Finasteride has been used to treat female pattern hair loss and is reported to be effective for some women, but to date there is no good evidence from well-designed clinical trials to support its use for that purpose. Our advice: If you’re a woman with thinning hair or significant hair loss, talk with your doctor about a referral to a specialist to look for underlying causes and approved treatments.
Should you opt for finasteride to reverse hair loss, take heed of the following precautions:
Use the first-line treatment
Minoxidil 2 percent, an over-the-counter solution that’s applied to the scalp, is currently the only FDA-approved medication for female pattern hair loss. Experts recommend trying the 2 or 5 percent version for 12 months before judging its effectiveness, although benefits may appear sooner.
‘Women use it for a month or two and assume it doesn’t work’, says Maria Hordinsky, M.D., a professor and chairwoman of the department of dermatology at the University of Minnesota. ‘But if you treat long enough, you can get results in most people’.
Your doctor may add an oral drug with anti-androgen effects, such as finasteride or spironolactone, if your hair loss appears to be androgen-related.
Change your hair care practices
Avoid styles and treatments that can damage hair, including braiding, cornrows, tight ponytails, rollers, bleaching, coloring, chemical straightening or waving, blow-drying, and hot combs.
Cover your losses
Tinted powders, lotions, and sprays can camouflage hair thinning, as can extensions, hairpieces and wigs. But choose items that gently attach to the scalp via loose braids, pins, or simple placement.
