What Is It Like to Take Propecia for Hair Loss? Here’s What 3 Men Say After Trying It
Key takeaways:
Propecia is the brand name for finasteride, a prescription medication for male-pattern hair loss.
It works by blocking a hormone that causes hair follicles to shrink and stop growing hair.
With consistent use, it can reduce hair loss and, for some, promote regrowth.
Access savings on related medications
Male-pattern hair loss often starts in your 30s. But for some men, the signs appear as early as their late teens.
This condition, called androgenetic alopecia, is the most common form of hair loss. And it affects up to 50% of men by the time they’re 50.
One widely used option to slow hair loss and preserve existing hair is Propecia (finasteride). It’s a prescription medication that has helped many men maintain their hair, and, in some cases, regrow it.
But what’s it really like to take Propecia? Hair loss affects everyone differently — from when it starts to the emotional and physical toll it brings. Here, three men share their personal stories of taking Propecia — what worked, what didn’t, and how it shaped their confidence.
The sooner you act, the better
Johnathin Richardson, a 27-year-old project analyst from Atlanta, started noticing thinning hair at age 20. After trying topical finasteride inconsistently, he switched to the oral version 2 years ago.
After a couple of months, “I noticed that I wasn’t shedding any more hair from the top of my head,” he says. A few months later, he also got a hair transplant. Now, with consistent use of finasteride 1 mg daily, he’s no longer balding.
His only complaint is a reduced libido. “And while that’s a very common side effect, [it] only happens in about 3% of men” taking a low dosage, he says.
Johnathin, who shares his hair-loss journey on social media as Johnny Hiero, encourages starting finasteride early.
“I could have saved a lot of my hair in my early 20s if I had started taking finasteride sooner,” he says. “I’m not balding anymore, and that’s because of the finasteride. My advice? Just try it.”
You can always talk to your healthcare team about adjusting your dosage if you’re having side effects, he says.
Does it hurt to have a hair transplant? Find out what people who’ve experienced it have to say.
How can you save on medication for male-pattern baldness? Generics such as finasteride, rather than the brand name, Propecia, tend to cost less.
Can Propecia (finasteride) affect your sex life? Yes, experts say erectile dysfunction is the most commonly reported finasteride side effect.
“Everyone’s body is different,” he says. “How you react to medication is going to be different. So until you give it a try, you never know if it’s going to work for you.”
Be patient and manage expectations
For Galen Tran, a 32-year-old launch manager and senior consultant from San Francisco, hair loss started at age 17.
“Male-pattern baldness runs in my family,” he says. “I knew it was just a matter of time.”
But when kids in high school started mentioning his receding hairline, “it made me fixate on it,” Galen says. It led him to start taking Propecia at a young age, he says. He continued the medication for 11 years, only later recognizing that it may have contributed to his depression as a side effect.
Then, a few months before his 2021 wedding, Galen decided to stop taking the medication. “I thought my hair was going to all fall out [when I stopped taking it],” he says. “I was freaking out, and I didn’t want to go through that process. It sounded traumatic. So, I started thinking I should shave my head.”
He waited until after the wedding to shave his head and embrace his baldness. Now that he has, he looks back at Propecia as a medication that would have been a lifelong commitment.
“It’s not a cure-all,” he says. “I think that delineation affected me a lot. Just the thought of ‘I have got to take this forever’ if I want to upkeep my hair.’”
A hairdresser’s take on Propecia
Jon Steinick, a 53-year-old hairdresser from Nashville, started taking Propecia 15 years ago to help preserve his hair and prevent further hair loss.
At the time, Jon was also addressing other health goals, including quitting smoking with the help of bupropion (Zyban), an antidepressant often used for smoking cessation.
His doctor prescribed him Propecia for his hair loss. He took that for 5 years along with Viviscal, a dietary supplement that contains ingredients such as collagen, biotin, zinc, and vitamin C to support hair health.
Jon says he liked the benefits of Propecia. But he eventually switched to using only Viviscal because of difficulties refilling his Propecia prescription.
“Getting access to Propecia was the only challenge I had,” Jon says. “I never had any adverse reactions. Taking it was one of the easiest things I have ever done in my life. I recommend Propecia to people all the time. In fact, my trainer is [taking] Propecia because of me.”
What does the pharmacist say?
Joshua Murdock, PharmD, BCBBS
Pharmacy Editor
Propecia (finasteride) is an oral tablet that treats male-pattern hair loss. It’s a prescription medication that many men take to help slow down or reverse the effects of the condition. Some people take it by itself, while others combine it with a medication like minoxidil (Rogaine). It’s available as both a generic and brand-name product.
The recommended Propecia dosage for hair loss is one tablet (1 mg) by mouth every day. It starts working in your body soon after you take it, though it takes some time to see results. You may notice some improvements within 3 months of starting the medication. But more meaningful results tend to set in after a year or two.
These benefits are sometimes accompanied by side effects. The most common side effects are erectile dysfunction, a lower sex drive, and ejaculation problems. These sex-related issues often get better as your body adjusts to the medication. However, other risks — such as depression, breast tenderness, and post-finasteride syndrome — have also been reported in rare cases.
Also: Don’t confuse Propecia with Proscar. Proscar is a higher-dose version of finasteride that’s used to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
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