Welcome

This site provides evidence and commentary about the risks of finasteride as a treatment for hair loss. It is geared to patients, former users of finasteride, doctors, researchers and anyone else interested. More background on this site is here.

This site describes adverse experiences which some may find disturbing. See the Reader advisory.

• Thinking about taking finasteride for hair loss? See drug information.
• For a historical perspective, see the finasteride timeline which starts with a study in Dominican Republic in the early 1970s.
• A research briefing highlights findings from two recent systematic reviews/meta-analyses.
• The research bibliography gathers hundreds of papers on adverse effects of finasteride and other 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. See also Research by symptom, Systematic reviews & meta-analyses and Related research.

Editor’s picks

• Firsthand experiences of finasteride — Volume IV: FOIA edition
• Summary of adverse events reported to FDA, 2018–2020
• A history of changes to the Propecia label
• ‘Safe and well-tolerated’: Arguments used to discredit reports of persistent adverse effects
• Commentary: Finding the occasion to talk about persistent adverse effects of finasteride
• Research: Adverse effects of finasteride on semen, sperm and fertility
• Research on post-finasteride syndrome

Tags

Adverse effects Anxiety Bias Denial and skepticism Dermatologists Doctor views Drug label FDA Firsthand reports FOIA requests Hair transplant surgeons Merck News Nocebo effect Persistent adverse effects Post-finasteride syndrome Psychological adverse effects Recoveries Research Sexual dysfunction Shame and stigma Sleep disturbances Social attitudes Tinnitus