If I Stop Minoxidil, Will It Harm the Existing Good Hair Too?
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.
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?
I thought I was thinning in a spot on my hairline, so I used minoxidil. Then I started losing more hair. This “confirmed” to me that I am actually losing my hair, so I started using the Minoxidil all over. Then the shedding began in earnest!!!! I’ve lost a third to half of my volume. It’s been a month. I’m now losing all different hairs–older, long ones, baby hairs, all over.
I decided to STOP the Minoxidil. I’m going to just try to grow my hair back on my own. I just need this thinning to stop!!
I’m a 47yo female using liquid minoxidil for women 2x day. I wish I’d never started!!!!!
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 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 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)
yess its mix with blood.. and spread all over in d body
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.
thnx guys even i was suggested minoxidil but after ur comments i wont buy that stuff and how abt finpecia anyone??
Please, please, please! DO NOT USE MINOXIDIL! If you stop using it, your existing hair will be gone too. whatever they say is a BIG lie! i wish i never used it. My hair used to have a small thinning area on top of my head. now it is everywhere!!
I concur that minoxidil is a drug that should be banned from the market. I am 25 and have been using it for a year and a half now. Although it showed great promise initially, the results were just not that great as with finasteride.Even if they work in different ways.
If you need a hair growth stimulator then apply onion juice on your scalp. It works amazingly well and you should see results within 3-6 months.
Minoxidil is undoubtedly expensive to use and I really don’t know what the effect would be if I were to ever stop using it.
Even I was having a hairfall problem then I consulted a doctor and they suggested me to shave my head atleast for 6 months and he started giving medications like MINOXIDIL 2% (used it for 2 months) along with Follihair tablet(daily one)+ Fincover(Finasteride)(daily one) then again after two months I started with MINOXIDIL 5% with same tablets for two months and then finally with MINOXIDIL 10% with same tablets till date…
I am using MINOXIDIL twice a day 1ml+1ml=2ml a day and the result is very good. Intially I din’t observe any hairloss because I used to shave my hear regularly once in a week for six months of period. Now result is really awesome and I very happy to see my hair thick with strong roots. If you stop the tablets then the situations comes back to normal as because the Finasteride(1ml/day) table effect will be there for only 10-15hrs in your blood and also there is no side effects of this. No worries you can cure this problem even by using natural ways, drink Green tea regularly+Almond+milk+papaya+pears+12glass water+tomato+peas+Soyabean.. these are very much essential for your hair and also it reduces the level of DHT which reside in the hair root which causes hair thinning and hair fall… this diet should maintain it regularly then only you can see a good result and it is 100% sure.. But natural process take an year or 2 years time.. but for instant results to you can go with MINOXIDIL+fincover+follihair like tablets.. Follihair is nothing but a multivitamin & multimineral tablet.. no side effects..
s##t s##t and s##t i wish id seen all these comments instead of yes its fantastic and works and worse case nothing will happen and at first you may experience a little hair loss, from my experience all of its a pile of s##t. proprecia dont work, kelp dont work, this minoxidil makes it fall out everyday, till its got to the point where i thought this cant be right and came on here for a google. im gonna stop using it, but f##k what damage have i done and got to come. i dont think there is a cure out there yet, maybe never will be, but these products out there now, i think they make it fall out so you go and buy more of the b###ard, and there rubbing their hands together at another sale. advice dont use it, and dont listen to the plebs on here who say it works
IF i stop using minoxidil with in 1 month since when i started using it . will is still cause hair loss ? as i have not noticed any growth ..
I have some minoxidil sitting on my desk right now. I’m 22 and I think where my hair parts is starting to thin out so I was just going to apply it there thinking it couldn’t hurt. But I would shit bricks if more hair started falling out.
i brought yesterday.. i applied 2 times as i m reading the reviews im shocking what the hell i brought… my frnd recommend me to buy tugain5 a multivitamin tab and dandruff shampoo.. i spend around 1300… its very costly and no fruitful.. coz chemical. is chemical.. and stopp this may be turn bald.. i wash my hair at night and never touch it again. multivitamin and shampoo is alright but tugain5 never… its make me bald totally if i used it.. shit.. bann it
Did any of you guys who had these negative effects of minoxidil find any improvement yet? Did you lose more hair? I want to quit it too as it has made my hair very dry and brittle (been using it for 1.5 years, seemed to worsen over time) and causing severe breakage
I’ve never posted on these websites before but felt the need to.
I started using minoxidil 5 years ago, I had fairly minor hair loss on the front and a tiny bit of thinning on top.
Anyway I started using it and got what I thought were great results, the hair on top started to thicken and the hair at the front began growing peach fuzz (which I was incorrectly informed would become strong, healthy hair). Anyway I used it for a year or so but began to get frustrated with the lack of further improvement and slight decline (as well as cost). I stopped using it for a month and to my horror I noticed a big thinning area where there was none before!! I panicked and went straight back on it…for the next 5 years I moved from liquid to foam with zero improvement. My hair was greasy most of the time, began thinning horrendously to the point where I was embarrassed to be out in public. I decided to finally give it up for good after trying to in conjunction with finasteride in Jan 2016. No I’m August and I’m so happy with the results finasteride has achieved on its own! My hair looks lush and rich and thick most importantly. I’ve had no side effects (although I nearly siked myself into thinking I did). I’m hoping I achieve maximum results after a year or so but I’m also realistic. Not sure this has been of any use but I know reading these for the last while, it’s nice to hear some good and bad stories.
I started using minoxidil after a hair transplant. The transplanted hairs started yielding good results for the first few months then when I stopped the minoxidil the non transplanted hair started falling out. A few months later now most of the transplanted hair has fallen out.I would say I’ve lost about 80% of my hair. I stopped about 7 months ago. Also, my arms and hands have also gotten hairier.
DO NOT TOUCH THIS S*#T!!
Can’t believe I’ve become one of the horror stories that I’ve read about on sites like these.
I used minoxidil for one week. One damn week! Started getting major chest pains on day 5 and 6. Also numbness in my hands and feet. Stopped immediately, hoping it was still early enough to do without any repercussions. A week went by fine and then all of a sudden boom. Losing 400 to 600 hairs a day. Unbelievable, I just cant believe it. Its not stopping. Forget the it im tired of thinking andabout it.
Anyway stay away from. Tvis stufff if you have any hesitation. One week and it ruined me. R