Medical Therapy for Hair Loss

Seattle Hair Transplantation Clinic

Medical Therapy for Hair Loss

Part of your treatment plan as a hair transplantation patient will include medical therapy to maintain and prolong your hair density after the transplantation procedure.

The two medical therapies with proven effectiveness in preventing hair loss for patients are minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia).

1. Minoxidil has been shown to regrow and maintain hair density when used twice daily for the vertex of the scalp. It comes in foam and liquid forms and is not a prescription medication. We offer minoxidil for sale in our clinic. All postoperative hair transplantation patients are placed on long-term, daily minoxidil therapy. There are few side effects of the topical medication – itching being the most common.
2. Finasteride is a prescription-only medication that is now ‘generic.’ When taken daily in appropriate doses, the medication can regrow hair and prolong hair density in most patients. The medication does alter the effects of a testosterone metabolite and can have sexual side effects in a small fraction of patients. We recommend that all hair transplant patients use long-term, daily finasteride.

There are a number of medical therapies that make claims to re-grow hair and support transplanted hair – including A Cell and platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Based on the medical literature that we have reviewed, we don’t believe these products offer any marginal benefit for hair growth over placebo.

There are a number of non-medical hair products – shampoo and hair styling products that make thinning hair appear to be thicker. We recommend daily use of these products and will make recommendations post-operatively.