Why you are losing your hair: DHT, the androgen receptor, and what actually stops it
Not stress, not your shampoo, not the hard water - in the overwhelming majority of men, one androgen acting on follicles that...
Same job, different design. Pyrilutamide is a newer molecule intended to act at the scalp and then break down rather than build up. Some men tolerate one better than the other. Run one receptor blocker or the other — not both at once.
The human evidence for pyrilutamide is real but limited, and the full picture is not settled — so treat your own six-month photographs as the verdict that matters. Some early shedding as follicles reset is common. Judge it at six months, on pictures.
For research use only. Not a medicine, and the safety data is thinner than for approved options. Patch-test first, use one blocker at a time, and speak to a professional if you are unsure.
Every bottle is stamped with its batch number, blend date and expiry. Store it cool, dry and out of direct light — it degrades with heat and daylight.
Pattern hair loss comes down to one hormone delivering the same instruction to your follicles, cycle after cycle. Pyrilutamide blocks that instruction at the receptor — one of three ways Folliva does the same job.
Testosterone converts into DHT. In a susceptible scalp it binds androgen receptors inside the follicle and tells it to shrink. The receptor is the lock; DHT is the key.
Each cycle that signal lands, the growth phase shortens and hair returns finer and weaker. This runs quietly for years before a mirror admits it.
It is a nonsteroidal androgen-receptor antagonist. It sits in the receptor so DHT cannot deliver its instruction — on the scalp, where the damage happens.
It is built to act at the scalp and break down rather than accumulate in the body — an antiandrogen you apply, not one you swallow.
Same target, different molecule. The main reason to run pyrilutamide is tolerance: some men find it sits better on their scalp than RU. It is not stronger — it is an alternative route to the same receptor.
RU-58841, pyrilutamide and CB-03-01 all do the same job. Running both does not double the effect; it just doubles what can irritate your scalp. Pick one, give it six months, judge it on photographs.
Pyrilutamide has human trial data — which puts it ahead of many topicals — but that data is still limited and the picture is not settled. It is a research compound, not an approved medicine. What we can be held to is the bottle: blended at 0.5% by us in the EU, lab-tested every batch, dated so you know how old yours is.
It comes as a spray pump. One application a day, onto a dry scalp.
Six to seven pumps of the spray is roughly 1 ml — the daily dose. It is a spray pump, so you count it. More is not better: a receptor can only be occupied once.
Part the hair and spray onto the skin over the thinning area, not the hair. The scalp is where the receptors are.
Spread it gently and let it dry fully. Nothing to wash out.
Consistency beats quantity. Photograph the same spot monthly in the same light.
Research use only. Batch number, blend date and expiry are printed on the bottle.
A receptor blocker holds the line before it grows anything back. The early months are quiet by design.
Take your first photographs. Some shedding as follicles reset is common and reads like failure. It usually isn’t.
Loss slows before anything grows. This is where most people quit too early.
Fine, pale hairs at the hairline and temples — easy to miss without your baseline photo.
Six months is the earliest fair judgement, and with pyrilutamide’s limited evidence your own photographs matter more than anyone’s claims.
The common ways men treat male-pattern hair loss, compared on mechanism, side effects, evidence and cost.
