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Propecia

Pharmaceutical Alternatives To Hair Loss

Pharmaceutical alternatives to fighting hair loss has become big business. Two of the more popular drugs designed to prevent hair loss are Rogaine and Propecia

Propecia
Designed to specifically target male pattern hair loss on the top and mid-section of the scalp, Propecia is the first and only FDA-approved prescription pill of its kind. Ingested internally, the active ingredient in Propecia is finasteride.

How It Works
While the direct causes of hair loss in men are not entirely known, scientific research has shown that there is a link between the male hormone known as dihydrotestosterone or DHT and hair loss in older men, as DHT causes hair follicles to shrink and no longer produce visible hairs. Once ingested Propecia works to block the production of DHT, effectively interrupting the cycle that leads to male pattern baldness and hair thinning. Propecia is available by prescription for men only.

Pros

• Two years of clinical testing on males between the ages of 18 to 41 diagnosed with mild to moderate hair loss showed that 5 out of six men kept the hair they had before starting and 2 out of 3 actually re-grew some hair.
• The vast majority of men on Propecia have reported an increase in their amount of hair combined with a simultaneous decrease in the loss of hair.
• Results may be noticed after only three months.

Cons

• Possible side effects of Propecia include less desire for sex, difficulty in achieving an erection and a decrease in the amount of semen; these side effects occur in about 2% of all males and go away after patients stop taking Propecia.
• Other rare side effects that require the immediate attention of a doctor include skin rash, hives or swelling of the face or lips.
• While Propecia works for most cases of male pattern hair loss, if you do not start to see results within twelve months, Propecia is unlikely to work for you.
• Once you stop taking Propecia, any beneficial results that may have occurred will gradually decrease over the following twelve months.
• Thus far, there is no scientific evidence that Propecia is effective for receding hairlines at the temples.
• The active ingredient in Propecia can also cause birth defects and pills should not be handled by pregnant women.

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Rogaine
Propecia
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