When to give up on minoxidil?

Mens Rea

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Ok guys

About 3/4 months ago i made a thread asking if i should give up on minoxidil after several years and little to no benefit with maximum inconvience.

Anyway when i posted that thread i was just starting finasteride and i was advised to stay on the minoxidil because it can work better ALONGSIDE finasteride. Of course this makes perfect sense so i decided to give it a go (albeit i only apply it once at night....but liberally!).

Well to be honest im not convinced that im a responder to minoxidil. I am a diffuse thinner for a start so in reality i really need to apply it all over the head which is a messy job. Secondly, any progress ive been making will have been maintainance not so much regrowth which makes me question whether minoxidil has had any affect. The ground ive lost over the past few years has been general thinning and thinning to the crown too so unless minoxidil has been slowing the progress down a bit?

Further, not only is a freakin greasy but it causes me ridiculous residue (im not sure if its dandruff or just lil white bits of residue) and tbh im just not happy with looking like i dont shower because of this stuff. I mean, my hair is already thin and can easily be messed up so add the dandruff look to it can compromise my good looks :p Seriously, for limited benefit i seem to be looking scruffy and greasy.

So ive been thinking....what would be my best bet at this point? Im already on nizoral and finasteride and want to get off minoxidil. Im thinking go off it and see if i shed, if i dont then i know i wasn't a responder? If i start to shed then maybe go back on it?


Advice would be great guys



Colin
 

threats77

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what advice do you want? you seem like you want to get off min..so do it..if you arent responding well after that long,than do what you want to do which is get off,simple as that,really no advice to be given
 

Mens Rea

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Im asking -

would minoxidil be attributable to any slowing of balding i might have received?

is it wise to go off it and if i have a shed conclude that it WAS doing smething and then to go back on it. is this a feasible course of action?

other peoples experience in similar situations/
 

AssignmentZero

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If you get off minoxidil you are probably going to shed. I'll bet $20 that minoxidil has slowed down the hair loss.

This comes from my own experience with minoxidil.
 

BodyDysmorphic

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i agree with AZ

the minoxidil may not have given you alot of regrowth
but it probably slowed down your loss

i would stay on it
your hair has become dependent on it
you may get a serious shed
that may not come back

just my opinion mate

cheers
 

iwantperfection

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i came off minoxidil cause of sides. I have been off about 2months and have had no shed. tho it may still come who knows.

I think the question you need to answer yourself is this..Are you happy with the amount of hair you have now?? Because if minoxidil isnt giving you the response of regrowth and only maintenance then you know it wont be getting better. If your happy to maintain finasteride may be enough.

Compare pictures closely and see where your at
 

Mens Rea

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I've decided to try get off this sh*t

Even if it has slowed down my hair loss slightly tbh its been at a pathetic rate at best. Greasing up my hair and creating residue just isn't a worthwhile tradeoff.

If i begin a shed i might change my opinion though but i think its worth a try rather than staying on this unpractical sh*t the rest of my life to save a bit of hair that it probably isn't even saving.


So....gona give it a week and see what happens. Im hopeful that since im on finasteride i can maintain from here. I would love my hair to thicken but minoxidil progressively seen it continue to thin so its not really given me any tangible benefit.

iwantperfection - tbh yes i am happy with the hair i have now but not becasue its the perfect head of hair but because i know in all liklihood the hair i have rigth now it probably the most ill ever have (by that i mean every year i'll have less and less so i should be happy with what i have now!!). Would love it to thicken up but if finasteride could hold of further hair loss then id be estatic.

I think the apprehension of continued hair loss is my main issue not so much the hair i have now (i can still style it and look good albeit not as good as i did 4 years ago!)

I'll be gutted if i have a bad shed though but as i said ive a feeling i'll be ok
 

Mens Rea

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Another thing - i didn't put any minoxidil in late night and today my hair is looking MUCH better today as a result.

Since im getting off min, what else could be worth a try for THICKENING / REGROWTH? Im already using enough DHT blocker but would now like to add something a little less messy to the mix if possible
 

Nashville Hairline

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I take it you haven't tried the foam? No greasy residue there. It makes hair look a bit more dry if anything.
 

