December 5 2005, 11:01 am PT | Posted in: Drugs + Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)
Doc…I’m really scared, confused, and upset with myself.
I had some thinning and receding at the hair line, and a little bit on the crown of my head. I decided to give rogaine a try to improve the situation. I used it about 5-6 times, but also used it on the front of my hairline. After a few days, I noticed that the hair seemed to be thinning a lot, and that my hairline had receded, especially at the temples. So after using the rogaine for a few days, I went from some thinning in the temples and crown to having a receding hairline, with even greater thinness in the temples and top. At this point, when my hair is wet, I see much more scalp, and it makes me want to throw up. It basically thinned out my hair everywhere, especially in the problem areas. Basically, I feel that I took a situation that wasn’t really that bad, and made it much worse. I’m kicking myself for having not just left it alone.My questions:
1) Since I’ve stopped the rogaine, will the hair that seems to have fallen out return? If it will come back, about how long will it take to go back to the way it was before I used the rogaine? (I’ve read on some forums about rogaine “shed”, but does this hair come back all of the time?)
2) Can rogaine cause a receding hairline? Could I have done permanent damage to any of the hair by using the rogaine (such as if the follicles were already thinning/in trouble)?Thanks so much for your help. I’m really struggling with this, and I’m looking for some peace of mind.
Hair shedding from Rogaine is temporary. New hair should grow in a few months. Hair growth works in cycles. When rogaine causes hair shedding it may induce the hair shaft to fall off; the follicle would then enter a dormant phase in the cycle (temporarily) while the matrix is restructured for future growth, hopefully with a thicker and stronger hair shaft. Thus, initially, you may appear to lose more hair, but after waiting for many months you may have thicker and stronger hair with any new hair growth, assuming the Rogaine works. It is very scary for some patients to experience the shedding phase (unusual) and considering the extreme reaction to the Rogaine, I wonder if the statistical probability of working in your situation offsets the risk of continued hair loss. If it works, it generally takes 6-8 months. More significant growth may occur (in less than half of patients) who take this medication. In general Rogaine may cause either more hair growth, stop further hair loss, prolong the hair cycle where hair exists in its best ’show’ state, or it may be limited to slow down the hair loss process if it works at all.
Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):
dont use this product after one year not even 3% of my hair rogaine caused me to lose grew back………
i started losing my hair last year(2007) and went to the store and bought rogaine as well…
the thing is that NO ONE who is going to buy rogaine is going to want to use it if it makes their hair fall out!!
it certainly made mine fall out… in CLUMPS.
and no one wants to lose more hair when using a product that alleges to grow hair –such as rogaine–and then have to be told that one must wait an ADDITIONAL 8 months for their hair to (maybe hopefully) grow back… all to make a company some money (” o, keep using it it will work” cha-ching)
never mind rogaine… if it makes one’s hair fall out ( which is the opposite of whats advertised, and damn sure not mentioned ANYWHERE on their product as a potential side effect).. i empathize with the above person cause the same thing happened to me..
verily, my hair loss is a lot worse since last year, and sice i have just turned 32, i’m in the process of losing more hair up to an inch from my once normal hair line. i choose to try tea tree oil, selenium shampoo from head and shoulders, drink more water and green teas.. ANYTHING that doesnt involve a man made chemical (we all know pharmaceutical companies have to add a man made chemical to a product in order for it to be considered a drug… they cant exactly patent plants!!!)
dr rassman gets kickbacks from johnson and johnson, for recomeding rogaine thats why he endorcs it
Oh please. I get no kickbacks. The medication is FDA approved to treat hair loss. That is why I recommend it.
WOW. I never in my life have seen a blog where things get deleted by the blog owner. Yesterday i was here and there was someone saying the doctor gets kickbacks from Johnson and Johnson and the doc stated that Rogaine is a FDA Approved drug and now those entries are apparently history. Well it is true that Rogaine is FDA Approved but that doesnt necessarily mean thats its safe…..
Just look at the FDA Recalls of MEridia, Vioxx, Baycol, The list goes on. Now why on earth would a product that is supposed to regrow your hair also cause a prevalent dependency in its use? Ok Doctor the product causes shedding which means your hair falls out and then its supposed to regrow with newew thicker hair but if you stop using it the newer thicker hair goes along with the hair that shed in the first place leaving you possibly balder than you were in the first place. sounds like you have to use it for the rest of your life.
FDA=Money
The drug administration doesnt care about people they only care about money and getting more and more of it. I think Rogaine is addicting and harmful and needs to be taken off the market until it doesnt cause your damn hair to recede worse than when you started using it. Otherwise your endorsement of this product so vehemently doesnt increase your level of credibility in anyones eyes.
Now i wonder how long it will be before you delete my post you prick. I am going to copy and paste this page and continually repost until you have to hire someone to continually monitor the damn site if you delete this………
by the way i dont use Rogaine but i was planning on using it to prevent hair loss but now i say to hell with it.
You must have problems reading words, because I didn’t delete any comment. Why are some people so quick to cry foul? I’m one of the most outspoken people in this industry and yet for some people that isn’t enough.
