Medical Hair Loss Therapy For 17 Year-Old-Male

This young man came to our office at 17 years old with early genetic male pattern hair loss (Norwood hair loss scale 3). He had been rapidly losing hair for the past 6 months, and his family history of hair loss was very strong.

Although he had adequate donor hair for a hair transplant at the present time, it is routinely not advisable to perform a hair transplant on a young male who will more than likely lose significant hair over the next 10-20 years, and it would be difficult and costly to try to replace his hair via surgery.

Before and 1 year after finasteride medical therapy and ketoconazole shampoo.

Dr. Rogers advised him that medical therapy was a better option for him and prescribed oral finasteride 1mg daily and ketoconazole shampoo (which has an anti-androgen effect at the level of the hair follicle). After 5-6 months, he was relieved and happy to see his hair slow down, and new hair regrowth thickening his bitemporal recessions and hairline, creating a more appropriate and youthful appearance.

Note: Although finasteride is not FDA-approved for men under age 18, Dr. Rogers occasionally uses it in younger men who have already undergone puberty and who are facing strong, early male pattern hair loss.