Minoxidil

The human hair of men and women should appear full and healthy to signal: I am healthy and beautiful! Unfortunately, hair is also very susceptible to hormonal influences from the body, but these are not pathological. The result: hair falls out in women in the crown area and in men on the side of the head (receding hairline). The active ingredient can provide a solution to this problem Minoxidil be.

What is Minoxidil?

But what is Minoxidil? Originally, Minoxidil was used as a reserve drug for high blood pressure. As a "side effect" it has been found that this remedy also helps against predisposition-related hair loss (androgenetic alopecia).

You can stop hair loss in 70-80% of cases with the preparation, but you have to invest at least three to four months of treatment time for an effect, because the hair has a growth cycle that corresponds to this period.

The hair then grows back thicker and stronger. New hair growth occurs in around a third of users. Women can hope for hair loss stabilization in the crown area. There are two preparations in Germany: Minoxidil for women with 2% active ingredient and Minoxidil for men with an active ingredient concentration of 5%.

Pharmacological effect

The working principle of Minoxidil corresponds to the effect of the reserve remedy against high blood pressure. Because the drug dilates capillaries in the body and increases blood flow, researchers have found that this can also have beneficial effects on hair.

Applied to the scalp, the drug dilates the blood vessels and promotes blood circulation. This makes hair grow back thicker and stronger. The supplying vessels of the hair are thus better nourished in the long run and strengthened step by step. The shortened cycle of hair growth becomes longer and hair stays in the scalp longer. Hair follicles that are already deserted are partially reactivated and produce strong hair again.

Due to the way Minoxidil works, there must of course be a hereditary hair loss, in which the hair reacts sensitively to the body's own testosterone, which leads to problems at the hair roots. In the case of so-called diffuse hair loss, which occurs due to nutrient deficiencies such as iron deficiency, vitamin deficiencies or thyroid problems, the cause should always be clarified, since in this case hair loss is only one of many symptoms.

Medical application & use

The application of Minoxidil is simple: Men apply the active ingredient to the upper scalp and in the area of ​​the so-called "receding hairline" and the tonsure. Women massage the drug into the crown of the head. In the first time during the treatment, until the hair restorer works, more hair can fall out because the hair is practically renewed.

The liquid solution can be massaged into the scalp either once or twice a day. That is up to the patient, because massaging the solution on the scalp can dry it out. The reason for this is the rather poor solubility of minoxidil, which is why the active ingredient has to be dissolved in propylene glycol, ethanol and water.

In order to make the drug more and more tolerable, chemists are researching to improve tolerability and reduce the possible side effects. One of the products of this research is the Minoxidil foam, which is said to penetrate better into the scalp and is said to be much easier to digest.

You can find your medication here

Risks & side effects

But where there is an effect, side effects can of course also occur: Neither pregnant women should Minoxidil use, nor people who are hypersensitive to the active ingredient.

Some patients experience excessive hair growth on the body after using the drug, this is referred to as hypertrichosis. A careful weighing of risks and side effects is also important here. Using minoxidil at the same time as other topical agents may affect its effectiveness and is not recommended.

Neuroleptics should not be taken together with minoxidil because this can increase the effectiveness of the hair restorer. However, once started and used over a period of several months, the patient should keep taking the drug. Otherwise the regained hair falls out again, which would be a shame.