How Does Finasteride Work?

Finasteride is classified as an anti-androgen medication and works by inhibiting the type II 5 alpha-reductase which stops the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in follicles.

DHT is a hormone converted from testosterone which causes the miniaturisation of hair follicles. Hair Miniaturisation may also be referred to as thinning or balding of hair. During this process, hair cycles are shorter and hair follicles constrict as a result of these changes, hair strands that do develop from these miniaturised follicles are thinner and weaker. This is a gradual continuous process and progressively gets worse until the hair strands are too weak and fragile to penetrate the scalp leading to complete baldness.

By lowering the levels of DHT in the scalp we can stop and reverse the miniaturisation process allowing for the densification of hair.