minoxidil after 6 months if there are no results?

[big_head]

Here's the deal, I started minoxidil 6 months ago. Used it twice a day on the vast majority of the days, and I have never had a single day pass where I didn't apply it at least once. Mostly using it on my hairline and the frontal crown region. Using the Kirkland liquid.

After 6 months, I see no difference. Perhaps it may have grown tiny tiny blond hairs at one part of my hairline, but I'm not even sure about that. It seems like I am still losing ground at the same slow pace, but minoxidil has definitely not caused any regrowth or cosmetic difference than when I wasn't taking it a year ago.

I am not on finasteride, and I know finasteride is the thing that stops baldness, but even without finasteride shouldn't I see some kind of evidence of this working? My hairloss has not been very rapid, so shouldn't I be seeing some kind of thickening or a few tiny dark hairs growing at least?

I want to get on finasteride soon but I want to stop minoxidil first. My thinking is that I am just not responding to it at all and if I get on finasteride and it starts working well for me 6 or 7 months down the line, and I am still on minoxidil, I don't want to be in the position where I get scared that the minoxidil may the one working and I continue to throw money away on that.

So in my situation, if I am going 6 months straight on minoxidil alone with no real results, should I just call it a day, or should I stick it out for a few more months?

 

[Captain Hook]

This is actually a really good question. The answer depends on your personal preferences though. The way I see it you have three options:

1. Stay on minoxidil because it may very well be maintaining your hair and and preventing further loss. If you stop you may experience a shed and you may end up where you would have been if you hadn't used it at all.

2. Get on finasteride (and ideally 2% Nizoral too) and remain on minoxidil. Some people have used finasteride and experienced no regrowth, only maintenance and then they added minoxidil and experienced regrowth. The two work in synergy, you should see better results with less DHT being able to miniaturise your follicles.

3. You may be a non-responder to minoxidil, in this case discontinue it and get on finasteride (along with 2% Nizoral as well). There's a reason I don't use it, it's not a particularly effective treatment in terms of growing hair. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25112173 This study even shows only 40% of patients who use it regrow hair, which is pretty dismal. PGE2 is the real catalyst for hair growth and there isn't even good evidence from studies that minoxidil increases PGE1 expression (a hair growth stimulating prostaglandin that is weaker than PGE2). Its mechanism for hair growth is thought to be simply vasodilation.

The choice is purely up to you as this is a bit of a pickle.

 

[warner8]

in my experience, when you are younger, and there is less dht in your scalp minoxidil works wonders. as soon as the dht in your scalp rises to a certain degreee, when your mob becomes more aggressive, it overpowers the minoxidil, and the minoxidil cant work as effectively bec the hairs its trying to grow are just being killed by the dht. so i suggest you get on finasteride asap, keep using the minoxidil, and see what happens after another 6 months.

 

[big_head]

Thanks for the responses guys....warner, you have kind of highlighted what I was talking about that though. If I continue minoxidil while I hop on finasteride and in 6 months I see great regrowth...well I'm not going to know what did what, right? And honestly while applying minoxidil is not the biggest headache in the world, the prospect of spending the money and time on something that is literally doing nothing for the rest of my life seems crazy. My idea is to see what finasteride does for me first, then to add minoxidil later to test its actual regrowth powers...I should have done that from the start.

Would it be a bad idea to stop minoxidil for a month, see how my scalp reacts, jump on finasteride and then start back up on minoxidil a year or two down the road? I know finasteride is primarily to maintain, but I have seen some major thickening and regrowth with finasteride. My balding is not very agressive yet, I'm still in the Norwood 2.5 region, maybe a bit closer to 3, so if finasteride can give me a bit of thickening and even a bit of regrowth, I'd be happy enough with that alone.

I know the big risk is that if I stop minoxidil, any minoxidil maintained hair will start to shed, but as my hairloss has not been rapid and I don't see regrowth, I'm not so sure that it's a huge risk at the 6 month mark. I'm really just anxious to see what finasteride can do alone...I am planning on keeping a bottle of minoxidil just in case I need to go back on it ASAP after quitting.

 

[warner8]

i wouldn't get off minoxidil. its $20 for a 3 bottle liquid 5% at target, walmart etc. very affordable.

if you get on finasteride while continuing with the minoxidil, and you get amazing regrowth after 6 months , keep doing what you are doing,

finasteride and minoxidil help male pattern baldness in 2 different ways. the minoxidil dilates blood vessels in the scalp, providing nourishment to hair follicles; it also opens ion channels and some other science stuff no one quite understands yet BUT it works. the finasteride (science understands) stops/reduces DHT production in the scalp that miniaurizes and eventually kills the hair follicles. so they both compliment each other, which might lead to regrowth for you when you start using both.

ike i said before,depending on your stage of male pattern baldness, DHT can override the effects of minoxidil, its like giving fertilizer to a plant that is being ravaged, its not going to lead to anywhere.

so get on both, and keep us updated. good luck

 

[DoctorHouse]

This is actually a really good question. The answer depends on your personal preferences though. The way I see it you have three options:

1. Stay on minoxidil because it may very well be maintaining your hair and and preventing further loss. If you stop you may experience a shed and you may end up where you would have been if you hadn't used it at all.

2. Get on finasteride (and ideally 2% Nizoral too) and remain on minoxidil. Some people have used finasteride and experienced no regrowth, only maintenance and then they added minoxidil and experienced regrowth. The two work in synergy, you should see better results with less DHT being able to miniaturise your follicles.

