Minoxidil: Here's What you Need to Know

Losing hair is as natural as shedding skin cells for everyone, but as you age you slow down producing the important substances in your body that help regrow and maintain it, such as collagen which helps  make keratin (a protein hair is mostly composed of). We all lose about 100 strands of the approximately 100,000 strands of hair we have on our heads daily, but many adults start losing hair as young as 30 (25% of men and 12% of women).

There are many hair regrowth products on the market that promise results, but since 1987 minoxidil has been helping people do it reliably under common brand names like Rogaine or Theroxodil. If you’re considering using it to get your hair back, you should know what to expect, so let’s go over the basics about the drug, understand how it works, and see how long it takes to work.

If you live in the Newport Beach or Glendale, California area and you’re thinking of using minoxidil or other hair treatments to restore your lost hair, Drs. Michael and Alister Meshkin and their staff at Meshkin Medical are here to help.

Facts about minoxidil

Originally used to treat hypertension (and still used to help with severe cases), this drug is formulated as a topical solution to help men and women with pattern baldness or hereditary forms of hair loss. In fact, it is only one of two drugs on the market approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat hair loss. Both drugs are as much as 60% effective in preventing hair loss and regrowing hair.

It can be applied as a solution or a foam and it works by lengthening the amount of time in the anagen phase of hair growth, when hair follicles are growing in. It also shortens the shedding time of hair (the telogen phase).

How it works

Minoxidil is a type of vasodilator, a class of drug that relaxes blood vessels and increases the amount of blood that goes to hair follicles. This process is what allows the hair to grow faster and shortens the time hair sheds. The overall amount of hair that grows back varies, with some seeing a partial or full growth. According to a study of 900 men, 85% experienced some regrowth, and 62% saw much smaller bald patches using the 5% dose of Rogaine branded minoxidil twice a day.

Results timeline

There are different amounts applied depending on whether you’re using the solution or foam:

• Solution: one milliliter twice daily on the scalp for men and women
• Foam: half a capful daily in men and women, rinse hands in cold water to prevent foam melting

Results can be seen as soon as two months with regular applications, and must be done consistently to see proper regrowth. Over a four to six month period of taking minoxidil, thicker hair should be visible. If, after 4 months there is no growth, come see us.

Minoxidil can make a big difference in how much hair you hair with the right dosage, and we can help with it or many other methods of growing healthy hair. Make an appointment with the Drs. Meshkin and Meshkin Medical today to see your bald spots fade and new hair grow.