Finasteride is not the greatest drug for sure, and there are a lot of known side effects. I wouldn't touch that personally.

Male pattern baldness generally comes from DHT building up sebum in the follicles and shrinking them; DHT comes from testosterone, thus male pattern baldness.

It's bad for head hair, good for face hair. A lot of non-medicinal treatments honestly just involve ensuring your follicles are clear of that build up, which is why a topical DHT blocker (such as saw palmetto) may be better long term than a medicine like finasteride.

Personally, it is generally better to embrace it by finding complementary hairstyles (NOT the stereotypical comb over!) that draw attention from your forehead, or just shaving entirely. Fighting it is exhausting, and having hair on a pharmaceutical subscription is just not fun.