Fight back against male-pattern baldness with Propecia, or finasteride. Prices for these hair-loss medications were fairly steady at CVS and Walmart in May 2023.
If you’re fighting male-pattern baldness, you have plenty of company. According to the American Hair Loss Association, roughly 85 percent of all men experience significant hair thinning by the age of 50. The primary culprit behind that hair loss is male-pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia.
Some men choose to surrender to the progressive hair loss process and shave their heads. Others opt instead to conceal it by covering it up with replacement strategies, including hairpieces, while still others pay hefty sums for hair transplants.
Finasteride Is the Best Option
If you’d like to try to halt the hair loss process and even regrow some of the hair you’ve lost, your best option, according to the AHLA, is finasteride, which is also sold under the brand name Propecia.
Originally approved in 1992 as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, finasteride also won approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 1997 as a hair-loss treatment. After FDA approval, Pfizer marketed finasteride as Propecia.
‘First Line of Attack’
Medical scientists around the globe continue to search for even more effective weapons against male-pattern baldness. However, for now, Propecia and finasteride are your best choices. The AHLA recommends finasteride “as the first line of attack for all men interested in treating their male-pattern baldness.”
Researchers have found that the primary culprit behind male-pattern baldness is dihydrotestosterone, a derivative of testosterone. It shrinks hair follicles to the point that they can no longer support hair growth. Finasteride helps to reduce scalp levels of DHT by blocking the effects of an enzyme known as type II 5-a reductase. The offending enzyme triggers the conversion of testosterone to DHT. With less of the enzyme around, scalp levels of DHT decrease significantly.
Propecia and Finasteride Pricing Trends
Currently, in May 2023, CVS charges $3.93, a decrease of 11 cents, while Walgreens has reduced their price 43 cents, to $3.98. Walmart’s price, meanwhile, has also gone down, 16 cents to $3.74.
As of May 2023, two of the top three retailers’ prices for a 1 milligram tablet of finasteride also decreased. CVS’ price has dropped 11 cents to 88 cents, while Walgreens’ price has returned to 97 cents. Both are higher than the industry average of 53 cents. Walmart’s price has nearly halved, to 66 cents per dose for finasteride.
May 2023 Prices
Both Drugs Available Online
For men who prefer the convenience of ordering their drugs online, both Propecia and finasteride are available at eDrugstore.com, a longtime prescription drug service based in Tempe, Arizona. Its prices for Propecia and finasteride in May are $5.06 and 56 cents, respectively.
When you order your medications through eDrugstore, the price you pay covers not just the medications but a handful of added-value services as well. These include free shipping as well as a complimentary consultation service that connects you online to a licensed U.S. physician who can authorize a prescription if you are deemed an appropriate candidate.
To learn more about Propecia or finasteride, visit our hair loss page.
Dan is a long-time freelance writer focusing on technology, science, health, and medicine, with a lifelong interest in physics, biology, and medicine. His work has taken a particular focus on scientific studies “beyond the headlines,” reading the study to more closely examine the results.