Should I Take Breaks Between Minoxidil Treatments?

Dear Dr Rassman,

Thank you for this informative blog and your dedication to answering our balding questions.

My question is regarding rogaine or minoxidil and its effects after you have a break after several years of treatment. I for one am 25 and have used minoxidil 5% since I was around 22. My barber here in New York told me that for Minoxidil not to lose its long term effect it is good to have a break after a few years and then go back on it again so to keep its effectiveness. Is this true?

I for one listened to his advice and stopped using minoxidil 5% for three months and I could see an increase in hair fall out after two months specially in the templar areas where I had gained a lot of new growth. Now my second and more important question is will I once again benefit from using the minoxidil again? I went on minoxidil about 6 weeks ago again but havent seen any results yet.

so two questions:
1) Is it good to have breaks in minoxidil treatment?
2) Will the effects of the minoxidil come back after restarting the treatment?

Breaks in the use of minoxidil are disasterous, as you have already seen. So the answer to your first question is unequivocally, “no”. The hair may come back if your ‘rest’ period is under 2-3 months. Read elsewhere on this blog about Propecia and its appropriateness in young men losing their hair. Get a diagnosis and proper treatment.