# Men's Hair Loss > Introduce Yourself & Share Your Story >  Does Rogaine (Minoxidil 5%) really work?

## ravegrover

Hello All:

I'm NW III with thinning hair in top frontal region. Take finasteride daily so have been retaining hair.

I'm wondering if I should start Minoxidil 5%. I'm prepared to do it sincerely twice a day if it will re-grow or thicken hair in front. 

Please let me know if anyone has had success with this product and whether it causes noticeable improvement. 

I have been unable to see good before/after pics on internet. Thank you all!!

Rave

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## Tracy C

Hi ravegrover,

Yes Rogaine works.  Generic Minoxidil also works.  How well it works depends on how long hair has been gone from those sparse or bare areas.  If those areas are completely void of hair and have been that way for a long time (five years or longer), nothing is going to work to grow hair there.  If it has been less than five years, you might be able to grow some of it back.  You won't know untill you try.

Here is what I suggest.  If you are in the U.S., go to WalMart or whatever store you prefer and pick up one bottle of Rogaine foam and Nizoral A-D shampoo.  Use the foam once per day about two hours before bedtime.  Use Nizoral A-D shampoo once per week in place of your regular shampoo.

One bottle of Rogaine foam should last 30 days but since you will only be using it once per day you will have only used half of it in 30 days.  There are two reasons I am suggesting you start out this way.  First to find out if you can use Rogaine.  Most people can but some people can't.  So you only want to buy one bottle just in case you are one of the few people who can't use the medicine.  The other reason is so you have time to learn how to dose yourself properly.  It takes some practice.  You will understand what I mean once you start.

After 30 days if all is well, go back to the store and get a 3-month supply of Rogaine foam and a 3-month supply of generic liquid 5% Minoxidil.  Use the foam for your morning dose and the generic liquid Minoxidil for your evening dose.  There are two reasons why I suggest you do this.  First it is because it takes four to six months before you will know if Rogaine or generic Minoxidil is going to help you.  This way you will already have a six month supply.  The second reason is to help you save some money.  Rogaine foam is more expensive, but it is very stealthy.  Generic liquid Minoxidil is inexpensive but it is not stealthy at all.

Rogaine currently has a rebate promotion going on.  Once you buy the 3-month supply of Rogaine foam, take advantage of the rebate promotion.  Here is a link to the form and Rogaine's website.

http://www.rogaine.com/sites/default...OG-CPN-NAT.pdf

http://www.rogaine.com/

Continue to use Nizoral A-D shampoo once per week in place of your regular shampoo as part of your regimen.

Take good quality photos before your start your regimen. After six months take a second set of good quality photos.  You want to keep your before and after photos as similar as possible to help you make the best evaluation and comparison you possibly can to help you determine if the medicine is working for you.

Remember, it takes four to six months to determine if Minoxidil will help you.  It takes longer before you will know how well it can help you.  If between four and six months you start seeing peach fuzz, the medicine is working for you.  You will not know how well it is going to work for you until you have been using the medicine for 12 to 18 months.

If after six months it is obvious that the medicine is not going to help you, go off of it gradually.  Stop using it twice per day and use it only once per day for a few weeks.  Then only once per day every other day until you run out of the medicine.  This is to help you avoid the shed that sometimes happens when people go off Minoxidil.

My best to you,

Tracy

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## ravegrover

Thank you Tracy. Since I dont live in US Im nt sure if I can get Rogaine foam. I will start with generic Minoxidil (5%) once a day and move that to two times. I already use Nizoral once a week.

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## ravegrover

Hey Tracy.. since my hair is thin in front rogaine starts dripping & hair look wet. Any tips on proper application?

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## rupe

> Hey Tracy.. since my hair is thin in front rogaine starts dripping & hair look wet. Any tips on proper application?


 Massage it in as soon as you apply it to avoid dripping. Not much you can do about the hair look wet unfortunately  :Frown:

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## Tracy C

Hi ravegrover,

There isn't much you can do about dripping accept make sure you massage it into your scalp.  It does dry evenetually but it takes a long time.  This is why I recommend the foam.  It stinks that Rogaine foam is not available in your area.   :Frown:

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## PatientlyWaiting

Yes it does work. But it takes a different time for different people to see results.

