Propecia - Hair Loss Product Review

Does Propecia Work?

Hair loss has definitely been with mankind for over 5,000 years.  Amazing isn't it?  Over 5,000 years ago men and women were agonizing about what they could do to mitigate their hair loss.

Do you remember Julius Cesar and his laurel wreath?  He tried to hide his thinning hair by growing it long in the back and combing it straight forward over his bald spot. He added the laurel wreath in the hopes it would hide even more of his growing baldness. Unfortunately, it didn't!  Did you know that Cleopatra also had her own hair growth treatments?  She may well have, but none of them were shared with Julius.

Even King Louis VIII when he was the King of England wore a wig to hide his thinning hair.  Luckily the members of his court followed suit no matter if they had locks of their own or not.  Those giant powdered wigs seen in paintings of the era became the fashion in English courts, and the style carried over into the New World.

In the early 1800's hair loss treatments were still in great demand.   The leading one at the time was called Barry's Tricopherous and was actually still being sold in Central America as recently the 1970's.   It was supposedly guaranteed to restore hair to bald heads and make it grow thick, long and soft.  That might have been a tough thing to accomplish as it contained alcohol, water, and food coloring.

Propecia Facts

And in today's new world there are still various assorted pills, lotions and potions that lay claim to being a remedy for hair loss.  Propecia (and Proscar) is the generic name for Finasteride. It was first developed and used in the 1980's by Merck pharmaceuticals as a treatment for an enlarged prostate.

During prostate trials, researchers noted an intriguing side effect: hair growth. So, since Finasteride had already been FDA approved to treat enlarged prostates, Merck pursued developing Finasteride as the first pill to treat male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia).   Merck claims Propecia is the first drug in history to effectively treat male pattern baldness.

As it stands, the only way to really retard hair loss is to lower DHT levels.  Evidently Propecia's 1 mg dose can lower DHT levels by as much as 60% when taken daily.  Propecia was the first oral medication used to treat hair loss.

Researchers don't really know why people lose their hair.  They do know it's a combination of genetics, hormonal factors and aging. Many men think if their Mom's father was bald, they will be too. Wrong!  That is pure myth.  Hair loss genetic codes can be from both sides of the family tree.

Scientists know a great deal about the actual mechanics of hair growth, but they as yet, have no idea what turns a hair follicle on and off.

Pros and Cons of Propecia:

Pros:

Cons:

Ease Of Use:
Really easy, and you just have to take one pill once a day.  Try to use it for at least 3 months to see the benefits.

Ingredients in order of most to least amounts present:

Propecia: 1 mg Finasteride, lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose LF, titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, talc, docusate sodium, yellow ferric oxide and red ferric oxide

How to use:
Take one pill a day.

• Finasteride: (marketed as Proscar, Propecia, Fincar, Finpecia, Finax, Finast, Finara, Finalo, Prosteride, Gefina, Finasterid IVAX) is an  antiandrogen that inhibits type II 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT
• lactose monohydrate: widely used as a filler or diluent in tablets and capsules
• microcrystalline cellulose: used as a binding agent
• pregelatinized starch: used as a binding agent
• sodium starch glycolate: super-disintegrant used to promote rapid disintegration and dissolution
• hydroxypropyl methylcellulose: enteric film coating material    
• hydroxypropyl cellulose LF: an aqueous binder
• titanium dioxide: used for pigmentation
• magnesium stearate: a lubricant and stabilizer.
• talc: used as a filler
• docusate sodium: belongs to the family of laxatives known as stool softeners
• yellow ferric oxide and red ferric oxide: used for pigmentation

You may also like to look at this Provillus Review, it is a natural hair loss product that can be used in conjunction with Propecia as it treats different DHT stages. It is a natural product so it can therefore be purchased without the prescription like propecia. I would not recommend it as a direct replacement of propecia but it does do a very good job at maintaining the hair and it does show some signs of regrowth in people that have not lost a lot of hair or have not been losing it for a long time.