Brief Answer:
Kindly elaborate certain important points.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome and thanks for posting your query to the forum.

I can understand your concern for the usage of minoxidil, finasteride and biotin since 3 years.

In view to help you best I humbly request you to give me certain important details of the query

- Are you using these products under medical supervision or as self medication.

- Are you Sexually active. If you are Sexually active then have you ever felt any problem in erection or ejaculation.

- Have you ever experienced any dryness of scalp or redness or any irritation on scalp.

- Any other medications or any other health issues.

Hope to hear soon from your side.

With regards,
Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-DERMATOLOGY & Sexually transmitted diseases.

---

Brief Answer:
Compound with Biochanin-A and Saw Palmetto tablets

Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,

Thanks a lot for your swift follow up with all the important details.

I can make out that you have taken all the medications without prescription as self medications.

Before I directly to you concern let me explain you some medical facts regarding hair fall.

Medically the number of normal hair falling varies from few hairs to up to 50-100 per day. Now if your hair falling more than 100s per day then it is definitely a problem. If it is not then you have to understand hair fall as normal process of day to day life.

We have almost 1 lac hair on our scalp and amongst them around 5% of hair are in falling phase and then another 0.1% (around 100) of hair can fall everyday. In males this is super-added with hormonal influence of testosterone hormone ( the male hormone) which we call as "male pattern baldness". This also depends upon genetics- meaning type and pattern of hair your family pattern (from your father and mother's side).

This process of falling starts by 20 years and is highest in between the age of 20 to 30 years and then the tendency remains but reduces slowly.
So, as I said earlier your problem is basically Androgenic alopecia or simply saying male pattern baldness. It affects mainly frontal and parietal region of the scalp as in your case too. The temporal and region is rarely affected and occipital region is never affected in this condition. So the most important thing is not to be worried about this normal physiological age related men's problem.

Now regarding the part of your queries:

There are innumerable products in the market claiming to be useful for hair growth. We dermatologists believe in application of Minoxidil lotion. It is one product which is unanimously used by all dermatologists. It is to be started with 2% lotion applied over the scalp once or twice in day. It is to be applied when the scalp is dry. Only 1 ml is sufficient to be applied at the root of hair in frontal region. If for one month there is no burning and irritation then we increase the percentage to 5 % to 10% gradually. The same we do to taper off the medicine. That means we do not stop the medicine at once and gradually taper it off to 5% and then 2% and then alternate day or off and application of lotion before stopping it completely.

Finasteride is given along with this topical application to reduce the effect of male hormones. It has a side effect of reducing the libido temporarily. And as soon as the medicine is stopped you regain your normal libido again. I can make out that you have never experienced such kind of thing in your case.

I can make out that you have used the product for continuous 3 years. Though it is good that the medications have not caused any side effect and have given you good results; but over and above I always suggest that no medication should be taken without an expert opinion.
For biotin :it is a B complex and is quite safe for a person to take as long as one wants.

In my cases with your kind of condition I shift my patients to a safer option of application of latest bio-products which can be used continuously for long time as well as can be used as intermittent therapy. Rather than using finasteride I suggest my patients to use tablet containing Saw Palmetto tablets (Androanagen) which work like Finasteride but without the sexual side effects and can be used as intermettitetn or long term therapy.

In topical solution also there is latest of compound with Biochanin-A which is natural phytoestrogen which inhibits both isoforms of 5α-reductase exactly similar to finasteride. There are no side effects of any of these therapies and have proved to be safest.

So I suggest you to ask your treating doctor regarding your concerns and get guidance for latest of the therapies enumerated above.

Hope this information will help you.

Regards.
Dr Sanjay Kumar Kanodia
MD (Dermatology)

---

Brief Answer:
It would be better to shift to other alternatives

Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,

Thanks a lot for your swift follow up.

The longest safety profipe of finasteride is established for 42 months and there are no clinical data for long term efficacy. As the long term safety profile of minoxidil and finasteride are not established so I suggest you to take intermittent therapy with other of the products as suggested in previous mail.

Please do not take self medication and meet a dermatologist to shift you to other replacement therapy.

I hope these informations will help you. I will be glad to guide you any further.

With regards,
Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-DERMATOLOGY

---

Brief Answer:
You can apprise your treating dermatologist regarding our discussion

Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,

Welcoem again to the forum and thanks for your further follow up.

You can meet any good dermatologist at XXXXXXX for which you can contact our customer care team. They will help you out in opting one of the best dermatologist near your location.

You can apprise your treating dermatologist regarding our discussion and can take further therapy accordingly. Even if you have any problem then I am always besides you for any sort of help and guidance.

"My all best wishes for your healthy life"

With regards,

Dr Sanjay Kanodia

---