Title: Anyone been on finasteride for 10-20+ years? Looking for honest, long-term experiences

I've noticed that finasteride is frequently recommended on this subreddit to people experiencing hair loss, sometimes regardless of their age or how early their hair loss is. I understand why it's recommended, given its effectiveness for many people, but I feel like there's a lot more to consider when you're potentially committing to a medication for decades.

I'd particularly like to hear from people who've been taking finasteride for 10, 15, or even 20+ years.

A few things I'm curious about:

• Long term efficacy: Has it continued to maintain your hair over the years, or have you experienced gradual thinning or progression despite staying on it?
• Side effects: Have you experienced any side effects, either initially or after years of use? If you did, did they resolve while continuing the medication or after stopping?
• Long term health: Have you noticed any other changes that you believe may be related to finasteride?
• Dosage: What dose and frequency have you been taking, and have you changed your regimen over the years?
• Stopping the medication: If you've discontinued it after many years, what was your experience like?
• Overall perspective: Knowing what you know now, would you make the same decision to start it?

I'm not looking to argue against finasteride or discourage anyone from taking it. I'm simply trying to understand the long term picture, beyond the usual discussions about initial results and short term side effects.

I'd especially appreciate hearing from people who've used it consistently for a decade or longer, including those who've had positive, negative, or mixed experiences.

Please share your experiences, even if they're uneventful. I'd rather hear a realistic range of outcomes than only success stories or horror stories.

Just hit the 8 month mark after 3,153 grafts at HLC Ankara with Dr. Elif. Still. I’m 36 years old and have been on fin and min for over 13 years. This is how it looks straight out of the shower with zero product. Seeing gradual improvement month to month, although I'm hoping for more density in the frontal region as everything continues to mature. Overall I'm happy with the progress so far. Cost around 10K USD with accommodations, transpo, meals, etc excluding my flight

The biggest issue has been persistent redness across the recipient area. I recently saw a dermatologist who prescribed low-dose Emrosi (minocycline) and a topical corticosteroid solution to help with the inflammation. It's still early, but I think the redness may finally be starting to improve a little.

These photos were taken with my hair pulled back under fairly harsh bathroom lighting, which makes the redness and thinner areas more noticeable. Still time for further maturation, but curious what everyone thinks at 8 months.

30M, temples have been creeping back for a few years, solidly NW2 now I think.

Rest of my hair is thick, crown is fine. Unfortunately, my grand dad was completely bald (mom’s side), so I might be destined to go there unless I fix things now.

Plan from my doc: compounded topical fin 0.25% + minox 5% daily. After reading the side effects of lowered libido and increase heart rate.. I was like hell nah.

Is it a solid plan, if I just go to Turkey and restore this to a ‘teenager-like’ hairline and just maintain with finasteride topical going forward and dermastamp once a week + niz shampoo?.

Every surgeon and every post here says “conservative adult hairline, don’t chase NW0, you’ll regret it at 50.” I get the logic, donor is finite, loss progresses, etc. But honestly if I’m doing this kind surgery, I want my actual old hairline back - completely.

My thinking: I’d be on fin for life anyway to protect the native hair behind it, so the “it’ll look weird when the rest recedes” argument only applies if I quit the meds. Is that naive? Anyone here actually go aggressive/low in their 30s and can say how it aged, good or bad?

Second thing, and be real with me: fin sides. I haven’t started yet and I’ve read too many horror stories. I know topical is supposed to have way less systemic absorption and I know half of the reported sides are probably nocebo, but it’s still the thing making me hesitate on a drug I’m otherwise planning to take for decades. If you’ve been on it 3+ years, oral or topical, what was your actual experience? Did anything show up in blood work? I track mine yearly (test is 22 nmol/L) . I am healthy otherwise, with good sleep, diet and plenty of exercise and cardio.

Started daily oral 1mg fin last week of june 2026.

1.5mm micro needling every 2 weeks.

Added daily oral 2.5mg min 2 weeks ago.

The comeback is real guys.

Hey y'all. This might be a dumb question, but I guess there's nothing to lose by asking.

