Quit minoxidil And 6 Months Later Horror Ensued.

[Throwawayaccnt]

Hello everyone. I started my hair loss journey about a year and a half ago. I applied minoxidil everyday for a year and quit cold turkey after experiencing very painful lumps and severely itchy scalp that got progressively worse even after quitting. Now I have to say this has been the worst experience in my life and my scalp is in complete shock. The areas I applied the minoxidil most have itched me to death and the hairs there fall out with a slight touch. I’m experiencing hairloss all over my head and even in areas I didn’t suffer from hairloss.

Before I started I had a full head of hair only diffused thinning. Now let me show you. Any advice?

 

[MyThinningConfidence]

That looks pretty bad although it doesn't appear to be in a pattern indicating it's not male pattern baldness but rather something like alopecia areata which is an auto-immune issue.

 

[Throwawayaccnt]

That looks pretty bad although it doesn't appear to be in a pattern indicating it's not male pattern baldness but rather something like alopecia areata which is an auto-immune issue.

All the bald spots you see are the areas that got the most minoxidil. Before they were bald spots they were painful lumps. Then I itched them like crazy and turned into what you see. They came out so easily too, those spots aren’t like the rest of my hair which is settled, hard and hurts to pull out. What should I do at this point? Shave it all off and hope for the best?

 

[Tommybommy1363]

See a derm that’s not normal.

 

[Retinoid]

I am curious if you have before pictures?

The liquid minoxidil with propylene glycol was extremely irritating for me and if it causes enough irritation it can surely be bad for hair but this should be temporary. I am using Lipogaine sensitive with Minoxidil and other anti hairloss ingredients with just ethanol. The other option is oral Minoxidil, like 2.5 mg/day.

If I were you I would take low dose oral Minoxidil+Apply a mixture of Argan oil and some hydrocortisone two weeks and if you have the funds invest in something like iRestore which is a laser helmet and is very good for the follicles.

It is probably a severe reaction to the irritation from Propylene Glycol which is carrying into today. The first step is to heal from this.

 

[Phil777]

I would rule out an Autoimmune disease that can cause hair loss. Autoimmune diseases commonly associated with varying degrees of hair loss include alopecia, lupus, Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, and to a lesser extent, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis.

It's an easy blood test to have and you can get the results within a few days. I would get that that cleared first if I was you.

Good luck with it all

 

[CrownBalding]

All the bald spots you see are the areas that got the most minoxidil. Before they were bald spots they were painful lumps. Then I itched them like crazy and turned into what you see. They came out so easily too, those spots aren’t like the rest of my hair which is settled, hard and hurts to pull out. What should I do at this point? Shave it all off and hope for the best?

Definitely, shave it and see how it grows back in. That doesn’t look like male pattern baldness.

 

[Ollie]

Could be areata for sure. Amongst possible others. Get blood work and a scalp biopsy to confirm.

 

[Throwawayaccnt]

I am curious if you have before pictures?

The liquid minoxidil with propylene glycol was extremely irritating for me and if it causes enough irritation it can surely be bad for hair but this should be temporary. I am using Lipogaine sensitive with Minoxidil and other anti hairloss ingredients with just ethanol. The other option is oral Minoxidil, like 2.5 mg/day.

If I were you I would take low dose oral Minoxidil+Apply a mixture of Argan oil and some hydrocortisone two weeks and if you have the funds invest in something like iRestore which is a laser helmet and is very good for the follicles.

It is probably a severe reaction to the irritation from Propylene Glycol which is carrying into today. The first step is to heal from this.

I have this other photo of my scalp from 3 months ago. I was already itching out all my hair and just took a photo to see what was left. It has gotten worse since then as there’s no hair in those areas anymore. I thought I was just losing hair because of male pattern baldness at the time but now I’m leaning towards some dermatitis or irritation issue. The areas I’ve lost hair just seem so dead, barren like nothing can grow there at the moment because of how terribly irritated it is. It’s weird this is happening much after I have quit minoxidil and thought I was healing but it’s a slow burn it feels.

 

[Retinoid]

I have this other photo of my scalp from 3 months ago. I was already itching out all my hair and just took a photo to see what was left. It has gotten worse since then as there’s no hair in those areas anymore. I thought I was just losing hair because of male pattern baldness at the time but now I’m leaning towards some dermatitis or irritation issue. The areas I’ve lost hair just seem so dead, barren like nothing can grow there at the moment because of how terribly irritated it is. It’s weird this is happening much after I have quit minoxidil and thought I was healing but it’s a slow burn it feels.

Are you considering Finasteride?