DHT reduction, "safest" route?

I am pretty well convinced that on top of the top 6 I need to lower DHT levels at least to some degree, mainly because my hair loss is so aggressive: i'm only 21 and feel i could be slick bald within two years if I don't do anything. The reason I feel that getting DHT under control is so important is due to the pattern of my hairloss. Other than being extremely aggressive and male patterned, i have the "curly pube-like sideburns". This to me (granted: i'm speculating) would make sense to indicate that I have a high amount of DHT sensitivity in my hair since it so closely resembles the body hair on my chest and...other places. Do any of your with less aggressive hair loss (still have some hair in late 20s or mid 30s) also share this trait?

I realize DHT reduction usually comes with side effects. At the propecia website, they claim that their product only produces side effects for 2% of users. Is there any evidence that this number is understated?

Do other DHT inhibitors like beta-sitosterol and saw palmetto work in the same way and have the same side effects? I'm trying to decide whether I should
A. use a lower than recommended dose of finasteride, either .25mg or .5mg
B. Use beta-sitosterol or saw palmetto

Essentially I'd like to avoid the risk of permanent side effects as much as possible, but still have an affect on DHT levels

i have the curly pube-like sideburns as well and it really fucking pisses me off. My sideburn hairs are somewhat sparse as well. I didn't realize that that indicated high DHT.

I also notice that a lot of the hair that i shed curl in random spots throughout the hair strand and break easily.

i'm a little above 2 on the norwood scale with global diffuse thinning, but more prominent loss in the vertex and especially in the temples. I got a #4 haircut recently and i can easily see my scalp.

I have never used prop, rogaine etc

I used to just take super hair vits and minerals for 10 yrs , helped A ALOT in slowing down my thinning,

in 1999 i added saw palmetto pygeum nettles and beta sis
they will either work on you or not, you respond or you dont, I responded VERY well to them,

side effects are either not present at all, (as in most guys) or if they are present, very limited very few guys get them. The only way to know if they work on your is to try, make sure to get standardized saw palmetto

blech - Side effects can be experienced with Saw Palmetto and Beta Sitosterol, but the good news is that you can control the dose and there is very little risk of residual sides that could occur with a drug such as Finasteride and especially Dutasteride (Do-Trash-Your-Ride).

I went a little crazy on Beta-Sitosterol and at one point thought maybe more would be better. Doses ranging from 50 mg to 200 mg per day seem to be well tolerated. Anything above 200 mg would increase the likelihood of propecia like effects.

The 2% estimate of use side-effects seems definitely understated.

Another way to reduce DHT, is using Borage oil with its GLA content. This is quite potent and can effect the libido. Also there is Flax oil and taken with Zinc can add the reduction of 5-alpha reductase.

beta sis is 3000 times more powerful than saw palmetto, and is supposedly the active ingredient in saw palmetto

i got very itchy oily scalp with 320mcg or however they measure it

125 dosage was just fine for me

i dont consider itchy or oily scalp to be side effects, i am talking gyno, or libido problems, and you rarely see those on naturals