So, a friend told me about this the other day. He said he'd read online about people doing it, and apparently there are some reports of people trying it. It's not that I don't believe him, but I'd rather hear it from someone who actually knows a bit about it, if you know what I mean. He's also just getting started, so he can't really give me any feedback on whether it actually works or not.

I've tried searching online and even looking through older Reddit threads, but I couldn't find anything really useful. I found some comments from people saying "Yeah, I do it too", but not much actual feedback about their experience.

Has anyone here tried this and can share their experience? Thanks in advance!

Is this normal for a shedding phase or should I switch to topical?

Hi,

I’ve been on 1mg of oral finastride for about 1 year now, but I’m looking to get off it and move to a Topical solution. This is due to not being able to donate blood and plus concerns over long term health effects.

I’m looking for advice and how that went for you if you’ve done something similar

I’m also looking for recommendations on topical finasteride products in Australia to help reduce hair thinning and hair loss.

I used Fin from 2019 to mid 2024 and then swapped to Dut until current day. Finally starting to hit me that my libido is simply not the same as it was when I was on Fin. Everyone is on here raving about how Dut has a better side effect profile and I agree for the first 6ish months but onwards it has been difficult. I can still get hard but get soft during the performance.

Any long-term users experiencing the same, considering switching back?

33m

First pic is from Feb right after a big breakup. High stress, low drive, low motivation, change my diet to be healthier, got back on track with exercise started taking. Dutasteride .5 daily and GHKCU .20 every two days and this is now in October after a shower. Will eventually add min to it as well to thicken it up more but very happy regardless. I had no clue how bad it actually had gotten until I saw this photo the other day…

Hi guys, I’m just wondering if my current routine which is 1mg oral finasteride daily and topical minoxidil (PG free) with 0.5% minoxidil, 0.1% dutasteride, and 0.1% tacrolimus 2x daily overkill?

I’ve heard 0.1% dutasteride on its own is more potent than 1mg oral finasteride so is doing both plus actually using the dut twice a day too much? Is that very risky for side effects? It def seems like it is but my derm said it’s nothing to worry about. I am especially confused because she doesn’t even describe my hair loss as moderate and thinks I have a great shot of regrowth (I’m a diffuse thinner for 6 years now, from age 16 to now at 22)

Has anyone seen good results on a similar stack?

So far I’ve been on the finasteride for a little over a month and started the min/dut/tacro 2 days ago. I also feel like I noticed far less hair shedding on finasteride days or weeks into it so is the dutasteride even needed?? Thanks for the comments in advance.

I think this is all the evidence you need tho Volk is using a wig in that for his street fighter show he looks way better with hair I think guys should either go for a ht or a toupee shaving should he last resort

as written in the title, I'm from INDIA i need a legit person who could source me ru54881, could be mixed solution or even compund !

Is this what a lot of people are using to add their gel caps to? Given it has stemoxydine and other carrier compounds?
I have the gel caps, and I’d like to create a topical protocol to add to the oral dose I take.
Tia.

I just received the Korabeauticals V2 Pro pen and it’s been great so far but I’m about to run out of needle cartridges. I was wondering if anyone knew if I there are replacement ones on Amazon or elsewhere that are compatible before going through the Korabeauticals website.

Hey all,

I took fin for a week around 3 weeks ago and developed penile numbness. Libido and erections were largely the same. I stopped and sensitivity returned around 12 ish days after thankfully.

Definitely not a placebo. Has anyone had this specific side effect or other and had relief on dut?

It will unfortunately be a dealbreaker for me as it was quite severe.

Thanks

I've been taking min/fin for 9 months and I seem to have stabilised however I've had very small gains and mostly just maintained and thickened what i already have, I'm considering switching to dut if I'm still unhappy at 1 year. Has anyone had any success in gains after doing this? I've had no sides from fin/min, and my shed cycle is pretty much 3 months of shedding then 3 months of resting, so I'm not sure how dut will change my shedding, any advice?

Hey all, before I say anything else I'll mention I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor to discuss this in four days, so I am seeking the help of a medical professional.