3 things you should realize —
1. Rogaine has been on the market since the 1980s, so it’s not some new, untested medication. Everyone is different and no medication works perfectly for every single person. If you can’t wrap your head around that basic bit of information, just stop reading this site altogether because it’ll be of no help to you.
2. You should learn to read things before you get so upset and fly off the handle. Please calm down. It’ll be better for your blood pressure.
3. Rogaine doesn’t prevent hair loss. Finasteride does. Rogaine (minoxidil) grows hair. It’s a good thing you said “to hell with it”, since you shouldn’t be using medication if you don’t know what it does.
dr rassman my anger comes from a product sold over the counter which is very powerful and can change the hair ,, rogaine market this drug along side shampoo as if it where as safe ,, they relly dont wont to explain the real way this drug works, my hair fell out in clumps and never regrew,, i also had many other sideefects,, my question how does a bloodpressue drug to be adminsterd by oneself without a doc supervision exsist OTC,,, i lost so much hair do to rogaine ,, it can take up to eightyears for a hair to regrow so what the point,, So how can you reconmend this unproven bloodpressure drug to me administerd without a doc supervision
I have noticed that my hair is really thinning after visiting the steam room for 3-4 times a week, for 30-40 minutes sessions. My body is really improving and my skin rashes and body smells are gone, so in that respect my health and body are really improving. I no longer have to take steroids for my rash. My skin is clear but my hair is going. Should I cover my head in the steam room?? I have done this for 10 months. Should I be patient? Does heat destroy my hair?? Should I sacrifice my new clean body and skin for my hair? Thanks
rogaine destroys my scalp, dryness , super itchy, massive hair falls out every time i start using it, double shedding? try quadruple shedding or above. horrible horrible product. fda take a blind eye if there is some crappy study done for a few weeks. be careful people, that sh@t kills my scalp, lost so much goddamn hair from rogaine its not funny, when i stop using it the hair loss is minimal. i think people can be allergic to that nonsence POS product and i am one of them. what crap. dont believe everything the fda approves.
Doc,
This stuff is bogus man!! I’ve been on rogain for years and its marketed as a method for retaining, growing new hair, and/or slowing the loss. This whole thing about “going through a phase” where you actually lose more hair or go through a phase of “SHEDDING” is no where mentioned at all. I’ve lost a ton of hair using this produce. Straigh up Sheddding, like a dog doc! Come on man throw me a bone…. what am I going to do now?
Gabriel and Rachel, you are two of the most ignorant poster i’ve ever seen on hair loss sites. Rogaine states on the package itself that it may increase hair loss for the for several weeks of use, you idiots. Listen to what the doc says, he knows what he’s talking about,but it doesn’t take a doctor to read the back of the minoxidil package.
Loss is temporary and may even be an indicator that the product is working. This guy here in his question to Rassman says he has only used it for a few days. You’ve gotta give it much more time…and Gabriel, are you serious when you say rogaine is “addictive”, what on earth do you mean by that?
O, and to the genius rob, so you’ve used rogaine for years but never managed to learn to read the package have you? That figures. Go to rogaine.com or type in “minoxidil shedding phase” on google and you’ll get your bone.
I have the same issue. After a whole month of using that stupid product, everybody tells me this, “Is it just me or what? Your hair got thinner.”
Now, my hair got super thinner. Every time I put my fingers through my hair or get out the shower, a lot of hair would shed & fall out. I am sooooOO embarrassed. I don’t even want to put my hair down anymore.
I know they do warn you that “shedding phase” is “normal.” I should have never used this product. My doctor actually recommended using it to preserve the hair I had because I was worried about my receding hairline. I applied the product for at least 6 months. I figured after the shedding it would fill in nice and thick. NEVER HAPPENED!! My hair in the crown was actually thinning which had never been an issue for me. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe there is baldness on the crown anywhere in my family!! Now my hair is very thin and patchy wherever the rogaine was applied and has not grown back. I was there was a class action lawsuit we could file but of course, there is “no way to prove” that the rogaine caused these effects. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME, MONEY AND HAIR ON THIS PRODUCT!!!
Ya it’s true. I hair also start falling.Rogaine also have side effect as, Used correctly, the amount of Minoxidil absorbed (1 ml. of minoxidil or Rogaine liquid solution or 1/2 capsule of Rogaine Foam)into the scalp is not enough to cause serious side effects. The most common side effect of Rogaine is itching where the product is applied.
6% of participants in the Rogaine clinical trials experienced itching of the scalp. Many of our customers combat this itching sensation with a dandruff shampoo. We like Head and Shoulders, Nizoral or Neutrogena T-Gel. If you still experience itching in the area where you apply Rogaine, stop using minoxidil, and consult your doctor.
My brother had hair problems. His hair went completely grey when he was 28, and has started falling really fast. Since about 10 years ago, he started using it, and believe it or not, his hair doesnt fall anymore (not more than a healthy persons). He still has a baldish spot but but it hasn’t gotten worse since years.
I recently started with Rogaine as well. But because of the shedding, I think that I’m not going to use it every single day like they say we should. I’m hoping the bulb restructuration will happen anyways without soaking my hair in toxic chemicals every single day. What do you think doc?
