Breezula (Clascoterone) Vs PP405: How They Compare For Hair Loss
Last reviewed on 12 October 2026. We review our treatment guides every six months to keep them accurate.
Key points
They are both new, and they work in completely different ways. Breezula (the brand name for clascoterone) and PP405 are two of the most talked-about experimental hair-loss treatments, both applied to the scalp, but one blocks a hormone while the other tries to wake up dormant follicles.
Breezula tackles the hormonal cause. Clascoterone is a topical that sits on the follicle’s androgen receptor so DHT, the hormone that drives male pattern hair loss, cannot bind and shrink the follicle.
PP405 tries to reactivate dormant follicles. It is a topical designed to switch tired follicle stem cells back on by changing how they use energy, a newer, more regenerative idea than simply protecting hair from a hormone.
Both are investigational, and neither is approved. Each has shown early promise in trials, but neither has been approved for hair loss, and for both the fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Because they work differently, they are not really rivals. One blocks the hormonal trigger and the other wakes the stem cells, so in principle they could complement each other rather than compete.
For most people, the proven mainstays come first. Neither of these is an established treatment yet, so the usual sensible starting point is the proven options, with Breezula and PP405 of real interest to watch.
Neither can bring back hair that is truly gone. Both aim to support or revive follicles that are still there; where follicles have been lost, a hair transplant is the only option that adds hair. Which suits you is best decided with a clinician.
Breezula and PP405 are two of the most promising experimental treatments in hair loss, and they are often mentioned together because both are topicals that could one day move things on from the current options. But they are built on completely different ideas: Breezula (clascoterone) blocks DHT, the hormone behind male pattern hair loss, while PP405 tries to reactivate dormant follicles by changing how their stem cells use energy. Crucially, neither is yet an approved treatment.
This guide compares Breezula and PP405 neutrally: what each is, how they differ, how effective they are, where each stands, who each suits, and how they fit with other treatments. It is general information and not a substitute for advice from a doctor.
The short answer
Breezula and PP405 are both experimental topicals, and they approach hair loss in opposite ways. Breezula is the brand name for clascoterone, a topical anti-androgen that sits on the follicle’s androgen receptor and blocks DHT from acting there, tackling the hormonal cause of male pattern loss. PP405 is a different kind of treatment altogether: a topical designed to wake dormant follicle stem cells by changing how they use energy, a more regenerative idea aimed at reviving tired follicles rather than protecting them from a hormone. Both have shown early promise in trials, but both are still investigational, neither is approved for hair loss, and for each the fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. Because one blocks the hormonal trigger and the other wakes the stem cells, they are not really competitors, and in principle could be used together. The honest point is that neither is established yet, so for most people the sensible starting point is the proven mainstays, with Breezula and PP405 of real interest to watch. Neither, in any case, can bring back follicles that are already gone.
What is Breezula (clascoterone)?
Breezula is the brand name under development for clascoterone used on the scalp for hair loss. It works directly against DHT. As a narrative review of clascoterone explains, "clascoterone cream is the first topical androgen receptor inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acne vulgaris", and it works "by binding to androgen receptors in a manner competitive with DHT", blocking the signalling that DHT would otherwise trigger at the follicle. Crucially, "topical administration of clascoterone enables selective targeting of cutaneous androgen receptors, while its rapid metabolic inactivation to cortexolone, an inactive metabolite, minimizes the potential for systemic adverse effects", which is the appeal of a scalp anti-androgen: to tackle the hormonal cause locally while avoiding whole-body effects. For hair loss specifically it is not yet approved. Our guide on Breezula (clascoterone) for hair loss covers where it stands, and finasteride versus Breezula compares it with the first-line DHT-lowering tablet.
What is PP405?
PP405 is an experimental topical from the company Pelage, aimed not at hormones but at the follicle’s own stem cells. It grew out of research at UCLA into how hair-follicle stem cells use energy. That work, published in Nature Cell Biology, found that "HFSCs utilize glycolytic metabolism and produce significantly more lactate than other cells in the epidermis", and that pushing cells to make more lactate wakes them up: "loss of function of Mpc1 has been shown to drive lactate production through enhanced conversion of pyruvate to lactate by Ldh", and in animals, deleting that carrier produced "a strong acceleration of the ventral and dorsal hair cycles". The researchers showed that a topical small molecule blocking the same carrier could do this too: "topical treatment of animals in telogen (day 50) with UK-5099 led to a robust acceleration of the hair cycle". PP405 is the drug built on this idea, designed to switch dormant follicles back on. It is applied to the scalp and has been through early human trials, but, as our guide on PP405 for hair loss explains, its results so far come mainly from company announcements rather than full peer-reviewed publications, and it is not yet approved.
Which is more effective for hair loss?
Neither can yet be called more effective, because both are still in development and the fullest data for each is not yet published. Breezula’s evidence is promising but early: the clascoterone review notes it "has emerged as a promising candidate for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia", while being clear that "emerging but still incomplete data suggest potential applications in androgenetic alopecia", and that its pivotal phase 3 programme "was reported to be completed in 2025" but that "the complete results of these trials have not been published in peer-reviewed journals and are available only through sponsor-issued announcements", so "they cannot be presented as established evidence".
PP405 is at a similar stage: it is based on solid laboratory science, shown in the UCLA work above, and the company has reported encouraging early trial results, but those results have likewise not yet been published in full in peer-reviewed journals, and larger, longer trials are still to come. So the honest position is that both are promising but unproven: each has a plausible mechanism and early signs of benefit, but neither has the published, independent evidence needed to say how well it really works, and the two are not directly comparable because they tackle different parts of the problem.
Breezula vs PP405: how do they compare?
