What does minoxidil actually do?

[BrianP]

Im rly curious right now cuz some places say that minoxidil will:

1- Synchronize more hairs at growing phase

2- Thicken up thinned hairs

3- Make "dead" hairs start to grow again especially if u have finasteride or/and topical DHT blocker in ur regimen reducing DHT on scalp

4- Even helps a bit with balding since it estimulates growth/blood flow in the scalp

and some other places just say that minoxidil is a pure illusion drug that does basically 1 thing only:

1- synchronizes more hairs at growing phase

It doesnt thicken up thinned hairs, doesnt make "dead" hairs grow again and doesnt help with balding proccess at all..



Which is right? The first or second??

I rly cant get an answer, each place says one thing.. :/

 

[benjt]

Minoxidil's effects are not perfectly understood. On the one hand, it seems to be processed by our body just like NO, which is our body's man vasodilator (among some other things). Additionally, minoxidil has been shown to increase PGE2 levels, which counteract the PGD2 that effectively shuts our hair down, makes it miniaturize, and makes the surrounding tissue fibrotic. Very recently, some researchers even claimed that minoxidil has some direct effect on DHT, though I haven't seen the paper yet (anybody got a link?). Either way, vasodilation and PGE2 increase are the confirmed effects. Vasoldilation increases blood flow and PGE2 counteracts inflammation, hair miniaturization, and fibrosis.

 

[zzzzz]

minoxidil destroys your face thats what it does buddy. add topical boron/niacinamide capsules to your regimen and see if you get results...i did after a few months.

everything you said is wrong and not helpful. minoxidil increases blood flow to applied areas causing hairs there to enlarge.
.

 

[benjt]

zzzzz, at least he was "righter" than you are. Blood flow, as has been studied extensively, is not the cause of Androgenetic Alopecia/male pattern baldness but only a downstream effect. Increased blood flow does not cause hairs to enlarge. If it did, all the bogus therapies aimed at stimulation of blood flow would work, but they don't in the slightest.

And regarding the face: Just look for threads about minoxidil side effects on these forums. There are many instances reporting dark circles around the eyes and general puffyness, with the latter one being listed as an official side effect in the package insert. More extreme cases of "facial fvck up" were clinically documented, like those three guys:

• http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interac...by-minoxidil?p=1109240&viewfull=1#post1109240 (see the photo in Armando Jose's post)
• http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/5gklf9s9c0thn5g/images/2-22b0f672be.jpg (source is the paper "Pseudoacromegaly induced by the long-term use of minoxidil")
• And, the probably most well-known case: http://img.medscape.com/fullsize/migrated/433/022/mde433022.fig1.jpg

One user who had the same reported:

had a bit of the redundant skin around my mouth and near the eyebrows. It took a year for that subtle amount to disappear, I could just imagine how long it would take this guy.

I also had very early stages of that, but fortunately noticed early enough, went off minoxidil completely first and then continued use at a drastically lowered dose, and now it's almost completely reversed. But yes, it does happen, as reported by clinical studies and many users, though it is very rare.