I just heard that people who use minoxidil lotion for hair loss, should stop taking aspirin. Is it true?

Drug.com reports “There were no interactions found in our database between Aspirin Low Strength and minoxidil. However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. ALWAYS consult with your doctor or pharmacist.”. I could not find the reference that says these two drugs have an interaction.

If you want the biochemical reasoning, Aspirin works by inactivating an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX) which ultimately suppress the production of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. This is a good thing if you want to treat pain, decrease inflammation, decrease the risk of heart disease, etc. Aspirin is a great medication.

It isn’t quite clear on the exact mechanism of action but minoxidil but it is thought to work by stimulating one of the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme which increase the production of a certain prostaglandins type “E2” (PGE2). There is some evidence that hair loss is thought to be related to the decrease in PGE2 so increasing PGE2 with Rogaine makes sense.

In the end, you need to speak to your doctor. If you are taking Aspirin for medical health reasons, it is far more important to continue taking Aspirin over an elective medication such as Rogaine.

Of note minoxidil is also available as an oral medication to decrease blood pressure. Many men and women from outside the US (third world) take it to lower their blood pressure. I am curious if there will be studies that show how Aspirin affects the efficacy of minoxidil.

Sorry for the long-ish post, but I’m hoping you’ll answer my question.

I’m male, and nearly 35 now. I suffered hair loss in a concentrated period of ~6 months when I was 19; my hairline receded a bit at the temples and I experienced diffuse thinning in the frontal region and crown. Now, 15 years later, I’d say my hair still looks more-or-less like it did after that initial hair loss. I’ve never used any medication known to stop/reverse hair loss.

Even though it’s probably not noticeable when I wear my hair fairly short, the decreased density on the front of the head and crown does bother me a bit, and I’m wondering if I can do something about it.

One thing is that I’m not interested in using anything that is liable to mess with my hormone levels – for several years now I’ve suffered with secondary hypogonadism (low testosterone/high estrogen, etc. – confirmed by lab tests and symptoms) and only since ~4 months ago have I started receiving what I hope is the right treatment for it.

You might point out that higher testosterone might accelerate MBP -but so far I haven’t noticed any problems. For what it’s worth, I had my DHT assessed at a lab 1 1/2 month ago, it was a fairly high value(724 pg/mL, reference range 250-990) but I don’t think I’ve experienced any abnormal hair loss ever since starting my low-T treatment. Plus, aggressive MBP doesn’t appear to run in either side of my family.

So, is rogaine worth a shot for me for regaining hair density? Or something else you might recommend?

Would appreciate your advice!

I can’t really help you here. If hair loss or thinning bothers you go see a doctor. Since it is not noticeable (according to your own statement), I don’t know how much that can be done. You also write about not wanting to try any medication so I am not really clear as to what you expect in terms of your goals.

As a hair restoration doctor I am limited to four things I can recommend in general:
(1) Do nothing
(2) Hair transplant
(3) Propecia or Rogaine
(4) Scalp Micropigmentation

Maybe you can visit my website scalpmicropigmentation.com and see if that may work for you.

But ultimately without a face to face exam, I can’t help you. A blog is not a place (or Internet in general) for personalized medical treatment options.

Was wandering if there would be any side effects of taking Propecia with the condition seborrheic dermatitis?

Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin condition that cause flaky skin/ scalp. It has nothing to do with genetic hair loss.
Propecia is a drug for the treatment of androgenic alopecia. It has nothing to do with a skin condition such as seborrheic dermatitis. Many patients with seborrheic dermatitis take Propecia without issues.

About 12 years ago I was attacked with a frozen budice beer bottle to the back of head. Last year my hair came out due to cancer/kidney issues. Top middle back of head has continued to give me problems. I seem to have deep rooted around my head ingrown hairs. I only have hair on one side (right). Its been going on 2 years. Hair starts to come back then get knotted twisted by ears middle in back bottom of back. The little hair knots freaking move. I had long hair to my waist then. I look kike (feel like) a circus clown gone bad. Please help me. Im 44

You might have a foreign body, such as staples, left in your scalp. You should see a doctor to have them removed if that is the situation. If there is a scar or hairs growing in odd directions, you can consider seeing a hair transplant doctor for options. What you are describing does require a specialist so you can go back to your days of long hair, if that is what you want.

The answer to this questions was written up in Medscape General Surgery, a publication for physicians. Doctors generally do not know the real total costs of a surgical treatment, so this article educates the doctor. The total cost of such an operation runs between $135,000 to a low of about $10,000. The doctors fees range from a low of $4000 up to about $19,000. Much of this is paid by insurance; however, this may not be the case. Medicare pay up to 80% of a pre-approved fee which may be far less than the hospital charges as is the case for the doctors. What the problem is that no one knows what it should cost and if you are a person without insurance, the full fee will be charged to you without a discount. That would break the bank of most folks, so if you find yourself in this situation for any hospitalizations (not just prostate surgery), be sure to negotiate with both the hospital and the doctor or you could pay far more than you need to. Since hospitals negotiate with every insurance company, they will, when forced, negotiate with you. The good news for the uninsured is that hospitals and doctors will negotiate price.

Does the average person really lose 100-150 scalp hairs daily or is this just a myth?

If i was to wear a beanie hat for 30 days would i then find 3000-4500 hairs inside the hat after i take it off?

Let’s talk hair physiology. assuming you are an average Caucasian male with a typical hair count of 100,000 hairs on your head, and your hair cycles every three years and the telogen cycle is 3 month, then simple match brings us to 100 hairs per day go into telogen while another 100 hairs per day regrow to replace the telogen hairs. If you cycle is two years, not three years, then the number of hair lost per day will be 50% higher, on average. Hair cycles in each of us and the length of the cycle varies by age, genetics, health and possibly slightly by seasons. Now do the math on wearing your hat for 30 days and you can determine your hair cycle.

I know this question has been asked before, however, it seems it has been quite a while since last asked. Is it safe to father a child while on Dutasteride? Specifically, I’m talking about conception, while utilizing a condom for the duration of the pregnancy? I would assume some information regarding this would have been seen by now, since Dutasteride has been FDA approved for quite some time.
Personally, I take dutasteride once a week and use Finasteride for the
remainder of the week.

We don’t usually endorse the use of Dutasteride for hair loss due to this type of issue on male fertility and fathering a child. There are some discussions of male infertility with dutasteride, but these are not scientifically presented in a clinical study. I am not aware of any studies that pertain to conception while on Dutasteride. I suspect that Dutasteride, like Finasteride, is not found in sperm in any significant quantity, The absence of good scientific and clinical studies is is probably one of the many reasons why FDA has not approved its use for hair loss in men. I don’t think it has much to do with using condoms after your partner conceives. It’s more about conceiving while on the drug. With Finasteride, I am unaware of any reports of abnormalities in children who were conceived with the man on Finasteride and considering the many millions of men who have used this drug over the past decade or so, I would imagine if it were a problem, the ‘law suit’ nature of our society would have brought them forward by now.