Are you doomed if you start minoxidil then decide to stop?

[yuppy75]

It seems like a lot of people have stated that they started minoxidil and then for whatever reason stopped and they feel that their hair got much worst?

If i start minoxidil then after 1 yr or so decide to stop, will this make you lose more hair had you never even started minoxidil in the 1st place?
Or will you just lose whatever you gained?

 

[Guest]

At first you will lose a little more than you would have if you had not started, but soon you will return to baseline.

 

[Rsx]

I am using Min for 1.5 months. To be honest, I found 100 hairs on my pillows + 100 hairs when I shampoo-ed my hair + 100 hairs when I remove the dandruffs on my hairs. (it happened this morning ).

I am using Nizoral already. I dont' know I should continue to use Min or not. It drives me crazy.

Thanks

 

[viperfish]

I am using Min for 1.5 months. To be honest, I found 100 hairs on my pillows + 100 hairs when I shampoo-ed my hair + 100 hairs when I remove the dandruffs on my hairs. (it happened this morning ).

I am using Nizoral already. I dont' know I should continue to use Min or not. It drives me crazy.

Thanks

What is driving you crazy?? The fact that you are responding to the treatment???

 

[Guest]

I am using Nizoral already. I dont' know I should continue to use Min or not. It drives me crazy.

What is driving you crazy?? The fact that you are responding to the treatment???

No the minoxidil bottle keeps stealing my socks and hiding them, it's also spends the afternoon making prank phone calls while I'm at work.

 

[Rust1]

At first you will lose a little more than you would have if you had not started, but soon you will return to baseline.

That's about right, in my experience. I used it for many years, once for almost 4 straight, then I did start/stop experiments, and finally about 7 months ago I stopped and haven't used it since. I lost heavily at first, but then stabilized. However, I started with a relatively full head, I'd just noticed some slight thinning-had I started when it was more advanced, I'm sure I'd be much worse off.. i.e., my 'baseline' would be much worse.

Another thing to bear in mind is that I think all these things (treatments) are difficult to predict how each individual will respond, since everyone is different and can vary in how they respond. So for what it's worth that was MY response with minoxidil, of course your mileage may vary.

Good luck,
Rust

 

[ACT10Npack]

I always believe that you should use minoxidil if everything else does not work. Or if the others are not working well anymore.

 

[Guest]

I always believe that you should use minoxidil if everything else does not work. Or if the others are not working well anymore.

Graph is around 600k, folk on dial up will have to wait 1-2 minutes for it to start aninimating.

This graph is plotted from actual trial data.

Hair weight increases are represented by an increase in plot line thickness, these percentage changes have been doubled throughout this graph as a change from 100% to 124% (in the case of 2% minoxidil at 96 weeks) was just too subtle as to carry any meaning, so the 24% increased hair weight for 2% minoxidil @ week 96 is represented by a 48% thicker plot line.


The shape given to the evolving plot lines is pure conjecture, I have just smoothed out (using weighted splines) the linear plots generated by the known data points (the small circles), also the start point is ramped in by an arbitrary amount.

It seems like a lot of people have stated that they started minoxidil and then for whatever reason stopped and they feel that their hair got much worst?

If i start minoxidil then after 1 yr or so decide to stop, will this make you lose more hair had you never even started minoxidil in the 1st place?
Or will you just lose whatever you gained?

See yellow plot line below on this very simplified graph.

 

[former]

even if you are using minoxidil, after 2 years u will most probably start balding again...

 

[Guest]

even if you are using minoxidil, after 2 years u will most probably start balding again...

You will still be balding whilst you are using minoxidil, minoxidil will not stop the balding proccess, it will just stimulate 'extra' hair growth.

 

[Bryan]

even if you are using minoxidil, after 2 years u will most probably start balding again...

You will still be balding whilst you are using minoxidil, minoxidil will not stop the balding proccess, it will just stimulate 'extra' hair growth.

You took the words right out of my mouth (although I don't think I've ever used the word "whilst" )!

Bryan

 

[freudling]

TyananW and Big B: your comments are vague, please explain your statements that minoxidil will NOT stop the balding process but will cause extra hair growth. How do you stipulate the vocabulary in the latter statement? By "extra hair growth" do you mean hairs that are not balding will be pushed to grow more actively? Thus, more hair in anagen on scalp at once? But if you mean extra hair growth related to balding follicels, then your comments, at this level, would be incorrect.

Moreover, I disagree at first glance about your statements. If minoxidil is famous for REGROWTH, then how is that not stopping, and, actually, reversing male pattern baldness? Further, once one stops minoxidil, the hairs that one maintained with it should be lost and in fact, many on the boards and even in clinical studies go through a shed period after cessation of treatment. The implication is that the hairs being lost would have succomb to male pattern baldness long ago if it weren't for the minoxidil. Strong evidence for this effect of minoxidil is due to the fact that minoxidil can actually regrow hair and maintain that hair for a relatively long period of time.

