# Men's Hair Loss > Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic >  Horrible side effects of minoxidil?

## z06guy

Hey guys I've been on minoxidil for a little over a month now. I've noticed that this product is somehow making my skin feel dull and lifeless around the hairline, i'll be damned but I think it's taking the collagen out of the skin near the hairline, My ears are kinda red and feel swollen a little bit, I'm seriously thinking that minoxidil doesn't go very well with me.

Recently people have been telling me that I look a little tired... However nothing has changed in my routine except for adding minoxidil and taking hairomega 3 in 1 multivitamin. 

From what I've read minoxidil (foam or liquid) can potentially cause many side effects including black rings under eyes, wrinkles around forehead, and many many other things. the thing that scares me is that it pretty much will grow back your hair at the expense of making you look older....

I found this info just now from what other people have posted about their experience with minoxidil. 

http://www.publichealthforums.com/h-33-minoxidil.html

Can I have your experiences with minoxidil?

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## clandestine

I've heard similarly. Perhaps try nanoxidil, rather than minoxidil. Apparently there is a lesser instance of sides.

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## z06guy

Thanks I'll look into nanoxidil. 

Currently I think I'm still 'normal looking' but I'd hate to look back and say "damn this sh*t is aging me so quickly, I wish I didn't start minoxidil!" Like I said earlier it seems like foam or liquid are the same story... The liquid is just worse because of potential layers of minoxidil flaking on the scalp and the greasy hair...

First I was scared off of using finasteride (for many reasons) and now minoxidil is apparently no saint either...

damn it I'm a little upset.

Tracy if you're reading this I'd like to see what you think of it.

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## Jcm800

I've been slapping Minox foam on my hairline for over ten months now-can't say I've noticed any rapid ageing facially-can't say I've noticed much regrowth at all either..

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## z06guy

> I've been slapping Minox foam on my hairline for over ten months now-can't say I've noticed any rapid ageing facially-can't say I've noticed much regrowth at all either..


 I'd probably think that it's probably helping you keep what you have at least.

Maybe that website I found with all the people complaining is a hoax? I dunno, but I've read that minoxidil can age your face and cause a lot of different issues on a few different blogs and forums. It's really unsettling since I think it's affecting me. =(

I can only hope that gradually discontinuing use over the course of a few weeks will allow me to keep my hairline....

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## Jcm800

Hmm well when I started using it my hairline was in fairly good shape, a month after it was thinned quite noticeably. And it never came back, don't think it will now. 
I had a quick look at that page, perhaps I'm lucky and get away with those complaints, starting to wonder if I'm using fake stuff too, but I think it's real.

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## z06guy

Okay I just thought of something else.

I've always been a side sleeper. However for the past two weeks whenever I get up in the morning I have these tiny little wrinkles on the sides of my face. I thought "wtf I must have slept bad" but it's been happening every single night since.... I'm now certain THAT is because of minoxidil. 

I'm very unhappy about this... Just when I thought i had a good little regimen going it's gets shot down! Maybe older folks don't notice these subtle changes to their body but as a young guy with little to no wrinkles on my face this past month has been hell. I honestly thought I was over thinking that I look older and more tired but this has happened to MANY MANY folks out there. 

This quote pretty much sums it up.

"do not let vanity destroy your health.minoxidil will not only cause irreversible skin damage where applied but all skin because it travels your blood vessels, that damage is mainly the end of collagen production, it will also cause irreversible damage to blood vessel walls this is why it was stop being used for high blood pressure for which it was made.that is why people get the dark cicles under their eyes and easy bruising.these effects vary depending on the amount of drug absorbed and is very easy to have too much absorbed,applied to wet skin or after washing area even after dry if pores are still enlarged,destressed skin such as sunburn,dandruff or allergic reaction to any ingredient in product,higher percentages of minoxidil in product,hands used to apply it comming into contact with mouth or nose,through the hands if cuts or hangnails,from head to pillow to mouth or nose if you go to bed after applied i could go on.i have seen people who used this drug only a few weeks,absorbed too much and it damaged their blood vessels so bad that wearing sandals leaves bruises where the straps are and this damage is permanent,have also seen people who sleep with their face on their arm or hand or thin pillow between have bruises on their cheekbone area or where pressure is."

