Minoxidil and Toppik

[M.G]

I've got some questions:

1. Does applying Minoxidil while Toppik is still on the head prevent the scalp from taking it in? I use a Swedish brand of minoxidil and it says on their website that it doesn't affect it, but I'm still wary since I find my hair drying much quicker when Toppik is in the hair compared to when it's not.

2. I've been using 2% Minoxidil (20mg, before I used 5% but stopped because of itching) for 1 ½ years, how effective is it really in preventing further hair loss?

I suffer from DUPA (a form of diffuse thinning) since I was about 12 years old. I think it was triggered by me being severely stressed out (parents divorce, diagnosed OCD, massive anxiety from all of this). But I could cover my balding just by saving out my hair for a long time. In fact I had long hair and could go on without Toppik and it would look nice. I didn't really bald much until I became around 18/19 (im 21 now) and it became absolutely awful and I couldn't live without Toppik which fills in the balding areas nicely.

So considering I've been suffering from balding in 9 years - how is that gonna affect my chances on Minoxidil working in the long term, lets say 5-10 years? I have now cut my hair - when I had long hair I only used Minoxidil once a day since it would get to greasy, but now I have short hair so I'm gonna start it twice a day.

 

[Hadley]

1. You should definitely use minoxidil first and wait for it to dry, then apply hair fibers. Not sure if the Toppik would prevent it from being absorbed, but you want it on your SCALP, so use it first. Use it before bed an you won't need to have Toppik in your hair anyway.

2. Minoxidil only regrows hair, it doesn't prevent future hair loss. At least not male pattern baldness. I'm not sure about DUPA. I used minoxidil alone for many years and it just slowly became worse and worse and I didn't see any major improvements until I started with finasteride. Maybe now that you are older you have started getting male pattern baldness as well? Many start losing it in their early 20s.

Also, I would recommend that you try minoxidil foam. It is much easier to use with Toppik.
It tries in minutes and you can definitely use hair fibers without it looking messy.
And it should cause less irritation than liquid, so you can use 5% which is more effective.
I haven't found minoxidil foam in Scandinavia for some reason, so I buy mine on Ebay.