HAIR LOSS MEDICATIONS
Although several medications are available to treat pattern baldness, extensive scientific research has shown that most types of hair loss are best treated with Minoxidil and Finasteride.
Minoxidil (Rogaine)
Minoxidil slows the progression of hair loss and stimulates hair growth. It is approved by EOF, and it is available to women and men without prescription.
Advantages of Minoxidil
- It slows the rate of hair loss.
- In most patients, it enhances hair growth.
- The possibility of side effects is very small. In the rare cases that side effects have been observed, they were mild in nature.
Disadvantages of Minoxidil
- Minoxidil is not a cure for hair loss; when a patient stops using it, hair loss starts again.
- It’s not suitable for all cases of hair loss.
- Minoxidil is considered to be an expensive medicine.
Finasteride (Propecia)
Finasteride is another medicine that slows the progression of hair loss and stimulates hair growth, in pill form. It is approved by EOF, and is available only to men with a prescription.
Advantages of Finasteride
- It slows the rate of hair loss in most men.
- In most patients, it enhances hair growth.
- It is suitable for most cases of androgenetic alopecia.
Disadvantages of Finasteride
- Finasteride is not a cure for hair loss, and when a patient stops using it, hair loss starts again.
- Women cannot use Finasteride.
- The possibility of side effects is relatively high; decreased sexual desire and/or prostate shrinking are the most frequently observed side effects.
- It’s not suitable for all cases of hair loss (e.g. alopecia areata).
- Finasteride is an expensive medicine.
Other Medicines
Other medicines that can used for hair loss treatments (depending on the case), are:
- Corticosteroids; they can be taken orally, put on the scalp in the form of a cream, or injected into the scalp.
- Psoralen with ultraviolet A (UVA light).
- Various medicines that are used to facilitate contact immunotherapy.
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