I heard a rumor that propecia only stops male pattern hair loss on the
"central stripe" across the middle of my head (front to back) and that
it won't help with hair loss off to the sides, above my temples. (My
hair line is basically shaped like a "W".) Is this true? Or is it good
for stopping all forms of male pattern baldness?

Try to avoid using commercial sites that are selling propecia as
sources.

Howdy gremlin!

From the Merck & Co., Inc. Propecia website Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) page.
http://www.propecia.com/propecia/cns/about/faq.html#question19

"Does PROPECIA grow hair to replace a receding hairline? If
not, does it stop or slow down the recession?"

"There is not sufficient evidence that PROPECIA works in the
treatment of receding hairline in the temporal area on both 
sides of the head. However, for most men, PROPECIA can slow
the loss of hair at the vertex (top of head) and anterior
mid-scalp area."


Search Strategy:

Went to the Propecia website: http://www.propecia.com

If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.

Looking Forward, denco-ga

Thanks for the 5 star rating gremlin!

Looking Forward, denco-ga

There is only way to do that and that's to injest it.

No, I'm not a troll. The active ingredient in Propecia was used for
taking X-Rays of patients and the Radiologists themselves were the
first ones to illegally use Propecia for growing their hair. But when
they did this, they injested it, and their entire body grew hair, not
just the top part of their head.

steph1000:

Ingestion of finasteride (Propecia) is the normal method of use. 

"In the United States, there are two drugs approved by the Food & Drug
Administration for the treatment of male pattern baldness: topical
minoxidil (Rogaine, Pharmacia & Upjohn), and oral finasteride
(Propecia, Merck & Co.)"
 
http://www.menspharmacy.com/articles_propecia_article6.html

To correct steph1000.... Propecia is always ingested (taken by mouth)
and helps to regrow hair on the scalp by blocking the function of a
certain hormone.

The drug that is applied topically (to the head itself) for hair
regrowth, and which causes increased hair growth all over the body if
ingested is Minoxidil (which was originally, and still is in certain
cases, used for control of hypertension - high blood pressure).