If Minoxidil can't stop hairloss on it's own, then how come...

[TravisB]

...there are a lot of people on Amazon who claim they were using it for years with success, i.e they had regrowth and/or maintenance? I doubt all of them were using finasteride.

Example links below, read the reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-minoxidil.../dp/B002VLZHLI

http://www.amazon.com/beauty/dp/B00198UH4Q

 

[Quantum Cat]

male pattern baldness isn't always a continous process - it can proceed in stops and starts. You could get to a NW3 and remain like that for years or decades. Or you could become a NW7 within 2 years. It's usually impossible to predict

 

[TravisB]

male pattern baldness isn't always a continous process - it can proceed in stops and starts. You could get to a NW3 and remain like that for years or decades. Or you could become a NW7 within 2 years. It's usually impossible to predict

Yeah, but some people there are saying they were "nearly bald" and Rogaine saved them.

Look at this pic, the after photo is after 2 years 8 months on Rogaine ONLY, so he not only grew the hair but maintained them all that time. The guy was bald and achieved big cosmetically significant regrowth. Since they are minoxidil revived hairs, is it safe to say he will never lose them if he continues to use minoxidil? If so, then I think it's good to give minoxidil without finasteride a shot, especially if you have more hair than the guy in before pic. Seriously, these hair + moderate transplant + continue to use minoxidil (assuming it won't stop working) and this guy is good to go.

 

[The_Mentalist]

minoxidil does help with hairloss a lot and even stops it, not just slow it down. Androgenetic Alopecia process is not fully understood. They dont even fully know how minoxidil helps with hairloss.

There is a mixed bag out there where there are many who say their hairloss stopped completely for decades while using Minoc; and some might say they have gotten hardly little loss over years or decades. Think of minoxidil as extra boost of energy to follicle to keep in business while still being hammered by dht. Its like a tug-of-war where minoxidil lends extra hand to follicular survival against the other side dominated by dht.

So, yes the result you are showing is not surprising at all. While follicles have been shut down and are still being coded to remain shut, minoxidil comes in play to give hand to the fallen follicles to get up... sort of

 

[Quantum Cat]

minoxidil seems to be pot luck as to

whether it will work at all,
how well it will work,
for how long it will work for

I've heard stories ranging from 'minoxidil grew back all my hair and has kept it that way forever' to 'minoxidil caused all my hair to fall out and it never grew back'

 

[TravisB]

According to this study made on 11000 minoxidil users - http://www.gourmetstylewellness.com/hair-loss-news/article306.php, 4 out of 5 users (80%) have maintained hair count over 5 years of use. Wow, that's a pretty good result if you ask me. So what makes Finasteride better? Especially when Propecia official studies indicated that hair count steadily decreases after 2 years of use.

If that study is true, then what's the deal with all these wise guys on the internet saying it's pointless to use Minoxidil without finasteride??

And what's with the stupid argument that when you start using minoxidil you'll have to use it all the time? The same goes for Propecia - you drop it and you'll lose your hair, so you also have to use it forever.

 

[Bowser]

I think the pictures above are misleading.
You can clearly see that in the first picture there are already hair follicles present.
Minoxidil synchronises hair growth and so it's not surprising that in the second pic he has some reasonable coverage, as a poster above has already mentioned.

 

[Baldie101]

I think the pictures above are misleading.
You can clearly see that in the first picture there are already hair follicles present.
Minoxidil synchronises hair growth and so it's not surprising that in the second pic he has some reasonable coverage, as a poster above has already mentioned.

THIS!
That looks like me...well it's not. I am the "bald" guy in the before picture. Though it's like Bowser said, misleading, there's still an affect in the after picture. I know since I don't got that much hair when I let my hair grow. I wish it was at least that much D:

TravisB, yes minoxidil alone may do the job and it may not do the job. Finesteride alone may do the job and it may not do the job. Yes, both needs to be taken forever...though if you are lucky you may be able to go down in dose.

Now you said something about the study of minoxidil people doing it. I won't say much about it since it's probably true. I only know about a Japanese one done on 2700 people. There's another study which I would like to post instead which may end this debate about finesteride and minoxidil. It's also the reason why I started on only finesteride first. (Though I added minoxidil 14 days ago. )

Here you go: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23193746

 

[Lance]

Minoxidil was originally a type of heart medication that helped with the increase of blood flow via the dilation of blood vessels. When applied topically to the scalp it increases blood flow to the hair follicles (and any hair transplant surgeon will tell you about the importance of proper blood flow to the follicles). Without sufficient blood flow to the follicles, they die, you lose hair, etc.

