Propecia is a medication that is prescribed as a treatment for male pattern baldness. Its active ingredient is called Finasteride. Finasteride stops the production of the male hormone dihydratestosterone, which causes male pattern baldness. Clinical trials have shown that Propecia caused improvements in preventing further hairloss and in hair regrowth in 90% of men who used it.
Propecia is what is called a Type II alpha reductase inhibitor. It works by preventing the production of dihydratestosterone. Dihydratestosterone attacks the hair follicles in the scalp, something that results in baldness. Whilst dihydratestosterone attacks the hair on a man’s head it seems to cause hair to grow on other parts of the body, on the chest, on the back and in the nostrils. This is why a lot of men who start to go bald find that they are growing hair on parts of their body, which had previously been hairless. You should start to see results three to six months after you begin taking Propecia. This is due to the hair growth cycle.
Taking any medication can result in the patient experiencing side effects. Propecia can cause side effects, but most men who take it do not get any side effects at all. Those men who experience a side effect tend to find that it resolves itself with continued use. The most common side effect experienced by men who take Propecia is a loss of sexual desire (libido) though with only two percent of Propecia takers actually experiencing this loss of libido, it is a tiny percentage of those who are taking the medication. Erectile dysfunction was experienced by only one percent of men taking the medication but this resolved itself as soon as it stopped being taken and in many cases erectile function was regained after a period of continous use. With only a one to two percent change of any side effects at all, most men are prepared to take the tiny risk of having a side effect when weighed against the 90% change of saving his hair.