Is my hair Dependant on minoxidil???????

[Sol_5]

Hi everyone,

Just need to know one thing,

Once you start using minoxidil is your hair dependant on it?

I have been applying minoxidil 5% twice daily for 11 months.

I think I am ready to stop as my hair has grudually stopped falling out (not totally though)

But I'm scared the hair will start falling out again once I stop!!!

Any info would be much appreciated!

Thanx

 

[Hotlegs]

Dependant may not be the right word.

Minoxidil keeps your hair in the growing phase for an extended period of time.

If you stop, all the gains you have made will be lost (typically over a period of 6 months - 1 year).

Even if you continue using minoxidil your hair will eventually begin to recede/thin as you are not addressing the underlying cause of male pattern baldness, dihydrotestosterone effecting the hair roots ability to produce a terminal, pigmented hair.

You did not start minoxidil because your hair was 'lacking' minoxidil you started using minoxidil because your hair was being affected by DHT, you need to address this as a priority, growth stimulation would be a secondary consideration.

 

[Sol_5]

So there is just no escaping?

Though as much

 

[Hotlegs]

You can 'escape' both the 'dependancy' on minoxidil and slow or halt the continuing loss of your scalp hair with the use of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (propecia etc). Minoxidil will just stimulate some 'extra' hair.

Like poison in the soil of your rose garden, roses looking a little limp, give them some extra water, it will plump them up and aid in growth but unless you leech the poison from the soil they will eventually die.

 

[Sol_5]

I love the sound of '5-alpha reductase inhibitors' but unfortunately havn't a clue what they are!

Appreciate the help all the same

 

[min0hel]

what if you use minoxidil to grow hair that isn't affected by dht for a long time. the hairloss was caused differently. will the hair still be dependant on minoxidil?

 

[Trent]

your hair does become dependant on minoxidil, but only the hair that you regrew/ would have lost anyway during your use of minoxidil will fall out in the course of six months to a year.

5-alpha reductase is the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. DHT is a known contributor to male pattern baldnesss. thus a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (propecia/proscar/duasteride are all this type of drug) helps to stop hair loss.

 

[Hotlegs]

I love the sound of '5-alpha reductase inhibitors' but unfortunately havn't a clue what they are!

Appreciate the help all the same

5-alpha reductase binds with testosterone in your body....

This creates dihydrotestosterone (DHT)....

DHT binds to receptors on the hair follicle and influences their growth (negatively)....

Hair become increasingly velus (thin, fine, unpigmented and shorter) leading to baldness.

This proccess will continue as you try to shore up your head of hair with minoxidil's regrowth properties.

You can inhibit the binding of 5-alpha reductase to testosterone by using a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor.

The most commonly used being 'finasteride'.

Finasteride is the main ingredient in PROPECIA.

Using just minoxidil will stimulate a little regrowth but the onslaught from DHT will eventually overwhelm minoxidils benifits and the balding proccess will appear to 'start again'.

Using just Propecia (finasteride) will slow or even halt the balding proccess but will regrow only limited new hair not the 'cosmetic' change than many seek.

Using a combination of minoxidil, finasteride and a shampoo such as Nizoral (which contains ketoconazole) will give you a better chance of saving your hair than any single product approach, although even with the use of all three holding on to your hair is not guaranteed.