Is minoxidil Once a Day Enough for Results?
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sphlanx2006
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Yes, if you want to regrow you need twice a day. After that though (about a year), my dermatologist insists that 3-4 times/week is enough.
JohnnySeville
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Maybe you should consider using Rogaine Foam, it is not messy and easy to use. If you insist on once daily, you should get some growth, though not a much as twice. Also consider using Retin-A in conjunction with once daily, it was shown to be as effective as using twice daily without Retin-A.
JohnnySeville
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GC,
That's what I have heard according to Dr. Bernstein. He seems to believe that it is active for 22 hrs in the scalp and using it once a day is almost as good as twice a day.
That's what I have heard according to Dr. Bernstein. He seems to believe that it is active for 22 hrs in the scalp and using it once a day is almost as good as twice a day.
GC
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It's an extremely touchy subject and i'm sure many have their own view/opinions.
If anyone has some concrete evidence (studies on people using it once a day oppossed to twice a day) then it would be great to see it on the board.
I still believe once a day is enough as i'm yet to see any scientific evidence that states otherwise.
If anyone has some concrete evidence (studies on people using it once a day oppossed to twice a day) then it would be great to see it on the board.
I still believe once a day is enough as i'm yet to see any scientific evidence that states otherwise.
Old Baldy
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CousinIt
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Once daily minoxidil will give some results, but not the same as twice daily. In fact once daily will not even will not even maintain the results achieved by a twice a day regime. Dr.Bernstein is incorrect, as stated his assumption is hypothetical. There have been studies to that prove this fact, apparently he was not aware of them.
joseph49853
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I continued using minoxidil once a day, eventually adding Retin-a every other day, for two years and continued making great progress. During this time, my juvenile hairline started to emerge, along with my crown becoming thicker. During this entire time, never did I experience a single shed. Not everyone responds similarly to medications. And you won't know until you try.
joseph49853
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CousinIt said:
How about the 1.5 years without Retin-a, only with minoxidil, once a day. Did you miss that part? Wouldn't you say 1.5 years is a long time for not just maintenance, but regrowth? Or are you simply basing everyone's results on your own?
In fact, I'm such a good responder to minoxidil, and there are just as many of us out there, that I might even be able to grow back my adolescent hairline. But I've avoided it till now because I'd probably look really stupid with one in my twenties, like a caveman.
CousinIt
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You apparently have not read what I stated. First, once daily minoxidil can grow hair, but not as well as twice daily. Secondly, if you remove the Retin-A from your protocol, you will not achieve the same results as you have with it, it will be less efficacious for a number of reasons. These are all facts based on scientific evidence, not personal observation. I am not giving you my personal experience on the matter, which is subject to debate, but empirical evidence, namely clinical studies.
joseph49853
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CousinIt said:
"In fact once daily will not even will not even maintain the results achieved by a twice a day regime." I don't need to tell you; these two statements conflict with one another. Although, I see statements like these mimicked on this forum all the time. And in my experience, both have not been the case.
CousinIt said:
I was actually countering some of the statements made in this thread, not just yours. But, sure enough, show me these specific clinical studies -- 5% minoxidil, once vs. twice daily -- that soundly disprove my anecdotal evidence. And I'm talking a wide margin, not just a few percentage points. Especially someone who uses the phrase "in fact," to qualify his statements, should be able to provide a few.
CousinIt
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J Am Acad Dermatol. 1987 Mar;16(3 Pt 2):688-95.
Long-term follow-up of men with male pattern baldness treated with topical minoxidil.Olsen EA, DeLong ER, Weiner MS.
Forty-one men with male pattern baldness completed 132 study weeks (2 years 9 months) with topical minoxidil and had follow-up 1-inch target-area vertex scalp hair counts. Initially these men were treated with either twice-daily 2% topical minoxidil for 12 months or 3% topical minoxidil for 8 to 12 months (one third of the subjects received placebo for the first 4 months). After 12 months all subjects continued to apply 3% topical minoxidil twice daily for 1 more year, after which they were randomized to once- versus twice-daily topical minoxidil for an additional 9 months. Those subjects who changed to once-daily application of topical minoxidil at 2 years had a mean change from baseline nonvellus hair count at 1 year of 291.2 (range of hairs four to 553) and at 2 years 9 months of 235 (two to 592 hairs). Those subjects who continued with twice-daily application of topical minoxidil throughout the study had a mean change from baseline nonvellus hair count at 1 year of 323 (15 to 589 hairs) and 335 (13 to 808 hairs) at 2 years 9 months with maintenance topical minoxidil. There were subjects on both maintenance schedules of topical minoxidil who lost some of the nonvellus hair they had initially gained with topical minoxidil; however, there was a greater mean loss in those patients following the once-daily versus twice-daily topical minoxidil regimen (p = 0.05). No subject lost nonvellus target hair as compared with baseline.
Please take note of the hair counts at the point of changeover to once daily. At this time hair count due to twice daily was 291.2, nine months later haircount was 235, net loss of 56.2 in the target area. Meanwhile, those that continued twice daily had an increase in hair count from 323 to 335, a nominal increase of 12. Theorectically you could translate this to a net hair count loss of 68 had they continued twice daily applications.
joseph49853
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Yes, I am aware of this older study. But we're having this discussion in a men's minoxidil forum. And the current prescribed minoxidil dosage for men is 5%, of which this study used 2% and 3% concentrations. Although, if we were to take a logic approach, theoretically, a twice daily 2-3 percent application would equal a once daily 5% solution. Yet, I'll bet if that same study were performed today using a 5% concentration, again once vs. twice daily, there likely would be far less variance.
All I'm saying is that there's always a point of diminishing returns. And there are many factors involved in these returns for every individual. So if someone were to ask the better application period, 1 or 2x daily, my answer would be to simply try it for themselves. I see nothing wrong with this approach.
All I'm saying is that there's always a point of diminishing returns. And there are many factors involved in these returns for every individual. So if someone were to ask the better application period, 1 or 2x daily, my answer would be to simply try it for themselves. I see nothing wrong with this approach.