minoxidil non-response theory

[Guest]

Hotlegs,

Thanks for your replies.

It's a difficult one for me really because i have been on minoxidil for about 5 months now and I am pretty well read and researched on hairloss treatments, however, my downfall was starting the minoxidil when i wasn't well-read on the subject.

Obviously now I regret adding it when i should have just stuck with finasteride for a year, but after a couple of months I thought 'maybe its just a shed' but it seems to have really hammered my hairline on the right side and now my mid-frontal hairline seems to be developing the dreaded 'notch'.

Do you use minoxidil and has it worked for you?

Do you think the hairline can go through more than one minoxidil shed, or a kind of gradual shed?

I guess things could turn around as its only been 5 months on minoxidil and 7 omths on finasteride.

Sorry to be a pain in the ***. I know this subject annoys a few people and I'm no scientist but when I look in the mirror i do see a very uneven pattern of baldness starting to occur in the areas where i applied minoxidil.

Maybe, I'm just being a bit impatient.

 

[MiddleAgedManiac]

Uneven Shedding

The same thing has happened to me...in the places I have used the minoxidil it is noticably thinner. I'd like to hear from someone who has had this
condition reverse and hair grow back in those areas.

 

[Hotlegs]

Re: Uneven Shedding

in the places I have used the minoxidil it is noticably thinner.

I am presuming you applied minoxidil in these places because this is where your hair loss was most apparent ?

These areas were already thinner than the areas you chose not to treat ?

These areas will continue to thin (under the influence of DHT) regardless of minoxidil use, minoxidil may take a while (sometimes many months) for it's 'offset of growth' to kick in, after all minoxidil is not actually stimulating hair growth, it is in reality extending the anagen phase of hair growth.

So, we have an area of hair that is known to be thinning, we know this process will continue even with minoxidil use and we know that minoxidil may take many months to show its effect, now compound this with a (cosmetic) shed and you should not be suprised to see your hair worsen in these places. Unless you are having an adverse reaction to the PPG, alcohol or indeed the minoxidil itself (which is all fairly rare) the conclusion must be that the minoxidil you are applying is not the problem.

 

[Hotlegs]

Hotlegs

Mr Legs to you.

Obviously now I regret adding it when i should have just stuck with finasteride for a year, but after a couple of months I thought 'maybe its just a shed' but it seems to have really hammered my hairline on the right side and now my mid-frontal hairline seems to be developing the dreaded 'notch'.

As it has been noted on this forum many times, and indeed backed up with trial data, cessation of minoxidil will return your hair to the condition it would have been in had you never started the medication, this may entail a shed above and beyond any additional hair gained on minoxidil, but like I have said previously, if you feel you have not gained additional growth but infact lost hair on minoxidil, you have nothing to fear from stopping the medication.

Do you use minoxidil and has it worked for you?

Not to be rude, but this question is irrelevant, you will gain more insight from studying the trial data figures, what use to you would it be if I said 'yes' or 'no' ?

Do you think the hairline can go through more than one minoxidil shed, or a kind of gradual shed?

Yes, people report having multiple sheds on minoxidil, although it is never clear cut as there are many factors at play.

I guess things could turn around as its only been 5 months on minoxidil and 7 omths on finasteride.

Yes they can, my first results appeared around this time.

Sorry to be a pain in the ***. I know this subject annoys a few people and I'm no scientist but when I look in the mirror i do see a very uneven pattern of baldness starting to occur in the areas where i applied minoxidil.

Why did you apply minoxidil to these areas ?

Because you were losing hair there.

And now this hair loss is continuing (prehaps compounded by a minoxidil shed).

Did you expect your hair loss to halt the day you started using medications in those areas to give you a 'blank canvas' to judge both minoxidil and propecia against ? Is any further loss in these areas entirely minoxidils fault ?


Two choices.

Stop minoxidil use and return to where you would have been had you not started minoxidil use.

Continue minoxidil use and make a broader view of it's efficacy after a year.


The rest is a waste of time.

 

[The Gardener]

Neiltom,

Most of us have been in your shoes, been at that stage. What you are going through is a very common experience when starting Minoxidil.

You've got to get the icewater in the veins and remain a cool customer at this point. minoxidil is slow, it really does take six months before seeing definite signs of improvement (new sprouts, thickening of existing hair, etc), and a year before making a whole-hairline evaluation.

We've been there too. Do not panic, keep consistent with the apps, and try to be patient. Hang in there.

 

[MiddleAgedManiac]

I am presuming you applied minoxidil in these places because this is where your hair loss was most apparent ?

