oral is better than topical for finasteride. i will give no further advice, used it myself did not like that thing. minoxidil is better in topical form with tretinoin, not finasteride. DHT is fucking attacking your hair follicles at the every milimeter of your scalp (except the very rear occupital and temporal areas by the side of the ear) and you only cover the area that is thinning. The other areas will get fucked up too without using finasteride (topical) in that area or hopping on oral finasteride eg. propecia or proscar 1/4 to 1/5 (though proscar is not prescribed typically for this thing, use at your own risk). this is text, all of it, is also not a medical advice, as always see a doctor before taking any drugs. you got a poor dermatologist, please check out my post where I mention the drugs that I had been prescribed, written it to 4 sheets of paper with dates and uses. topical is always inferior (for finasteride). always. oral reaches maximal dht inhibition already in about 1mg. hop on 1.25mg fin obviously not without a derm’s advice and you will reach maximal dht inhibition threshold of finateride, for greater inhibition dutasteride is needed. if you even need more, a topical anti-androgen is needed, if you need even more then you were destined to go bald so shave that and own it.
*minor correction:occupital area is also under attack by dht, though the horseshoe zone is immune largely to dht. this is why i said very rear, under normal circumstances the occupital areas not very rear in location are also vulnerable just like vertex or midscalp/frontal areas.