How to Optimize Your Finasteride Treatment

How to Optimize Your Finasteride Treatment

Table of Contents

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I. How Long Does Finasteride Take to Work?

II. Combine Finasteride With Minoxidil

III. Combine Finasteride With Laser Therapy

IV. Combine Finasteride With a Scalp Massage

V. When Is the Best Time to Take Finasteride?

VI. Conclusion

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Looking to get the most out of your finasteride treatment? While finasteride is effective on its own for hair loss in many men, there are simple ways to enhance its impact. By coupling finasteride with complementary treatments, you can maximize hair regrowth and density.

In this article, we'll explore several ways to optimize your results. From pairing it with other proven hair loss therapies to timing your treatment for optimal impact, we'll cover tips to get the most out of finasteride.

How Long Does Finasteride Take to Work?

When you take a finasteride tablet, it gets to work right away blocking dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone responsible for male pattern baldness. In fact, studies have shown that finasteride reduces DHT levels by 65% within 24 hours. ¹

However, while DHT is blocked right away, the process of hair regrowth is a gradual one. Your scalp needs time to recover and regrow new hair. According to research, you can expect to see the first signs of new hair growth after using finasteride daily for at least three months. ¹

So, don't get discouraged if you're not seeing big changes right away. The most significant results are seen over the long term. In a two-year clinical trial, researchers found that long-term use of finasteride led to progressively better outcomes. 

• Year 1: Average hair count increased by 14%.
• Year 2: Average hair count increased by 16%. ²

The key is to be patient through the initial stages of treatment. While finasteride starts working immediately to block hair loss, the regrowth process takes time

Combine Finasteride With Minoxidil

If you're researching treatments for male pattern baldness, you've likely encountered the two most popular options: finasteride and minoxidil. While both FDA-approved medications are effective on their own, an increasing amount of research shows that combining finasteride and minoxidil provides better results compared to using just one.

The reason this combination works so well is that finasteride and minoxidil tackle hair loss through different mechanisms. Finasteride works by blocking DHT, the hormone largely responsible for male pattern baldness. ¹ Meanwhile, minoxidil increases blood flow around hair follicles and stimulates growth. ³

A study with 450 male participants looked closely at the effects of using these medications separately versus together. The men were divided into three groups, receiving either topical minoxidil 5%, oral finasteride 1mg daily, or a combination of both. ⁴ All three groups saw improvements, but the combination group had the best outcomes:

• Finasteride 1 mg daily: 5% of participants saw regrowth
• Minoxidil 5%: 59% of participants experienced regrowth
• Combination of minoxidil and finasteride:1% of participants saw regrowth ⁴

Combine Finasteride With Laser Therapy

If you want to take your hair regrowth to the next level, it may be time to add laser therapy into the mix. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) was FDA-approved over a decade ago as a safe and effective hair growth treatment for both men and women. ⁵ But how does it actually work?

To understand the science behind laser therapy, we first need to break down the hair growth cycle. Each hair follicle on your head transitions through the following phases:

• Growth (anagen)
• Transition (catagen)
• Rest (telogen)
• Shedding (exogen) ⁶

Studies show that LLLT can manipulate the hair growth cycle in several ways to encourage new hair growth:

• It "wakes up" dormant follicles in the resting (telogen) phase, stimulating them to re-enter the growth (anagen) phase.
• It prolongs the duration of the growth phase.
• It increases the rate of cell proliferation in follicles that are already in the growth phase. ⁵

Combine Finasteride With a Scalp Massage

To maximize the effects of finasteride, incorporate a scalp massage into your routine. Research has shown that indulging in a four-minute scalp massage could work wonders for your hair health. ⁷

In one study, men were given a 4-minute scalp massage daily using a mechanical scalp massager. ⁷ After 24 weeks, researchers observed:

• Participants experienced an increase in hair thickness
• Hair growth-related genes were activated
• Hair loss-related genes were suppressed ⁷

The researchers concluded that the gentle pulling and stretching during a massage leads to changes in gene expression in the scalp's cells. A scalp massage applies mechanical stress to hair follicles and increases hair thickness while decreasing hair loss. ⁷

When Is the Best Time to Take Finasteride?

The optimal time to start finasteride treatment is as soon as you start noticing signs of hair loss. The earlier you begin treatment, the better your chances of stopping further loss and regrowing hair. ¹

When it comes to the ideal time of day to take finasteride, you have flexibility. Finasteride can be taken at any time, with or without food. The most important thing is that you take it at the same time every day to maintain consistent levels of the medication in your system. ¹

Conclusion

Finasteride on its own can be an effective treatment for hair loss but combining it with other approaches may help accelerate and maximize your results. Adding in minoxidil, the active ingredient in Rogaine, is a popular combination approach. Minoxidil works differently than finasteride, so using them together provides a dual-pronged attack against hair loss.

Simple at-home techniques like a scalp massage and LLLP therapy can also provide additional benefits when combined with finasteride. An integrated approach works best when fighting against hair loss.