How To Prevent Sking Aging From Minoxidil?

[IggyPop]

THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A DISCUSSION WHETHER THIS SIDE EFFECT IS REAL OR NOT! Thank you in advance!

Hello,

not sure, whether Minoxidil actually causes skin aging, but if it does I think it is the best to prevent any damage before it is happening.

What I am doing at the moment:
- I use gloves when applying Minoxidil
- I make sure no drops are rolling down my face
- I am not spraying, but use the dropper
- I do not apply before going to bed, but rather when I am coming home in the evening and don´t plan to leave the house anymore. I hope, that minoxidil is dry then, when I go to bed.
- I drink shitloads of water (has nothing to do with my Minoxidil intake), so that I am not really worried about water retentions.

I am not sure, whether this is helpful, but since (re)starting Minoxidil about six weeks ago I didn´t notice an increase of body hair, which is probably a good sign, that minoxidil is not absorbed systemic.
I have developed dark circles below my eyes in the last few weeks, but I hope it is due to the emotional stress about my hair and because I started smoking more again.

What worries me is that Minoxidil decreases collagen production. I am not sure, whether this only happens to the place where you apply it or also in nearby regions (=my face). I guess nobody can tell for sure. I am going through a terrible minoxidil shed, so that stopping right now is not an option!!

Any more advices or supplements one can recommend?

 

[SmoothSailing]

I take MSM which apparently increases collagen. Vitamin C is also important for collagen production, no idea if this will curb minoxidil sides though.

Other things to keep in mind.
Don't apply it to wet or damp hair.
Reduced dosage is not a bad idea if you are getting sides. Usually if you are getting unwanted body hair it means you are very reactive to minoxidil meaning a smaller dose will likely have good effects. I currently use a bit over half of the recommended dose and it's working.

 

[IggyPop]

Reduced dosage is not a bad idea if you are getting sides. Usually if you are getting unwanted body hair it means you are very reactive to minoxidil meaning a smaller dose will likely have good effects. I currently use a bit over half of the recommended dose and it's working.

It is a bit strange, even though I don´t seem to get more body hair (at least not very noticeable) I often feel a bit "dizzy" (nothing really dramatic) after applying the liquid minoxidil. At the moment I have a buzz cut, so that most of the stuff gets on the skin and doesn´t end up in the hair, but I am only using a bit more than 0.5ml. So I definetly do not want to increase my dosage, so that the minoxidil isn´t absorbed systemically.

Any yes, I only apply to dry hair.

 

[SmoothSailing]

Minoxidil does not cause skin ageing.

It has been shown to reduce collagen in vitro.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8844127

It's possible it reduces collagen, it definitely can cause wrinkles around the eyes and low collagen can lead to wrinkles.

If there are any studies which contradict this I'd be interested.

 

[IggyPop]

Minoxidil does not cause skin ageing.

Are you slightly retarted? I explicitly wrote thatI don´t care whether it does or does not. I just don´t wanna find out and try to prevent any damage before it is happening.

 

[SmoothSailing]

Ketokonazole in Nizoral has been shown to cause erectile dysfunction when taken orally, does that mean applying on your head will case ED?

There is no evidence that minoxidil can cause wrinkles. Repeating misinformation on and on will never make it become true.

Move on scaremongers.

Yes there is no evidence that minoxidil causes wrinkles. There's only anecdotals, my own experience (wrinkles around the eyes, only goes when I reduce dose), and this study showing that in vitro it reduces collage possibly indicating that it does this when applied topically.

Do you have anything more than your personal experience and other anecdotals?

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

It has been shown to reduce collagen in vitro.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8844127

It's possible it reduces collagen, it definitely can cause wrinkles around the eyes and low collagen can lead to wrinkles.

If there are any studies which contradict this I'd be interested.

My suggestion:

Wear sunscreen
Put on retinol at night
Don't apply minoxidil just below the eyes.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

Yes there is no evidence that minoxidil causes wrinkles. There's only anecdotals, my own experience (wrinkles around the eyes, only goes when I reduce dose), and this study showing that in vitro it reduces collage possibly indicating that it does this when applied topically.

Do you have anything more than your personal experience and other anecdotals?

If the wrinkles go away when you stop using minoxidil, were they really wrinkles?

Wrinkles don't go away, as far as I know.

 

[SmoothSailing]

If the wrinkles go away when you stop using minoxidil, were they really wrinkles?

Wrinkles don't go away, as far as I know.

It's like my eyes were a lot baggier. Not darker (I always have dark circles) but more inflamed, heavier. And there were wrinkles underneath as my skin sagged down. This happened when I was applying it to damp hair. A few weeks after I stopped and reduced the dose this went away. Of course it mightn't be related but I definitely believe it to be.

I have skin problems restraining me from using retinol. I use sunscreen daily after finding out that it's highly recommended.

I apply minoxidil carefully now and use a smaller dose and have experienced no issues besides an itchy, more hairy, head.

 

[deniak]

I repeat after Fred - stop scaremongering.

minoxidil have extensive long term studies, its known that it can cause nasty side effects, you can read about them here: https://www.drugs.com/sfx/minoxidil-topical-side-effects.html

After years and years of strict clinical studies no one observed aging of face - believe me,if they noticed minor things like soreness of hair root, they WOULD notice aged skin. Whats more, minoxidil was extensively tested among women, they WOULD notice any negative changes in their skin condition IMEDIATELY. We have no serious info about worsening of skin, outside of few broscience totally scaremongering threads on forums startated by... men (LOL). For comparison, there are people here saying that finasteride is safe because it is sold in millions, yet we have direct warning from manufacturer, that finasteride CAN cause ED lasting after treatment is stopped.

Personally I would advise anyone on hairloss meds (or any meds) to stay in top possible condition by eating healthy and exercising dailly. There is few things that can be done to improve skin: lot of green and yellow/red/orange veggies in diet (alternatively beta carotene supplementation) or retain-a (only cheap drug proven to work and improve skin condition).

 

[IggyPop]

Personally I would advise anyone on hairloss meds (or any meds) to stay in top possible condition by eating healthy and exercising dailly.

Wow, I am speechless......That´s exactly why I made this thread. Not scaremongering, but rather trying to show possible solutions. Thx for ruining my attempt.
Btw. a quick google search reveals, that there are dozens of threads started by women who are complaining about sking aing.
I am always amazed about how people like to generalize their own experiences with treatmens. I personally don´t get any significant sides from finasteride, but there is no way that the official stats are true, there are simply too many complaints.