3. You may be a non-responder to minoxidil, in this case discontinue it and get on finasteride (along with 2% Nizoral as well). There's a reason I don't use it, it's not a particularly effective treatment in terms of growing hair. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25112173 This study even shows only 40% of patients who use it regrow hair, which is pretty dismal. PGE2 is the real catalyst for hair growth and there isn't even good evidence from studies that minoxidil increases PGE1 expression (a hair growth stimulating prostaglandin that is weaker than PGE2). Its mechanism for hair growth is thought to be simply vasodilation.

The choice is purely up to you as this is a bit of a pickle.

Hook, you really know your stuff. Although you are fairly new to this forum, you seem to have a great background in hair loss and its various treatments. Did you learn this all on different forums and research on the internet? By the way, I watched the first episode of this season of Once Upon a Time and most of the male actors' hair is better than ever. Hook's wearing his hair longer and it still looks great. Love his new nickname, Guyliner since he wears eyeliner. However, the show in my opinion is starting to get "old". Hope it gets better.

 

[Captain Hook]

Hook, you really know your stuff. Although you are fairly new to this forum, you seem to have a great background in hair loss and its various treatments. Did you learn this all on different forums and research on the internet? By the way, I watched the first episode of this season of Once Upon a Time and most of the male actors' hair is better than ever. Hook's wearing his hair longer and it still looks great. Love his new nickname, Guyliner since he wears eyeliner. However, the show in my opinion is starting to get "old". Hope it gets better.

Cheers. Actually I'm fairly new to internet forums in general, my background knowledge is due to the fact that I've been a licensed pharmacy technician since I was 17 (board certified by the PTCB in the US), I've worked in pharmacies for summer internships and I'm currently studying pharmaceutical science at university. In addition I do a lot of research in my free time regarding pharmacology in general. Androgenetic Alopecia is a fairly new interest that I've only been actively researching since I've joined this forum back in August, solely in the form of medical journals as I find research on forums to be biased if sources aren't cited.

Nice to see another OUAT fan! I haven't been caught up with the latest season due to university workload but I intend to start and finish it once holidays come around, sad to hear it's getting old though but it should improve (the end of season 1 was a little stale and it improved greatly during season 2).

 

[DoctorHouse]

Cheers. Actually I'm fairly new to internet forums in general, my background knowledge is due to the fact that I've been a licensed pharmacy technician since I was 17 (board certified by the PTCB in the US), I've worked in pharmacies for summer internships and I'm currently studying pharmaceutical science at university. In addition I do a lot of research in my free time regarding pharmacology in general. Androgenetic Alopecia is a fairly new interest that I've only been actively researching since I've joined this forum back in August, solely in the form of medical journals as I find research on forums to be biased if sources aren't cited.

Nice to see another OUAT fan! I haven't been caught up with the latest season due to university workload but I intend to start and finish it once holidays come around, sad to hear it's getting old though but it should improve (the end of season 1 was a little stale and it improved greatly during season 2).

Hook, do you think generic finasteride( 1mg) is just effective as Propecia? I know this is controversial as some people claim they got worse on the generic. I switched to the generic and I got slightly worse but I just think its going to happen even if I took Propecia. And I am getting legitimate finasteride from Costco. I was always interested in pharmacology as well since I had to take it in college for my career.

 

[Captain Hook]

Hook, do you think generic finasteride( 1mg) is just effective as Propecia? I know this is controversial as some people claim they got worse on the generic. I switched to the generic and I got slightly worse but I just think its going to happen even if I took Propecia. And I am getting legitimate finasteride from Costco. I was always interested in pharmacology as well since I had to take it in college for my career.

I definitely wouldn't believe the anecdotes. Generic finasteride should be made to the same standard as Propecia or Proscar, US Pharmacopeia and the FDA have to make sure of this. The only differences you'll encounter are tablet shape and colour, excipients, fillers and binders, all of which shouldn't affect tablet disintegration and absorption to any significant degree. I'd rest at ease on that matter.

 

[Sanchez1234]

Thanks for the responses guys....warner, you have kind of highlighted what I was talking about that though. If I continue minoxidil while I hop on finasteride and in 6 months I see great regrowth...well I'm not going to know what did what, right? And honestly while applying minoxidil is not the biggest headache in the world, the prospect of spending the money and time on something that is literally doing nothing for the rest of my life seems crazy. My idea is to see what finasteride does for me first, then to add minoxidil later to test its actual regrowth powers...I should have done that from the start.

Would it be a bad idea to stop minoxidil for a month, see how my scalp reacts, jump on finasteride and then start back up on minoxidil a year or two down the road? I know finasteride is primarily to maintain, but I have seen some major thickening and regrowth with finasteride. My balding is not very agressive yet, I'm still in the Norwood 2.5 region, maybe a bit closer to 3, so if finasteride can give me a bit of thickening and even a bit of regrowth, I'd be happy enough with that alone.

I know the big risk is that if I stop minoxidil, any minoxidil maintained hair will start to shed, but as my hairloss has not been rapid and I don't see regrowth, I'm not so sure that it's a huge risk at the 6 month mark. I'm really just anxious to see what finasteride can do alone...I am planning on keeping a bottle of minoxidil just in case I need to go back on it ASAP after quitting.

What did you decide to do?