tried personally.

When you suffer from male pattern baldness and are thinking of taking Minoxidil or Finasteride, you have to consult a doctor and think about the long term. For these medicine to work, you have to take it the rest of your life, because if you would stop, you would lose the preserved hairs more rapidly. Not all hair loss is hereditary and sometimes there can be other causes, so check that with a medical professional. But if it is really hereditary male pattern baldness, you now know there are ways to slow down the process or maybe even stopping it.

And then this...

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