At a crossroads with Rogaine

[labellavita1985]

I've been using 2% minoxidil, once a day, for 2 weeks. Today I shed 280 hairs. I've never even come close to such a number. I'm absolutely devastated and in disbelief. This is the worst day of my life. Should I stop? Isn't it unusual to shed that much considering I only use 2%, once a day, and only for 2 weeks? I don't know what to do. Please give me some feedback. I have to make this decision today. I cannot imagine 2 more months of this dread shed. Plus, it might get worse, the shedding might increase even more, and it might not even be effective considering it's 2%! I started shedding almost as soon as I started using it. What does all this mean??

 

[RhinestoneHLT]

I've been using 2% minoxidil, once a day, for 2 weeks. Today I shed 280 hairs. I've never even come close to such a number. I'm absolutely devastated and in disbelief. This is the worst day of my life. Should I stop? Isn't it unusual to shed that much considering I only use 2%, once a day, and only for 2 weeks? I don't know what to do. Please give me some feedback. I have to make this decision today. I cannot imagine 2 more months of this dread shed. Plus, it might get worse, the shedding might increase even more, and it might not even be effective considering it's 2%! I started shedding almost as soon as I started using it. What does all this mean??

It means it's working.

keep on it, you're shedding the weaker hairs to come back thicker.

Rogaine has never been shown to make hair worse long term in any study ever, at the worst it will slow your loss once it synchronizes your anagen cycles. At best you will get nice regrowth.

The shed for me stopped after 1.5 months.

Good luck

 

[labellavita1985]

Thanks for the responses. Rhinestone, you said your shed stopped 1.5 months in, is that 1.5 months into overall use or 1.5 months into when you started shedding?

So you guys are absolutely sure this is a good thing? The shedding? I have a LOT of flakiness (seborrheic dermatitis) and I think the Rogaine might be making it worse. Isn't that a bad thing? Ive read that seb derm itself can cause hair loss in severe cases. Couldn't it just make everything worse, as in the 280 hairs I shed today will never grow back?

 

[yetti]

I also shed a lot, for about 1.5 months (of overall use). I don't count hairs, but about 3 weeks into the shed for the first time in my life I ordered "Toppik", the stuff you sprinkle on your head, because I thought if it gets much worse I'm going to have to use it. Now, 6 months later, I definitely have significantly more hair than I did when I started and I think it's (rogaine liquid) a great product. I also only use it once a day.

 

[labellavita1985]

Thanks yetti, and everyone else. Your feedback is priceless to me.

 

[yetti]

no problem. the one thing ill add is that although the shed disturbed me, i was also psyched about it after reading a million times that if you shed it means youre responding to the product. and that turned out to be true.

it seems to me that the main things to remember with minoxidil are 1. make sure almost all of it is on the scalp, not the hair. 2. dont miss any applications. i read about people starting and stopping it, and it doesnt turn out well. the most ive missed is doing it 1/2 day late, and thats rare.

 

[yetti]

Minoxidil has to hit the scalp to be effective. Once a day probably won't do that.

do you mean once a day at 2% wont do that, or once a day in general? because i can definitely attest to the fact that once a day at 5% is effective, and has been effective for me. at 2% i dont know.

 

[yetti]

Twice a day from my own experience. Now I actually need to do more than that (thirty percent minoxidil formula, supplemented with finasteride, and
five percent foam)

Everybody is different. For most people, twice is necessary.

I do it once a day, and put on a bit more than twice as much as is normally required for one application. So it's actually more than an entire normal day's allotment. Almost 100% of it is applied directly to the scalp, not the hair, due to using the liquid form of minoxidil and the dropper... and actually rubbing it into the scalp with the nozzle of the dropper. minoxidil has a half life of 22 hours in the skin. So I think it makes sense that if done that way it is about as effective as doing it twice a day, and I've read and been told that that is the case. I'd venture to guess that most people don't do it like this and that's why it's not as effective.

That said, if it stops working as well I'll be using it twice a day.

 

[labellavita1985]

I have read that 5% once a day, even at 1 mL, is effective for many people. I am definitely shedding (and it is definitely from the minoxidil) from 2% once a day (and often just .75 mL or so,) so doesn't that mean it's doing SOMEthing? Intuitively I want to say yes. Maybe I'm just very sensitive to it? The shedding for me started literally a week or so into application, which from my understanding is a bit unusual. I am also a female and minoxidil is allegedly more effective for women. I am planning on switching to 5% once a day, at 1 mL. I just wanted to start slowly in an attempt to minimize the damage caused by the dread shed. Obviously that's not working though.

The only other explanation is that it's causing me to shed due to some kind of unusual reaction, like irritation or something. Its PPG free though, so would that be unlikely? My seb derm is out of control, I was covered in flakes today after brushing. But I'm not especially itchy, or oily or anything. And I've always had it, but never experienced hair loss until 2015. My dermatologist just prescribed Elocon. What do you guys think the chances are that my seb derm itself is causing my hair loss? If that's the case, I have to stop if the minoxidil is causing a flare! But how do I know?

This is a last ditch effort to save my hair. It has to work! Has to! If there's any chance it's gonna make things worse in the long run I must stop, now! I'm losing my mind.

 

[yetti]

dont lose your mind!! as said before theres no indication that it can make things worse in the long run. and the shed does seem to indicate that its working, its what you WANT to happen.

but look. if your dermatologist doesnt seem to be a real expert in this stuff, you might be better off getting a better doctor who you trust. because i dont think random advice in this forum can beat a real solid live opinion from a very experienced and knowledgeable professional.

 

[labellavita1985]

Thanks yetti. The condition of my scalp does not bother me too much, it's just seborrheic dermatitis, and it's not very itchy either, so I thought minoxidil without PPG couldn't hurt that much.

The thing is, I've seen 3 dermatologists and 1 dermatologist PA, most of them were taken off the American Hair Loss Association website where they were listed as "experts," and yet I honestly do think that a lot of time you guys here on this forum are more knowledgeable and more capable of providing advice and feedback when it comes to hair loss issues. That's why I'm here so much.