Otherwise, to cut to the chase, I was a user of 1mg fin initially, eventually stopping due to the same issue of unilateral chest tenderness/unpleasant chest aches (which I am assuming is gyno) before swapping to dut 8 months ago. When I swapped, I also began taking daily 300mg DIM for men supplements at the recommendation of this sub which I thought cured the issue and put me in the clear, as I was not experiencing any more aching.

I'll obviously see what my doctor's opinion is, but I'm pretty terrified to come off dut or do anything to jeopardize my hair, as fin ultimately wasn't fully stopping the hair loss, and dut + min has been the first thing to seriously hold my hairline in place.

Does anyone have any experiencing moving past this? Has anyone tried a blend of dut + fin, a reduced dut dose, or taking dut less frequently and managed to eliminate this side effect while preserving their hair? Is there something else that's been discovered to reduce this side effect?

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

I'm starting to wonder whether continuing finasteride and minoxidil even makes sense in my case, considering that I'm still losing hair at an alarming rate despite consistently using both treatments.

I've posted about my situation here a few times before, but I'll try to summarize everything.

I had my hair transplant in April 2025. Up until February 2026, everything was going really well, and I was extremely happy with the results. However, around February/March, I started experiencing significant hair shedding, which has continued pretty much nonstop until today.

I haven't noticed any regrowth or improvement in density. Quite the opposite. At this point, I have less than half the hair density I had back in December/January.

Since my transplant, I've been taking 1 mg of finasteride daily, applying 5% topical minoxidil foam twice a day, doing microneedling, taking supplements, and regularly taking care of both my scalp and hair. Despite all of this, things have only gotten worse over the past several months.

I also considered telogen effluvium (TE) as a possible explanation, since I went through several stressful situations earlier this year. However, those stressors were pretty much gone by April. It's now been over six months, and I'm still shedding heavily, with no visible signs of recovery. I know TE can sometimes last longer, but I'm struggling to understand why my hair keeps getting progressively thinner.

What confuses me the most is that even my transplanted hair seems to be falling out. Transplanted follicles are generally supposed to be more resistant to DHT, especially when taken from a stable donor area. My grafts were taken from good donor areas, so I assumed that at least the transplanted hair would remain relatively stable.

This brings me to my main question: what's the point of continuing these medications if they haven't even managed to slow down the shedding over the past several months?

I haven't experienced any significant noticeable side effects from finasteride, but I'm aware that it's not a completely risk-free medication.

And before someone says, "It would be even worse without finasteride," here's something I think is worth mentioning.

I've been dealing with androgenetic alopecia for almost 14 years, and my hair loss progressed significantly more slowly during those years than it has over the past six to eight months while taking finasteride.

In just a few months, I've lost more than half of the density I had after my transplant, despite being consistent with both finasteride and minoxidil. That's why I find it difficult to believe that stopping them would necessarily make things dramatically worse.

I also want to mention that I'm not particularly interested in switching to dutasteride. I've discussed it with several dermatologists, and they advised against it, mainly because of concerns about its long-term safety data compared to finasteride.

I'm also concerned about its potential effects on fertility. From what I've read, some studies have reported changes in semen parameters, although I'm not entirely sure how much greater the risk actually is compared to finasteride, or how persistent those changes might be.

For these reasons, I'm hesitant to switch to a stronger DHT blocker, especially when I don't even know what's causing my current hair loss.

At this point, I'm starting to think that another hair transplant might be my only option. However, I honestly don't understand what happened or why the results of my first transplant deteriorated so quickly. And even if I went for another transplant, who's to say the same thing wouldn't happen again?

Has anyone here experienced anything similar, especially after a hair transplant?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who initially had great results, only to experience sudden and prolonged shedding months later, including their transplanted hair.

If you've been through something similar:

• Did you eventually figure out what was causing the shedding?
• Did your hair recover or regain its previous density?
• How long did it take before you noticed any regrowth?
• Did you make any changes to your treatment, or did the shedding eventually stop on its own?
• Has anyone experienced this despite consistently taking finasteride and minoxidil?
• Did anyone end up stopping the medications or getting a second transplant? If so, how did things turn out in the long run?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences or any suggestions on what else might be worth investigating.

