What is scalp hair restoration and prevention?

At Plume, we provide various treatments for scalp hair loss prevention and restoration. Hair pattern changes from person to person; we can help with hair loss, if that is important in your gender journey. Testosterone is one of the main causes of hair loss. This is true whether we are trying to block testosterone that we naturally produce or increase our testosterone by taking it via supplementation. This means hair loss can affect us all. Hair loss is also strongly determined by family genetics.

The medications we use are most effective at preventing further hair loss, though they may also help with regrowth. The most commonly prescribed hair restoration treatment is finasteride, an oral medication which blocks the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is stronger than testosterone, highly concentrated in the scalp, and most responsible for hair loss. Finasteride is typically well-tolerated, but has been reported to cause depression. It can also cause other testosterone-blocking effects like decreased libido and decreased erectile function. Finasteride can also cause birth defects, so it should not be used in anybody who is pregnant or trying to become pregnant.

There is a common over-the-counter (no prescription required) topical medication called minoxidil, also known as the brand name Rogaine. This medication is applied twice a day directly to the affected area on your scalp. Rogaine can cause mild itching, burning, or flaky skin. While it may seem counterintuitive, minoxidil can actually cause shedding of some hair in the first several months—so don’t be surprised if this happens, and you look balder to yourself. But ultimately, this medication will result in hair growth. Your new hair will last longer. Continuing to use minoxidil leads to less hair loss for the duration of its use.

There are various other custom-compounded, prescription topical medications available through our delivery pharmacy. Your clinician can provide guidance on these if you are interested. Topical medications can be helpful because they act directly on the area you’re trying to treat. Putting the medicine on the desired location will typically decrease the amount of systemic effects on the rest of the body (especially compared to oral tablets, which need to be processed by your whole body in order to work). These topical prescriptions are applied once before bed to the affected area, as either a foam or liquid solution.

Latanoprost is a medication that has been used for eye conditions like glaucoma, but also has been found to help with hair preservation in small studies when applied to the scalp. Shedding is less common with Latanoprost. Our delivery pharmacy also has topical formulations such as finasteride and minoxidil (both described above), as well as melatonin (commonly used for sleep difficulty), azelaic acid (commonly used for acne) and ketoconazole (commonly used for dandruff). All of these medications have evidence via small studies that suggest they aid in hair prevention and restoration.

For those on testosterone

Hair loss typically does not occur until at least a year on testosterone. Hair pattern changes can be influenced by the dose you are taking. The dose of finasteride you are prescribed does not typically interfere with your physical development, but our care team will monitor your progress closely. That way, we can track any undesired effects and can adjust your dose if needed.

For those on Estrogen+

Finasteride can be helpful in many ways in addition to hair loss prevention. (Due to its testosterone-blocking effects, it can be a nice supplement to estradiol.) But estradiol alone is what will ultimately suppress testosterone, thereby preventing hair loss. The following can be used alone or in combination with oral finasteride:

Hair Restore L Foam (Latanoprost) 0.01%

Hair Restore L Extra Strength Foam (Latanoprost) 0.06%

Hair Restore L Ultra Strength Foam (Latanoprost) 0.1%

Hair Restore Lite Scalp Solution (Minoxidil / Azelaic Acid) 5/12.5%

Hair Restore MML Scalp Solution (Minoxidil / Melatonin / Latanoprost) 3/0.2/0.01%

Hair Restore Ultra Scalp Solution (Minoxidil / Azelaic Acid / Finasteride / Ketoconazole)  5/12.5/0.1/2%

The following can be used alone or in combination with oral finasteride and typically used if the above are not offering the desired results:

Hair Restore LF Foam (Latanoprost / Finasteride) 0.01/0.1% 30

Hair Restore LF Extra Strength Foam (Latanoprost / Finasteride) 0.06/0.1%

Hair Restore LF2 Extra Strength Foam (Latanoprost / Finasteride) 0.06/0.2%

Facial hair growth

Are there medications that can be taken to help with facial hair growth? The answer is: it depends. While no single medication is proven to work well for everyone, your individual results may be different. Our delivery pharmacy does offer a different topical cream formulations, created in partnership with our delivery pharmacy and Dr. Will Power:

Facial Hair Growth v2.0 Cream (Minoxidil / Biotin / Latanoprost) 25/0.25/0.005%

Are there any possible risks?

Any topical medication can cause itching, burning and flaky skin. Unless testosterone is at very low levels in your body, hair loss will reoccur as soon these treatments are stopped.

Where can I get my medication?

You can have these medications delivered to you from our delivery pharmacy or we can send a prescription to your local pharmacy of choice. You can see a full list of our mail order medications and prices (as determined by our delivery pharmacy) here.

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