Rubbing it in?

[Jaygee]

Hi. I just posted this same question elsewhere, but I just remembered this part of the site---specifically about minoxidil. Just to make sure I get feedback.

I'm 21, and have been using 5% for about a year, and my hair is thinner than it was. When dry, it is still not noticeable to an observer unless they're lifting and pushing, but the days of that being true are numbered.
I lose what seems to be an unusual amount per shower---anywhere from 50 to 150. (right now it's consistently 120, up from a four-month-long 70 per shower stretch) This includes what I can find on the towel and after blow-drying.

My question is this. The minoxidil directions say quote "it is not necessary to use your fingertips when applying....however if you do,....wash hands thoroughly afterwards...."

I took that to mean it didn't matter, and chose to just let the stuff roll around and dry up since rubbing it in made the hair cling together and show gaps. Now I am beginning to wonder if I was wrong. To anyone's knowldege, would rubbing the stuff in make a difference? Or am I simply one of the ones who doesn't respond to it? I was cautiously optimistic at first, because after starting it last May 13, I really did have a shed that lasted exactly two weeks (about 300 hairs a shower), then stopped. Although I can't imagine it had anything to do with the minoxidil, for about 2 1/2 months I was down to 25 a shower. Since September it has slowly risen to where it was before. Owch.

Does anyone have any advice? Would Nizoral make any difference, perhaps? Please lay it on me. Gracias.

(Also, is anyone else's loss rate as high as mine? If not, I don't know what to make of it. I must have a high "replacement" rate, though not high enough, obviously. Ah, DHT....)

 

[Guest]

Nizoral is a brandname I think. The active ingredient is ketazole something and it come´s in 1% or 2% strength.

I put on minoxidil with a syringe - without the needle. I fil it up to .3 and then add it in "corn rows" once I´ve added a row I use four fingertips and just press it down and hold it there for ten or so seconds. I don´t rub.

When I wash my hair which is every three days with nizoral I lose about 150 hair - hard to say because I have hair that goes below my mouth so it´s pretty long making it hard to estimate. Funny part is (nothing of this is fun really) that I shed from the back of my head when I wash. So from the middle forward I lose like 10 hairs after 3 non washing days and the rest is from my neck?? and a up and around the sides.