So what’s going to happen? if you have a receding hairline, and then you start shedding more hair while using rogaine.since it’s not proven to regrow hair on receding hairline?
hello if i have a bald spot in the front of my head but
just on one side can i put rogaine on it or leave it alone
just near my sideburns thank you
does rogaine have the ability to increase eye pressure? my eye pressure has always been normal. six months ago i started using rogaine with some results. however recently i had my yearly eye exam and was surprised to learn my eye pressure had increased dramactically.
I’ve used Rogaine on and off a few times and usually the on part doesn’t last more than 4 or 5 days (the point at which I notice my hair fall out at twice the normal rate). If you’re using these products like me you probably have thinning hair as compared to being completely bald. I’m now 27 and I’m able to hide my thinning hair (I’d estimate myself at 2/5 to 1/2 my original coverage) with a combination of thickening shampoos and a hair product known as Toppik (although I’ve seen a couple diff brands) and this stuff works like a charm. You can find it at a lot of the beauty supply stores and many hair stylists in my area are starting to become aware of it. It’s “real” hair you spray onto your hair and then you apply hairspray to it and after 5 - 15 seconds with a hairdrier your hair looks twice as thick. They make it in 5 or 6 different shades from blond to light brown to medium & dark brown and it’s an excellent product. Screw Rogaine. Your may or may not grow back with it’s use by you will shed fast.
Another option as well that I found inconclusive was the digestive pill they sell at most vitamin shops. This monthly supply pill (runs 30 bucks roughly) did not cause shedding for me and the fact that it isn’t nearly as strong as Rogaine actually hit me as a positive (does have a bite though and isn’t to be swallowed on an empty stomach). Losing your hair sucks. I’ve tried the hair matrix (actually had to much hair for it so the product became a very expensive failed experiment) and I’ve contemplated a hair transplant. It’s frusterating getting old and having bad hair genes. Cutting it short, thickening it up with the keratin protein fibers and just accepting it is a great option. A lot of women are shallow and give a fuck. A just as large number or greater number of women could care less. Grab a good one and come to terms that (although merited) the only ones our hairloss really bothers is us.
DO NOT USE ROGAINE. i cannot say it dosent work for everyone ,but heres my story. used it for 10-12 months on the entire top of my head. when i started i had a receeded hairline and no/very little thinning hair n my crown. after about 4-5 months ,my hair did get thicker on rogaine ,and i had good results. the bad? the itching, red skin, greasy residue was enough for me to quit. this product was just not practical for me. been 6 or 7 months since i quit and my hair is THIN, i now have a very thinned out crown and overall thinness all over the top of my head. rogaine does have something to do with this!! no doubts in my mind, i know how my head looked when i started this poison. i DO NOT recommend this product to anyone because even if it works it is not practical!!! put crisco on your head twice a day? always look like your sweating as your head itches and looks red? terrible……YOUVE BEEN WARNED. made things worse in the end. maybe itll rebound ….life goes on, i buzz my head now anyway and i like it. shoulda done that along time ago!
As a 47 year old female with some (unnoticeable)thinning hair due to an iron deficiency, it was suggested that I include Rogaine into my hair loss treatment program. After using the drops for about 2-3 weeks, I noticed that I was losing excessive amounts of hair. I called the doctor who said this was fairly common and so I continued the product for another 2 weeks–until my hair began to fall out in clumps in areas where the Rogaine was not applied. It was then suggested that I stop the using the product as this seemed to be an extreme reaction. Since I stopped the Rogaine, I have lost about 60% of the hair on my head, and nearly all of my body hair, with absolutely no regrowth at all. You can only imagine how distressing this is as I am now aware that had I not started the product at all, I could have maintained an almost full head of hair. So far, I have found quite a few people with similar stories, and for some reason , they do not seem to be taken seriously on forums such as this. Unless you have already lost 60% of your hair, I would not recommend this product.
I used Rogaine for 4 months and noticed hair starting to come in on the top and back of my head. I stopped using it because my Mayo dermatologist told me to use it only 4 months. Now it is 5 months later and my hair is twice as thin. She told me to use it to keep the hair I had since I seemed to be losing it like crazy. She said it had to move out of that shedding phase. Now do I go back on the rogaine or go bald?? I don’t know what to do?
I found this page because I have been brought to the conclusion that the Rogaine I am using might be making my hair on the other side of my crown and temple fall out. I have also noticed my scalp is starting to itch now. I had only started taking it for one side that was starting to recede and now that I have decreased its usage a little I have noticed my hair is even thinner on both sides. I have used it for 6 months now and I don’t believe it has helped much. My question is this. Can Rogaine make areas of your hair fall out or go thin that you haven’t applied it to. Or is just possible this was going to happen anyway? I am so confused because my dad has hair,my brothers and grandfather so I can’t see myself going bald this drastically. Like other people have commented I’m thinking I might have been better without. It’s a gamble and it is terrible that you can’t trust pharmaceutical companies because all they seemed to want is money. Man this sucks is all I can say. Please respond if you still even read this post Doc or anyone with similar stories for that matter