# Men's Hair Loss > Non Surgical Hair Replacement >  Applying Minoxidil on Long Hair

## spinny

Hi there,
I am starting to grow my hair long. Will minoxidil be less effective on long hair.


Regards,
Spinny.

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## Tracy C

I have shoulder length hair.  It is a bit more difficult to get the medicine down to your scalp where it needs to be but with practice you will be O.K..  It is more difficult with the foam that it is with the liquid.  I still use the foam in the morning though anyways because it is stealthy.  I find parting my hair in the different places I need to put it helps me get the medicine down to my scalp.

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## chrisis

Bringing up an old thread here, but I figure it's better than starting a new topic.

Tracy C, do you think foam would be best for my length of hair? Quite short but still some length for spike  :Smile: 

I'm finding it a pain to apply the minoxidil lotion in the morning and allow it enough time to soak in!

How much time does the foam take? What exactly is your routine? I may try using foam in the morning and the lotion at night.

It's important for me that the minoxidil does not get into my hair, as I like to style it nicely  :Smile:

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## Tracy C

> It's important for me that the minoxidil does not get into my hair, as I like to style it nicely


 It's important to get the medicine on your scalp.  You don't want to get it in your hair anyway.  It's impossible to prevent any from getting in your hair but you get the hang of it eventually.






> Tracy C, do you think foam would be best for my length of hair? Quite short but still some length for spike


 I like the foam.  It's just so much more convenient.  I use the foam in the morning because it is so much more convenient.  I use liquid Minoxidil in the evening because it is less expensive and convenience not as important.  If I can use the foam with my long hair you should be able to use it.






> How much time does the foam take? What exactly is your routine?


 I've never timed it but it dries very quickly.

I apply it with my hair towel dry damp and part my hair where I need to apply it.  Here is a page from Rogaine's site that describes it well.

http://www.rogaine.com/women/how-to-apply

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## chrisis

Thanks. I think I'll get the foam for my morning routine and do the liquid at night. Best of both worlds.  :Cool:

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## Jcm800

I've got messy/spikey hair dude and use foam am/pm - i actually find it helps to style it too, Wish it hadnt knocked out a lot of my hairline mind you - but there's sign's of life coming back, sloowly.

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## Jcm800

Also - and here is a shameless plug - i order my foam from http://www.minoxidil-direct.co.uk/ 

It costs me &#163;43.95 to get three months supply delivered from the States to the UK usually within six days, brilliant price and service  :Wink:

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## chrisis

Hey Jcm,

I've been on the minoxidil for about a month now and same here. I've noticed my hairline getting weaker and stray hairs in the bathroom  :Frown:  I just hope it comes back.

Whereabouts in the UK are you?

Thanks for the link and info.

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## Jcm800

Yeah it knocked my hairline for six - but i took the gamble and have to keep at it now shit or bust.

I'm down south in Oxford area mate. No worries re that link - it'll save you a fortune, plus it's pretty discreetly packaged as well, so thumb's up from me

They also supply Kirklands Minox too - which is very cheap, i've no experience of that tho.

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## chrisis

Cheers. Always good to meet UK people. 

So how old are you and what are your plans with your hair? Just using treatment or got any transplants planned?

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## Jcm800

Im knocking on a bit now lol, still youthful tho-or I was up until the last couple of years  :Frown: 

If I had the cash I'd have a Rooney but a TP is outta my reach financially so it's just Minox and a prayer really. Oh and Tocotrienols-but they fall into the prayer bracket anyway lol.

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## chrisis

Ahh well I'm prepared to do just about anything to get a hair transplant. I know someone going through the same thing so hoping to go together, share the pain! I reckon it should be under £10k, no matter how I finance it it'll be worth it to have my image and confidence back.

I'm counting down the days until I see Dr Feller in London in May!!!

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## Jcm800

Fair play mate-it's good that you're going along with someone else in the same position too, apart from this forum to off load on I can't share my anguish with anyone really-but there's some good people around on here.

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## chrisis

Yeah we're all here for each other  :Smile:

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## mathmoose

> Hey Jcm,
> 
> I've been on the minoxidil for about a month now and same here. I've noticed my hairline getting weaker and stray hairs in the bathroom


 


> Yeah it knocked my hairline for six - but i took the gamble and have to keep at it now shit or bust.


 Hi Guys,

I thought I'd post this here as it relates to these two statements.

To those that say their hairline got weaker after using Minoxidil, was Minoxidil actually being applied to the hairline area?

I'm intending to use Minoxidil on just my crown. Is there any way that my front hairline could still be affected or is it purely were the Minoxidil comes in contact with?

I hope this makes sense and appreciate any response.

Thanks,

Matt

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## Tracy C

Hi mathmoose,

Most of the guys you read who claim Minoxidil knocked out their hair line do not fully understand the treatment process or the medicine itself.  They try it on their hairline and when the normal shedding starts, they freak out and stop using the medicine, which is the worst thing you could do.  In reality, those guys knocked out their own hair lines because they didn't know what they are doing.  In reality, the hair that sheds out usually grows back thicker than it was before - if you continue to use the medicine.

With that said, it is best to use Minoxidil in the vertex and mid-anterior areas.  These are the areas that Minoxidil is most likely to do the most good.  Minoxidil does work in the hairline for women and some younger men - but you have to stick with it to have any hope of it working.  If you start using it and then freak out and stop, you will do more harm to your hair than good.