Some cases of baldness aren't caused by DHT... but simply by the hair follicles not getting enough blood flow. It is those cases that respond very well to minoxidil. Unfortunately most cases of male pattern baldness are caused by DHT (or a combination of both DHT and low blood flow to the follicles), which is why most of us don't have as good results with minoxidil alone.

 

[Jack A]

male pattern baldness isn't always a continous process - it can proceed in stops and starts. You could get to a NW3 and remain like that for years or decades. Or you could become a NW7 within 2 years. It's usually impossible to predict

Could you tell me where you got this information please? I won't get my hopes up but my dad told me once that he had a hairline like mine when he was my age (noticeable recession/miniaturisation) , and it stayed that way for 30+ years until it thinned out.

 

[Quantum Cat]

that's how male pattern baldness works - it's determined by genes that still aren't fully understood.

you can't assume what happened to your dad will happen to you, because male pattern baldness can skip generations. However the number of bald/balding men on both sides of your family can be a rough indicator of how likely you are to suffer from male pattern baldness, and how agressively

 

[talmoode]

Could you tell me where you got this information please? I won't get my hopes up but my dad told me once that he had a hairline like mine when he was my age (noticeable recession/miniaturisation) , and it stayed that way for 30+ years until it thinned out.

Like Quantum Cat has already said, you never know how this balding gene will play out for you. I've said this before and I will say it again! My paternal grandfather and his three brothers are all bald but my father and his three brothers have a full head of hair in their 60s now! but you may get lucky like your father and will keep what you have now for the next 30 years! who knows!

 

[WarLord]

...there are a lot of people on Amazon who claim they were using it for years with success, i.e they had regrowth and/or maintenance? I doubt all of them were using finasteride.

Example links below, read the reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-minoxidil.../dp/B002VLZHLI

http://www.amazon.com/beauty/dp/B00198UH4Q

The problem is that we don't have any recent long-term study on minoxidil. This subsequently allows some people to spread silly, unsubstantied myths based on hypothetical long-term projections from 1-2 year studies. All we can say is that in studies from late 80's, about one-third of patients was regrowing hair on 3% minoxidil even after 4-5 years. And on average, the minoxidil users were still a way above baseline.



Personally I was using it alone for 15,5 years (once daily) and I have kept all my hair - Norwood 1.5. It was a perfectly reliable drug. Therefore, I can't stand all those stupid misinformations that minoxidil "will work for 2 years and then you will start to lose your at the same rate like before". Ironically, it was only after the addition of finasteride that my hairloss resumed again. But that's another story.

- - - Updated - - -

Minoxidil was originally a type of heart medication that helped with the increase of blood flow via the dilation of blood vessels. When applied topically to the scalp it increases blood flow to the hair follicles (and any hair transplant surgeon will tell you about the importance of proper blood flow to the follicles). Without sufficient blood flow to the follicles, they die, you lose hair, etc.

Some cases of baldness aren't caused by DHT... but simply by the hair follicles not getting enough blood flow. It is those cases that respond very well to minoxidil. Unfortunately most cases of male pattern baldness are caused by DHT (or a combination of both DHT and low blood flow to the follicles), which is why most of us don't have as good results with minoxidil alone.

Again this mythology - over and over again. Do you really think that an anti-hairloss treatment must target DHT to stop hairloss? If it were true, you would regrow 100% of your hair back after eliminating DHT. We know that this won't happen, because DHT is only the initial trigger in a long chain of reactions leading to the follicle's destruction.

 

[frontal]

Hi.

I agree that minoxidil alone is all we need.

Started using Rogaine foam in 2007.
See the difference.



Then I became impatient, I stopped.

2009...worsen.




After that wasted two(2) years on Proscar alone and no promising results.
Herb shampoos, ginseng cream etc.
Nadda.


2013...I will start Rogaine foam again and will never look back.

 

[Jack A]

that's how male pattern baldness works - it's determined by genes that still aren't fully understood.

you can't assume what happened to your dad will happen to you, because male pattern baldness can skip generations. However the number of bald/balding men on both sides of your family can be a rough indicator of how likely you are to suffer from male pattern baldness, and how agressively

Ahh ok great, then i'm absolutely ****ed

 

[person22]

Minoxidil can re grow hair (in my case it worked very well) but in my opinion use a high strength one with added DHT inhibitors like azelaic acid, I use minoxidilmax products and I can't praise them enough