Minoxidil How does it work?

Minoxidil is a medicine used for the treatment of male and female pattern hair loss. It is not fully understood how minoxidil stimulates hair growth.

Minoxidil was first used in tablet form as a medicine to treat high blood pressure (an antihypertensive). It was noticed that patients being treated with minoxidil experienced excessive hair growth (hypertrichosis) as a side effect. Further research showed that hair growth could also be stimulated by applying a solution of minoxidil directly to the scalp. The amount of minoxidil absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream is usually too small to cause internal side effects.

Minoxidil dilates the tiny blood vessels in the scalp, which increases the blood circulation to the hair follicles. This may be how minoxidil stimulates hair growth.

The solution should be applied to the affected areas of the scalp twice a day. The scalp and hair should be dry before applying the solution. It may take twice daily applications for at least three months for any hair regrowth to become noticable.

Minoxidil will not work for everyone and it is not possible to predict individual responses by yourself that it why it is best to see one of our trichologists for an acurate assessment and correct levels of usage and dossage.

If your hair growth is stimulated, you will need to keep using Minoxidil twice a day for the growth to continue. Regrown hair may disappear three to four months after you stop using Minoxidil and the balding process will then continue.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 12:13 pm and is filed under TrichoTalk. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry.