Minimizing Losses While Tapering Off Minoxidil

[theblitz6794]

So, I've got a problem: I have 2 cats. Minoxidil is very toxic to cats I've recently learned. I've been on min for a year now and while I've taken every precaution to ensure my cats never ever touch it, including washing my hands after every time I touch my scalp. I love these critters and I can't risk it.

However, it's dawning on me I can't keep this up forever. These cats will live much much longer than I can be 100% diligent about it. I need to quit min.

Background: Started finasteride 1mg and min 5% 1x a day a year ago (May 2019) with some occasional dermarolling and I've gone from a NW3 with a shredded forelock to juuuust shy of NW2. I want to preserve as much of the regrowth as possible and it's impossible to know how much regrowth was min and how much was finasteride.

I know conventional wisdom is "min gainz are min gainz and they will fall out if you cease", but I have to wonder based on subreddits such as r/minoxbeards if there's a way to taper off. I know their follicles aren't damaged by DHT, but my follicles may have healed from finasteride.

Has anyone tapered off min successfully without losing too much?

How long was your taper?

How much did you lose?

What was your taper regime?

Did you slowly replace min with anything?

I figure I have about a year or so where I can keep up diligent min use, which is a pretty long taper.

 

[DiffuseSucks]

Maybe switch to oral?

 

[5minutesbeforemiracle]

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09546634.2020.1770162

This study showed that people who dermarolled (once every 3 weeks) + minoxidil (twice daily) kept most of their hair gains 6 months after stopping treatment. By comparison, those who did only minoxidil actually returned to baseline in those 6 months. I don't think this finding is on the page I linked, but it is definitely in the full study which someone uploaded on this site but I can't find atm.

 

[Derelict]

Yeah i'd say switch to 5mg oral if you are worried about cats, i don't think 5mg over the long term is unsafe, i have been taking oral min since october 2018, had an ecg done recently and no problems were found.

 

[MissingPixels]

Hi, I know this is a late reply but I have been using minoxidil 5% foam (Rogaine) for 2.5 years and also shared a concern over my cats.

I made a post about it here where I outline a guide to avoiding issues while living with cats.

It's easy to be 100% diligent when you separate the real concerns from the fake ones. After applying rogaine over 1.5k times I haven't experienced a single issue or scare.

Don't let your cats near your pillow, don't let them in the bathroom while applying, wash your hands thoroughly after applying, avoid touching your scalp throughout the day. This is easy and quickly becomes second nature.

I encourage you to do what you think is best for your hair loss journey, but also I want to make sure you know dealing with minoxidil and feline roommates isn't that big of a deal.

 

[michel sapin]

Yeah i'd say switch to 5mg oral if you are worried about cats, i don't think 5mg over the long term is unsafe, i have been taking oral min since october 2018, had an ecg done recently and no problems were found.

you didn't get dark circle under eye/ hypertrichosis/ weight gain / wrinkle?
I am planning on taking 1.25 mg oral min instead of high dosage of min topical