| Feature | RU-58841Topical antiandrogen | CB-03-01Clascoterone, topical antiandrogen | PyrilutamideKX-826, topical antiandrogen | MinoxidilTopical growth stimulant | Oral finasterideSystemic DHT blocker | Ketoconazole shampooTopical antifungal | GHK-CuCopper peptide, scalp support | Natural topicalsCaffeine, rosemary, saw palmetto | Doing nothingBaseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | |||||||||
| What it acts on | The androgen receptor | The androgen receptor | The androgen receptor | Potassium channels, blood flow | 5-alpha-reductase. Lowers DHT | Fungus. Mildly, the receptor | The scalp skin itself. Not the hormone | Several weak effects. None well mapped | |
| Where it acts | Scalp | Scalp. Broken down there by design, but measurable amounts still reach the blood | Scalp, by design | Scalp. Some absorption | Whole body | Scalp | Scalp | Scalp | |
| Side effects | |||||||||
| No systemic or sexual side effects | PartlyDesigned to break down before it reaches the blood. No human data proves that it does. | PartlyBuilt to break down in the skin, but blood levels measured for their scalp solution are similar to the acne cream's, so a smaller treated area is not a safety argument. In the acne studies 3 of 42 had brief adrenal suppression that cleared after stopping. | PartlyBuilt to act locally. In the trials, safety was no different from placebo. The data is still thin. | YesNot a hormonal drug. Rare heart-rate effects at high doses. | NoLower libido and erectile problems in a minority of men. Most recover after stopping. Some report that they did not. | YesTopical, barely absorbed | YesA topical peptide. It does nothing to hormones, for better or worse. | YesNothing here reaches your bloodstream in any amount that matters | Yes |
| No scalp irritation | PartlyThe alcohol carrier can dry or sting. That is the vehicle, not the compound. | PartlyIn the hair trials local reactions matched the placebo liquid, but the placebo was the same carrier without the drug. The carrier is glycol-heavy and can dry the skin. | PartlyUsually mild, but it does not suit everyone | NoItching and flaking are common. Mostly the propylene glycol. | YesIt never touches your scalp | PartlyCan dry the scalp with regular use | YesGenerally well tolerated on skin. Patch-test anyway. | YesIn the rosemary trial, less itching than minoxidil. | Yes |
| What it does | |||||||||
| Blocks DHT | YesAt the receptor. A non-steroidal molecule. | YesAt the receptor. Same target, a steroidal molecule. | YesAt the receptor. Same target, non-steroidal like RU-58841. | NoIt grows hair by a different route entirely | YesLowers DHT at the source | PartlyA weak antiandrogen at best | NoNot an antiandrogen. It does nothing to DHT. | PartlySaw palmetto is a weak 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor | No |
| An antiandrogen you apply, not swallow | Yes | Yes | Yes | NoTopical, but not an antiandrogen | NoAn antiandrogen, but a tablet | PartlyTopical, weakly antiandrogenic | NoTopical, but not an antiandrogen at all | PartlyTopical. Weakly, and only through saw palmetto. | |
| Stimulates new growth on its own | NoIt takes the brake off. It adds nothing. | NoIt takes the brake off. It adds nothing of its own. | NoSame route. It removes suppression. | YesThis is the one thing it is for | NoSame idea: it removes suppression | No | NoIt looks after the scalp. It does not push growth. | PartlyA little, in small trials. Nothing like minoxidil. | |
| Also works on the scalp itself | No | No | No | No | No | YesClears the flaking and inflammation. The only antifungal here. | YesThis is the whole job of it: the condition of the skin your follicles grow from | PartlySome anti-inflammatory effect. It is not an antifungal. | |
| Evidence and approval | |||||||||
| An approved medicine for hair loss | NoA research compound. No approved human use, anywhere. | NoThe same molecule has been an approved 1% acne cream in the US since 2020, but nothing containing it is approved for hair loss anywhere. Another company is expected to file in 2027. | NoA research compound. No approved use, anywhere. The manufacturer is heading for a filing in China. | YesApproved for male-pattern hair loss | YesApproved, on prescription | PartlyApproved as an antifungal, not for hair loss | NoA peptide sold in cosmetics. No medicine containing it is approved anywhere. | NoCosmetics. Nobody has taken them through approval. | |