Mens Rea

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Nashville Hairline said:
I take it you haven't tried the foam? No greasy residue there. It makes hair look a bit more dry if anything.

I did try it but

1) it ridiculously expensive

2) i found my foam stopped coming out after about a weeks use (despite there been some left)


Might be a viable solution but given no success on teh liquid i dont have much motivation to try the foam again ya know?

If i shed i might revert to the foam though
 

iwantperfection

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minoxidil is a weird one. i think its good for people who have small issues on crown or hairline. Applying it all over must be a messy job as you say. If your not shedding you might not shed when stopping. ever tried a buzz??
 

Mens Rea

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^ i have...well grade 2.....wasn't horrific but certainly isnt my best look either. Round face and my ears look big (imo) when its shaved (Rooney style but not as bad! lol)

Anyway im not close to that point yet im a NW2.5 and diffuse, the buzz is a good 5 years off at worst. Right now if you seen me you would just think my hair is naturally thin (well since you know the details of balding you'd know better but i mean the average person). i still have a "head of hair" but its struggling. That said i can still look good i look like sh*t in the morning or comign out of the shower though imo - i hate guys that wake up and their hair is sitting up and thick and they dont even have to look at it really!! but i was never that guy i always had thinner hair than my brothers for example.)


Just looking in the mirror today and my hair is looking good. A small part of me is thinking that MAYBE minoxidil has helped me keep things at bay. I dunno though, it would be dumb to stay on minoxidil for life when im not even a responder either. Catch 22.
 

iwantperfection

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oh i thot your hair was noticeable. Remembering wrong photos. well 2.5 diffuse aint so bad. if your still good maybe you should just stay on it.
 

Mens Rea

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iwantperfection said:
oh i thot your hair was noticeable. Remembering wrong photos. well 2.5 diffuse aint so bad. if your still good maybe you should just stay on it.

Well crown is getting more sparce tbh so could be right fotos ...?
 

Mens Rea

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yes ive got some pics at home

no dramatic differences otherwise i would have posted them of course but i do feel like there has moderate progress or at least some traints of response since the finasteride:

i believe my hair deterioated for a month or two afterwards but since has restored back to how it had been before. No net improvement i dont think but as i said - a response indicator (after 4 months, not bad!). I was experiencing more hair been lost in the shower etc but not so much anymore - definately a noticable chage in comparion to the shed.

So im confident. I also dont think minoxidil has been anything to do with anything so far though
 

Nashville Hairline

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Colin297 said:
Nashville Hairline said:
I take it you haven't tried the foam? No greasy residue there. It makes hair look a bit more dry if anything.

I did try it but

1) it ridiculously expensive

2) i found my foam stopped coming out after about a weeks use (despite there been some left)


Might be a viable solution but given no success on teh liquid i dont have much motivation to try the foam again ya know?

If i shed i might revert to the foam though

1) the internet is your friend..you can shop around and get 3 month supply for not more than the cost of Regaine liquid off the shelf

2) that shouldn't happen, perhaps it was a faulty canister (lost pressurization etc..) or you stored it somewhere too warm. I dunno.

I agree minoxidil is still a crappy product for people with any sort of coverage cos its a pain trying to reach the scalp with it but until something better comes along its all there really is for any decent regrowth IMO.
 

metalheaddude

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I have been on rogaine foam for 3 years and I have never missed a twice a day application (ok maybe once or twice, but I at least applied it once a day on those days). I have gone through many up and downs, but there is no doubt in my mind that the foam has helped save my hairline and crown region. You will experience months of huge sheds and this is when most people get scared and quit but you just gotta push through them. It does eventually grow back. I didn't see the first positive effects of my foam application until about 12-15 months into applying it. It takes a LONG time to work, but you will get there in the end.
 

Mens Rea

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^ i didn't receive any sheds from minoxidil. I got no indicator whatsoever that its benefited me in the slightest, ive just kept talking it in the fear of giving up incase it had maintained some hair. Ill never know what i would have been like without using minoxidil at all, but im imagining not much different at this point
 
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