Did UCLA Just Cure Baldness?

Same. I took finasteride (propecia) for a week and it caused ED for 60 days in my early 20s when libido was usually strong. Would not recommend finasteride. Hair did grow back thick, but it was not worth it. Scariest 60 days of my life. Also felt strange because I think it reduces testosterone; I felt more easily upset and different to usual. Difficult to describe and I'm no expert. I was suddenly very happy to be bald, as the finasteride alternative was far worse and a scary experience.

I've been taking 1mg orally for 2-3 years with noticeable side effects

I just tried this in the last few weeks after oral minoxidil didn't do anything noteworthy; I was on it for only a week before I started having these bizarre and extremely vivid/realistic dreams.

I'd never read about that as a side effect so at first I didn't connect the dots, but it was almost daily. Stopped after I stopped taking it - I looked it up out of interest and it's a rare side effect. I wasn't keen on it because it was a neurological side effect.

The dreams themselves didn't bother me but I also found myself more tired than usual, and I'm not overly bothered about my hair so dropped it. Others will probably tell you about the more common side effects, but wanted to drop this one in as it's not often mentioned!

No libido, erectile dysfunction, testicular pain, depression and suicidal ideation

You’re basically eliminating the most potent testosterone analog in your body because it can also damage hair follicles

Everyone’s different, but I was not willing to trade my manhood for my hair

Go full chop and live like you don't care (which you shouldn't).

From what I've read finasteride can cause general psychological adverse events, including suicidal ideation[1], in mostly younger people. Heard someone saying their suicidal thoughts began when taking it and stopped when not, leading them to find more info about it.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33175100/

Oral low-dose minoxidil doesn't seem to have much in the way of side effects once you get used to it. It even can be mildly cardio protective. Very rare side effects include pericarditis that goes away if minoxidil is discounted.

Finasteride is more hit-or-miss.

I am not sure that makes sense, historically people were marrying and having children much younger. I am talking about under 20 years of age. As such I don't think it would have much impact on mate selection as it was done when they were younger and had more "follicle vibrancy".

It usually sets in past your prime years though. Maybe it was an advantage on a societal level to make men less attractive in middle age compared to young men.

(I say this as a 42 year old who misses my hair)

Evolution only “cares” (it doesn’t care; you know what I mean) about attractiveness during the time the male is able to procreate. Which is, <= 30 years. After that, the human animal is dead of sickness, malnutrition or a fight. The human person lives way longer thanks to modern medicine and tech. Evolution might “cares” about the male sticking around defending/teaching the family/tribe until he dies. He doesn’t need to be attractive by that point.

I think it depends a lot on factors like head size/shape, proportionality to the rest of the body, etc. Some guys look amazing bald, but having been almost bald (very close cut) I find it quite awkward looking on myself.

Unless most procreation was done before it developed.

Not necessarily true. It could be that MPB evolved because it allowed females to select for younger males.

Many people do care about it though, just see the market size of hair implants and Rogaine.

actually https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Spector#/media/File:Phil_...