Both are experimental topicals, but they are built on opposite ideas:
What they are: both are topicals applied to the scalp. Breezula (clascoterone) is an anti-androgen; PP405 is a stem-cell activator.
How they work: Breezula blocks DHT from binding the follicle’s androgen receptor, tackling the hormonal cause; PP405 changes how follicle stem cells use energy to wake dormant follicles, a more regenerative approach.
What they tackle: Breezula protects follicles from the hormone that shrinks them; PP405 tries to reactivate follicles that have gone dormant. One defends, the other revives.
Availability: neither is approved for hair loss. Clascoterone is approved only as an acne cream, with the hair-loss version still in development; PP405 is still in clinical trials.
Evidence: both are promising but early, and for both the fullest trial results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Side effects: both are designed to act locally on the scalp with the aim of limiting whole-body effects, but the long-term safety of each for hair loss is still being established.
Rivals or partners: because one blocks the hormonal trigger and the other wakes the stem cells, they are complementary rather than competing, and could in principle be used together.
What neither does: neither can bring back follicles that are already gone, so both are for supporting or reviving follicles that are still there rather than replacing hair that is lost.
Which is right for you?
The honest answer is that, for most people, neither is yet a treatment you can choose, because neither is approved and PP405 is still in trials. Breezula is not currently available for hair loss, however appealing a scalp anti-androgen that tackles the hormonal cause might sound, and PP405 is not yet available either, however exciting the idea of reactivating dormant follicles is. Both are genuinely promising, and PP405’s more regenerative aim, of reviving follicles rather than just protecting them, is part of why it has drawn so much attention, but both remain early and unproven. The more useful way to think about them is as two different, still-emerging approaches worth watching: Breezula to protect hair from DHT, PP405 to wake dormant follicles, with the possibility that, in time, the two could even be combined.
Neither, in any case, suits someone whose follicles are already gone, because both aim to support or revive follicles that are still there, not to create new ones. Because both are experimental for hair loss, the sensible step is to start with proven, available options and to discuss the newer treatments with a clinician, who can keep you informed as each reaches approval.
Can they be combined with other treatments?
For now, combining Breezula and PP405 is purely theoretical, because neither is yet available for hair loss. In principle it is an appealing pairing, because Breezula would block the hormonal trigger while PP405 would wake dormant follicles, so the two attack the problem at different points and should not overlap. In practice today, the sensible approach is to start with the proven mainstays rather than two experimental treatments: the drug that tackles the cause is a DHT-lowering tablet such as finasteride, and minoxidil stimulates the follicles. The other emerging comparisons are covered in our guides on finasteride versus Breezula, minoxidil versus Breezula and exosomes versus Breezula, and dutasteride versus Breezula looks at the most potent DHT-lowering tablet.
Neither Breezula nor PP405 can restore hair where the follicles have been lost. Where loss is advanced, a hair transplant is a separate option that redistributes your own permanent hair, and a treatment that protects or supports the surrounding hair is often used around it. The key point is that these are treatments intended to support or revive the hair you still have, used as part of a wider plan, not a cure.
The bottom line
Breezula and PP405 are two of the most promising experimental hair-loss treatments, and they work in opposite ways. Breezula (clascoterone) is a topical anti-androgen that blocks DHT, the hormone behind male pattern hair loss, protecting follicles from being shrunk. PP405 is a topical that tries to reactivate dormant follicles by changing how their stem cells use energy, a more regenerative approach. Both have shown early promise, but both are investigational, neither is approved for hair loss, and for each the fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. Neither can bring back follicles that are already gone.
If you are weighing them today, the honest answer is that neither is yet available or proven, so for most people the sensible route is the established mainstays first, with Breezula and PP405 of real interest to watch. The two are not really rivals: Breezula would protect hair from DHT, and PP405 would wake dormant follicles, so they may one day be used together. A clinician can help you decide what suits your hair loss now, and how these newer treatments might fit in once they are approved.
Frequently asked questions
Is PP405 better than Breezula for hair loss?
It is too early to say, and they are not really comparable because they do different jobs. Breezula blocks DHT, the hormone that drives the loss, while PP405 tries to wake dormant follicles by changing how their stem cells use energy. Both have shown early promise in trials, but both are still investigational and, for each, the fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. PP405’s more regenerative aim is part of its appeal, but that does not make it proven. For most people, the established mainstays remain the sensible first choice ahead of either.
Are Breezula or PP405 available yet?
Neither is approved for hair loss. Clascoterone, the drug in Breezula, is approved only as a cream for acne; the higher-strength scalp version for hair loss is still in development. PP405 is still in clinical trials. Both have reported encouraging early results, but in each case the full data has not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals, and no approval for hair loss has been granted. So, for now, neither can be bought or prescribed as a hair-loss treatment.
What is the difference between Breezula and PP405?
They tackle hair loss in opposite ways. Breezula (clascoterone) is a topical anti-androgen: it sits on the follicle’s androgen receptor and blocks DHT from acting there, protecting follicles from the hormone that shrinks them. PP405 is a topical stem-cell activator: it changes how follicle stem cells use energy, aiming to wake dormant follicles back up. So Breezula defends existing hair from a hormone, while PP405 tries to revive tired follicles. Both are experimental, applied to the scalp, and not yet approved for hair loss.
Can PP405 regrow hair on a bald scalp?
That is not what it is designed to do, and it is not proven in any case. PP405 aims to reactivate dormant follicles, meaning follicles that are still present but have become inactive, rather than to create new follicles where they have been lost. On a scalp that is truly bald, where the follicles are gone, no topical can bring them back, and a hair transplant is the only option that adds hair. PP405 is also still in trials, so even its ability to revive dormant follicles in people has not yet been confirmed in full, peer-reviewed data.
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