Used for male pattern hair loss and prostate enlargement. The sexual side effects are real and deserve a proper conversation.
Explained by a GMC-registered GP, not a leaflet
Honest about what we can and cannot prescribe remotely
Side effects given the same weight as benefits
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Finasteride is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. It blocks the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) — the hormone responsible both for shrinking hair follicles in male pattern baldness and for driving prostate growth.
Two different doses are used for two different purposes: a low dose for hair loss, a higher one for prostate enlargement.
It is not licensed for hair loss in women and is contraindicated in women who could become pregnant.
Once daily, with or without food, at roughly the same time.
For hair loss, it takes three to six months before any effect is visible, and up to a year for the full result. Expectations matter here: it is considerably better at holding on to the hair you still have than at regrowing what has gone.
The effect only lasts while you take it. Stopping means the hair you preserved will be lost over the following six to twelve months. It is an indefinite commitment rather than a course, and that should be clear before you start.
For prostate symptoms, allow up to six months for the full benefit.
The sexual side effects deserve straight talking rather than minimising or catastrophising.
Reduced libido, erectile difficulty and reduced ejaculate volume are reported by a small percentage of men in trials — low single figures, and notably the rates in placebo groups are not far behind, which suggests expectation plays a part. For most men who experience them, they resolve on stopping.
There is also ongoing debate about persistent symptoms continuing after stopping, sometimes called post-finasteride syndrome. The evidence is contested and the mechanism is not established, but it is reported often enough that you should know it exists before starting rather than read about it afterwards. Anyone telling you it is definitively nothing, or definitively real, is overstating the evidence.
Other effects: breast tenderness or enlargement (which should always be reported), depression and mood change, and skin rash.
Report any breast lump, pain or nipple discharge — male breast cancer has been reported rarely.
It is not appropriate for hair loss in women of childbearing age.
The PSA caveat is the clinically important one. Finasteride roughly halves the PSA level. Anyone taking it who has a PSA test needs the result interpreted with that in mind — typically by doubling it — or a genuinely concerning result can look reassuringly normal. Always tell whoever orders a PSA that you take finasteride.
Drug interactions are otherwise few.
Before starting for prostate symptoms: PSA, and assessment to exclude prostate cancer. Urinary symptoms should not simply be treated without establishing the cause.
Yes, where clinically appropriate.
For hair loss: a consultation covers whether the pattern actually is androgenetic, and — importantly — whether something reversible is contributing. Low ferritin and thyroid disease both cause hair shedding and both are treatable, and neither is excluded by starting finasteride. We would check those first.
For prostate symptoms: urinary symptoms need assessing rather than assuming. PSA, a symptom score, and exclusion of the things that need urgent attention come before any prescription.
What we will not do is prescribe finasteride without a proper discussion of the sexual side-effect question. It is a long-term, elective treatment for hair loss, and consenting to it properly means knowing what is established, what is contested, and that stopping reverses the benefit.
This page is information, not an offer to supply.
Finasteride is a cheap generic. On a private prescription the drug cost plus dispensing fee is usually modest, and comparable to the England NHS prescription charge of around £10. NHS prescriptions are free in Wales.
For prostate symptoms, finasteride is available on the NHS. For male pattern hair loss it is not — that is considered cosmetic, and it is self-pay everywhere in the UK.
The tablets are inexpensive; hair loss clinics are not. Packages combining finasteride, minoxidil, supplements and shampoos at a substantial monthly cost usually contain two active ingredients you could obtain far more cheaply, plus several with no evidence at all.
Minoxidil solution is available over the counter and works alongside finasteride — the two together outperform either alone.
What is worth paying for is a blood test — ferritin and thyroid function, because both cause reversible hair shedding and both are commonly missed before someone commits to lifelong treatment.
The effect is entirely dependent on continuing to take it. Stopping means the hair gained is lost over roughly six to twelve months, and the underlying pattern resumes where it would have been.
That is the honest bargain: it is ongoing treatment, not a course. Worth understanding before starting rather than after a year.
Give it a minimum of six months, and preferably twelve, before judging it. Hair cycles are slow.
Some shedding in the first few weeks is common and reflects follicles re-entering a growth phase — it is not the drug making things worse.
Reduced libido, erectile difficulty and reduced ejaculate volume affect a small percentage of men, and for most they resolve on stopping.
A minority report symptoms persisting after stopping. The evidence on how often this happens and why is genuinely contested, and we are not going to pretend otherwise — but it is a recognised concern, it is worth knowing before you start, and it is a reason to stop and take advice rather than push through.
Mood change and low mood are also reported, and warrant stopping and reassessing rather than being dismissed.
Finasteride roughly halves the PSA reading. Anyone interpreting your PSA must know you take it, and the value should be doubled.
A "normal" PSA on finasteride can conceal a genuinely raised one, and this is a real and repeated source of delayed prostate cancer diagnosis.
To keep the benefit, yes. Stopping means the gained hair is lost over six to twelve months.
It holds the line rather than curing anything, and that is worth being clear about at the outset.
Six months minimum, and twelve for a fair judgement.
Early shedding is common and usually a good sign, not a reason to stop.
They affect a small percentage of men and usually resolve after stopping.
A minority report persistent symptoms, and the evidence there is genuinely disputed. If you develop them, stop and seek advice rather than continuing and hoping.
Yes — it roughly halves it. Whoever interprets your PSA must know you are taking finasteride and should double the figure.
This is missed often enough to matter.
It is not licensed for female hair loss, and it must be avoided entirely in anyone who could become pregnant — it causes serious abnormalities in a male foetus.
Women should not handle crushed or broken tablets. Intact tablets are coated and safe to handle.
It works best on the crown and mid-scalp. The frontal hairline responds least.
Managing expectations matters here — the aim is usually to hold what you have.
Yes, and the combination works better than either alone. They act through different mechanisms.
Minoxidil is available over the counter.
Same drug, different licensed use. 1mg for hair loss, 5mg for prostate enlargement.
Do not adjust the dose yourself to save money or chase a bigger effect.
Ferritin and thyroid function are worth doing. Both cause hair shedding, both are reversible, and both are commonly overlooked before committing to years of treatment.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 24, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews
