November 17 2006, 8:35 am PT | Posted in: Drugs
Hi,
I’m a 23 year old who has, as of the past 2 years, been using Propecia with what I believe to be good results. Still, in the cranial areas superior to the temples, theres still some thinning taking place (the apex of the forehead is fine, no thinning). Three days ago, I decided to try Minoxidil in just those areas. When I apply it though, it clearly seeps onto my other good, thick hair nearby. Though I already know that once you stop Minoxidil the hair you’ve regrown there falls out, but my question is will one day deciding to stop the minoxidil also make the hair that the drug may have touched during application fall out as well (the hair that would normally had stayed had I not used minoxidil at all)? Thanks for reading.
If minoxidil is applied to normal hair there will be no response to it (provided that there are no side effects of the drug, like an allergic reaction). Stopping minoxidil will not impact normal hair that was exposed to the drug.
Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):
In my experience, minoxidil is destructive to all hair in the balding zone, whether thinning or healthy. I used Rogaine for about 6-7 applications about a year ago, for thinning similar to that described above. Now I have thinning everywhere, a receding hairline, and thinning at the vertex. Where there was once healthy hair, there is now this dry, coarse, peach fuzz-type hair. Just reporting my results.
That’s kind of like me saying “pizza is destructive to my gut and butt zone. I ate half a pie about a year ago and now I’m a real heifer - you know, the kind you see in WalMart. Where there was once a beautiful six pack (back when I was 12), now it appears that I swallowed a watermelon. Just reportng my results.” Sounds a bit lame doesn’t it?
Perhaps I should clarify, and give Jim the benefit of the doubt. The destruction of my hairline and increased thinning and receding developed just after using the rogaine, and has not changed since. This, among other factors (such as an intense burning in the areas where the rogaine was applied), leads me to believe that rogaine is responsible for the deterioration of my hair. I know that correlation is not causation, but I would strongly caution anyone considering using rogaine about the fact that there is a risk of damaging your existing hair and making your hairloss worse.
I don’t know what Jim’s motive is, but mine is simply to share my story so that others will not make the same mistake I did. I believed that rogaine could help what was the early stages of hairloss and that it would not cause me harm, but it did great damage to my hair. I deeply regret using it.
So you can continue to attack me with pathetic analogies, but I would advise you to seek more constructive outlets for your developing creativity and let the blog serve its true purpose to spread information.
Wow…touched a nerve there, huh? Minoxidil has been shown to assist with hair growth. At worst it’s been shown to do nothing. While it’s far from the answer to all who suffer from hair loss, to post a statement such as “minoxidil is destructive to all hair in the balding zone” is subjective nonsense and based on nothing but your own faulty correlation and reasoning skills. Unfortunately there’s a huge amount of misinformation out there about this subject. Your adding to it by making statements that minoxidil made you go bald certainly is a help to no one and counterproductive.
DC - you sound like a bitter bald guy. Cheer up.
Jim, you’re right about one thing–there is a lot of misinformation out there about this subject. Such as your claim that “At worst [Minoxidil] has been shown to do nothing” That’s exactly the kind of misinformation that my story is meant to refute.
I once believed that the worst that would happen was that minoxidil would do nothing, which is why I decided to use it, but the worst that can happen is that it destroys your hair. This actually occurred in my case, it is not subjective nor a product of faulty reasoning.
I don’t know what your sources are, but let me tell you from experience, that minoxidil can do harm. And rather than being counterproductive, telling my story could help people by preventing them from making the same mistake I did. At least this way they will have a counterpoint to people like you who claim there is no risk in using the medication.
And Mindy, thanks for your concern, but yes, I am bitter. I relied on claims made by so-called experts that rogaine would do me no permanent harm, claims that Jim is continuing to spread, and now I have to live with increased hairloss as well as the guilt because it resulted from my own actions.
Jim, I don’t think this back and forth is productive, but your continued effort to discredit me after what I have gone through is extremely frustrating.
DC, it should be fully possible that some people are allergic to the applied topical solution, however, hair loss can come very rapidly. If you do a research in your family you might find that some relatives of yours had the same rapid hair loss.
I know that the hair loss is hard to accept but I hope you, within time, will accept it and be proud of who u are despite the bald head!
