For ladies and men with thinning hair, when you wake up every morning, various anti-hair loss and hair growth methods such as oral, topical, and hair transplant are frequently searched. Today, I will introduce to you a commonly used topical preparation for treating hair loss. ——Minoxidil.

1. What kind of medicine is minoxidil?

Minoxidil was developed in the 1950s through structural modification while studying diaminobenzidine to treat gastric ulcers. It was used in research to treat hypertension and was approved for marketing in 1979.
Minoxidil’s official clinical debut is as an antihypertensive drug, often used to treat severe or resistant hypertension and renal hypertension.
In the process of using minoxidil to treat high blood pressure, clinicians discovered that the drug could cause hirsutism. After further research and development, minoxidil was finally approved for marketing as a topical preparation for the treatment of hair loss in 1988.

At present, topical minoxidil is mainly used to treat hair loss diseases such as male and female androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. Its therapeutic mechanism is not very clear. It is currently believed that minoxidil can directly stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of hair follicle epithelial cells; open potassium Ion channels promote blood vessel formation and increase local blood flow; promote hair growth by extending the growth phase of hair follicles and shortening the resting phase.

2. Why does hair loss worsen in the early stages of treatment?

A healthy hair has its own growth cycle (growth phase, catagen phase and telogen phase). The hair in the anagen phase will continue to grow; then it will enter the catagen phase and stop growing; when it enters the telogen phase, the hair will eventually fall off, and at the same time a New anagen hair will also gradually grow and grow out of the scalp. About 90% of the hair follicles in a normal human scalp are in the growth phase, and the resting phase and the catagen phase account for about 10% and less than 1% respectively.

 

When treated with minoxidil, a large amount of hair in the telogen phase is transferred to the anagen phase, that is, more hair in the telogen phase falls off, and new hair grows in its place, resulting in increased hair loss. This phenomenon usually occurs 2 to 6 weeks after starting treatment with topical minoxidil and subsides within a few weeks. It is a normal phenomenon and is also a sign that minoxidil begins to work. Not everyone will encounter the phenomenon of worsening early hair loss. If you do, don’t be nervous. This phenomenon is only temporary. Only when the old hair falls off can the new hair that has been secretly growing deep in the scalp grow back. Therefore, Mino Dil needs to be used consistently to see results.

3. Problems with using treatment courses

Sufficient clinical trials have confirmed that minoxidil has a good effect on hair loss, but long-term use is required to maintain the effect. The shorter the hair loss time and the smaller the area, the better the prognosis. There are many factors that affect hair loss, including genetic factors, endocrine factors, diet, stress, external hair care products, etc. Therefore, the treatment of hair loss requires comprehensive treatment and cannot just rely on a bottle of minoxidil. After minoxidil treatment has achieved a certain effect, if the real cause of hair loss cannot be corrected, hair loss is likely to occur again after minoxidil is discontinued.

4. Adverse reaction issues

Common adverse reactions of topical minoxidil are mainly skin irritation reactions, that is, dryness, scaling, itching and redness at the application site. Some patients may experience symptoms such as scalp dryness, scaling, and scalp itching during use. Patch tests have shown that for most patients, the main cause of skin irritation is the propylene glycol solvent in the minoxidil solution. , rather than minoxidil itself[2]. Therefore, when using minoxidil, when skin irritation occurs, you need to be patient and continue treatment, or you can use some drugs under the guidance of a doctor to help relieve uncomfortable symptoms.

This ends today’s article sharing. Are you satisfied? Or did you learn something new?
Welcome to experience it.