5 Days without Minoxidil - Concerned.

[fluffy123]

Hi all, soon I'll be going to the Glastonbury festival at the end of june and I'm rather looking forward to a binge of non-stop drinking, live music and all that. However, wilst it's relativly simple to keep on popping the propecia every morning, it's not going to be realistic to use the minoxidil whilst I'm there....this means that I won't be able to apply it for 5 days whilst I'm away....will this cause an adverse effect or might I just get away with it?

 

[dazzerler]

I cant say for sure and i suspect every one is different, but I should think if you are quite a dood responder to min and you dont seem to suffer some of the serious shredding issues i some times read of here then i cant see why your hair would not be fine. I mean its a growth stimulant after all and though the hairs that might have grown back from the use of it a can see why they would just die after five days. I think most of the horror stories you here from stopping min are from people who have had a bumpy ride with the stuff to dtart with.

 

[pproctor]

Rough Rules of Thumb for Minoxidil:

1) Off treatment less than a week or so--- Generally no problem, though it may slow the response. What helps is the fact that minoxidii (e.g.) is taken up by the top layer of skin and slowly released.

2) Off treatment 2-3 weeks-- sometimes loss.

3) Off treatment 4-6 weeks --- loss usuaL, but not inevitable.

4) More than 6 weeks, you will almost-certainly shed what you have gained.

Notes: shedding generally does not start until 4-8 months after the period of no treatment. This is a combination of a several-week lag period it takes for hair to go into the loss phase after the treatment gap, plus the 2-4 month loss-phase. So it is difficult to make exact statements.

Similarly, even if you lose a bit from a weeks-long treatment, you are very likely to regain what you have lost if you resume treatment.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

 

[beaner]

I've skipped minoxidil for about 5 days a number of times and didn't notice any negative effects or shedding.

 

[ali777]

Notes: shedding generally does not start until 4-8 months after the period of no treatment. This is a combination of a several-week lag period it takes for hair to go into the loss phase after the treatment gap, plus the 2-4 month loss-phase. So it is difficult to make exact statements.

Similarly, even if you lose a bit from a weeks-long treatment, you are very likely to regain what you have lost if you resume treatment.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

Are you sure about your data? I thought minoxidil shed took place 2-3 months after stopping treatment. Bryan's graphs show a sudden decrease in the hair count at around month 2 and 3, then the hair count recovers to the base level.

On the original subject: 5 days should be OK.

 

[eth0]

I'll be at glasto and I'll still use minoxidil. Same for Benicassim and Leeds.

I bought some foam esspecially for this sort of stuff, but the liquid is so easy to apply it hardly seems worth it.
It only takes 30 secs, I'm not sure what the problem is.

 

[diffuse propecia]

You should do it while doing something else, it saves alot of time. Although as doctor proctor pointed out skipping five days will most likely do nothing, and would not it be nice to get a break from all these daily applications?

 

[pproctor]

Notes: shedding generally does not start until 4-8 months after the period of no treatment. This is a combination of a several-week lag period it takes for hair to go into the loss phase after the treatment gap, plus the 2-4 month loss-phase. So it is difficult to make exact statements.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

Are you sure about your data? I thought minoxidil shed took place 2-3 months after stopping treatment.
On the original subject: 5 days should be OK.

If memory serves, the orginal clinical trials reported that hair gained typically lasted for 6-8 months after starting treatment. My experience is that the can be as short as 2-4 months. With agents that interfere further down the pathogenic chain, retention can be as long as 18 months (surprised me too).

Remember, the hair must go thru the loss phase before falling out. This is typically 2-4 months, but is shortened by medical treatment ( also produces the famous "shedding"). BTW. I can easily evision a situation where resumption of medical treatment shortens the time when the hair falls out.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD