How does minoxidil work? What the Science Says

Ever heard of minoxidil? It’s a miracle drug used to speed up hair growth, but does it actually work? What does it do to your hair and overall health? Is it worth all the hype? Let’s find out.

What is minoxidil?

Let’s start with a review. What is minoxidil? Minoxidil (sometimes called Rogaine) is a FDA approved drug that was created in 1968. It was first created in a tablet form and given orally to patients in order to lower their blood pressure. But, when the patients started growing hair in unwanted places on their body, minoxidil changed to a primarily hair growth enhancing drug.

Let’s start with a review. What is minoxidil? Minoxidil (sometimes called Rogaine) is a FDA approved drug that was created in 1968. It was first created in a tablet form and given orally to patients in order to lower their blood pressure. But, when the patients started growing hair in unwanted places on their body, minoxidil changed to a primarily hair growth enhancing drug.

Since that time, minoxidil has been changed to a spray, dropper, or foam solution and used to prevent hair loss and encourage hair growth on the scalp. Minoxidil generally comes in  2% concentration and 5 % concentration forms, but some companies have made drugs with as high as 10 or 15%. Each amount of concentration in a minoxidil solution come with its own pros, cons, and side effects, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Minoxidil is an over the counter drug, meaning that (at least in the US and UK) you don’t need a prescription to buy it.

If you get minoxidil orally, such as the tablets, then that will need a prescription.

Minoxidil has been used to help many people with hair growth. Before deciding if minoxidil may be right for you, let’s look at how it works, any possible side effects, and some pros and cons.

How does minoxidil work?

Minoxidil is a vasodilator, which means that it widens the blood vessels and increased blood flow to the scalp. (Before it turned into a hair treatment minoxidil was known for helping lower blood pressure, and that same blood vessel widening ability is what helps take oxygen enriched blood to the hair follicle.)

Minoxidil shortens the resting phase of hair and starts the growing stage. Minoxidil increases the size of hair follicles, making them thicker and stronger too. Minoxidil does not grow hair on completely bald scalps, and does not help as much with receding hair lines.

Men and women each can use either concentration of minoxidil, but the 2% concentration of topical minoxidil is generally recommended for women. It is used to combat female patterned baldness. While still effective, it is slightly slower results than the 5 % concentration. The 2% concentration does have less side effects.

The 5% concentration is typically recommended for treating male patterned baldness. It has been claimed that men’s scalps are not as sensitive and can handle the higher concentration and increased risk of potential side effects.

Anything higher than a 5% concentration of minoxidil presents a lot of risk to your bodily health with harmful side effects.  It has also been claimed that your skin can’t absorb any of the minoxidil with a higher concentration than 5% so sticking between 2-5% is best.

One key thing about minoxidil however, is that once you start using it, it is really hard to stop. If you stop using minoxidil, then generally your hair loss goes back to what it was. This can depend on your hair routine, your lifestyle, genetics, and other factors, but most often people go back to losing hair if they stop taking minoxidil.

If you want to start taking minoxidil, be prepare for a long-term (or perhaps even life-term) usage. (It may take up to 8 weeks to 4 months to start seeing visible results.)

Side effects of minoxidil

There have been some cases reported of minoxidil not working for certain people.

Minoxidil is, for the most part, very safe to use. However, there have been extremely rare cases of:

• Chest pain
• Rapid weight gain
• Light-headedness
• Severe Headaches
• Hives
• Difficulty breathing

While these side effects are very rare, be aware of them. If any of the above occur stop using minoxidil and contact your doctor immediately. You may be allergic to something in the solution.

Do NOT use minoxidil if your scalp is irritated, sunburned, or has an open wounds. If you experience itchiness, a burning sensation, or dryness of the scalp after using the product, contact your doctor.

There have not been a ton of studies on what could happen to an unborn child while using minoxidil, so until further research is done, it’s best to not take minoxidil if you are pregnant.

Monoxidil also might not be great for people who lost hair due to chemotherapy, have heart issues, have pre-existing kidney disease, if you take other vasodilator drugs, or are under age 18.

Even though you don’t need a prescription it is still a good idea to talk with your health care provider about whether minoxidil is right for you.

If minoxidil is not right for you, there are other things you can do to stimulate hair growth, such as using this hair growth kit or eating the right vitamins.

Minoxidil pros and cons

Pros:

• Over the counter drug
• Very effective with hair growth
• 2-5% concentration options

Cons:

• Doesn’t always work for everyone
• Once you stop using it the benefits go away
• Takes awhile to visibly notice results

How do you use minoxidil

Minoxidil is typically applied twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night.

You can get minoxidil in a spray or foam solution, and you can apply it by pipette, dropper, or spray. Don’t use it on any other part of the body other than the scalp. Make sure your hair is dry when you apply it.

Follow your doctor’s recommended dosage, or what is on the package label. Do not exceed that amount. Keep package out of reach of children, and in a cool, dry place. (Preferably not the bathroom, where it could be exposed to excess moisture.)

If minoxidil is swallowed contact poison control immediately.

The bottom line

Minoxidil is a great drug for hair growth. It is very effective in providing thicker and stronger hair follicles as well as growth in places where hair loss has happened.

It might not work for everyone, and there are some rare side effects to be aware of. However, many people have seen success with using minoxidil for hair growth, and it might be just what you need. Talk to a doctor if it seems right for you.