DC - Don’t think of yourself as just another bald man, reimagine yourself as a BOLD man!!
rogaine was the worst decision i have ever made rogaine completely destroyed my hair …and let me tell the hair does not grow back… save your money and pour battery acid on your hair… because this gives the same results as rogaine…how this dangerous drug exsits on the self in a pure f up by the FDA.. rogaine is a bloodpressure drug which has been proven to cause heat failure…my experience with rogaine was so terrible iam still in disbeliefe…please dont use this posin….
I tend to agree with DC and Joe Will. Also, in DC’s defense I don’t think he was being bitter at all in his first post. He was simply trying to inform others.
I am having the same thing happen to myself. I have been suffering from thin hair for quite a few years. I then went to the dermatologist finally to seek help, and they put me onto 5% Minoxidil. I have been on it for 9 months now, hoping to see a miracle and that things would reverse, but they haven’t. What has happened is that things went rapidly downhill from the moment I started to use Minoxidil and I am wishing now that I hadn’t touched the stuff. I think it affects some of us worse than others because we may be allergic to the very dangerous ingredient that is in there… propylene glycol.
Hi guyz even i tried minoxidil 5% solution.. It’s really true that you start losing hair after you stop it’s usage. And it does affect the other hair too.. That is because, as you stop minoxidil, the hair loss continues and gradually the rest of hair starts with the process of thinning. But with recent study they do claim that this regained hair can be stopped from falling even after stopping the use of minoxidil and it is thru some kind of medicine that is injected into the scalp. Which prevents the hair fall..
DC and Joelien <<
COULD THE TWO OF YOU PLEASE CONTACT ME.
my email address is: johnjaymailATgmail.com
my AIM screename is: atticfin
I am having the exact same problem.
It’s a long story. I’m 22 years old and I never lost any hair in my life until I came into contact with Rogaine. 2 days after being exposed to Rogaine, I started losing hair from my entire body, including scalp and eyebrows!!! It has been 2.5 months since I was exposed to Rogaine, and the hair loss hasn’t stopped. Please tell me more about your experiences. We can compare symptoms and figure out once and for all what the hell is going on. PLEASE, contact me. Thanks
I had been losing hair for several years and had tried Propecia for six months with unsuccessful results. Over a year later I tried Rogaine but that was one of my worst mistakes ever. Within a month and a half of usage, I had lost a third of the hair on the top and front. The hair that I lost never grew back either. I had been losing hair steadily since I was like 16, but there wasn’t a time that the hair loss rate was as great as when I used Rogaine.
I’m sure Rogaine helps a lot of people, but at least for some people like me it has disastrous results.
I used minoxidil for one year, at the end of the year I had shedding of the hair, even though I was still using it.
I am am experiencing the exact same adverse reactions as many of you are describing. I used minoxidil for about 4 weeks before stopping it due to what seemed to be excessive hair loss .I was aware that some shedding could occur, but it seemed like a lot, and not just my scalp. My dermatologist was not aware of the shedding factor, and thought I’d be safest to stop using it. Now, I’ve been off for a little over 4 weeks, and the shedding is continuing, and the condition of my hair (all over my body) is getting worse. Hair has become long, thin, and brittle, and my scalp is beginning to become irritated. I have spoken with multiple doctors who claim this could not be from the minoxidil. However, they are offering up no other explanations (other than testing me for thyroid problems, which came back normal), and I have found too much online evidence to the contrary to believe otherwise. Please–has ANYONE found any information at all about how these side effects can be treated? Are there any doctors who will admit that these reactions are even possible? I have obviously not been off as long as some of you, but every thing I have read about similar symptoms does not bode well! I am very concerned here.