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## clandestine

Don't think it's anything you're doing. I have read instances of minoxidil sides, including black bags under eyes, aged face, etc. Haven't seen many people on these forums report any, though.

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## topcat

I have used minoxidil off and on during the years and I believe I first started back around 1980 before it was even approved. But a few years ago I tried the rogaine foam and I was mortified as about 1 week later I looked like I had aged 100 years. That was pretty scary and I stopped immediately. It's not worth any amount of hair. But I'm sure others don't have that same experience but it's worth mentioning and monitoring over time if you are using the product.

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## Tracy C

> From what I've read...


 As with any other medication, some people are allergic to the active ingredient.  Your description sounds like an allergic reaction, not a side effect.  If what you are describing were actually side effects of the medicine, women would not go anywhere near it.  Many women have to use Minoxidil, more than you realize.  I have been using Minoxidil myself for over four years - and I easily look ten to fifteen years younger than I actually am.

The actual possible side effects of Minoxidil are very mild and well tolerated by most who use it.  Most who use Minoxidil do not experience the possible side effects at all.  However, if you are allergic to the active ingredient, and it sounds like you are, you should not use it at all.

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## z06guy

Tracy you always have such wise posts. Perhaps you are right, maybe I am allergic to the active ingredient. Perhaps I even fall into a 'unlucky' category where it seems that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. I'm just really frustrated that I will have to stop taking it.

I'm glad the minoxidil isn't aging you like it seems to be doing to some others. If you look ten to fifteen years younger than your age and you've been on minoxidil for four years it kinda shoots down that collagen depletion talk I keep hearing all over the place.

Well I still have a good head of hair so I have time to think of the right regimen. I'll be lurking around the forums more often now.

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## VictimOfDHT

People used to always tell me I looked at least 7 or more years younger than my age despite the fact that I had been using Minox for many years. Now some people still think I look a bit younger than my age although I have way more gray hairs (thanks to the unhappiness in my life and many difficult circumstances, and yeah, the HUGE STRESS that HAIR LOSS has caused ).

It seems like there are people out there who have nothing better to do but  find something wrong with this product or that. 
So Minox makes you look older !! And baldness doesn't ??? I prefer to look 20 years older than my age WITH HAIR, than to look 20 years younger without hair. But is it even possible to look younger than your age when you're bald/ing ???
If they made Minox juice I'd drink too.

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## z06guy

> It seems like there are people out there who have nothing better to do but  find something wrong with this product or that. 
> So Minox makes you look older !! And baldness doesn't ??? I prefer to look 20 years older than my age WITH HAIR, than to look 20 years younger without hair. But is it even possible to look younger than your age when you're bald/ing ???
> If they made Minox juice I'd drink too.


 Ahh, a mental midget has arrived. How nice.

I wouldn't be here posting this if minoxidil didn't have a negative effect on me.  (DURRRRR)

If you have no side effects from minoxidil that's good for you. I hope it allows you to keep your hair with no side effects. Obviously some people have side effects and some people do not.

Just this week I've noticed very faint rings under my eyes, itching eyelids, swelling of the ears, fine wrinkles around the hairline area where I've been applying minoxidil for the past month, also since I'm a side sleeper on my pillow I've noticed some fine wrinkles in the morning when I wake up. Maybe the minoxidil that has rubbed off on the pillow from my hair has been getting in contact with my skin and taking out the collagen (just a theory). I've also heard that minoxidil enters your system through your scalp so that is how a lot of these side effects occur (including accelerated aging). I've been noticing shoulder pain/chest pain for the past week as well.. whether that is from minoxidil or not I do not know. Fact is I've noticed a difference, my friends say I look more 'tired and exhausted' when in fact nothing has changed in my life except for recently adding minoxidil to my regimen.  

