Since hair fall or thinning can cause balding on adults or even teenager, there are so many options out there we can used to treat this problem. Most of them are safe and proven to be effective by so many users such as with Finasteride vs Propecia. Both of them may sound different but are actually the same. However, if you are still not sure which to choose, go check how they differ below to see if their difference can affect your choosing decision.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– Are you currently looking for a hair thinning/loss medication
– What are Finasteride and Propecia
– What are Finasteride and Propecia used for
– How Finasteride and Propecia Work
– How to use Finasteride and Propecia
– Are Finasteride and Propecia Effective
– Finasteride vs Propecia
Hair Thinning Medication
Hair especially those that grow in our head is an important asset to keep healthy because while losing hair won’t affect our live in general, it can cause many people both men and women to lose their self-confidence which is why there are so many hair treatment products in the market. A healthy and luscious hair is the dream of many people, but unfortunately, not all of us are capable of having them due to various reasons that make our hair looks dull or even thinning and falling.
Hair problems are very common because most people experience them at least once in their lifetime and depend on the person, they can even have different hair problems that may related or not to their previous hair problem. While issues like dry or weak hair and dandruff are easy to deal with some special treatments out there, hair thinning or fall is not because we are faced with more severe root problem which is not enough if only treated with shampoo or conditioner.
Hair fall or thinning is one of the most common hair issue we often see people suffering from not just us and it can get frustrating when after a few products we tried, there seems to be no improvement on our condition. The fastest way to deal with hair thinning is probably asking for a professional help to see what causing the problem and ask for prescribed medications. But, not all of us are willing to do so, thus we prefer to purchase over the counter medication to help dealing with our hair issue.
In the market, we currently have few medication that we can depend on to help reduce the hair thinning progress and let our new hair grow longer. But, it seems there is still confusion about which medication works the best for them and in this side, we will never know unless user try them first. In term of safety, they are all safe when used following the dosage or professional recommendation so there shouldn’t be a problem while some may have light side effects.
About Finasteride or Propecia
We are sure most readers are already familiar with these few names because there are only two of them known to treat hair thinning issue; Propecia and Rogaine. Both of them are very popular in the market as over the counter drugs we can purchase without prescription to treat hair loss. They are working in a different way and use a different active ingredients in their formulation to reduce hair loss but are proven to be effective against the problem.
Since they are working in a different manner, some users also combine these medications to get a better result and quicken the process of gaining new hair as well as stopping the thinning issue. If you need more information on how they will work and benefit your hair as well as interested in topical medication, read our previous article on Propecia vs Rogaine first since the continuation of this article will most likely to talk only on Propecia alone.
Finasteride or Propecia Purpose
The reason why we said that our article will talk about one Propecia alone is because this medication is using the same active ingredient called Finasteride, thus Propecia is a brand used to sold this specific medication mostly used to deal with hair thinning or fall problem with Finasteride as its active ingredient. To put it simply, Propecia is a branded medication while Finasteride here will be the generic ones we can purchase with a more affordable cost in various pharmacy near your place.
Taken from WebMD Finasteride itself is actually developed by pharmaceutical company Merck to help people with issue of enlarged prostate glands. When they do trials on men with the health problem, the researches at that time found that this medication is intriguing a side effect which is hair growth. With this finding, the company began to see the possibility of using the same medication to help men with male pattern baldness which we know today as Propecia while the one used to treat enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia is called Proscar.
What makes Finasteride special is the affectivity in reducing or curing alopecia or male pattern baldness because this is the first drug in history that is shown to deliver such affectivity in the majority of men who use it while as for the safety, they are already approved by FDA is December 1997; 1 mg dose of finasteride for the certain treatment.
Finasteride or Propecia Science
After we know why Finasteride and Propecia are called the same thing, now is the time to understand how they work in reducing and curing male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia. This ingredient is actually works by inhibiting the production of 5α-Reductase which is an enzyme that will convert our body’s testosterone into dihydrotestosterone or more commonly called as DHT. This certain hormone is the culprit of hair loss in men and some men are more sensitive towards it than others.
This is also why balding or hair loss are not always happened at the same age in all men since some may have higher tolerance against it while some other are more sensitive. Because they are genetic, hair thinning can start at the hairline, the top or the head or on the crown area which is why we can have different pattern to other people. The best thing about finasteride is they are not selective when it comes to blocking DHT.
To effectively deal with any hair thinning pattern we may have, they are not only work on a specific part of our scalp or blocking a specific type of hair thinning but it will block DHT at its source, thus users can regrow hair no matter what the specific balding pattern they have. There is even a study back then 1999 that found finasteride is capable of slowing down hair loss in men with frontal scalp thinning and increase hair growth.
This medication is used for a long time and the dosage is usually 1 mg per day which is a typical dose for hair loss prevention. When they are used for one year, the study participants showed a significant increase in hair count in their frontal scalp. This ingredient is also scientifically proven to prevent hair loss at the vertex scalp or an area on top of our head and slightly behind the hairline, so it can be a good choice for those who start to see thinning in this area.
Finasteride or Propecia Dosage
Just like other medication, it is recommended to use Finasteride or Propecia following the dosage or the professional perception if you have. Generally, Finasteride medication is taken once a day at 1 mg or one tablet but they are safe to be consumed with meal or without, whichever fit you better. They are also not an instant solution that we can see in one or two weeks but will need around 3 months to see the benefit or even longer if you want to maintain the growth.
Finasteride or Propecia Effectivity
The last is Finasteride or Propecia affectivity in users who are suffering from hair loss or thinning and balding issue. In this part, we can’t say much because there is no guarantee that this ingredient can help you with the problem for each one of us are different and may need or better suit with different medication. To safely say, these two are better for prevention and when the problem is still young, to help stopping the process and let new hair grow longer instead of falling quickly.
Thus, they are not going to get back what you have already lost and only work as an aid to prevent things from going worse. However, study data have shown a promising result or benefit in people who are using finasteride to regrow hair, roughly there are around 83% of success stories with this certain ingredient regardless the brand. To know if they are going to be helpful for you, there is no other way than trying them first to see the result.
Comparison
Now, let’s compare Finasteride with Propecia. As you may already know, both of them are actually the same thing because Propecia active ingredient is Finasteride and they are used in the same dosage to help curing or dealing with androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness. The difference is only on the name for Finasteride is use for the generic name while Propecia is a brand name so they are more expensive than its generic version.
Finasteride vs Propecia
| Finasteride | Propecia |
|---|---|
| - For generic medication | - Brand name |
| - More affordable | - More expensive |
| - Manufactured by different manufacturers | - Manufactured by Merck |
Conclusion
All in all, both of them are a good option for those with male pattern baldness. The choice is all yours because the active ingredient is the same and supposed to have the same effects, but if you are not willing to spend much, the generic Finasteride can be a good option.