Do You Have To Take Finasteride If You Have A Hair Transplant?

Finasteride is a medication that helps prevent ongoing hair loss in male pattern baldness and this will help preserve a hair transplant result for longer. For male patients who undergo hair transplant surgery and continue to lose hair, they ought to consider Finasteride as a medication to stabilise the rate of hair loss and maintain their hair transplant result.

Below, you can watch some videos of our patients who take Finasteride alongside having their hair transplant at The Treatment Rooms London. The video starts immediately when they give their thoughts about Finasteride.

Do I have to take Finasteride after a hair transplant?

This is an important consideration before choosing to undergo hair transplantation. If you choose to have an FUE hair transplant you need to consider whether you will continue to lose hair in the future. As the hair transplant is permanent you don’t want to be left with an area of transplanted hair and no hair elsewhere as this has been lost through the normal hair loss process. Therefore, you must consider 2 things:

• Whether you should be taking treatment to prevent hair loss after your hair transplant
• Whether you can have more hair transplants down the line to fill areas you have lost hair in

Taking finasteride is a good way to prevent future hair loss and regrow any thinning hairs. It helps to preserve your existing hair and your hair transplant so that you don’t require any more transplants in the future.

How does Finasteride work?

In most people suffering hair loss, hair thins and falls out due to a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is converted from testosterone in the skin and it works to thin your hair and make it fall out. It most men and women it is the main driver of hair thinning and hair loss. Finasteride prevents the production of DHT meaning that we stop the process of hair loss.

Does Finasteride work?

Studies have shown that by taking 1mg of Finasteride everyday, DHT levels in the scalp reduce by 60%. This means:

• Hair loss is stopped in 86% of males
• 65% of men report a significant increase in hair growth

FUE Hair Transplant to the hairline. Together with Finasteride this gentleman can safeguard himself against any further hair loss and this means his hair transplant result should last his lifetime

Side effects of Finasteride

Like any medication, there are potential side effects of Finasteride such as low mood and sexual dysfunction (2.1-3.8%), both being rare but common worries amongst those who decide to take Finasteride.

If you don’t want to take Finasteride then you need to talk with your surgeon carefully around whether you can have more hair transplants in the future. This all depends on the amount of hair you have at the back of your head. If you have plenty of hair available then that means you can have further hair transplants should you need them.

Get in touch

To find about more about the costs associated with a hair transplant, take a look at our hair transplant cost page for more. Treatment Rooms London has also developed a hair graft calculator that will help you to decide how many hair grafts you might need. Get in touch today and speak to one of our consultants for more information.