I'm 24 but a lot of people I first meet think that I'm much younger. I literally have a nw1.5/nw2 hairline and I have no visible wrinkles on my face. I've never had an allergic reaction to anything in the past and it's funny how my allergic reactions are strikingly similar to the side effects that others report.


I'm gonna bottom line this so I can throw away the other four bottles I have and wash this crap out of my bed sheets with a powerful detergent.. I won't be using minoxidil and I won't be recommending it to anyone else either. However I'm not going to parade around this forum talking about the negative side effects it's had on me like some other members do with finasteride. It'll stay on this thread. Please no more ridiculous comments like the one above from mental midget.

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## topcat

z26guy, don't sweat and I'm sure your not. Some people just have a problem with too much information for whatever reason. Your post will help someone along the way as they make the connection to what is happening to them and this medication. Will it happen to everyone of course not but it's always good to have as much information as possible.

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## z06guy

That's very true topcat. 

I'm not against minoxidil at all. If it wasn't for my adverse reaction to it I'd still be taking it. I encourage anyone to try it to see if it works for them without side effects. If you experience side effects just stop using it.

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## Tracy C

> I literally have a nw1.5/nw2 hairline...


 If you are a NW2 or less, you do not need to be using Minoxidil anyways.  Minoxidil is not appropriate for a male who is only a NW2.  Minoxidil does have possible side effects, but your description sounds more like an allergic reaction than side effects.  If you haven't already stopped using it, you should stop.  You don't need it anyways.

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## Tracy C

> I think it's time I take out the rights for the domain Minoxidilhelp.com


 Oh my.  Does that mean you are going to become a Minoxidil scare monger?  There is already more than enough false information available on the internet about Minoxidil.  There is no need to add more.  Yes, there are possible side effects - and they are well known.  Those possible side effects are generally mild and well tolerated.  Most people who use the medication do not experience the possible side effects.  Some people are allerigic to either the active or inactive ingredients.  Most people are not.

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## sausage

I have just bought some Regaine foam, woop woop, lets see if this stuff really works.

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## Tracy C

> ... lets see if this stuff really works.


 Some words of advice...  Run you hand under cold water to avoid the medicine melting in your hand before you can apply it to your scalp.  Make sure to massage the medicine into your scalp and not into your hair.  Focus your application of the medicine on your vertex and mid-anterior areas.  You can dry the medicine off your fingers at your hair line if you want to.  Then wash your hands.

Start slow and work your way up to the full twice per day dose.  Use it only once per day every other day for two or three weeks.  Then use it once per day every day for another two or three weeks.  Then use it twice per day every day.  After four to six months of using it twice per day every day, you should start seeing small peach fuzz hairs starting to grow.  After about a full year of using it twice per day, those small peach fuzz hairs start looking like normal hairs.  It takes time but if you stick with it, it should work.  It worked great for me.

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## topcat

ZD  something as simple as a small change in the formulation can cause devastating effects. Case in point I was using minoxidil about 30 years ago. Yes thats right before it was approved like only a handful of others. I never experienced a problem. My experience has also included Xadrox 12.5% when it was first formulated and then I believe it went to 15% no problems. I used Peter Proctors formulation back in the 80s no problem. But with Rogaine foam it was a complete horror show as the effect on my face was immediate and thankfully it went away shortly after stopping. I no longer use topicals as my experience is they are a waste of time and money but that is just my opinion.

I also suggest anyone looking for advice to ask the person giving it about their own experience along with their age and how long they have followed this industry as it means something.

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## Tracy C

> I also suggest anyone looking for advice to ask the person giving it about their own experience along with their age and how long they have followed this industry as it means something.


