IS IT TRUE THAT MINOXIDIL HELP WITH HAIR LOSS?
When talking about hair loss / hair fall treatments with medication, apart from Finasteride medicine many of you might have heard of Minoxidil as well, however, if some of you never heard about this one before, that’s ok, let’s get to know it with me in this article.
Minoxidil was originally a medicine used to treat high blood pressure. There is a mechanism of action that is to help dilate blood vessels to reduce blood pressure. However, the side effect of the medicine is when taking it for a while will cause hair to grow. The reason is because when the blood flow is better, the hair roots get more nutrients as well. This side effect has become useful in the treatment of hair loss, and thinning hair, but the dosage used is less in order not to affect other aspects of the patients themselves.
THERE ARE 2 POPULAR FORMS OF MINOXIDIL: ORAL AND TOPICAL
Oral minoxidil, you might wonder how the two are different. What are the advantages and disadvantages? And which format should you choose, right? Let me put it this way. If we compare in terms of efficacy, it must be said that oral medicines are more effective than topical ones. But the disadvantage is that it may cause hair to grow all over the body because when we take the medicine, the blood was fed to both the hair on the head and the hair all over the body since it can’t be chosen to feed only the hair on the head alone. However, if we stop taking the medicine, those hairs will fall off on their own.
- Topical minoxidil has the advantage in that you can choose the desired area to apply directly to the scalp, but many people may find it fussy. Some brands can be sticky and most of the minoxidil topically contains alcohol as an ingredient which may cause irritation in people who are allergic or when used continuously for a long time.
CAN MINOXIDIL BE USED TO TREAT HAIR LOSS?
Another frequently asked question is whether Minoxidil can help treat hair loss, and the answer is it doesn’t. For the treatment of hereditary and hormonal hair loss or hair thinning that is more common in men, taking Finasteride is the most targeted treatment and Minoxidil is used together to enhance hair growth.
However, as it is known as a medicine, I don’t recommend that you buy it and use it yourself whether it is to be taken or applied externally. Please consult a medical professional first, to determine the correct, appropriate and safe treatment approach for each individual. For people who have already begun to have baldness. That is, there are no hair follicle cells in that area. Neither Finasteride nor Minoxidil can help. Therefore, hair transplantation is another option to solve this problem.