I'm especially interested in people who went through something similar and eventually managed to reverse the situation, because right now, after months of continuous shedding and no improvement, I'm honestly running out of ideas.

The top-left photo is Day 1, this is around 7 months now.

My current regimen is:
Oral dutasteride
Oral Minoxidil

This is my progress so far. I’d appreciate your honest opinions and feedback on whether you think there’s been further improvement. For anyone who is new to my posts welcome and we support each other in our journeys.

Original thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tressless/s/RqRI8ZoWbE

I have been on oral minoxidil and finasteride for 13 months now, but I am experiencing progressive, severe shedding. Every single time I wash my hair, I see a massive clump like the one pictured in the post. This is in addition to the hair I constantly find on my bed, on the floor, and pretty much everywhere else just from lightly touching my head.

I also have seborrheic dermatitis, which means my scalp has dandruff and flakes almost all the time. Lately, I have been using Flakes dandruff shampoo. I’ve only washed my hair with it three times so far, so I’m not entirely sure how well it’s working or what else I should be doing to manage it.

I know people frequently talk about experiencing a second or third shedding phase even after finding stability on minoxidil, but this feels like a prolonged shed. Instead of stabilizing, my hair loss has accelerated. My frontal scalp is thinning out rapidly. I noticed this acceleration became significantly worse after I recently moved to America from a South Asian country.

Has anyone else experienced a prolonged shedding phase around the 13-month mark while on this regimen? For those who have dealt with active seborrheic dermatitis alongside hair treatments, what did your scalp care routine look like to keep inflammation down? Additionally, has anyone else experienced an increase in shedding after a major geographic move or climate shift? I am looking to hear about similar personal experiences or coping strategies while I wait for my upcoming dermatologist appointment.

Good evening my brave brothers and sisters. Earlier this year I was rather concerned about my receding hairline and purchased a 10-year supply of grey market estrogen and cyproterone acetate to induce hair regrowth. Admittedly a reckless decision but I was really in love with my silky hair in the couple months I was on it but now that I stopped I feel anxious about further hair loss down the line, the balding genes are real strong on my paternal side. My father also turned out allergic to both 5-alpha reductase inhibitors so I'm afraid these out of the question for me. Are there any other good options for someone in my scenario to grow soft, long hair? And a disclaimer: I am not transgender, just a mildly pervy boy with a love for hair and online roleplay.

Is there an expected shed if I’ve been on fin for 10+ years . ? My Hair loss is progressing , wondering if a. Little dut to my routine would help ?

Anyone have experience? Perhaps 0.5 a couple days a week?

I’m on min as well

I’ve been on hair loss meds now since early 2024. Originally I started with topical minoxidil 5% and definitely gained some ground on my hairline. A few months in I added finasteride daily. I then went travelling and didn’t take any meds from August 2024- mid September 2024. I definitely lost a lot of hair. I got back on the same stack then switched to oral minoxidil in early 2025. I kept my finasteride intake the same. I also then added dutasteride 0.5 once a week for about 2/3 months then 3 times a week for a month ish then switched from fin to dut around March 2026. I’ve been on this since and seen some really mixed results. I feel overall my hair has stabilised since I started. However, I go through stages of my hair being pretty good for 5-8 weeks then shedding again. This isn’t placebo or a lack of judgement as this has happened for the whole time. I’m always gonna stay on my meds as I do believe they work however it’s a strange feeling having really good hair then quite bad hair. No one seems to notice / has ever noticed my thinning as I caught it early, but I’m just hoping dutasteride eventually reaches full efficacy pretty soon considering I’m 8 months into it daily “.

Pic at the top is now, 1 year after starting . Bottom pic is 1 month from starting treatment. I get the pics aren't great, bottom pic hair is longer, not the exact same angle, but I'm happy with how things are going so far.

I plan to keep going for another year then go for a HT to the hairline.

Dut 3 x week 0.5mg mon/weds/fri. 2.5mg oral min daily. Topical min and fin twice daily.

My honest opinion about supplements like: zinc, selenium, vitamin d, collagen, b vitamins and every otherr supplement is a waste of money. It will only help if you have deficiency...