 I am the same age as Spencer.  I have been using Minoxidil for over four years.  I use Rogaine foam in the mornings and generic women's Minoxidil in the evenings.  I have not experienced any side effects and I have regrown a lot of hair with Minoxidil.  I have not been following the industry as long as you - but I am absolutely not a rookie about treating hair loss.

Obviously you have a problem with me.  You have absolutely no legitimate reason to but you do anyways.  Therefore I suggest that you don't even bother reading my posts.  You seem to mis-read them anyways.  I participate in this forum and the Women's Hair Loss Project forum because I want to give back in appreciation for all the help I have received from the American Hair Loss Association.  My experience has been good - and sharing that good experience is every bit as important as the gripes you prefer to share.  I am not going to stop trying to help others who have suffered with hereditary hair loss.  So it would be best if you just pretend I don't even exist.  I'm going to pretend you don't exist.

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## topcat

Tracy I think that anyone that repeatedly guides those in search of answers to a recommended list are misguided. I wouldnt call it a problem its called an opinion. It doesnt mean I find fault with the list owner or that it generates revenue as I could honestly care less. But I do know for a fact that the list does in fact have doctors that knowingly have caused damage not because they were trying to help someone but out of greed. There are just ways of doing things that protect the patient and put the patients well being before anything else. These things were not done and its not up to me to write about the experiences of others. I am very well aware of the difference between a poor outcome and plain negligence.

Using the list as part of ones research seems like sound advice but only as part of their research which I never see stated. In my opinion the few clinics in the world that are at the very top in skill, patient care, and ethics are not even on the list.

I do not visit the forums to cheerlead as I simply view it as wasted effort when good results speak for themselves. So to each their own if that is your preference. Im not here to paint a rosy picture Im here because I believe it is important for me to share what I know with others. I could easily move on with the progress I have made and will continue to make in my own repair. But I have no intentions of taking that easy road and just walking away. It simply is not going to happen. It doesnt mean Im a pessimist quite the opposite as I use adversity to propel me forward. But I state reality which Im sure many in the industry do not like to see.

Im not big on material items in my life. I enjoy health, good nutrition, close family and friends as that is happiness for me. With that being said it is my every intention to help a few repair patients somehow, someway to right the wrongs that have been made by those in the industry that consider themselves doctors but in reality are whores to the almighty dollar. You see this is what happens when good intentions are paired with loads of cash often the later wins out. May what goes around come around and Im sure it will.

And I agree its best for you to ignore my posts.

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## HelpROGER

Dont worry about King Topcat Tracy C,  hes a bitter old hair transplant victim who wishes there were people like you around when he was first thinking about having a hair transplant. He was burnt by bad doctors and now thinks he knows everything there is to know about hair transplants and doctors. Its a little sad really.  That list and this site literally saved my life and I know for a fact,  that this forum  has helped more people then Topcat can ever hope to. You have a great attitude Tracy C and your positive and honest  help is important. Dont let King Topcat get to you. All hail King Topcat, King of the forums! :Smile:

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## topcat

ZD here is something worth mentioning. We can go back 7-8 years ago and there were doctors on some of these forums that were actually recommending patients slather minoxidil all over their bodies daily for sometimes months before a bodyhair transplant and you can bet that those same doctors are on a recommended list although I will say not the one associated with this forum. Please tell me this is not negligence. The same goes on today with hair plucking, Acell and all the other crap. It’s just the way many in the ht industry work and as the casualties are long forgotten the pattern keeps repeating.

You will be hounded off the forums and no one will search for your message and that is just the way it is, so good luck if you decided to just move on.

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## stressdfella

gr8 ! Aftr propecia, nw i cnt use minox either

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## sausage

Been taking this minoxidil crap for a month now. Does not really cause me any issues as my hair is buzzed short and the foam version is so much better than the liquid version.

