Medication for Female Hair Loss


Finasteride, or Propecia, is not generally prescribed to women as it has not received FDA approval to be taken by women. In some extreme cases it can be used as a trial drug as long as you are not pregnant or will not become pregnant because it can cause birth defects in male foetuses.

Minoxidil, or Rogaine, can be used by women, however, as it does not affect the DHT levels in the body. This lotion is massaged into the scalp to slow the balding process and in some instances to stimulate hair re-growth. The FDA recommends that women should only use the 2% concentration formula and not the 5%. However, the 5% concentration can be used if under supervision of dermatologist to ensure that too much minoxidil is not absorbed through the scalp and into the bloodstream. The 5% formula has been shown to have significant advances over the 2%, but unfortunately this is more of a preventative than a curative tonic. In clinical trials many women found that using minoxidil will in fact stop the balding process, but only about 20% of women found that hair re-growth occurred after 8 months. If caught in its first stages, the balding process can be fought with medicinal lotions like minoxidil, but it is a less helpful medication when your hair is at a more advanced stage of female-pattern baldness.


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Guide to Female Hair Loss