Anyone have success with minoxidil for non-male pattern baldness?

joru100 · Sep 5, 2015

26 year old male here,

I first started noticing thinning hair basically all over my head a few months ago (it's what sparked me to register on these forums). When I get out of the shower and stand under a light, I can pretty much see my entire scalp even though my hair is about 4-5 inches long. It's bad. Not severe Alopecia Areata bad, but still bad. Anyway I was recently diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia. Turns out this causes hair loss, so now it's starting to make sense. Especially considering not a single close family member of mine has anything close to NH stage 3, regardless of age, nor is my hair loss following that pattern. Eye brow hair was thinning too for a bit and white at the root.

Anyway I'm on treatment for the anemia now and feel A LOT better, but I was told it's probably going to take a long time for the hair to return as per my doctor. Unfortunately I forgot to ask about treatment for the hair loss when I was at his office. I work in a job that requires a lot of public speaking and I just want to get my hair back and thick ASAP. I've researched some OTC treatments such as minoxidil and finasteride. I've definitely ruled out finasteride seeing as that's for a very specific problem associated with male pattern baldness. So that leaves me with minoxidil I guess... Yes, yes. I know! The instructions on most commercial forms of minoxidil say that it is not intended for non male pattern baldness hair loss, but they also it's not meant for a receding hairline either and we know that's wrong.

If anyone has any success stories with this for non male pattern baldness hair loss, or just any advice it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

labellavita1985 · Sep 5, 2015

Hey,

I'm in the same boat you are in. Lost massive amounts of hair this year and found out my ferritin levels were very very low.

I am dying to know the answer to this question, and have started a few threads on this topic, but haven't gotten any feedback on this forum.

Some women over on the women's hair loss forums are using minoxidil for temporary hair loss/telogen effluvium type situations.

Theoretically, minoxidil should work for ANY kind of hair loss.

I'd suggest that you make sure your deficiencies are addressed before starting a minoxidil regimen.

Also, keep in mind that telogen effluvium can sometimes trigger Androgenetic Alopecia (male pattern baldness,) so if you can, I'd also see a dermatologist/hair transplant doctor to determine whether you have Telogen Effluvium and Androgenetic Alopecia, and if you do, as I'm sure you're aware, it is suggested that you also take a DHT inhibitor to successfully "treat" your male pattern baldness.

Has the cause of your iron deficiency been determined? It is rather rare for men to experience iron deficiency anemia compared to women, is my understanding, so make sure you don't have some type of inflammation and/or absorption issue. If your anemia is the result of an iron poor diet, you should be able to get your iron levels up by aggressively supplementing.

My ferritin was 6.7 in June; I started taking ferrous sulfate, 325 mg, two tablets twice a day (total of 4 pills/day.) I also take Lysine and vitamin C, as it is thought that these two play a role in iron absorption. I also started eating more iron rich foods, like red meat, and I even had liver. My ferritin was up to 57.8 within a few months.

I've found out that many people don't believe iron deficiency alone will cause hair loss. I'm still kind of unsure as to whether my iron deficiency alone could have caused my hair loss. I think it's unlikely that it's the ONLY factor.

If your hair loss is indeed a case of telogen effluvium caused by iron deficiency, you may be able to use minoxidil to encourage faster recovery. It is also thought that minoxidil doesn't have to be used indefinitely in this case.

Google "telogen effluvium and minoxidil."