Is Oral Minoxidil really worth the hair it gives you?

[Isneezedsohard]

Ive

Did the aging side effects reverse when you got off?

I've been thinking about getting on oral cause I've recently been trying to grow a beard and been applying min to my face as well. This would enable me to stop applying to face and hair and maybe work much better?

Doesn't microneedling increase collagen production as well?

I’ve read min beard gains are permanent! Can’t confirm tho lol

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I can report after over three months on oral minoxidil, that the circles under my eyes vary depending upon the day, which makes me think that one might be more susceptible to sleep effects but that it isn't something that happens every day. Based upon the reported hair growth effects, I might recommended concealer to those worried about "under the eyes". Hair matters much more to appearance generally than some bagginess under the eyes in my estimation but I guess that depends on the person and the extent of the interference with the normal appearance under the eyes. This is an area that ages in general though. Lot's of things happen at once: hair loss, beard growth, dandruff, aging in general so it is perhaps presumptuous to blame minoxidil.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

I can report after over three months on oral minoxidil, that the circles under my eyes vary depending upon the day, which makes me think that one might be more susceptible to sleep effects but that it isn't something that happens every day. Based upon the reported hair growth effects, I might recommended concealer to those worried about "under the eyes". Hair matters much more to appearance generally than some bagginess under the eyes in my estimation but I guess that depends on the person and the extent of the interference with the normal appearance under the eyes. This is an area that ages in general though. Lot's of things happen at once: hair loss, beard growth, dandruff, aging in general so it is perhaps presumptuous to blame minoxidil.

What dosage are you at? Do you see big improvements already?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Just my two cents but I wouldn't advise anyone worried about hair loss to grow minoxidil beards.

Anything driven by the endocrine system is touchy and it isn't worth the risk of setting off things like dermatitis or even hair loss via signalling from beard to scalp follicles, which might be entirely conceivable from what we are learning about hair and the activity of follicles.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

What dosage are you at? Do you see big improvements already?

12.5 mg, taken each morning, along with topical used at night. I do see big improvements and I post the pics regularly on my thread but my caveat is that I was already seeing great improvement from high dose estrogen so I can't talk much about incremental hair or regrowth improvement except to say that it seems ever more super-charged to the point where things almost seem to look better daily at the hair line and in general in terms of quality improvement. I also derma-roll regularly, take dutasteride and I take an AA called medroxyprogesterone acetate. I started castor oil about two weeks ago and I use keto shampoo a couple of times a month.

I do know that oral minoxidil is effective, even when drunk as is my practice, because I see the increased growth effects on my body hair and what's left of my beard fuzz.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

12.5 mg, taken each morning, along with topical used at night. I do see big improvements and I post the pics regularly on my thread but my caveat is that I was already seeing great improvement from high dose estrogen so I can't talk much about incremental hair or regrowth improvement except to say that it seems ever more super-charged to the point where things almost seem to look better daily at the hair line and in general in terms of quality improvement. I also derma-roll regularly, take dutasteride and I take an AA called medroxyprogesterone acetate. I started castor oil about two weeks ago and I use keto shampoo a couple of times a month.

I do know that oral minoxidil is effective, even when drunk as is my practice, because I see the increased growth effects on my body hair and what's left of my beard fuzz.

Woah! That’s a high dose! I’m thinking about 2.5 mg. Even 5 mg scares me. I want more hair, but the cardiovascular stuff scares the pants off me! My plan is maybe doing 2.5 mg, and using topical 8% min once a day.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Woah! That’s a high dose! I’m thinking about 2.5 mg. Even 5 mg scares me. I want more hair, but the cardiovascular stuff scares the pants off me! My plan is maybe doing 2.5 mg, and using topical 8% min once a day.

My dosage is probably too high even for a male. Rob at perfecthairhealth.com recommends no more than 5 mg and I agree with him that this is probably right for most guys. My other issue is that chemically I am female so I might be using way, way more than I need but my side effects have still been tolerable, mostly weight gain and faster/thicker beard and body hair growth. I do deem the medical side effects to be important so I will probably gradually titrate downward once my hair seems to level off. All indications currently are that I am headed for a very nice female head of hair that can grow to much greater lengths with much, much greater quality, sheen and manageability.

That's hard to give up once one has it in one's sights.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

My dosage is probably too high even for a male. Rob at perfecthairhealth.com recommends no more than 5 mg and I agree with him that this is probably right for most guys. My other issue is that chemically I am female so I might be using way, way more than I need but my side effects have still been tolerable, mostly weight gain and faster/thicker beard and body hair growth. I do deem the medical side effects to be important so I will probably gradually titrate downward once my hair seems to level off. All indications currently are that I am headed for a very nice female head of hair that can grow to much greater lengths with much, much greater quality, sheen and manageability.

That's hard to give up once one has it in one's sights.

Yes your hair looks fantastic in ur profile! Looks healthy AF!

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I’ve read min beard gains are permanent! Can’t confirm tho lol

That's an interesting issue because in general, yes, beard growth seems permanent but not quite. One issue might be that all follicles

Yes your hair looks fantastic in ur profile! Looks healthy AF!

Thanks. I might take a couple and post tonight. The hairline in front is starting to feather and my ears are now covered. Until recently, I had to part or let my hair part to sort of hide the thinness but I can almost wear it down as bangs now but not quite. That's when you know if you are a diffuse thinner. If you can wear bangs and they don't look thin, one's days of having to make sure everything is covered, are gone!