For example, some claim to see results in the first 3-6 months. Others claim to see results in under a year or within a year. Personally, i'm starting to see regrowth AFTER more than a year, 15 months to be exact. I've also been on finasteride for 15 months. 

The most important thing is, that while it took a while for my hair to start regrowing, I had a set back because I was also diagnosed with Alopecia Areata in the middle of last year, on top of my already MPB. My AA has been treated and it's getting better, my Dermatologist has injected me with some steroid, I forgot what it was, I think it's a cortisone injection steroid, i've gotten injections on 4 different appointments. The injection seems to not only make my AA better, but I think it's aiding fin and minoxidil in my fight with MPB. 

The bald patches infected by AA went from being completely bald, hair less, just skin, to now it's really filling up and doctors say I am lucky I have responded so well, they say it doesn't work at all for some people. They actually asked me if I wanted to be part of a study, they're trying to find a cure for AA, they wanna see why it works on some people and doesn't work on other people.

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## Tracy C

> Personally, i'm starting to see regrowth AFTER more than a year, 15 months to be exact. I've also been on finasteride for 15 months.


 I am glad to hear that you are finally beginning to see results.  Androgenetic Alopecia is hard enough to deal with.  I cannot imagine how awful it would be to be stricken with Alopecia Areata as well.  My heart goes out to you.

Anything you could do to help doctors figure out how to treat Alopecia Areata more effectively would be a wonderful thing.

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## Inder

hi- i have been using minoxidil 5% for about 7 1/2 months and the only thing that i have noticed is that my hair loss that stabilized. i guess with the balance hair i have i can effectively use my hair building fiber!

i found a small clinic in sri lanka called Trendz that sells a product called Renokin. i read the book they had and looks interesting. i might pick up 3 bottles of it before i leave the country.

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## 2020

Here is a graph that says everything:

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## DepressedByHairLoss

> Yes it does work. But it takes a different time for different people to see results.
> 
> For example, some claim to see results in the first 3-6 months. Others claim to see results in under a year or within a year. Personally, i'm starting to see regrowth AFTER more than a year, 15 months to be exact. I've also been on finasteride for 15 months. 
> 
> The most important thing is, that while it took a while for my hair to start regrowing, I had a set back because I was also diagnosed with Alopecia Areata in the middle of last year, on top of my already MPB. My AA has been treated and it's getting better, my Dermatologist has injected me with some steroid, I forgot what it was, I think it's a cortisone injection steroid, i've gotten injections on 4 different appointments. The injection seems to not only make my AA better, but I think it's aiding fin and minoxidil in my fight with MPB. 
> 
> The bald patches infected by AA went from being completely bald, hair less, just skin, to now it's really filling up and doctors say I am lucky I have responded so well, they say it doesn't work at all for some people. They actually asked me if I wanted to be part of a study, they're trying to find a cure for AA, they wanna see why it works on some people and doesn't work on other people.


 That's interesting that they used steroid injections to regrow hair lost due to Alopecia Areata.  I often wonder why they don't at least try to use steroid injections to regrow hair in people suffering from male pattern baldness.

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## Baldasaurus

but say you're balding at the top front of the scalp and there is peach fuzz there. If you use minoxidil 5% solution once a day before bed and nizoral 2% shampoo, will the peach fuzz turn into normal hair?

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## ChrisM

> but say you're balding at the top front of the scalp and there is peach fuzz there. If you use minoxidil 5% solution once a day before bed and nizoral 2% shampoo, will the peach fuzz turn into normal hair?


 That depends.. results vary on how long the male pattern baldness  has been on the individual..five years, ten years or maybe less.. in terms of peach fuzz has been there. And the severity of the baldness in terms of the Norwood scale


 How long the hair follicles have been miniaturized and dormant in their growth phase might determine how responsive the treatment is or in some cases the peach fuzz might never darken and grow into full hair.   The length of time the DHT has bound itself to the receptors in the hair follicle and to undo the damage might be quicker in some and in others it might be a slower process to rectify.

If it sheds and grows back you will have your answer. But based on the severity minoxidil 5% is to be used twice a day, nizoral twice a week and finasteride 1 mg once a day.

