Is Finasteride considered to be doping? No more since 2009, why?

When we talk about Finasteride and its possible side effects or when we search on the internet about this topic, many times the term “doping” turns up. The matching seems weird since, usually, many athletes worry about a loss in their athletic performance and muscular tonicity due to the assumption of Finasteride.

It order to solve any doubt we underline that Finasteride has never been considered to be doping, but, between 2004 and 2009, the WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) has inserted it among the prohibited substances, since it is disguising. This means that the drug itself does not have any doping effect, but after its assumption there could be interferences in detecting steroids, such as the Nandrolone.


Disqualified athlets for the use of Finasteride and doping. Since 2009 in the Whitelist.

Among the athlets that have collided with this unusual prohibition there are the famous footballer Romario (he played with Brasil the World Cup final against Italy in 1994) and the less famous doorman of the Arezzo Walter Bressan.


Fortunately, in 2009, thanks to the development of new techniques to detect the steroid hormones prohibited for the athlets, the assumption of Finasteride has become totally irrelevant and so it was removed from the list of the forbidden drugs.

Today Finasteride can be safely taken also by the athlets who suffer from androgenic alopecia and have to undergo regular anti-doping tests.

Clarified this, we can move to the next topic, strictly linked to the first one, even if paradoxically it may seem to refer to something opposite.


Can Finasteride reduce the physical performance, the athletic condition and weaken the muscular quality?

This a pretty common question due to the spread knowledge that Finasteride partially inhibits the transformation of the Testosterone into DHT and so increases the the serum level of Testosterone. This Testosterone increase causes the reaction of the endocrine system, whose task is to maintain a balance in the organism, that will transform (aromatize) the exceeding Testosterone into Androgens hormones. The aromatase is an enzymatic system that has to transform the androgens, typical masculine hormones, into estrogen, that instead are typical femeninine hormones.

This hormonal adjustment due to the action of Finasteride is not too drastic and remains between the physiological values. Moreover, it is not proved by any study that Finasteride reduces the athletic/physical abilities.

However, many athlets and body builders are worried about the fact that the drug may somehow reduce their muscular power, favour the fat deposit and the water retention. As everybody is used to do nowadays, many of these worried people write their doubts on the internet (through social media, forum, portals etc.). This way they create a real pseudoscentific misinformation about the matter.


Scalpblog can only say that, at the moment, a scientific study that had proved the ability of Finasteride to reduce the physical capacity does not exist. What that worried people say is not wrong at a theoretical level, but it does not have any empirical match. Consequently, at the moment, the answer is no, Finasteride does not affect the physical performance or the ability to build and maintain lean mass in people that assume it in order to fight androgenic alopecia.