I have had the same problem. Been using minoxidil 5% for about 3-4 months. There were no significant results. Once I stopped using it, I rapidly lost hair on the areas I was using minoxidil. Just sharing my experience…
I was going to buy minoxidil but after reading your comments i’ve changed my mind. thank you guys so mush for telling your bad exeperienc with minoxidil.thank you thousand time…
I used rogaine for 2 months and a half and listen to what happened to me:
Lost half my hair
I stopped having sexual erections even if biyonce sat on my cock it won’t get up
I always get nervous and so easy to flip out
HAIR on my hands grew! yes on my freaken hands, i had haid on my hands now i look like a gorilla thanks to rogain and to the STUPID FDA
I have a similar experience. I’m 28 and male. My hair have been thinning over the previous year because of possibly AGA and/or stress&sleeplessness but was still full. I used Rogaine a few days on the top of my head. I lost about 80% percent of hair from the spot I applied Rogaine and also lots around it (even in the not normally balding areas) and got some mild burning sensations in the scalp. Hair loss seemed to be increased also after quitting. Made my hair look quite horrible. It’s been 3 months and I haven’t seen any regrowth. I can only hope for some to occur. I definitely think now that Rogaine can cause bad permanent hair loss. If there is anyone, who has actually recovered from minoxidil shed without minoxidil, I would definitely want to hear how. Now I’m using some nutritional supplements, eating healthy, doing some scalp massaging and using propecia (a little afraid of needed continued use and the possible sexual side effects, but ok so far). I hope at least some of those help a bit.
Since I read about some other hair loss causes (medication, stress, TE etc.) and that they normally grow back but not always, would minoxidil induced hair loss be similar? That most people grow it back and some don’t (those who don’t write more to these forums). Therefore causing permanent hair loss. After all hair growth is a complex biological process and I would guess can be disturbed easily.
I definitely think that Rogaine shouldn’t be over the counter drug. I don’t know how it has gotten this status with all these side effects I read from the forums and because of required continuous use. It can make a problem you are seeking to cure a lot worse.
I ahve been using Rogaine foam, it stops my hair from falling, but once I stop using it my hair falls again.
It works but only if you keep on using it, and only if you have a full head of hair like me. I have a bit of loss, I am 30, but not really visible. I apply the foam twice a week maybe and I do not wah my hair, it really works and lasts me a year or so. But if I run out, my hair looses fullness, and guess what, I am not lieing, chicks notice it. Female do not like bald man, unless they are older and more understanding.
rogaine caused me to lose hair as if i was going through chemothery,, i think it criminal that johnson and johnson dont properly warn people of this,, after losing 90% of my hair including eyebrows which never grow back and my hair turning white including facial hair ,,i sued johnson and johnson and got a settelment on the grounds that iam not a dermatologist,, therfor made a wrong decision to use a very poerful bloodpresure drug without a doctor resomendation…plese read my blog at keratin.com /discusion bord
What’s most interesting to me is that the commenter just above this one (tom) has posted complaints over and over under different names. If you’re so sure of the problem you claim, why try to deceive readers by posting it multiple times as different people?
My experience with Minoxidil has been horrible!! (quick version: don’t use it, it’s caused so much hairloss in me!!)
Long version:
3 years ago, I had a maturing hairline (that was the only thing, my hair wasn’t thin or anything). But some of my annoying friends and family kept pointing it out and made me feel so self conscious. This went on for about a year till it came to a point where I thought I had to do something. So I bought Rogaine over the counter (why the hell is this available over the counter??)
I used it for 9 months and thought it wasn’t doing much good for me (in fact it increased the amount I shed). Now, very stupidly, I stopped Minoxidil very abruptly. I did try to taper it off initially but then I just stopped.
Within ONE MONTH, I lost an unbelievable amount of hair that I my hair was so thin all over my head and my hairline receded a lot. (and because I was cooped up in a dorm room, studying for exams on my own during this period, I didn’t really notice the hairloss till I went home for holidays).
I took pictures from above and I was so shocked at how thin my hair was. It was horrible and I was so depressed for months.
Frantically, I started myself back on the poison. It’s now 2 years since i’ve done that and my hair isn’t even half as thick as what it used to be. I have such low self esteem now on such a regular basis. And I’m living in regret. I should not have started myself on Minoxidil in the first place. And yes, it’s a life sentence! (there’s no way I’ll ever stop it again because I know how disastrous that can be)
to those of you who trashed DC……the same thing happened to me! I had a scalp infection which caused a small little bald spot on my head. i thought i was going bald, started putting rogaine on my whole head, and now whallaaaa, I am fucking completely bald. rogaine destroys hair, and now i have to use it every day to try to possibly grow it back.