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## Baldasaurus

> That depends.. results vary on how long the male pattern baldness  has been on the individual..five years, ten years or maybe less.. in terms of peach fuzz has been there. And the severity of the baldness in terms of the Norwood scale
> 
> 
>  How long the hair follicles have been miniaturized and dormant in their growth phase might determine how responsive the treatment is or in some cases the peach fuzz might never darken and grow into full hair.   The length of time the DHT has bound itself to the receptors in the hair follicle and to undo the damage might be quicker in some and in others it might be a slower process to rectify.
> 
> If it sheds and grows back you will have your answer. But based on the severity minoxidil 5% is to be used twice a day, nizoral twice a week and finasteride 1 mg once a day.


 Thanks Chris. Well im currently 17, turning 18 in a month and i started noticing my hairline receding at late 15. I am currently between a NW2 and NW3. I got a haircut about a month ago and thats when i noticed all of the peach fuzz replacing the terminal hair that used to be on my hairline. So i havent even been balding for 5 years. With this being said, do you think the vellus hairs will go terminal?

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## win200

So I asked this elsewhere, but haven't gotten an answer, so maybe someone here can chime in: exactly how bad is the shed, typically? Does it just blow your hair out, or is it relatively minor? I just want to brace myself for how bad I'm gonna look.

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## rdawg

> So I asked this elsewhere, but haven't gotten an answer, so maybe someone here can chime in: exactly how bad is the shed, typically? Does it just blow your hair out, or is it relatively minor? I just want to brace myself for how bad I'm gonna look.


 shed for what? Fin? or Minoxidil?

for Minoxidil, I havent heard of any massive/major shed, at most a minor shed.

Dont expect massive results from minoxidil, the best receptor may gain a little bit of ground and thickness, but you wont be getting a full head of hair back for sure.

Finasteride the shed varies but on average it's not bad, i'm shedding on it now but it's fairly minor, noticeable but minor. Not clumps of hair coming out of my head or anything.

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## rdawg

> Thanks Chris. Well im currently 17, turning 18 in a month and i started noticing my hairline receding at late 15. I am currently between a NW2 and NW3. I got a haircut about a month ago and thats when i noticed all of the peach fuzz replacing the terminal hair that used to be on my hairline. So i havent even been balding for 5 years. With this being said, do you think the vellus hairs will go terminal?


 on average some do grow back, I havent heard or read anything guarenteeing all vellus hairs to return to normal, but most say that some will get reinforced.

the earlier or bigger the vellus hair, probably more likely they'll work and they give you a bigger chance to regrow than slick bald spots that's for sure!

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## Trapstyle

(18 year old)3 month results using rogaine 5%. Had my doubts but after shredding a couple weeks it started growing back thicker. First pic 2 weeks using rogaine second pic 3 months later.

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## GroughBack

Looks much better Congratulations, more often than not minox causes the miniaturization of follicles over time(more hair but vellus hair only) does nothing for thicker looking hair in the front, while the crown looks slightly better from the vellus hair. Glad its working for you!

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## Ahab

> Hello All:
> 
> I'm NW III with thinning hair in top frontal region. Take finasteride daily so have been retaining hair.
> 
> I'm wondering if I should start Minoxidil 5%. I'm prepared to do it sincerely twice a day if it will re-grow or thicken hair in front. 
> 
> Please let me know if anyone has had success with this product and whether it causes noticeable improvement. 
> 
> I have been unable to see good before/after pics on internet. Thank you all!!
> ...


 I don't believe Rogaine actually causes permanently dormant hair follicles to grow hair again.

Rather, Rogaine likely keeps follicles that are already functioning normally (i.e., not yet killed off by mpb) in the growth phase of the hair life cycle (Google that).  If, say, 20% on average of a person's living hair follicles are in the resting phase at any one time, then Rogaine will wake them up and keep them awake, so you'll get maybe a 25% increase in density because all your follicles are producing hair at the same time.

But then after a while, the body adjusts (follicles, like people, need their sleep), and the Rogaine loses its effect.  In my case, Rogaine started losing its effectiveness after a few years.

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## GroughBack

I think you're right on, very rare that rogaine shows those type of results, glad its working for him. I know tons of people that swear they would have more hair if they never started rogaine. But once in a while, you get traps response.

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