Here’s a question relating to finasteride’s affect on height in adolescents.
Hello Robert. I’m 19. And I’m a short and small guy, but 2 out of my 4 cousins got a really big boost to their height around my age (20~), so I still have this hope inside me that I will become taller. Anyway, will taking Propecia disrupt my growth? By small, I mean I weigh 110 pounds and I’m 5.6 feet tall. Should I be taking a smaller dose of finasteride?
I’m not really losing a ton of hair, although it is getting worse over time. So is it really smart to just jump straight into taking Propecia? Perhaps I should be just changing my lifestyle and just using minoxidil? TY.
I’ve read a number of articles on finasteride and height — and unfortunately, there’s no clear-cut evidence that it affects height one way or another. Most doctors acknowledge the possibility that it may stunt growth to a certain degree, due to its effect on DHT, but there’s no conclusive evidence at this point.
Of course DHT is primarily a sex hormone that plays a role in a boy’s transition to manhood, making his voice deeper, helping develop his reproductive system, etc. It also plays some role in height, though that role isn’t fully understood.
In a small study with 10 participants — all young men with a condition known as delayed puberty — researchers concluded that DHT supplementation increased height and lean body mass (source). This could lead one to believe that DHT does have some affect on height.
Hypothetically — and this is just my interpretation of my research so far — if you’re genetically “programmed” height is 6’4,” and you’re 6’0” at 18 and you start taking Propecia, you’ll probably still continue to grow, but you may not quite reach that 6’4” mark encoded in your DNA. This is all speculation. It’s unknown at this point as I said.
Hope that helps; again I wish we knew more. I can’t offer medical advice but definitely talk to your doctor. If I were in a similar situation, I might very well consider a low-dose finasteride regimen in conjunction with minoxidil.
Related reads:
- Will Finasteride Treat My Receding Hairline?
- A Long, Hard, and Honest Look at Propecia – Is It Worth the Risk?
- Balding in Your Teens – Here’s How to Keep Your Hair and Stay Sane
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.