Last updated: May 29, 2024
When you think about stopping men’s hair loss, you want to mitigate loss and grow new hair.
This article will show what I’m doing to prevent my own hair loss and promote new growth. I’ll also share what strategies have helped me the most over the past 10 years.
The two main things that I do and recommend are:
- Finasteride to stop hair loss
- Minoxidil to grow new hair
For under $1 per day, you can start taking both of these and change your life. Or at least your hair.
To research this article, I visited several hair loss doctors to get second and third opinions on what I’ve been doing. I also had my hairline and hair thickness measured several times.
Keep reading to learn what the past 10 years have taught me about:
- How common balding is for men
- Why some interventions help and some don’t
- Exactly what works for me and most guys
Basic Facts About Men’s Hair Loss
For each decade of your life beginning in your 20s, you start to lose that percent of your hair.
For a lot of men, that means that by the time you’re 30, you’ve lost 30% of your hair.
Here’s the thing: You won’t notice it until it is almost too late.
But I promise you it is happening. You’re losing your hair as you get older.
Research from Cleveland Clinic about men’s hair loss should make you feel less alone because:
- About 70% of men will lose hair as they get older
- 25% of bald men see the first signs of hair loss before age 21
- Half of the men in the world experience majority hair loss by age 50
Start Before You Think You Need It
Most men don’t do anything about hair loss until they start to notice it.
But the problem is that by that time, you’ve already lost over half of your hair follicles.
So start some hair loss mitigation and growth strategies early. I hope this article will convince you to do that.
Nothing is sponsored in this post. I’m sharing all this because men’s hair loss seems to be a shameful topic that some guys are afraid to talk about. But it’s no big deal, really. I take these medicines every day that I’m about to tell you about. And my hair looks pretty good. Hopefully if I write about this topic, you’ll feel comfortable to ask me questions or help yourself to some solutions.
The easiest things you can start to do to have better hair are what I’ll call Level 1 interventions.
These are at-home medicines you could buy online or easily get prescribed through a doctor. That’s what I recommend for most people and what I’ve done for myself over the past 10+ years.
The intervention levels that I see are:
- Level 1: Minoxidil and Finasteride
- Level 2: Laser caps and general scalp health
- Level 3: Hair implants
Minoxidil AKA Rogaine
Minoxidil helps you grow new hair. It works. There are dozens of scientific studies about it.
But what you might not know is there’s a new oral version that some people are having big success with. I’ll tell you about that below.
This miracle hair growth product was previously marketed as Rogaine. The generic formulation of it is called Minoxidil. I always just buy the generic.
As of June 2024, I pay $45 for six bottles of liquid drops that last me about 5 months. This is the one I get on Amazon. You can also find it at Costco and Walmart.
There are a few different types of Minoxidil:
- Foam
- Liquid drops
- Oral pill – NEW
Foam Minoxidil
Topical foam minoxidil was the original formulation of Rogaine, I think. Some people like the foam and still use it. But I heard that it is harder to apply to your scalp.
I was always recommended the drops when I visited hair loss specialists. Send me an email if you use the foam and why you like it so I can update this article.
Liquid Minoxidil Drops
The liquid minoxidil drops are what I’ve used for 10+ years now. I buy the generic version on Amazon.
You use an eyedropper to apply it to your head. I always travel with a bottle of it and try to remember to use it twice a day, morning and night. But I usually forget a few times a week.
The drops can drip down your forehead and into your eyes. The process is a little messy, time-consuming, and can be itchy or cause irritation. But since it helps me grow new hair, I will continue to use it.
Oral Minoxidil
Recently, people have started to take oral minoxidil. It’s a tiny pill you take once a day and you never have to mess with the eyedropper or liquid again.
Amazing!, I thought. I first read about this in a New York Times article.
I started to ask around. Some of my friends had switched to the pill. They got prescriptions from their hair loss doctors. So I was curious.
After talking with two different hair loss doctors, I got a prescription. I think the cost for the pills is around $1 per day or less.
After taking this oral minoxidil for a few months, I experienced side effects. Low blood pressure, lightheadedness, and chest pains or tightness. I talked to my doctor and he immediately had me stop taking oral Minoxidil. Everything went back to normal. I’m back to doing the drops again.
I know people have success with oral minoxidil pills. But just watch out for side effects if you try it. Talk to your doctor and start on a half dose.
Finasteride AKA Propecia
This is the Holy Grail for stopping hair loss.