Also, if you do choose to use Minoxidil, it is best to taper up to the full twice a day dose.  If you do not know what that means, feel free to ask.

Take care,

Tracy

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## Jcm800

Yeah yeah I didnt know what I was doing. About a year later and those hairs never really did come back on my hairline. Im still applying this crap and still losing it.

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## Tracy C

Did you read the whole comment I wrote?

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## mathmoose

> Hi mathmoose,
> 
> Most of the guys you read who claim Minoxidil knocked out their hair line do not fully understand the treatment process or the medicine itself.  They try it on their hairline and when the normal shedding starts, they freak out and stop using the medicine, which is the worst thing you could do.  In reality, those guys knocked out their own hair lines because they didn't know what they are doing.  In reality, the hair that sheds out usually grows back thicker than it was before - if you continue to use the medicine.
> 
> With that said, it is best to use Minoxidil in the vertex and mid-anterior areas.  These are the areas that Minoxidil is most likely to do the most good.  Minoxidil does work in the hairline for women and some younger men - but you have to stick with it to have any hope of it working.  If you start using it and then freak out and stop, you will do more harm to your hair than good.
> 
> Also, if you do choose to use Minoxidil, it is best to taper up to the full twice a day dose.  If you do not know what that means, feel free to ask.
> 
> Take care,
> ...


 Thanks for your reply Tracy. I can see you're very helpful on this forum.

I've done my research and am well aware that after the initial application of Minoxidil you should expect some shedding. So I can see how some people applying Minoxidil to the hairline area would experience shedding there at first and possibly get freaked out of they weren't expecting it.

What I just want to clarify though is that if I apply Minoxidil to JUST my crown as thats only where I'm concerned about... could it still effect my front hairline?

Will the Minoxidil literally only affect the areas that it comes in to contact with?

Thanks,

Matt

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## Tracy C

> Will the Minoxidil literally only affect the areas that it comes in to contact with?


 Hi mathmoose,

Minoxidil only works where you put it.  Here is a link from Dr. Bernstein's web site for further clarification.

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medi...-on-minoxidil/

Take care,

Tracy

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## mathmoose

Thanks Tracy.

I'm considering using Minoxidil on just my crown and was concerned I might knock out my front hair line in the process!

But it seems that will not be the case.

Matt

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## BigThinker

Sorry to bump an old thread but I'm have pertinent problems.  I have some density albeit thinning and I'm having such a hard time getting minox on my entire scalp.

Currently, I employ the parting method, but with only 1 mL to apply, it's hard to get it applied to more than 5 lines/parts before the dropper is empty.  After that, I find that my hair is still greasy ,which is indicative it didn't get to my scalp (?).

The other method I've employed is, while my hair is still wet and "spiked" from a shower,   fill the dropper and run it all around my scalp pushing the dropper to my scalp the best I can.  It's so frustrating, and I'm sure I'm losing so much of the 1 mL dose.

Thoughts?  Should I apply 2 mL and assume I'll lose 1 mL in the application process? Should I be more diligent, and apply smaller amounts per line/part so that I can part my hair 10 or so different times?

One last thing:  The first couple times I used it, I found it left my hair feeling thick, and I loved it (even if it was fake thickness).  Now, my hair just seems greasy afterwards.  I don't know what's changed.  Maybe it depends how wet/dry your hair is?  Maybe it's indicative of how well of a job you're doing having it land on the scalp?

Sorry for the lengthy post.  Thanks in advance for any input.

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## Tracy C

> Sorry for the lengthy post.  Thanks in advance for any input.


 Just use 1ml and focus your application on the areas it can do the most good, the vertex and mid-anterior areas.  If your hair loss is greater than that pictured in the instructions for using Minoxidil, Minoxidil is not likely going to do you any good.

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## BigThinker

> Just use 1ml and focus your application on the areas it can do the most good, the vertex and mid-anterior areas.  If your hair loss is greater than that pictured in the instructions for using Minoxidil, Minoxidil is not likely going to do you any good.


 K.  Well I guess I will focus on getting the frontal lobe covered, which is where most of my issues are.  If it's true that fin works best on crown, I really should be fine in that area.

I'm not quite NW3, so I think I'm a legit candidate for minox -- assuming my MPB isn't too aggressive for treatment.

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## Tracy C

> I'm not quite NW3, so I think I'm a legit candidate for minox -- assuming my MPB isn't too aggressive for treatment.


 In general, both Minoxidil and Finasteride work best on the vertex and mid-anterior areas.  Not the hair line.  A small percentage of men can achieve regrowth in the hairline but that is not the norm.  If you do not have a problem in your vertex and mid-anterior areas, Minoxidil is probably not right for you.  Are you one of the guys participating in the dermaroller experiment?

If you want to use more than 1ml so you can cover a larger area, use the 2% womens formula - or use up to 2ml of the 5% formula once a day.  That way you can cover a larger area with less chances of increasing your chances of experiencing the possible negative side effects of Minoxidil.

Finasteride only arrests hair loss and allows hair that can grow back to grow back - but it does nothing to stimulate regrowth.

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## lepke

I noticed one minoxidil treatment with a long nose nozzle before, I would think that is perfect for people with long hair.

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