| Human evidence behind it | NoNo completed human trials. None. | YesTwo Phase 3 studies, 1,465 men, twelve months. Run by the company taking it through approval, on their formulation, not ours. | PartlyPhase 3 trial data at 0.5% and 1.0%, which puts it ahead of most topicals. The results are the manufacturer's and are not yet published. | YesDecades of randomised trials | YesDecades of randomised trials, and the longest evidence base of anything on this table | PartlyA handful of small studies | PartlyReal human data, but in skin and wound healing. What exists for hair is thin. | PartlyOne small trial matched rosemary oil to 2% minoxidil. Caffeine has a few. That is all of it. | |
| Available without a prescription | YesOnly because there is no approved use to prescribe | YesNo approved hair-loss version to prescribe. The acne cream made from the same molecule is prescription only. | YesSame reason again. There is no approved version to prescribe, anywhere. | YesOver the counter | NoPrescription only. A doctor has to agree. | Partly1% over the counter. 2% is usually a prescription. | YesNo approved medicine here to prescribe | YesAny shop, any time | |
| Living with it | |||||||||
| If you stop | Loss resumes | Loss resumes | Loss resumes | Shedding within weeks | Loss resumes | The flaking comes back | The scalp goes back to how it was | Back to baseline | |
| Daily effort | Once a day | Twice a day | Once a day | Once or twice a day | One tablet | Two or three times a week | Once a day | Daily, or every wash | None |
| Cost per month, roughly | €40–50 | €145 at 2.5%, €230 at 5% | €60–90 | €20–60 | €10–20 | €5–10 | €90 | €10–25 | €0 |
A comparison of mechanisms, not medical advice. Minoxidil and finasteride are approved medicines with decades of randomised trials behind them, and finasteride has the longest evidence base of anything here. RU-58841, CB-03-01 and pyrilutamide are research compounds: none of them is an approved hair-loss medicine today. The Phase 3 figures quoted for clascoterone come from the formulation another company is taking through approval, not from ours, and no cortisol data from those hair trials has been published. The pyrilutamide trial results come from the manufacturer and are not yet published. GHK-Cu is a copper peptide included here as scalp support, not as a regrowth treatment. The natural column covers topical caffeine, rosemary oil and saw palmetto, where the human data is real but thin. Prices are rough monthly estimates and vary by dose, bottle size and brand, and each assumes the routine on that product's own page. Speak to a doctor before you start or stop anything.
Occupies the androgen receptor so DHT cannot deliver its signal to the follicle.
This is the cause, not the symptom. On its own it will not push a dormant follicle back into growth.
A newer topical androgen-receptor antagonist. Different molecule, same target as RU-58841.
For people who do not tolerate RU. Run one blocker or the other, not both.
Blocks the androgen receptor at the follicle, then breaks down in the skin into an inactive form.
The only one here that finished phase 3. Clascoterone sold much cheaper elsewhere is usually weaker than the label says.
Extends the growth phase so follicles stay active longer. It does nothing to the hormone driving the loss.
Pairs with a blocker, never replaces one. Stop it and the growth it borrowed goes back.
An antifungal wash that handles the flaking and irritation sitting underneath a lot of shedding.
Two or three washes a week, alongside a blocker. It is not a blocker itself.
A copper peptide that works on the condition of the scalp itself. Not an antiandrogen; it does nothing to DHT.
For scalp quality. On its own it will not hold a receding hairline.
Caffeine, rosemary and botanical oils. Scalp support, and the mildest thing in the range.
A leg of the routine, not the whole table. It does not block DHT.
Same job, different design. Pyrilutamide is newer and built to act at the scalp then break down rather than accumulate. The usual reason to choose it is tolerance — some men find it sits better on their skin than RU. Run one blocker or the other, never both.
Six to seven pumps of the spray is about 1 ml — the daily dose. Apply to a dry scalp once a day and let it dry. It is a spray pump, so you count it; there is nothing to measure.
Pyrilutamide has human trial data, which puts it ahead of most topicals. But that data is still limited and the picture is not fully settled. It is a research compound, not an approved medicine, and we won’t pretend the case is closed.
Being topical, it is designed to avoid the systemic effects of oral blockers, but the safety data is thinner than for approved options. Patch-test first and stop if you react.
We blend it at 0.5% in the EU and an independent laboratory tests every batch before it ships. Every bottle carries its batch number, blend date and expiry.
Shipped from the EU, usually 2–5 working days, in plain unbranded packaging. Unopened bottles can be returned within 14 days.
What the research actually says about hair loss, DHT, and the compounds people reach for.