On this blog, I have purposely limited discussion about the two main approved existing medications (Finasteride and Minoxidil) for treating hair loss. I consider those treatments to be subpar in the modern world considering the tremendous progress that has been made in science and technology over the past several decades.

Although this post may seem anti-hair-loss-medication thus far, it is also important for readers to take a look at the best case scenarios. For that, I leave you with a collection of before and after patient photos showing success with Finasteride and/or Minoxidil.

Do Propecia and Rogaine Work to Grow Hair?

The problems with Finasteride (brand name Propecia) and Minoxidil (brand name Rogaine) can be summed up as follows:

1. Neither of the two medications work on everyone.
2. Even when they work, they tend to rarely ever grow lengthy robust hair strands. And they almost never grow decent quality hair on totally bald regions of the scalp.
3. They can both cause side effects, with Finasteride being the more dangerous of the two in that regard.
4. It seems that for most people, the medications stop working after a number of years.
5. You have to keep buying and using these medications permanently, or else any gains go away. Besides the significant expense involved, this is a nuisance since you have to regularly replenish supplies. If you travel away from home, you have to remember to take an appropriate quantity of these medications with you.
6. In the case of Finasteride you need a doctor’s prescription, which is yet one more expense and hassle. I used to get my prescription from a hair transplant doctor. The last time I had to renew it, he charged me $50 for the visit plus wasted one hour of my time trying to convince me to get a small hair transplant. Luckily, I only take one pill every two days, and won’t need another prescription for a while.

Moreover, even I have seen some success in hair growth with Finasteride and Minoxidil. This despite only taking a quarter tab of 5mg Finasteride (Proscar) every two days, and not using Minoxidil every day as recommended.

However, I think that these medications are only giving me some short hair and an appearance of coverage in certain lighting. Overall, almost none of my hair can grow more than 2 inches anymore, and I am sure neither of these two medications will give me back most of the hair that I have already lost for more than a few years.