How to make topical finasteride from oral finasteride

My recommendation

This guide will be helpful for those considering the use of topical finasteride as an alternative to oral administration. While I believe there may not be a strong reason to choose the topical form, it can still be an option for some.

Home 9 Guides 9 How to make topical finasteride from oral finasteride

In this guide, I will demonstrate how to prepare a topical finasteride solution using oral finasteride tablets. This may be an appealing alternative for individuals who prefer not to use oral finasteride due to concerns about potential side effects.

In addition to detailing the process for preparing this topical solution, I will also instruct you on how to calculate the required concentrations to create solutions with varying strengths. This will allow you to easily produce the following concentrations:

Finasteride 0.025%
Finasteride 0.05%
Finasteride 0.1%

By the way, I also have a guide where I teach you how to create topical solutions of Minoxidil + Finasteride.

Understanding dosage levels

First and foremost, it’s important to grasp the reasoning behind the different dosage levels. Take a look at the following chart:

You’ll notice that there isn’t a significant difference between oral finasteride at 0.25 mg and 5 mg, even though there’s a 20-fold difference in dosage!

In reality, there’s no need for high-dose finasteride. Even a daily dose of 0.25 mg is sufficient to achieve the DHT reduction achievable with this medication.

When we convert our topical finasteride concentrations into milligrams, it looks like this:

1 ml of Finasteride 0.025% equals 0.25 mg of finasteride exposure.
1 ml of Finasteride 0.05% equals 0.5 mg of finasteride exposure.
1 ml of Finasteride 0.1% equals 1 mg of finasteride exposure.

It’s important to note that even with topical finasteride, some of it will be absorbed into your bloodstream. This can produce effects similar to oral finasteride but at a lower intensity.

According to scientific studies, exposing your scalp to 0.25 mg of finasteride will reduce your scalp DHT levels by 50% and blood DHT levels by 25%. If you expose your skin to 1 mg of finasteride, you’ll reduce scalp DHT by 55% and blood DHT by 50%.

However, it’s crucial to understand that the effects are consistently slightly less potent than with the oral version, and lower topical doses have more targeted effects on scalp DHT rather than on systemic DHT.

Proscar: an economical alternative to Finasteride

Proscar is a medication commonly used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, but it’s essentially the same as finasteride, dosed at 5 mg. When it comes to cost, Proscar is considerably more budget-friendly than the finasteride typically used for hair loss.

A box of generic finasteride (28 tablets) costs €15, which amounts to €0.53 for 1 mg of finasteride.
A box of Proscar (28 tablets) is priced at €12, making it €0.085 for 1 mg of finasteride.

If you have the opportunity to purchase Proscar, it’s a smarter choice, as it is roughly six times more affordable than the finasteride marketed for hair loss. Keep in mind that Proscar may not be readily available to everyone, but it’s up to you to explore ways to obtain it.

How to Prepare Topical Finasteride Solutions

To create your own topical finasteride solution, you will need four ingredients:

Finasteride
Ethanol
Propylene glycol
Water

Except for finasteride, the other ingredients are inert and primarily serve to enhance the absorption of the solution. They are the same inactive components found in bottles of topical minoxidil.

Ideally, I recommend adding 10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil. This can further improve the absorption of finasteride.

Typically, for a 60ml minoxidil bottle, you would have the following volumes:

60% ethanol
20% propylene glycol
20% water

We will use these same ratios to create our topical finasteride solution.

Please note that some individuals may experience irritation due to propylene glycol. If this applies to you, I suggest reducing the volume of propylene glycol. You can decrease it to 10% or even 5%. However, avoid eliminating it entirely, as this would cause the ethanol to evaporate too rapidly, affecting the absorption of finasteride.

In addition, I recommend adding 10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to enhance finasteride absorption.

For creating specific concentrations, here are the formulations:

Finasteride 0.1% (60 ml):

36 ml ethanol (equivalent to 60%)
12 ml propylene glycol (equivalent to 20%)
12 ml water (equivalent to 20%)
10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
60 tablets of 1 mg finasteride (or 12 tablets of 5 mg Proscar)

Finasteride 0.05% (60 ml):

36 ml ethanol (equivalent to 60%)
12 ml propylene glycol (equivalent to 20%)
12 ml water (equivalent to 20%)
10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
30 tablets of 1 mg finasteride (or 6 tablets of 5 mg Proscar)

Finasteride 0.025% (60 ml):

36 ml ethanol (equivalent to 60%)
12 ml propylene glycol (equivalent to 20%)
12 ml water (equivalent to 20%)
10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
15 tablets of 1 mg finasteride (or 3 tablets of 5 mg Proscar)

After preparing your desired solution, you may notice some residue at the bottom of the bottle. To avoid this, you can filter the solution through a cloth to obtain a clear solution.

I recommend applying 1 ml in the morning and 1 ml in the evening for a finasteride concentration of 0.025%. However, if you wish to use a higher concentration of finasteride, you can apply 1 ml per day.

Treatment analyses