Is minoxidil enough?

[BEHMESH]

Is minoxidil enough for me? I am 17 and am losing my hair. I do not want to go on any internal/oral meds like propecia because it can screw with my hormones which is not a good idea at this age.

I've been on minoxidil for almost 6 weeks.

 

[sherman]

Yes, stick with topicals only for now. I've been using topicals for 10months with good results. I am sure I would get better results with oral medications. Nevertheless, I am happy so far. If you wish you can increase your concentration of minoxidil by using Xandrox which has 15% Minoxidil as well as a DHT inhibitor azaleic acid. I would suggest that you stick with your five per cent for now. After a couple months then you can try 15% and after a further couple months they can try topical spironolactone.

 

[BEHMESH]

Thank you very much.

Today, I noticed I could see more scalp since I started minoxidil six weeks ago. Could this be from the minoxidil shed?

 

[JayB]

Thank you very much.

Today, I noticed I could see more scalp since I started minoxidil six weeks ago. Could this be from the minoxidil shed?

Yes.

 

[BEHMESH]

I'm kinda scared tho. I haven't seen a crazy shed like people describe. I just shed some hairs throughout the day.

 

[Skaff]

I'm kinda scared tho. I haven't seen a crazy shed like people describe. I just shed some hairs throughout the day.

Me too... I don't think I'm losing significantly more hair than I was before starting minoxidil, but I am noticing more scalp. I usually shower twice a day so maybe all my hair falls out then. It'd be nice to know that things have gotten worse because of a minoxidil shed, rather than the continuation of male pattern baldness.

 

[biglemoncoke]

Yes, but minoxidil doesnt not mantain any hair, it just regrows! You need a DHT inhibitor in order to mantain your hair.

 

[Skaff]

Yes, but minoxidil doesnt not mantain any hair, it just regrows! You need a DHT inhibitor in order to mantain your hair.

I hear people say this a lot...what exactly does it mean? If you lose it then regrow it, isn't that essentially maintaining (considering hairs fall out as part of their life cycle)?

 

[techprof]

minoxidil does not address male pattern baldness.
It just gives some additional hairs. If you use minoxidil (I did this) you might grow hair and look like you are NW1. then suddenly male pattern baldness progresses and you will become NW3 or 4 over a short period of time.
(This happened to me).

 

[RSG]

What i dont understand is why does rogain claim to 'slow down hairloss'?

 

[Bryan]

What i dont understand is why does rogain claim to 'slow down hairloss'?

It does so only in a superficial sense. It provides the famous "offset" of extra growth, but the overall condition of your hair inevitably continues to decline as time goes by.

Bryan

 

[Skaff]

minoxidil does not address male pattern baldness.
It just gives some additional hairs. If you use minoxidil (I did this) you might grow hair and look like you are NW1. then suddenly male pattern baldness progresses and you will become NW3 or 4 over a short period of time.
(This happened to me).

Could adding finasteride to my regimen prevent these 'minoxidil hairs' from dying out in a couple of years or are they doomed?

 

[BEHMESH]

It is possible for me to start finasteride in like 2 years whilst using minoxidil in t he meanwhile?

 

[techprof]

skaff, get on finasteride asap. that will stop your male pattern baldness from progressing.

behmesh, use nizoral shampoo everyday and use sods.

start finasteride after 18 or 19 and check with your family doctor.

 

[BEHMESH]

What is so good about Nizoral that I cannot get from Head/Shoulders and Selsun?

 

[Bryan]

It is possible for me to start finasteride in like 2 years whilst using minoxidil in t he meanwhile?

If you've already made the decision to start finasteride, why put it off for 2 years? All that time, your hair will be slowly deteriorating.

Bryan

 

[BEHMESH]

I haven't started finasteride. Only minoxidil.

 

[joseph49853]

minoxidil does not address male pattern baldness.
It just gives some additional hairs. If you use minoxidil (I did this) you might grow hair and look like you are NW1. then suddenly male pattern baldness progresses and you will become NW3 or 4 over a short period of time.
(This happened to me).

Yes, I see this sentiment echoed a lot in here, some even speak from personal experience. But, at least in my case, it doesn't contain an iota of truth.

I guess you would need to know the root causes before attempting to overcome hairloss. And each method attacks the problem in a slightly different way. But you don't know until you try.

 

[JayB]

i know people who have maintaned their hair using minoxidil for 10 years. some people come on this site and say theyve maintained for years and years on minoxidil alone and slowly are thinning and want to get on more treatments. But even 5 years of maintaining on minoxidil is just as good a track record as propecia.

 

[techprof]

JayB if people maintain their hair just using rogaine that means that they don't have severe male pattern baldness.

there are many people who start balding, reach nw2 or 2.5 or even 3. They don't take any treatments. They stay there the entire life.