New “DHT blockers” promise to stop hair loss in its tracks, but do they work?
As a doctor, patients ask me almost every day about the best way to stop hair loss. Until recently, my answer was always that there are treatments, but that all the effective treatments have real draw backs and side effects to consider.
For example, finasteride pills (think Roman and Hims etc) is actually very effective, but can cause erectile dysfunction in nearly 50% of men who take it.
But a recent development has me extremely excited because I’m seeing truly remarkable results in my patients.
In fact, I’m seeing results that are as good or better than any treatment I’ve ever seen before, and without the sexual side effects. For the first time in a long time I come home energized and excited after viewing patient results. My wife laughs at how nerdy I get with this stuff, but it’s a very exciting time for me and other serious doctors in the field.
The Science Behind Hair Loss
Before getting into the details of the new treatment, it’s helpful if I talk a little about why “male pattern baldness” (which also affects 30 million American women by the way) happens in the first place.
Both men and women have varying levels of testosterone in their bodies, and that testosterone breaks down into related hormones, one of which is DHT. DHT is important to have in your body as it allows the prostate and male sex organs to work properly. The problem is DHT also affects hair follicles, causing hair to shrink and thin, then disappear over time. So researchers developed DHT blockers. Makes sense, right?
DHT blockers are effective at preventing hair loss. The challenge is that when taken as pills, they lower the DHT levels in your entire body. Remember that DHT helps male sex organs to function? Well, taking DHT blockers as pills blocks DHT in the blood stream as well as at the hair follicle, causing impotence in many men. This leads to a very unpleasant choice – do you want to save your hair or your sex life?
The New Generation of DHT Blockers
This leads me to the new treatment I’m so excited about -a new class of DHT blocker called “dutasteride” that can be applied directly to the hair follicle INSTEAD of taken as a pill. Dutasteride stays at the hair follicle nearly 50X longer than older finasteride treatments – opening the door to truly effective topical treatment. So no pill means no large amount of DHT blocker in the blood, which means we don’t see erectile dysfunction in patients.
My patients can now keep their hair without worrying about sexual side effects. This is a huge win for my patients looking to keep or regrow their hair.
To learn more about topical dutasteride DHT blocker hair treatments, and to see if you qualify for a prescription, click here.