I think it does leave flakeyness on the scalp though, maybe I need to rub it in better :s

I expect nothing from this treatment. I expect to give it 6 months max and if nothing changes then I won't bother anymore. 

Us hairloss sufferer's don't really have any other options, those guys at minoxidil must be laughing at us, raking in all our money.

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## mpb47

z06guy-

I first heard this from guys on the boards about 10 years ago. I think only under certain conditions it happens and is probably more rare than FIN sides.
I have used minox since about 96 or 97 and never had any issues until my health declined about 5 years ago. Also I think my problems were overuse as a bottle would only last me 2 weeks tops. I was having good results though.

Long story short:
For me 5% will cause problems- I switched to 2% and things got much better. Back in Nov I stopped completely for 3 months (for other heath reasons) and noticed even more improvements, but started losing too much hair so back on it. I was also recently put on T replacement which greatly speed up my crown loss so I starting using 5% again. Eye puffiness/etc started coming back so I use 2% most of the time and 5% a couple of times a week now and hoping for the best.

Switch to 2% and see if things improve. It doesn't grow as much hair but better than doing nothing.

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## Zukias

I've used minoxidil (not regaine) for 2 years and I've not noticed any noticeable side effects. Interestingly though, now it's been mentioned... my skin round the right temple is slightly rough. I don't notice the same with the left temple though. Surely both temples would be affected if it was the minoxidil causing that (since I use it on both temples).

But anyway, I always use my index fingers to spread the minoxidil after applying without washing my hands afterwards like you're supposed to (woops)  and theres nothing wrong with the skin on my finger tips. Bearing in mind I've been doing this for 2 years now... leads me to believe it's a load of crap that it ages your skin.

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## baldozer

> I am the same age as Spencer.  I have been using Minoxidil for over four years.  I use Rogaine foam in the mornings and generic women's Minoxidil in the evenings.  I have not experienced any side effects and I have regrown a lot of hair with Minoxidil.  I have not been following the industry as long as you - but I am absolutely not a rookie about treating hair loss.
> 
> Obviously you have a problem with me.  You have absolutely no legitimate reason to but you do anyways.  Therefore I suggest that you don't even bother reading my posts.  You seem to mis-read them anyways.  I participate in this forum and the Women's Hair Loss Project forum because I want to give back in appreciation for all the help I have received from the American Hair Loss Association.  My experience has been good - and sharing that good experience is every bit as important as the gripes you prefer to share.  I am not going to stop trying to help others who have suffered with hereditary hair loss.  So it would be best if you just pretend I don't even exist.  I'm going to pretend you don't exist.


 Your attitude reminds me of the joke where a husband calls her wife saying, honey be careful, one driver is driving the wrong way, she replies, one? I can see hundreds of them  :Wink: !

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## Borealis

I've been applying Regaine for two months now, can't say I've noticed any skin aging tbh, infact I've had people comment on my skin looking better.

I have noticed a lot of new hairs sprouting but I'm pretty sure those were ones I lost during my shed anyway haha.

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## nhlpro11

can anyone recovered from minoxidil. Please let me know how and how long it took. Thanks

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## LusciousLadyLocks

My skin looks better than it did before minoxidil, but that's because I put on my evening lotion every night now that I muck with my hair, too.

I'm...dubious of this, honestly.  There are guys who have been slapping it on their faces for beard growth for years, and none have reported this problem.  It can be quite irritating to the skin, though.

Minoxidil is a sucky blood pressure medication because it's halflife is so short, not because it was aging people.

But hair loss may be associated with premature skin aging because of the estrogen/testosterone balance.  I'm going a bit off the cuff here, but higher levels of estrogen binding to estrogen beta receptors means younger-looking skin and prolongs the anagen phase.  So issues with cutaneous balance might make you look older.  Anyway, I've certainly looked younger after starting to use a phytoestrogen cream (no feminization with that, gentlemen, and no breast cancer risk, ladies--it's receptor beta selective and doesn't trigger receptor alpha).

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