Finasteride Timeline: Results at 3, 6 and 12 Months

This page lays out the timeline month by month, using the numbers from the FDA label and the original trials, label revised 8/2022 on DailyMed. Patient videos appear further down as illustration only. For prices, see our finasteride price page.

The finasteride timeline, from the trials

The figures below come from two one-year trials of men aged 18 to 41 with mild to moderate vertex hair loss, plus their blinded extensions. Each row is cited to the page that reports it.

Month 0 to 3: mostly waiting

The first three months rarely look like much in the mirror. On the trials' self-assessment questionnaire, "Overall improvement compared with placebo was seen as early as 3 months" (DailyMed: Propecia label). That was a group average on a questionnaire, not a visible change for every man. The label's own advice is to keep going for at least three months before judging it.

Month 6: hair counts start to move

By six months the change shows up on a hair count. The label reports "significant increases in hair count were demonstrated at 6 and 12 months in men treated with PROPECIA, while significant hair loss from baseline was demonstrated in those treated with placebo" (DailyMed: Propecia label). Note the second half: the untreated men kept losing hair, so part of the benefit is hair you did not lose.

Month 12: the first full verdict

Twelve months is the point most prescribers use to judge finasteride. In the two vertex trials, the original paper reports "107 and 138 hairs vs placebo at 1 and 2 years, respectively" and adds that "Treatment with placebo resulted in progressive hair loss" (Kaufman et al., JAAD 1998).

The label puts the same year another way: "At 12 months, 58% of men in the placebo group had further hair loss (defined as any decrease in hair count from baseline), compared with 14% of men treated with PROPECIA" (DailyMed: Propecia label). So most treated men held or gained hair, and a minority still lost some.

Finasteride before and after: what the trial photos showed

The closest thing to a trial-grade before and after is the blinded photo panel. Experts rated standardized head photos without knowing who took the drug. "At 12 months, 48% of men treated with PROPECIA had an increase as compared with 7% of men treated with placebo" (DailyMed: Propecia label). Read that plainly: about half of treated men showed a visible gain in photos at a year, and the rest mostly held steady.

Year 2 to 5: the peak, then a slow drift

The label says "the maximum improvement in hair count compared to baseline was achieved during the first 2 years" and that hair count "was maintained above baseline throughout the 5 years of the studies" (DailyMed: Propecia label). The gap to placebo kept widening because untreated hair loss kept going.

If you stop

The benefit lasts only while you take it. "Withdrawal of treatment leads to reversal of effect within 12 months," the label says, and in the trials a switch to placebo "resulted in reversal of the increase in hair count 12 months later, at 24 months" (DailyMed: Propecia label).

Side effects belong in the same conversation. In the label's trials, "36 (3.8%) of 945 men had reported one or more of these adverse experiences as compared to 20 (2.1%) of 934 men treated with placebo", and post-approval reports include "sexual dysfunction that continued after discontinuation of treatment" (DailyMed: Propecia label). Compounded sprays are a separate product: the FDA says "Currently, there is no FDA-approved topical formulation of finasteride" (FDA alert on compounded topical finasteride).

What the videos show

Patient videos show what the months feel like: the impatient first quarter, the photo comparisons, the worries about side effects. They are individual experiences, not evidence, and nobody's result predicts yours. Lighting, haircut and camera angle change a photo more than people expect.

Side Effects of Finasteride
The Hair Loss Show, October 2, 2019Expectations of Taking Finasteride
The Hair Loss Show, September 23, 2020Combining Finasteride and Minoxidil Therapies
The Hair Loss Show, September 28, 2020

Videos belong to their channels; our summary is on each video's page. All 7 Finasteride videos.

The full set, with our summary of each, is on the finasteride video hub.

Which programs let you message a clinician

Twelve months is a long time to wonder whether something is working. These are the programs that let you message a clinician during treatment, and what that costs.

From each program's own page, read 2026-10-31.

What it costs

The cheapest per-tablet finasteride plan we track is Strut Health at $0.83, and the cheapest hair loss plan overall is Keeps at $14, as checked October 31, 2026. Because the label's verdict point is a year, price the full year, not the first month. Every plan is on our finasteride price page, and the ranked programs are on Best men's health programs.