Topical Finasteride

Those in support of this treatment suggest that it may be and/or is of substantial benefit to crush some, perhaps even all, of your Propecia or Proscar tablets, mix them with your Minoxidil solution and apply the concoction topically.

I'm of the opinion that this is a waste of perfectly good Propecia/Proscar tablets. Why?

Finasteride is strictly a type 2 5-alpha reductase inhibitor.

It is primarily Type 1 5-alpha reductase that is found in the dermis of the scalp tissues!

In theory, Dutasteride used topically, could prove to be effective since it inhibits both Type 1 and Type 2. Of course, first it would have to be determined that Dutasteride is effectively absorbed into the scalp while maintaining its pharmacological properties.

However, to each his own is my general philosophy. Still dieing to try topical Finasteride? There's a better way then crushing those expensive Propecia/Proscar tablets!

HairMedics.com offers a Minoxidil & Finasteride solution. Lipoxidil.com offers a Finasteride lotion. By the way, they also offer a Dutasteride lotion. If I was going to try one of these, I'm not, I'd go for the Dutasteride lotion!

http://www.regrowth.com/hairloss-forums/viewthread.cfm?f=6&t=13977

Or just go to these links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10601691&dopt=Abstract http://www.aace.com/pub/ep/finasteride.php

http://www.lipoxidil.com/site/fina.php

At the lipoxidil link:

"According to most recent studies Finasteride is a selective inhibitor of 5-AR Type 2 and only nominally on 5-AR type 1. But the predominant form of 5 alpha-reductase (5aR) in human scalp is 5-AR Type 1. It is located in higher amounts in the sebaceous glands. Smaller amounts of Typ 2 5-AR are found in the outer and inner root sheaths.

Following the Rittmaster study 5 mg Finasteride are able to reduce scalp DHT by only 38 % but serum DHT , which is highly influenced by Typ 2 5-AR produced in the prostate, by 70 %. A clear sign for the selective inhibition of Typ 2 5-AR. So why is Finasteride as a dominantly Type 2 inhibitor working as a male pattern hair loss treatment ? There are a couple of possibilities: Bayne & Flanagan conclude Finasteride would work because of it´s " local inhibition of 5aR2 within the hair follicle ". Another idea is that reducing the serum DHT in general might be sufficient to receive some benefit for the hair follicles. Early studies with Dutasteride which inhibits serum DHT by 90 % are pointing in this direction. Or is Finasteride working because of it´s limited ability to inhibit Type 1 5-AR in the human scalp area? Some believe Finasteride might work directly on the inhibition of caspase activity which is suspected to be a central element in the regulation of hair follicle regression.

So why is Dutasteride more effective than Finasteride ? This is what Glaxo is saying: " Both GI198745( Dutasteride ) and Finasteride appear to inactivate r5AR2 by apparent irreversible modification, but are classical, reversible inhibitors of r5AR1. Therefore, we hypothesize that because of its pharmacokinetic parameters and increased potency against r5AR1, GI198745 is more effective than finasteride". So Dutasteride is not a major improvement concerning Type 2 but it works outstanding inhibiting Type 1.So there is little doubt that Type 1 is the key to success. The GSK comments were made in relation to treatment of BPH but some studies have already shown promising results in the male pattern hairloss treatment too.

As said before Type 1 5-AR ( but also caspase ! ) is located in the sebaceous glands. Steering a Type 1 inhibitor into the sebaceous glands could significantly reduce 5-AR and caspase activity. The best inhibitor of course would be Dutasteride which is not available yet. But even EGCG ( Green Tea ) or Finasteride as a weak Type 1 inhibitor could bring success. About 100 times more Finasteride are necessary to reduce the same amount of serum DHT in comparison to Dutasteride. In relation to scalp DHT 5 mg Finasteride have the same effect as 0.1 mg Dutasteride. To reach a significant effect high amounts of Finasteride have to be brought to the sebaceous glands.

Ethosomes can solve this problem. A study shows that liposomes are able to specifically target the sebaceous glands and deliver drugs to the pilosebaceous unit. So there is a very good possibility that a " high dosage liposomal Finasteride delivery system " shows the same or even better results than Duagen ( Dutasteride) with lower or possible no side effects. Liposomal Finasteride could improve Type I and II 5-AR inhibition in the sebaceous glands and inner and outer roots sheats due to it´s specific targeting system via the sebaceous glands."

This info primarily relates to the theory of why topical Finasteride and/or Dutasteride could be effective in treating MPB. It is not supported by a variety of independent test studies.

I thought taking Fin internally..one was supposed to be thrilled to just be able to hang on to their hair when taking it. Now I suppose if someone doesn't get a full head of hair using fin topically they'll think it doesn't work....

I would use it topically before I'd take it internally. Of course I won't be doing that...

There's simple..and then there's trying to get away from messing with ones hormones (etc) as much as possible. Side effects don't have to be felt or seen(right away) to be happening. See http://www.mesomorphosis.com/articles/arnold/dht.htm