Dutasteride for Hair Loss

Using oral dutasteride for hair loss is an effective treatment because dutasteride blocks the action of an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase, which prevents your body from converting testosterone into an androgen hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT promotes male sex characteristics like facial and body hair and causes hair thinning in genetically predisposed adults.

The hair follicles in the hairline and the vertex/crown area undergo miniaturisation, leading to a receding hairline and a bald spot on the crown. If not treated, this progressive hair loss may continue through the years and potentially affect all of the healthy hair on top of your head while sparing the sides and back.

Dutasteride stops the production of DHT by over 90%, which helps to prevent, slow down, and even reverse hair loss in people with male pattern baldness. This means that using dutasteride for hair regrowth and to prevent further hair loss is one of the most effective non-surgical treatments for hair loss in men.

“How long does dutasteride take to work for hair loss?” is often the first question patients ask during consultations. However, this can be difficult to answer because the use of medications to treat male hair loss can vary from case to case, as not everyone responds in the same way.

Depending on the individual, dutasteride can take three to six months to show its first effects, and it takes about one year of taking dutasteride before the impact on preventing hair loss and regrowing hair can be accurately assessed. You may notice some thinning of existing hair during the first few months on dutasteride, but this is usually temporary due to the shedding of miniaturised hairs.

Dutasteride tablets for hair loss are usually prescribed off-label in a 0.5mg capsule taken once daily. However, many hair loss sufferers experience positive results by taking dutasteride three times weekly.

The best dutasteride dosage for hair loss in your case may vary, but this can be discussed in more detail during your consultation at our hair transplant clinic in Glasgow, Scotland.

Book a consultation with Dr Bonaros today to discuss what the dutasteride dose for hair loss is right for you. Call our clinic in Glasgow on 0141 340 9098 to book your appointment or use our online contact form.

“Is dutasteride safe for hair loss?” is also one of the first questions patients ask because there is a lot of conflicting information on the internet about the side effects of dutasteride.

Study data show that dutasteride is generally safe and well-tolerated, even at the higher doses used to treat BPH.

Side effects of dutasteride include:

• Erectile dysfunction
• Decreased libido (sex drive)
• Ejaculation problems
• Breast enlargement or tenderness
• Feeling depressed
• Testicular swelling
• Pain 
• Severe allergic reaction in some individuals, resulting in a rash and swelling of the face, tongue, or throat. 
• May be associated with an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer

Young women who may be pregnant should not be exposed to dutasteride. Dutasteride has serious side effects on pregnant women and can lead to severe defects in the fetus. Read more about the effects of dutasteride on women here. 

While side effects from finasteride and dutasteride are rare, they can still happen. If you experience side effects from either hair loss treatment, talk to your doctor and tell them about your experience.

When it comes to hair loss treatments using oral medications, the question of “dutasteride versus finasteride” is common because both are known for their efficacy in treating male pattern hair loss.

While both medications are effective at treating hair loss and stimulating hair growth, there’s some evidence that dutasteride may be slightly more effective if you want to regrow hair.

In a 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers compared finasteride and dutasteride on 917 men between 20 and 50 at various stages of male pattern baldness. The researchers found that men who took dutasteride had thicker hair and a higher average target area hair count than those who used finasteride. Side effects were similar between the two groups.

The findings of a review published in Clinical Interventions in Ageing, which presented data from three studies comparing dutasteride vs finasteride for hair loss treatments for male pattern baldness, were consistent with this conclusion. The team found that, although both medications are effective at treating hair loss in men, dutasteride seems to provide better efficacy than finasteride and has a similarly low potential for side effects.

Not sure if finasteride or dutasteride is right for you? Book a consultation with Dr Epameinondas Bonaros to find out more about what these hair loss medications can do for you.

A dutasteride treatment is slightly more effective than finasteride because it prevents more testosterone from converting into DHT, the hormone responsible for male pattern baldness. Finasteride is a selective inhibitor of type 2 5ARI, whereas dutasteride inhibits type 1 and 2 5ARI. 

Due to the additional target, dutasteride induces a more significant reduction in DHT production. Finasteride reduces serum DHT levels by about 70 % compared to 90% in the case of dutasteride.

Another reason dutasteride may be more effective than finasteride as a hair loss treatment for androgenetic alopecia in men is its longer half-life, meaning that it stays in the body for a more extended period after taking it. Currently, only finasteride is approved in the UK as a treatment for hair loss.

Dutasteride in the UK is not licensed as a hair loss medication but is widely used for this.

As we mentioned before, the ability of these medications to prevent hair loss and regrow hair may vary from person to person because not everyone responds in the same way. Some patients respond to dutasteride but not finasteride. 

Additionally, some men who have been using finasteride for more than five years and whose hair thinning returned after a period of improvement may benefit from dutasteride.

Yes, dutasteride is often combined with oral or topical minoxidil and hair transplantation.

Book a consultation with Dr Bonaros to find out about our other hair loss treatments.

In comparative studies, orally administered dutasteride has been shown to be more effective than orally administered minoxidil for treating androgenetic alopecia.

A JAMA Dermatology meta-analysis looked at 23 trials analysing the efficacy of oral minoxidil, finasteride, and dutasteride. The conclusion was that dutasteride had the highest probability of being most effective at treating male pattern baldness. 0.5 mg/d of oral dutasteride was a more effective treatment than 5mg daily of either finasteride or minoxidil for this hair loss condition in men.

Although dutasteride is a very effective hair loss treatment for men with AGA, the underlying genetic hair loss sometimes progresses faster than dutasteride can hold back.