18M, I was on oral fin for 5 months and had amazing results, but got sides around 4 months in. I saw shedding stop within a few weeks on oral fin, but now, 2 months off fin, I noticed heavy shedding again, and I’m almost back to pre fin and minoxidil baseline. I talked to my derm about switching to a topical treatment, and she told me that an affordable option would be to DIY topical fin by crushing up my oral meds and dissolving them in liquid minoxidil. I made a batch of .01% topical finasteride (low dose so I don’t affect systemic DHT), and I’m wondering if anybody has had success in using homemade topical finasteride?
Using topical fin can be a good way to reduce side effects while still targeting scalp DHT. However, your 0.01% concentration might be too low to see significant results since most studies use higher concentrations. Keep monitoring your condition and adjust if necessary. Check out The Beginner’s Guide for more info.