Two Most Popular Steroid Medications to Treat Hair Loss

Hair loss is a widely spread malady – in the US alone, more than 56 million people, about 70 percent of whom are male, suffer from premature baldness or excessive hair shedding. It is estimated that, by age 40, 50 percent of men already experience visible stages of hair loss and, by the age 60, about 70 percent of our male population are bald! With women, the picture is not as severe. However, about half of the US female population can suffer from various degrees of pathological hair shedding by age 55.

Since no one wants to be bald, the market of hair loss remedies, including traditional herbal elixirs, oils, vitamin and mineral supplements and pharmaceutical medications, is rapidly expanding. A billion-dollar “hair beauty” industry is thriving. However, how effective are hair loss treatments offered nowadays to consumers? Among popular commercial products to treat baldness, steroid drugs have shown the most effective results in stopping and even reversing hair loss. Unfortunately, they are also well-known for their dangerous adverse effects.

Two steroid medications to combat baldness, dutasteride and finasteride, are now considered particularly efficient in hampering male-pattern hair loss. They are usually prescribed to those men who suffer from hereditary and hormonally-induced types of alopecia. These drugs contain powerful steroids that have an antiandrogenic effect, meaning that they can inhibit the production of hormonally-derived substances that induce a destruction of hair follicles, thus leading to baldness. More precisely, these steroids block the secretion of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) from the male hormone testosterone. In addition, they prevent DHT from entering hair follicles, thus blocking its damaging effect on hair.

Unfortunately, antiandrogenic medications can have a wide range of undesirable side effects, ranging from breast enlargement to inhibiting prostate health. However, American health authorities have approved the use of steroid drugs to treat hair loss in men, stating that small doses of antiandrogens that are contained in dutasteride and finasteride are not sufficient to induce harmful health effects.

Dutasteride is a prescription hair loss drug sold in the US under its brand names Dutagen and Avodart. Its action is to inhibit two known forms of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase that is in charge for converting testosterone into the hair-damaging DHT. Dutasteride is a strong steroid drug, which is especially effective in stimulating a successful regrowth of male hair. Several studies have shown that a dose of 2.5 mg dutasteride is several times more effective in benefiting hair than a similar amount of any other pharmaceutical compound. The research has also shown that Dutagen and Avodart can reduce the blood amount of DHT by more than 90 percent after just two weeks of use!

Finasteride, which is a main ingredient of such medications as Fincar, Propecia and Proscar, is another popular steroid that treats hair loss by blocking one form of 5-alpha-reductase. It was first approved by the FDA in 1997, and has been extensively used since to treat male-pattern alopecia. The most substantial hair-regrowth after taking Fincar, Propecia or Proscar, was observed in the crown area of the scalp. One clinical trial showed that finasteride can reverse hair loss in men by as much as 48 percent. However, it does not work for everybody.

Finasteride is prescribed only for male hair loss sufferers, since this medication has been proven ineffective in treating female baldness. Moreover, studies confirmed that the use of finasteride-containing medications by pregnant women can cause severe birth defects, especially if the fetus is male.

Steroid drugs can be an efficient hair loss treatment; however, their positive action is reversed as soon as you stop taking them. Moreover, if you are considering taking dutasteride or finasteride, you should also be ready to experience highly unpleasant side effects of these pharmaceuticals, which may include impotence, enlarged breasts, loss of sexual desire and problems with ejaculation. Would you accept those as a fare price for a chance of re-growing luscious locks? Think twice!

Richard Dunn