Proper Dosage And Transition From Liquid To Oral Minoxidil?

[Jacob Williams]

I’ve been using liquid minoxidil twice daily for the past 3 or 4 months and it’s definitely working, but not as much as I’d like, and it also causes INSANE dandruff. I like the convenience of taking a pill once daily and I’ve also heard that oral minoxidil works better than the topical version but I have some questions.

- what’s a safe and effective dose?
- will I experience another minoxidil shed if I quit topical and go to oral?
- I’ve heard that oral minoxidil doesn’t work for some people. Should I continue to use the liquid while taking the pill too at first and ween myself off gradually so I don’t lose any gains since made during the transition?

 

[Ikarus]

I’ve been using liquid minoxidil twice daily for the past 3 or 4 months and it’s definitely working, but not as much as I’d like, and it also causes INSANE dandruff. I like the convenience of taking a pill once daily and I’ve also heard that oral minoxidil works better than the topical version but I have some questions.

- what’s a safe and effective dose?
- will I experience another minoxidil shed if I quit topical and go to oral?
- I’ve heard that oral minoxidil doesn’t work for some people. Should I continue to use the liquid while taking the pill too at first and ween myself off gradually so I don’t lose any gains since made during the transition?

I'm looking at the NHS pamphlet on oral minoxidil, and they state that the tablets are available as a 2.5MG tablet, so 'to achieve the correct dose of 0.625MG per day this tablet must be broken into quarters'. They also state that it's a much lower dose compared to those who use it for treating high blood pressure, as it can 'still stimulate hair to grow but has a much lower risk of side effects'. [You can read the pamphlet here]

If I'm being honest, I do think there might be another dread shed but maybe not as bad... It's a shed of hairs in the telogen phase, and you most likely do have hairs in that phase. I'm not entirely sure about this though, hopefully someone can add onto this!

I'm not sure about the third question, but personally I think you should discontinue the use of topical minoxidil if you're using it orally... It could be overkill, but I'm not sure at all to be honest.

 

[Retinoid]

They have topical Minoxidil without propylene glycol which causes the irritation. If you are in the US I would check out Lipogaine which is amazing (sensitive version).

If you want to use Minoxidil I would start off with 2.5mg/day--split up twice a day.