RU58841 vs Finasteride for hair loss
Hair loss is one of the most feared side-effects of AAS use. Most people are not willing to trade more muscle for less hair, so knowing how to detect hair loss in its early stages and put an end to it as rapidly as possible is key.
Thankfully, not everyone is prone to losing hair on AAS, and not all AAS are likely to cause hair loss. Still, it is wise to learn what ancillaries are necessary for the treatment of hair loss and how to use them effectively.
In this article, we will learn how and why certain AAS cause hair loss, and we will compare the most popular anti-hair loss drug (Finasteride) with its most promising competitor (RU-58841).
HOW DOES DHT CAUSE HAIR LOSS?
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the 5-alpha-reduced metabolite of Testosterone that is responsible for masculinization, sexual development, libido, sexual function and mood in men.
As great and necessary as it is for us to function optimally, DHT can cause hair-loss by shrinking hair follicles (a phenomenon known as androgenic alopecia) in men who are genetically prone to it. Certain AAS can cause the same side-effects by “acting” as DHT in the body.
Some examples of AAS that are likely to cause hair-loss in men who are prone to androgenic alopecia are: Testosterone, Winstrol, Masteron, Proviron and Primobolan among others.
Now that you know how and why hair loss occurs, let’s take a look at the leading anti-hair loss medications and how they compare to each other…
HOW FINASTERIDE WORKS
Finasteride is the most popular and most commonly prescribed hair-loss prevention drug on the market. It’s an oral steroidal anti-androgen that reduces DHT levels by inhibiting the 5-alpha-reducatse enzyme (so it is a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor). This is the enzyme that is responsible for the conversion of Testosterone into DHT.
This decline in circulating DHT levels decreases the occurrence of androgenic alopecia and acne, helping men keep their hair intact and their skin smooth. Unfortunately, this reduction in DHT can cause erectile dysfunction, a loss of libido and depression in a significant minority of users.
HOW RU-58841 WORKS
RU-58841 is a non-steroidal anti-androgen that is only used topically. Instead of inhibiting the conversion of Testosterone into DHT, it binds to androgen receptors wherever it’s applied, preventing DHT from attaching to them.
In other words, if you apply it to your scalp, it will attach to the androgen receptors in your hair follicles and prevent DHT from attaching to them and causing hair follicle miniaturization, which will stop hair-loss.
The same applies to the skin, so using it will stop the acne (if it’s caused by DHT) wherever you apply it by preventing DHT from increasing sebum production.
The great thing about RU-58841 is that it simply blocks the actions of DHT wherever applied without decreasing DHT levels on a systemic level, so there is little to no risk of experiencing low DHT symptoms like erectile dysfunction, low libido or depression.
WHY RU-58841 IS BETTER DURING A CYCLE
So why is RU-58841 better than Finasteride at preventing hair-loss and androgenic acne during a Steroid cycle? Well, both are equally effective when they only Steroid being used is Testosterone. In fact, if you are just doing Test, Finasteride is the most convenient option at 0.25 to 1mg a day. However, Finasteride is completely useless when running DHT derivatives like Proviron, Masteron, Winstrol and others…
Since these steroids are already active forms of DHT, they do not need to undergo a transformation through the 5-alpha-reducatse enzyme, so drugs like Finasteride can’t stop them from causing hair loss or acne.
RU-58841, however, works independently from 5-alpha-reductase and will block DHT and any of its derivatives from attaching to the scalp or skin, so it will do what Finasteride is incapable of.
Dosing it is not as easy as dosing finasteride since it comes in liquid solutions meant for topical use. The typical protocol consists in massaging and spreading 50mg worth of liquid (most bottles come at 50mg/ml so it would be 1ml of liquid) throughout one’s scalp for hair loss and using just enough liquid RU-58841 to cover acne-affected areas of your face, back, shoulders or chest to prevent acne.