I’m going to bold this next part because it is so important:
If you want to stop losing your hair, you should consider finasteride as soon as possible.
I’ve been taking finasteride for 10+ years. So have tens of millions of other men.
It’s cheap, too. I think I pay $15 for 90 days of generic pills from the pharmacy at Costco.
This medicine works by blocking dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone that causes you to lose your hair.
Women can do minoxidil, and they should, but they should absolutely not take finasteride. I think men are even advised to stop taking finasteride when they’re trying to make a baby, because it can mess up pregnancies. Again: talk to your doctor about this.
Finasteride is a bit controversial because we’re messing with your body’s hormones now. But I’ve taken my daily finasteride pill for many many years with no side effects. My blood panels on and off finasteride have never show any major changes to my testosterone levels. In fact, my testosterone levels are quite high (1000+) after taking this for 10+ years, but that’s another story.
There’s a lot of uncertainty and doubt among some men about finasteride. Some men claim that it makes you lose your boners. What’s probably happening most of the time is that the men using the medicine are getting older, which affects libido. It isn’t the finasteride’s fault.
Don’t get scared by the stories online. Correlation isn’t causation. Talk to your doctor and be careful what you read.
My friend Andrew Wilkinson told me that he takes Dutasteride instead of finasteride. This medicine might have less side effects. He’s smart, so you should look at it and talk to your doctor about dutasteride, too.
Final note: You can also get topical finasteride in the form of drops that you put on your scalp. I’ve never done this, but some of my friends do this. Some hair loss specialists will be happy to make it for you at a compounding pharmacy but it is more expensive.
This concludes the easiest, most effective men’s hair loss mitigation strategies known to humanity:
- Minoxidil to encourage new growth, and
- Finasteride to stop hair thinning and hair loss.
Laser Caps
The next intervention for men’s hair loss is more expensive and perhaps less legit. But I do it.
I wear this ridiculous hat made out of lasers for five minutes every day. Or every day that I remember to do it, which is more like once or twice a week.
I don’t know the science behind it. I guess red lights stimulate the scalp? It is recommended by most hair loss doctors, although I bet they make a large commission on each sale since the laser cap sells for around $3,000.
I saw that Bryan Johnson uses it, and I trust him for health stuff.
Bryan Johnson is a biohacker that has first-hand experience with men’s hair loss. His protocol for hair loss mitigation includes:
• Red light therapy
• Topical treatment
• Microneedling
• Gray hair reversal products
I’ve used this laser diode hat for five minutes a day on and off for the last few years. These caps are very expensive and they supposedly stimulate your scalp and hair follicles. If I leave mine on for longer than a few minutes, my head gets warm. I haven’t seen any negative consequences so I’ll continue using it.
One other strategy in this Level 2 category is microneedling. I believe you buy these metal comb-like things and rub them on your head to improve blood flow in the scalp. As of May 2024, I haven’t tried it, but it is on my radar to explore.
These are all solutions to prevent hair loss and grow new hair before you go for the nuclear option, which is surgical hair implants.
Hair Implants
Everything I mentioned above can be done at home with relatively minimal cost and inconvenience.
But if you need to make a drastic change, consider some of these serious interventions:
- Hair implants: The most popular. Many men travel overseas for this. You have to shave a part of your head, go into surgery, etc. It costs many thousands of dollars and weeks or months of recovery but it works. Elon Musk did this.
- PRP: Many complain that this doesn’t work. I’m not sure if people still do this. A dermatologist on Twitter told me it works but is way too expensive in the USA.
- Stem cell therapy: I don’t know much about this, but a few people mentioned it to me. Sorry.
Finally, I’m obligated to mention one more option: Shave your head and just go bald. Some men have done this and are very happy doing this. It is an option.
Conclusion
I love my hair now. I know I’ll eventually lose more but, as a 42-year-old man, I feel pretty happy with how my hair looks. I even get compliments on it sometimes.
If you are worried about your own thinning hair, or if you just want to stay ahead of the game and ensure your hair doesn’t start to look worse as you get older, consider some of these options to prevent hair loss and grow new hair:
- Finasteride or dutasteride to prevent hair loss
- Minoxidil for new hair growth
- Laser caps for new hair growth
- Hair implants as a last resort
I hope these strategies help you feel happy about your hair. Or at least encourage you to start making a plan before you need it.
If you’ve experimented with new interventions or tried anything I’ve recommended, let me know in the comments or send me an email to [email protected]