Minoxidil

[jsmith255]

This is the hardest question I've been trying to figure out. That is, does Minoxidil make you dependent on Minoxidil?
I would think from a business standpoint... the makers would want you to keep buying the product, even strive to make it that way....but maybe that is overly pessimistic. Its easy to get caught up into the 'enslaved consumer' line of thinking.

I have some receding hairline, have thought about the product but my fear of course is using it would cause a slight improvement, then you quit and things are worse than ever before. I know its a very difficult thing to gauge as you'd have to ask yourself, "how much would I have lost anyway if I had never used it?"

What is the general consensus here... does say using minoxidil for 6 months and quitting forever, leave you slightly better off for the experience, no different, or did it accelerate your hair loss?
If you say hey I'm done, and quit using it, does your hair suddenly start falling out like never before?
And the new hairs that come in...are they normal, or odd looking? I've heard one person report that the new growth was 'downy' and not really natural, but that could be just random (and that was a woman who was using it).

Also wondering about this:
http://www.medicinenet.com/minoxidil-topical/article.htm

"It is not used for baldness at the front of the scalp or receding hairline in men."

True? Not true? If true I don't understand why :/
I have read online doctors who have performed hair transplants for receding hairline or other, recommend using it in recovery and even before surgery.
thanks for experiences.

 

[benjt]

Minx does work in the front, it did that in my case before I went off it.

Also, when taking minoxidil, you cannot PERMANENTLY lose hair quicker. There was a very reliable study that compared many patients to baseline after being off minoxidil for a couple of months. minoxidil will not do your hair any harm in the long run. It will, however, induce shedding, so temporarily you will actually lose some hair, which will then regrow however.

While minoxidil definitely does work to keep hair (and, in my case, actually regrow some hair - probably b/c I'm still quite young so my hairloss hasn't been around for that long, though it's going quite fast), please note that it might have strong side effects that are not officially listed. Check my thread on minoxidil for that.

 

[Sharpe]

In my opinion Minoxidil is the best thing out there for regrowing hair, even along the front/hairline area. I got solid results in that it thickened my existing hair/grew new normal hair along my hairline, temples, and crown. I was overjoyed, became cocky, and figured I could stop using it and maintain what I had. It seemed to stay the same until the third month when I rapidly lost everything I'd gained. Big mistake. I'm now back on Minoxidil and slowly gaining it back. It sucks to have learned this lesson the hard way; however, it definitely sold me on the stuff. Unfortunately, once you're on it, you need to stick to it forever, or at least until something comes along which allows you to switch from Minoxidil while maintaining what you've gained/maintained. Is it a pain in the ***? Yes; however, you get used to it, it's the best means to regrow hair, and nowadays options such as Lipogaine and Rogaine Foam have made the application of Minoxidil much more convenient and easy. If you care about having hair, Minoxidil is a must. Even if you want to go the Hair Transplant route, you need to stabilize your hair loss beforehand otherwise hair loss will continue behind the transplanted hair. The best current option for stabilizing hair loss is still the Big 3, i.e. Minoxidil, Finasteride, and a shampoo with Ketoconazole. I hope this helps.