the best hair growth topicals: Combined Finasteride & Minoxidil use.

I'm often asked, 'do I have to continue using this for life?" Or, I was told, once I stop using this, ....my hair will begin to thin again...' Yes, it is possible. The problem is, if you're solely focused on the hair 'on the scalp' instead of the needs of body, hormonally, nutritionally, stress, trauma, diet, lack minerals and nutrients or when you neglect the prime reasons for the loss or temporary thinning, 'yes,' it may resume or it may continue a thinning hair pattern when you cease using Minoxidl.

My current focus is to relay information regarding the leading hair growth therapies.

Additionally, there are numerous drug therapies recommended by dermatologists, holistic and natural items.

Despite its prevalence and patient morbidity, there are currently only two medications finasteride and topical minoxidil currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of male 'AGA' or Androgenetic Alopecia.

Although the exact molecular mechanisms of AGA are not fully understood, dihydrotestosterone or DHT, a potent androgen produced from testosterone by the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase, appears to be an important causative factor. Finasteride is an androgen modifier that specifically inhibits type II 5a-reductase.

Minoxidil is a biological response modifier, which has multiple functions: (1) increases blood circulation by vasodilatation; (2) increases the mitosis of hair matrix keratinocytes and promotes growth hair faster and thicker; (3) prolongs the anagen phase; and (4) stimulates the kenogen follicles to initiate a new hair growth cycle.

The effectiveness of both finasteride and topical minoxidil in improving AGA has been demonstrated in several well designed studies. Recently, combined treatment with finasteride and topical minoxidil has also shown better therapeutic efficacy when compared with monotherapy.

However, the patient numbers of these studies were small. Therefore, whether combining these two medications can improve the treatment efficacy is a question worth exploring. To address this question, we summarized the existing evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the efficacy and safety of the combination of finasteride and minoxidil versus monotherapy in patients with AGA.

Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in our meta-analysis. All studies compared combined therapy with minoxidil, but only 2 RCTs compared combined therapy with finasteride. Compared with minoxidil or finasteride alone, the combined group had a significantly higher global photographic evaluation score (P\ 0.00001), more patients with marked improvement (P\ 0.001), and fewer patients with deterioration or no change (P \0.001). There was no significant difference between the combined group and minoxidil- or finasterideonly groups in the number of patients with moderate and mild improvements, hair density change, or adverse events. Conclusions In patients with AGA, the combination treatment of finasteride and topical minoxidil has better therapeutic efficacy than and similar safety as monotherapy. However, the best concentration of combination treatment requires further studies with sound methodological quality. " (The Efficacy and Safety of Finasteride Combined with Topical Minoxidil for Androgenetic Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis) Li Chen1 • Jiaping Zhang1,2 • Liang Wang1 • Hongxia Wang1 • Bing Chen3

Additionally, should we seek to block the effects of DHT?

DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) is a potent hormone crucial for sexual development, acne, driving the formation of male sexual organs in utero, and promoting facial/body hair, muscle growth, and prostate development through puberty and adulthood, though it's also famously linked to male patterned baldness and prostate enlargement due to its potent effects on hair follicles and prostate tissue. While primarily male-focused, it also influences bone density, cognitive function, and energy metabolism, with both beneficial and negative effects depending on the body's sensitivity and location.

Knowlege is key. Learn the drivers behind your thinning hair and know and understand and learn the specific type of thinning hair & hair loss. DHT Blockers are sold with the purpose of reaching consumers who are ill-informed of the power of hormone and how ot contributes to change in the body instead of purchashing a DHT-blocker simply because 'you can.'

When we as consumers don't understand or recognize that additional aspects of the hair growth cycle, the sole elimination of DHT will not be the 'saving grace' or the 'begin-all-end-of-it-all' of your thinning hair or hair growth troubles.

Balance the needs of the body in addition to resorting to topical measures of reducung the speed of DHT's role in miniaturization of the scalp hair as seen below.

see fig.1 below of miniaturized hair (pink) among terminal scalp hairs in blue