Maybe I am wrong, but that is my take.

 

[Guest]

I think what they mean is that it's not blocking DHT in the scalp. It's basically forcing the hair to grow that is still being attacked by DHT, therefore the balding process is still taking place over the scalp.

 

[freudling]

I think what they mean is that it's not blocking DHT in the scalp. It's basically forcing the hair to grow that is still being attacked by DHT, therefore the balding process is still taking place over the scalp.

Now that sounds muttled. What you are saying is that the balding follicles, the ones being attacked by DHT, are being forced to grow by minoxidil. How is that not stopping balding?

 

[Guest]

I think what they mean is that it's not blocking DHT in the scalp. It's basically forcing the hair to grow that is still being attacked by DHT, therefore the balding process is still taking place over the scalp.

Now that sounds muttled. What you are saying is that the balding follicles, the ones being attacked by DHT, are being forced to grow by minoxidil. How is that not stopping balding?

Yes that's right. Although the hairs are growing, the underlying effects of DHT are still happening. So no, it does not stop the balding process from a scientific point of view. But if you want think that it is then that's your choice

 

[freudling]

Still am not clear. Not only has minoxidil been shown to regrow hair, it thickens hair shafts too. How is that not stopping balding? minoxidil reverses male pattern baldness! Am I out to lunch here, or do we agree on that? Look at the research. Long-term effects past the 5 year mark are shadey, but I have read that people are pleased with the effects at 5 years and beyond. Although, in one study I read, after 4 years, minoxidil was wearing thin, so in that case your theory is correct, AFTER the 4 years, since up until then, the results were good in terms of maintenance of initial regrowth.

 

[Bryan]

TyananW and Big B: your comments are vague, please explain your statements that minoxidil will NOT stop the balding process but will cause extra hair growth. How do you stipulate the vocabulary in the latter statement? By "extra hair growth" do you mean hairs that are not balding will be pushed to grow more actively? Thus, more hair in anagen on scalp at once? But if you mean extra hair growth related to balding follicels, then your comments, at this level, would be incorrect.

Both of those statements are correct. Minoxidil almost certainly stimulate the growth of ALL hair follicles, balding or not.

Moreover, I disagree at first glance about your statements. If minoxidil is famous for REGROWTH, then how is that not stopping, and, actually, reversing male pattern baldness?

Because it's only an OFFSET of extra growth. Balding continues at about the same rate, only with that additional OFFSET in place.

Further, once one stops minoxidil, the hairs that one maintained with it should be lost and in fact, many on the boards and even in clinical studies go through a shed period after cessation of treatment. The implication is that the hairs being lost would have succomb to male pattern baldness long ago if it weren't for the minoxidil.

I don't know if it would be "long ago", but yes, you are basically correct in the paragraph just above. But that doesn't contradict what I said before about minoxidil producing merely an offset of extra growth.

Strong evidence for this effect of minoxidil is due to the fact that minoxidil can actually regrow hair and maintain that hair for a relatively long period of time.

Yes. It can do that for a RELATIVELY long time, but not forever. That's because it apparently doesn't interfere with the fundamental balding process. You might say that it's just "life support" for your hair follicles.

Bryan

 

[Rsx]

I think the problem is:

We don't know what is the theory behind the Minoxidil. Why it can be used to regrow hair? We only know it would stimulate hair regrow in Clinical studies. I hope I didn't say something wrong .

 

[Bryan]

Still am not clear. Not only has minoxidil been shown to regrow hair, it thickens hair shafts too. How is that not stopping balding? minoxidil reverses male pattern baldness!

Only for a while. The balding process eventually overtakes that offset of extra growth, and we'll have less and less hair than we did at the start.

Am I out to lunch here, or do we agree on that? Look at the research. Long-term effects past the 5 year mark are shadey, but I have read that people are pleased with the effects at 5 years and beyond.

Correct. For a certain period of time (years?), we will have more hair than we did at the start. But we will eventually drop below that starting baseline, even though we continue to have a little more hair than we WOULD have had without the minoxidil.

Although, in one study I read, after 4 years, minoxidil was wearing thin, so in that case your theory is correct, AFTER the 4 years, since up until then, the results were good in terms of maintenance of initial regrowth.

Exactly. It wears thin after a while (possibly years), because the balding process is overtaking the extra margin of growth provided by minoxidil. It's about as simple as that.

Bryan

 

[mjd0482]

So it would be a good idea to use both minoxidil and a dht blocker together and when you are where you want to be in growth, stop the minoxidil and stay on the dht blocker.....or would the new hairs from the minoxidil fall out anyways?