This is bottom of the barrel for evidence but some random person on Reddit claims dutasteride can help. I have been searching and really can’t find any scientific backing for the claim but figured I’d throw it out here for people more skilled at researching who might be interested in exploring it further. My interest in the topic happened after starting dutasteride 3x per week for my hair out of pure vanity and noticing my overall tone both skin and body seems firmer.
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Dutasteride is known to improve skin appearance. I’m not a fan of it due to potential side effects that men can experience.
It would be very useful if we could find a way of locally inhibiting DHT without inhibiting 5AR.
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What is to say the side effects of fin and dut are not at least in part from reducing DHT effects and inhibiting DHT may have similar side effects.
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The side effects are more likely to be the general inhibition of 5AR which stops the production of various enzymes. I don’t discount the effect of DHT by itself. I’m not convinced it’s entirely bad like some people like to claim, but it does appear to age the skin, damage hair follicles and enlarge the prostate.
Like I said I would like something that could locally inhibit DHT on the skin and scalp without going systemic, that would be fantastic. I wonder if 17 alpha estradiol works like that? I’ve not heard anyone getting PFS like symptoms from 17 alpha estradiol.
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Inhibiting type 1 systemically is probably tilting towards being a net negative but I don’t know of any potent topical 5ar type 1 inhibitor that doesn’t go systemic. Topical dutasteride probably doesn’t even work at all.
How many people actually use oral alfatradiol?
It’s like claiming research substance XYZ doesn’t have any reddit anecdotes of negative side effects therefore it is more efficious and safe than known medication ABC that’s been around for 70 years and been researched thousends of times.
Either inhibiting 5ar, regardless of method, leads to PFS (despite no actual biological mechanism existing and case reports hinting at mental illness) in which case oral alfatradiol would lead to the same side effects or finasteride and dutasteride have properties that alfatradiol doesn’t have which is doubtful.
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17 alpha estradiol shows good lifespan effects in ITP, this is why I’m interested in it.
It is probably good for the skin applied topically.
You’re right though, not enough people using it to find negative effects compared to something like finasteride or dutasteride.
I’d say 17 alpha estradiol would have different properties to fin/dut. It’s not just 5AR inhibition.
I hear topical estriol cream is good for the skin as well. I wonder if men can use that without feminizing effects.
Yes, but my point is that barely any human on this planet is actually using it.
It is probably good for the skin applied topically.
At higher doses than currently available.
I’d say 17 alpha estradiol would have different properties to fin/dut. It’s not just 5AR inhibition.
But if used at high enough doses orally (or even topically), you get systemic DHT inhibition just like with finasteride and dutasteride. If side effects are related to that, using alfatradiol won’t help. And unlike finasteride I believe alfatradiol inhibits both 5ar type 1 and type 2.
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Any thoughts on topical estriol cream?
Estriol absorbs readily through the skin so you’ll absolutely experience some feminization from it.
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This thread seems to be a bit all over the place but if anyone is still looking for elastin neogenesis in the SKIN the answer is calcium hydroxyapatite — the same ingredient in remineralizing fluoride free toothpaste. It’s a key ingredient in bones and teeth but can also serve as scaffolding for new skin tissue and for revitalization, and has explicitly been shown to generate new elastin. The brand name is Radiesse and the way to optimize elastin generation is using it in hyperdilute form (i.e. cut with saline in a ratio of 1:2) via mesotherapy OR, in my case, dermoelectroporation. I couldn’t be happier with my results so far but at $45 / syringe from my Chinese supplier, I find it a bit pricey for just 3 cc. If there’s no better deal for it it’s still amazing but I will experiment with just buying the powder and mixing it with water myself. Will try to see if that also yields results on belly / arm skin (anywhere but face and neck to try). Still $45 every 4 weeks for 3-4 treatments a year is a piece of cake for most. And I can speak from experience that it’s awesome.
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According to this study no systemic hormonal side effects were noted with topical estriol used for reduction of skin aging:
“After treatment for 6 months, elasticity and firmness of the skin had markedly improved and the wrinkle depth and pore sizes had decreased by 61 to 100% in both groups. Furthermore, skin moisture had increased and the measurement of wrinkles using skin profilometry, revealed significant, or even highly significant, decreases of wrinkle depth in the estradiol and the estriol groups, respectively. On immunohistochemistry, significant increases of Type III collagen labeling were combined with increased numbers of collagen fibers at the end of the treatment period. As to hormone levels, only those of PRL had increased significantly and no systemic hormonal side effects were noted.” TREATMENT OF SKIN AGING WITH TOPICAL ESTROGENS
Full study without paywall:
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The full text link doesn’t work for me, but I can see the date of the paper and it says 1996?
You need to let it load for a while. That website has these studies hosted on a very slow server.
But I will upload it here for now:
TREATMENT OF SKIN AGING WITH TOPICAL ESTROGENS – JOLANTA B_ SCHMIDT; MARTINA BINDER; GABRIELE DEMSCHIK; – International Journal of Dermatology, #9, – 10_1111_j_1365-4362_1996_tb03701_x – 4458c31f904775bcf58e79.pdf (5.2 MB)
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I have extreme ongoing elastin production at age 64, it seems. Passed every relevant test I found via Grok-AI for it. Any questions you might have for me?
Yea what is your diet, lifestyle, exercise, supplement, drug protocol
I’m still interested in diet, lifestyle, exercise, supplement and drug protocol if you get this message. Also curious if you have any particular health issues/diseases/illnesses that might be unknowingly causing some kind of elastin generating effect.
Still interested if you see this message.
Thanks for the detailed summary! 
It’s really helpful to see all the current and emerging strategies for neoelastinogenesis in one place. From what you’ve outlined, it’s clear that combining daily protective measures like sunscreen and topical retinoids with clinical interventions such as microneedling, RF, or high-frequency ultrasound can maximize elastin preservation and regeneration.
I also appreciate the inclusion of emerging biotech approaches like ELR peptides, RiboScreen™, and cell-based therapies — exciting to see how regenerative medicine is moving beyond just cosmetic improvements to supporting tissue health and longevity.
For anyone looking to maintain healthy elastin as part of anti-aging routines, this thread is a great roadmap for evidence-backed strategies.