I have stopped wearing my wig although I still think that it favors me better when I present as female. One thing that we forget in the context of male hair styles is just how important hair's framing the face is to gender recognition for whites.

 

[Norwoody]

I think it's probably okay to use high doses for some people, but only for short cycles. You're on a lot of other powerful treatments that will likely maintain your high-dose-OM gains once you titrate down to lower doses.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I think it's probably okay to use high doses for some people, but only for short cycles. You're on a lot of other powerful treatments that will likely maintain your high-dose-OM gains once you titrate down to lower doses.

Aren't you taking 15 mg, Norwoody?

 

[Norwoody]

Aren't you taking 15 mg, Norwoody?

I built up to 10mg by the end of the summer, in the fall for a few weeks I blasted 20-30mg. Since it's been winter, I've been naturally retaining more water weight (I am still very active, but not as much as I am in the summer, and obviously not nearly as much sweating) so even 10mg has started to bloat my face. I've bumped down to 5mg and my face looks fine now.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

That's an interesting issue because in general, yes, beard growth seems permanent but not quite. One issue might be that all follicles

Thanks. I might take a couple and post tonight. The hairline in front is starting to feather and my ears are now covered. Until recently, I had to part or let my hair part to sort of hide the thinness but I can almost wear it down as bangs now but not quite. That's when you know if you are a diffuse thinner. If you can wear bangs and they don't look thin, one's days of having to make sure everything is covered, are gone!

I have stopped wearing my wig although I still think that it favors me better when I present as female. One thing that we forget in the context of male hair styles is just how important hair's framing the face is to gender recognition for whites.

Well it looks great and I’m very happy for you! Male or female— hair is so important to identity and feeling confident! Always so happy for people when they get good gains!

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Woah! That’s a high dose! I’m thinking about 2.5 mg. Even 5 mg scares me. I want more hair, but the cardiovascular stuff scares the pants off me! My plan is maybe doing 2.5 mg, and using topical 8% min once a day.

I think that sounds like a great way to go. I think that topical and oral probably do work a bit synergistically and also doing it the way that you plan will maintain serum levels of minoxidil high enough for 24 hour efficacy. Oral minoxidil is still sort of a secret in my opinion and it's being held back because topical minoxidil is so lackluster in terms of hair regrowth, as opposed to maintenance and also because of the side effects which seem much more likely to be impactful on health, as opposed to only hair. You do "gotta" want this to make it happen but at least oral minoxidil can be considered a "male" treatment which actually grows hair and there aren't any other medications like that currently.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

I think that sounds like a great way to go. I think that topical and oral probably do work a bit synergistically and also doing it the way that you plan will maintain serum levels of minoxidil high enough for 24 hour efficacy.

Awesome! Thank you so much

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Awesome! Thank you so much

I hope you will check in on my thread. I try to make it both based on HRT-solutions but also novel and up and coming solutions while also painting the benefits and the downsides. We are getting to the point where managing hair loss is becoming much more like managing beauty or attractiveness in general, meaning risk/reward and cost/opportunity cost aspects are beginning to govern the decision-making process where before, there simply were no good solutions, which was certainly true prior to topical minoxidil coming out in the mid-80's.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

I hope you will check in on my thread. I try to make it both based on HRT-solutions but also novel and up and coming solutions while also painting the benefits and the downsides. We are getting to the point where managing hair loss is becoming much more like managing beauty or attractiveness in general, meaning risk/reward and cost/opportunity cost aspects are beginning to govern the decision-making process where before, there simply were no good solutions, which was certainly true prior to topical minoxidil coming out in the mid-80's.

I will! Any general advice? Im already on RU, dutasteride, MIN, ORAL CASTOR, AND MICRONEEDLING. Looking to up my game. I don't think it ever touch spironolactone or anything like that tho! I like being a dude

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Also, let me say that those two pics represent some of the most impressive before and after regrowth pictorials that I have ever seen. That initial hairline and recession, and regrowth is comparable to what I have had from all of my treatments together. I am however, much older than the young guy in the pics and I do think that age matters a lot for minoxidil improvement. I also think that estrogen is likely to matter much more for increasing anagen and improving hair quality but for someone young whose surrounding hair has not deteriorated, that oral minoxidil regrowth is stupendous.

Again, as in feminization and before and after pics in general, people who post are the few with the great results but still, those pics should warm the hearts of cis-guys all over.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I will! Any general advice? Im already on RU, dutasteride, MIN, ORAL CASTOR, AND MICRONEEDLING. Looking to up my game. I don't think it ever touch spironolactone or anything like that tho! I like being a dude

I think that is the dream protocol for a cis-guy. If you want to be obsessive, you could add Keto two percent and/or a sulfur-based shampoo, and start using retin-A on your hairline and any thin spots plus under the eyes to prevent minoxidil eye syndrome or whatever one calls it, if it exists.

I recommend against AA's like spironolactone for basically everybody. If someone wants to use an AA, then I recommend reductase inhibitors like you are already using, or medroxyprogesterone acetate or provera, which lowers testosterone much more straightforwardly than do medications like spironolactone, cyproterone acetate or bicalutamide. The latter three have a variety of side-effects and might be more feminizing and strength-debilitating than estrogen without anything comparable to the same hair benefits of estrogens.

I just started oral castor oil so I reserve comment on that but people like Norwoody that I respect think it might help and it is cheap and healthful. Just watch the blow-outs--you really have to watch the dosage. I thought that my body might adapt more but definitely ~15ml has been too much for me gastrically.

 

[Norwoody]

Ah yes, I forgot about keto.