Q: I am currently 28. I have been taking Propecia for 6 years and recently began to grow sparse chest hair for the first time in my life. Is the Propecia causing these effects?

A: DHT causes male pattern baldness and stimulates the growth of body hair. The use of Finasteride, a DHT blocker, will permit scalp hair to grown and inhibit the growth of body hair, not stimulate it.

However, the effects on body hair are quite small, so your natural tendency to grow chest hair over time is probably not being blocked by the treatment.

Q: I have a quite a bit of hair on my chest, back and legs. Is that an indicator of future baldness? A: Although bald people joke around that they wish the hair on their body (and ears) was on their head, body hair is not an early sign of baldness.