Quit minoxidil for four months - this is what happened (pics)

[zzzzz]

I had been using minoxidil and dutasteride together for over two years with great results (see thread link in my signature). I decided to stop minoxidil because I never really feel like I got a boost when I initially started it and wanted to see if stopping would effect my hair. I can say it certainly has. In addition to the pics here, my hair line has gotten noticeably less straight. Before I could comb my hair just like normal and my temples would look completely unnaffected by male pattern baldness. Now I am finding my temples are much more exposed and I tend to have a tuft of hair around my widows peak which wasn't normal a few months ago when I looked like a perfect nw1 at the front. (I would apply minoxidil to my whole scalp)

I stopped in February. Restarting tomorrow.

After my experience I will be starting minoxidil again, permanently. I obviously never stopped dutasteride, I've been using that continuously.

I thought this was definitely worth sharing with everyone here

The results of my break from minoxidil are obvious and strong:

 

[afferd]

Wow - you're extremely brave dropping it for 4 months like that :crazy:

I plan on adding minoxidil to my regime, but I want to sort out my itch first before adding another variable.

1) Out of interest, did you notice any itching when you stopped the minoxidil?

2) And I also noticed you used to use RU, what made you decide to stop?

 

[cyrusthegreat@hotmail.com]

Wow. Very interesting. Thanks for documenting this. Hope it all comes back and then some.

What minoxidil were you using? Were you applying the standard 1 ml twice daily?

 

[buckthorn]

I had been using minoxidil and dutasteride together for over two years with great results (see thread link in my signature). I decided to stop minoxidil because I never really feel like I got a boost when I initially started it and wanted to see if stopping would effect my hair. I can say it certainly has. In addition to the pics here, my hair line has gotten noticeably less straight. Before I could comb my hair just like normal and my temples would look completely unnaffected by male pattern baldness. Now I am finding my temples are much more exposed and I tend to have a tuft of hair around my widows peak which wasn't normal a few months ago when I looked like a perfect nw1 at the front. (I would apply minoxidil to my whole scalp)

After my experience I will be starting minoxidil again, permanently. I obviously never stopped dutasteride, I've been using that continuously.

I thought this was definitely worth sharing with everyone here

The results of my break from minoxidil are obvious and strong:

View attachment 40950

holy sh*t dude!! I am sorry. There is one good thing that comes from this horrible situation - you know minoxidil works VERY well for you. now, get back on it and best of luck

 

[zzzzz]

Wow. Very interesting. Thanks for documenting this. Hope it all comes back and then some.

What minoxidil were you using? Were you applying the standard 1 ml twice daily?

I was doing like 1.5ml once daily 5% liquid

Wow - you're extremely brave dropping it for 4 months like that :crazy:

I plan on adding minoxidil to my regime, but I want to sort out my itch first before adding another variable.

1) Out of interest, did you notice any itching when you stopped the minoxidil?

2) And I also noticed you used to use RU, what made you decide to stop?

I'm seeing someone so I didn't really care if I looked worse for a few months

1. No itching. Not even really any overly noticeable shedding (just a little)

2. I stopped RU because i concluded that it was stupid to take both RU and dutasteride its just overkill

 

[afferd]

Well - you've done the community a huge favor

Once I've added minoxidil to my routine - I'll look back at this post to remind myself not to stop.

Would also be great to see pics of how look in 4 months time.

Here's hoping you get it all back!

 

[big_head]

This is why I tell everyone to try DHT blockers FIRST. Try it by itself FIRST. Don't even mess with nizoral shampoo. Your only hair treatment for male pattern baldness for the first year should be finasteride (or dutasteride, though I'd try finasteride first).

If you try both at the same time, you will never know how effective the minoxidil was. I tried minoxidil alone first, and after about 6.5 months I saw no difference in my hair. Quit that and a few months later hopped on finasteride. I might give minoxidil another go with a longer trial period but I am waiting until I hit the 1 year mark with finasteride first so I can evaluate how much finasteride regrew/thickened or maintained.

 

[zzzzz]

Would also be great to see pics of how look in 4 months time.

I will certainly come back with pictures

 

[Pavi]

Prime example of just how good minoxidil can maintain hair

 

[kj6723]

This is why I tell everyone to try DHT blockers FIRST. Try it by itself FIRST. Don't even mess with nizoral shampoo. Your only hair treatment for male pattern baldness for the first year should be finasteride (or dutasteride, though I'd try finasteride first).

If you try both at the same time, you will never know how effective the minoxidil was. I tried minoxidil alone first, and after about 6.5 months I saw no difference in my hair. Quit that and a few months later hopped on finasteride. I might give minoxidil another go with a longer trial period but I am waiting until I hit the 1 year mark with finasteride first so I can evaluate how much finasteride regrew/thickened or maintained.

There's a lot of sense to this, especially for people in the early stages, however, I think for those who have already lost significant ground, starting off aggressively isn't necessarily a bad idea.

 

[zzzzz]

Z, why not try stronger minoxidil this time around?...more than 5%

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I'm honestly confused...dutasteride of course stopped his hairloss, but WHY no regrowth?..it's not like he's a NW6.

Is higher than 5% concentration readily available? Has it been shown to be more effective? I am not particularly attracted to the idea

I think my hair looks now like what it looked like before I started dutasteride and right after i started minoxidil in like early 2014/winter 2013-2014. Maybe even a little better. I remember my temples being really ****ty back then (they still aren't that bad) and seeing really pronounced hairloss on my crown whenever i tilted my head down and looked in the mirror, maybe even worse than now.


dutasteride isn't made to regrow hair. It just stops the underlying cause of hairloss. minoxidil is for regrowth