How Does Minoxidil Work As a Treatment For Baldness?
When Minoxidil was originally introduced as an oral medication to treat high blood pressure.
In those days it was packaged with the warning that it could cause the growth and darkening of fine body hairs.
Seizing on the opportunity, Upjohn Corporation soon came out with a topical solution to treat baldness.
Sold as Rogaine in the United States and Canada and Regaine in Asia and Europe, minoxidil comes in a 5% solution for men and a 2% solution for women.
In 2007, a foam based formula of the 5% solution was introduced and shown to be as effective as the liquid treatment for male pattern baldness.
How does minoxidil work? Minoxidil topical solution is applied directly to the hair and scalp.
For maximum results it should stay on the head for at least four hours before being rinsed out.
However, it may be rinsed out after 40 minutes if the alcohol in the solution interferes with hair styling products.
Minoxidil doesn't affect DHT, the hormone that is thought to cause baldness and needs to be applied once or twice a day to maintain hair growth.
Once its use ceases the hair will return to its normal levels within days.
Minoxidil works best in younger men ages 18 to 41.
One study, carried out over the course of 32 weeks, showed that healthy men in this age group who applied minoxidil as directed saw an average increase in hair count of 32 hairs per centimeter squared as opposed to an increase of just five hairs per centimeter squared in men who were given a placebo.
The treatment is less effective in large areas of baldness.
It is also only useful for treatment of vertex or central balding.
How minoxidil promotes hair growth is not exactly known.
Minoxidil is a potassium channel opener and a vasodilator.
It is speculated that by opening potassium channels and widening the blood vessels, minoxidil allows more nutrients, blood and oxygen to reach the follicle which promotes shedding of old hairs and growth of new ones.
Side effects of topical minoxidil include dry scalp which can lead to dandruff and a form of hair loss which manufacturers of minoxidil products refer to as shedding.
The exact cause of this shedding is not known but it is speculated that the product encourages older hairs in the final phase of hair growth to fall out before fresh hair growth begins.
There have also been reports of allergic reactions to both minoxidil and to its non-active ingredients, particularly the solvent propylene glycol which is found in some Rogaine products.
Cat lovers should be extremely careful when using minoxidil because it is extremely toxic to cats and may kill them.
In those days it was packaged with the warning that it could cause the growth and darkening of fine body hairs.
Seizing on the opportunity, Upjohn Corporation soon came out with a topical solution to treat baldness.
Sold as Rogaine in the United States and Canada and Regaine in Asia and Europe, minoxidil comes in a 5% solution for men and a 2% solution for women.
In 2007, a foam based formula of the 5% solution was introduced and shown to be as effective as the liquid treatment for male pattern baldness.
How does minoxidil work? Minoxidil topical solution is applied directly to the hair and scalp.
For maximum results it should stay on the head for at least four hours before being rinsed out.
However, it may be rinsed out after 40 minutes if the alcohol in the solution interferes with hair styling products.
Minoxidil doesn't affect DHT, the hormone that is thought to cause baldness and needs to be applied once or twice a day to maintain hair growth.
Once its use ceases the hair will return to its normal levels within days.
Minoxidil works best in younger men ages 18 to 41.
One study, carried out over the course of 32 weeks, showed that healthy men in this age group who applied minoxidil as directed saw an average increase in hair count of 32 hairs per centimeter squared as opposed to an increase of just five hairs per centimeter squared in men who were given a placebo.
The treatment is less effective in large areas of baldness.
It is also only useful for treatment of vertex or central balding.
How minoxidil promotes hair growth is not exactly known.
Minoxidil is a potassium channel opener and a vasodilator.
It is speculated that by opening potassium channels and widening the blood vessels, minoxidil allows more nutrients, blood and oxygen to reach the follicle which promotes shedding of old hairs and growth of new ones.
Side effects of topical minoxidil include dry scalp which can lead to dandruff and a form of hair loss which manufacturers of minoxidil products refer to as shedding.
The exact cause of this shedding is not known but it is speculated that the product encourages older hairs in the final phase of hair growth to fall out before fresh hair growth begins.
There have also been reports of allergic reactions to both minoxidil and to its non-active ingredients, particularly the solvent propylene glycol which is found in some Rogaine products.
Cat lovers should be extremely careful when using minoxidil because it is extremely toxic to cats and may kill them.
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