Quit minoxidil After 8 Weeks...Bad Idea?

[paratroop82504]

Hey everyone first post on the forum.

I noticed some minor thinning on my temples in February and immediately ran the store to pick up some Rogaine (foam in the morn- liquid at night only on frontal third)after finding this forum and reading some of the threads. I also got a script for propecia and have been taking 1mg a day for 6 weeks in addition to 1% nizoral MWF.

I went through/ am going through the initial dred shed and went from very minor thinning to very noticeable thinning within a month. I have lost an estimated 30% of my density though it appears to be tapering off. I knew this was part of it but it's to the point where I've had to use concealers(Toppik & Dermatch) or else you can see right though the scalp on the parts where I've applied minoxidil.

It has been 8 weeks on minoxidil now and I can see new growth coming in at the hairline. Im not sure if this is new minoxidil growth or hairs coming back in from the shed or both. There does appear to be some new hairs as there are very light non velus hairs sprouting up from my widows peak where I didn't have any before.

However, after reading more on how minoxidil works (doesn't address the fundamental issue with male pattern baldness) and with minoxes diminishing returns after prolonged usage, would it be a bad idea to drop the minoxidil now before my hair becomes addicted to it? I am 33 and still a solid Norwood 2 with minor thinning (more than minor now after the shed). Rogaines marketing sells you on " its never too early to start rogaine" but the more I learn the more it seems that might not bet the case.

I guess my primary question is: Can my hairs become minoxidil dependent after 8 weeks?

I am willing to sacrifice some of these newer hairs now if I can get back to baseline and maintain on finasteride until I really need regrowth....hopefully a couple years down the line. I know minoxidil loses its effectiveness after a couple of years and I don't want it to not work for me anymore when I really need it

Or should I bite the bullet now and roll with it since I'm already 8 weeks into it and seeing some minor progress?

Is 8 weeks long enough to go through another dred shed if I quit? Im still super thin from the initial shed and any further loss would be really soul crushing...

It's also hard to judge how I'm responding to finasteride being on min and finasteride together. I know the standard response is "jump on the big three" but I dunno.... I was trying to be proactive by jumping on treatments the second I noticed thinning but the more and more I read the forums the more I think I might have screwed myself by jumping on minoxidil when I didn't need to. These boards are a wealth of information but they can also be stressful and confusing. Thanks for any insight and guidance

 

[benjt]

I guess my primary question is: Can my hairs become minoxidil dependent after 8 weeks?

No. And frankly, the whole "minoxidil dependence" stuff has never been founded on any specific reason let alone scientific papers or surveys. En contraire, at least one study has shown that your hair will - after dropping minoxidil - just end up where it was before you started minoxidil or slightly worse. But there is no real indication for minoxidil dependence of arbitrary follicles.

 

[paratroop82504]

Cheers benjt



- - - Updated - - -

I really think Im gonna drop it. I emptied 2 cans of foam and 2 1/2 bottles of liquid in the sink right after posting my initial post...shed more than usual the next day ( prob all psychological because I was overanalyzing it) and ran back to the store and bought 3 more cans of foam and 3 more bottles of liquid.

It sucks because I think I'm a good responder. There are definitely hairs sprouting up on my hairline. Nothing super impressive by any means. Though its like I said in my first post, I'm not
sure if these are new minoxidil hairs or hairs returning from the shed.

Next question: Should I taper, or can I just drop it cold turkey since its only been a short period of time?

 

[benjt]

The question is: why would you want to drop it? It makes no sense. The shed is the precursor to minoxidil-induced regrowth. If I were you, I would keep on using it.

 

[paratroop82504]

I didn't want to have my hair become dependent on it unless I really needed it. I jumped on it without really doing the due diligence. My main concern was over the reported diminishing returns with minoxidil use over time. ive been reading that minoxidil will only work for so long. i prob didnt really need it when i started.

My reason for wanting to quit wasnt completely over the shed... which totally sucked balls BTW. it was more for the reasons above. I have continued to use it over the last couple of days though. As I said in my first post, I've lost prob about 30% of my density on the areas I've applied it. The thing is ~ 95% of those hairs were way shorter than my normal hairs (.5 inch vs. 1.5 inch normal hair) thickness seemed about the same though. In the past couple of days I've come to the realization that my hair was prob in the process of becoming way worse off than I realized since all of those hairs were obv male pattern baldness affected hairs.

I've decided to ride it out for the next couple of months. I can see a bunch of new hairs ( not fully terminal but not velus) coming in at the hairline. Ill keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

It's been a roller coaster ride so far. The light hit my hair just right yesterday when I was getting ready and I could see lots of little guys coming in and I felt rejevinated. Fast forward to this morn and my hair looks the thinnest it's ever been, even with concealers. I spent the last 10 years of my life as an Army Paratrooper and am trying to tell myself that hey no ones trying to shoot you in the dick anymore so this hairloss business isn't anything to worry about but it's hitting me pretty hard. We'll see how it goes.

 

[robertc]

I also got a script for propecia and have been taking 1mg a day for 6 weeks in addition to 1% nizoral MWF.I went through/ am going through the initial dred shed and went from very minor thinning to very noticeable thinning within a month. I have lost an estimated 30% of my density though it appears to be tapering off.

It has been 8 weeks on minoxidil now and I can see new growth coming in at the hairline.

I guess my primary question is: Can my hairs become minoxidil dependent after 8 weeks?

Is 8 weeks long enough to go through another dred shed if I quit? Im still super thin from the initial shed and any further loss would be really soul crushing...

I sent you a pm