Not really. I applied it because I figured I would be "ahead of the game" -I knew at my age (34) that the slowly receding hairline was the first step - then comes thinning (usually). Once I started applying the minoxidil all over the top of my head and to the temples, etc. is when I started to recede faster and REALLY thin where I was applying the product. Sure, it could have been the natural progression I would have went through regardless of using any products.....but man did it seem to accelerate it. I will add, though, that the past few days I have been noticing some little hairs popping through...although few in number. Maybe I am in a transition period.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[mre]

This really is tough, trust me I've been there like everyone else. In fact I'm still there. I know my hair is thin, but lately every time I apply the minoxidil and rub it in with my hands I have hairs all over my fingers. I'm going to continue though because in the end the hair will grow back or it would be lost for good, just like what was going to happen anyways.

On the note of small hairs sprouting, how do you guys identify what is new sprouts and dying hairs? The reason I ask is because as far back as I can remember as my hairline has receded there are hairs that grow to a short length and then never grow beyond that. These hairs eventually fall out altogether. So how do I know what's a sprout and what's dying?

I am presuming you applied minoxidil in these places because this is where your hair loss was most apparent ?

Not really. I applied it because I figured I would be "ahead of the game" -I knew at my age (34) that the slowly receding hairline was the first step - then comes thinning (usually). Once I started applying the minoxidil all over the top of my head and to the temples, etc. is when I started to recede faster and REALLY thin where I was applying the product. Sure, it could have been the natural progression I would have went through regardless of using any products.....but man did it seem to accelerate it. I will add, though, that the past few days I have been noticing some little hairs popping through...although few in number. Maybe I am in a transition period.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[Guest]

thanks for the replies everyone.

I''l just try and ride it out and stop being so panicky I guess....

 

[circusrat]

hey man, stick it out.

I'm having good results with minoxidil on the hairline after about 5 months or so. It did get worse at first.. but the hair is growing back thicker and lower and filling everything in.

 

[Guest]

hey man, stick it out.

I'm having good results with minoxidil on the hairline after about 5 months or so. It did get worse at first.. but the hair is growing back thicker and lower and filling everything in.

Thanks Circusrat,

I will stick it out for a while yet, its just mighty scary at the moment.

 

[Shinyscalp23]

just stick it out...and i say this to everyone..i too, get plenty of hairs on my hand when i rub the minoxidil in...but get this...im on month 4-my bald spot is slightly very slightly smaller despite the shedding...this is the third time im on minoxidil and i was very responsive the first two times..and the first two times i never even shed from the meds..experiences will always vary..even if you are on month 4 and youre still shedding like me id say continue to use minoxidil--use the minoxidil no matter what unless you experience bad side affects(like heart palpitations, etc)...it is true. minoxidil makes your hair look like crap, the otc stuff is greasy, and it frizzes your hair out-which leads to breakage(not a good thing for us thinners)...but keep this in mind it will get better or at the very least you will achieve maintenance..another thing..minoxidil therapy is like a roller coaster-one month u think u have it totally under control, the next your shedding and it looks like sh*t, the next its stabilized and the shedding stops, the next you get regrowth, the next a shed and it looks thin and so on...its like a roller coaster ride --just ride it out until you get to month 12...either way you have nothing to lose-except your hair-which was gonna fall out anyway if you didnt do anything--now ive heard minoxidil works for 85 % of all people...if we factor in maintenance and not just regrowth thats a pretty big percentage--another thing..during those shedding times when you think your about to lose it all and gve up...keep this in mind...shedding is a natural process...some of those thick haired bastards lol shed like crazy too...now you all may deny this but we are a bit ocd over our hair and many of us subjectively think our hairloss gets cosmetically worse when we experience massive sheds..even tho no one around us can tell the difference..in all truth...shedding is not a sign of whether the meds are working..the size of your bald spot is..shedding is natural for everybody- i can say all this in confidence because im an old time minoxidil user (on and off it since im 16 or 17). Another thing for anyone who is flipping our or spazzing--one thing about minoxidil is that many cant tell whether or not its working until they stop using it so continue to use it even after month 12 we may b**ch and moan that its not good enough..but trust me its worh keeping up...i think its hard for us to come to grips with the fact that its rarely gonna produce dramatic cosmetic results for many of us and the fact thats it takes so long..it is a very slow acting, gradual drug..only patience and fortitude will help us get through it...the best thing for all of us to do would be to just get a life, put the crap on our head twice a day, not think about it,not look at how many hairs are on the pillow, in the sink, on the towel, or in the bath tub, and 12 months later look in the mirror and feel happy and pleasantly surprised at the much smaller bald spot( which was how i was my first experience with it was) and for the few of us who have no results or success shave it off, get a hair transplant or scalp reduction or have a nonsurgical hair replacement procedure done...anyways..peace