Minoxidil

Minoxidil is considered by many people to be the magic prescription for the treatment of hair loss. Its role is to expand local blood vessels, increase blood flow, make blood circulate on the scalp, and promote hair growth.

Studies have shown that 2% to 5% of minoxidil can increase vesicle DNA synthesis and hair follicle hypertrophy, and promote hair growth.

With Minoxidil people grow their hair madly after using minoxidil, minoxidil is a miracle medicine for prevention but it also has its limitations.

Minoxidil is a potassium channel opener, which relaxes vascular smooth muscles, expands small arteries, reduces peripheral resistance and blood pressure, and can also promote venous return.

In the 1950s, peptic ulcer was still a problem at the time. Upjohn (now incorporated into Pfizer) wanted to develop a drug for ulcers called minoxidil, but it was unexpectedly discovered after use. The effect of ulcer is not ideal, but the effect of treating high blood pressure is good, so it is used to treat high blood pressure. However, strong side effects appear after use, that is, the patient’s body hair (including hair) becomes more, denser, and thicker, so it is used to treat hair loss.

After research and development, the pharmaceutical company developed minoxidil for the treatment of seborrheic alopecia. The 2% concentration was approved by the US Food and Drug Safety Commission in 1988, and the 5% concentration was approved by the US Food and Drug Safety Commission in 1998. Approval of listing. Minoxidil can also be classified according to concentration, targeting different groups of people: 2% (with propylene glycol) or 3% (without propylene glycol) of minoxidil for women only, 5% of minoxidil for men and women, 15% Minoxidil is for men. The main domestic brands include Spiesn and Mandi, and overseas ones have completed construction.

In alopecia patients who are suitable for minoxidil, it usually takes 3 to 4 months to start to have an effect, and it is recommended to use it for more than one year to prevent relapse. According to the records in the United States, it is based on important factors such as correct use, adherence to use, and prescribed dosage. If there is no obvious effect after more than one year of use, it can be considered invalid.

The use of minoxidil is actually a bit like our “meals”. You have to persist in order to maintain your own health. If you don’t insist on using minoxidil, stopping the drug is equivalent to starving and the hair loss continues.Minoxidil does not help you grow your hair quickly, but it also takes time. It is also necessary to know that minoxidil must be used or combined with minoxidil under the guidance of a doctor to have a better effect. At the same time, hair loss and hair loss are not the same concept. Don’t think that there is too much hair loss, that is, hair loss. Hair has a normal physiological phenomenon.

Minoxidil promotes the redevelopment of hair follicles and speeds up hair metabolism, the hair that was originally resting period will fall off faster, but don’t worry too much.However, not everyone who uses Minoxidil will have a “frenzy period”, and the amount of hair loss and the duration of the “frenzy period” are different from person to person.Can women use minoxidil?According to the situation, the suitable hair loss can be female, which is mainly manifested by the gradual thinning of local hair and the slower rate of hair loss.

Studies have shown that the use of minoxidil in female hair loss patients can improve the scores of the body’s skin microscopy index, improve the quality of life, strengthen local blood flow, increase the rate of hair regeneration, and improve the prognosis.Minoxidil is a drug that can be purchased without a prescription, so many patients use it on their own and have various problems.

Finally, it is emphasized that it must be used under the guidance of a doctor, and that the correct method, dosage, time, etc. must be strictly in accordance with the doctor’s advice, and the treatment of hair loss is not limited to one drug, but also with inspections and unused drugs, and Personal physique and other factors, such as hair follicles, are also invisible to the naked eye. It is necessary to check for shrinkage and degree of shrinkage.

There are three main types of ineffective use of Minoxidil:

One is the lack of sulfotransferase activity in the body

Although the mechanism of minoxidil in the treatment of androgen alopecia is not fully understood, studies have confirmed that the effect of minoxidil on hair follicles is the effect of its sulfated metabolite minoxidil sulfate.

Therefore, the vulcanization of minoxidil is a key step that affects hair growth, but to complete the vulcanization, a very key substance is needed-sulfotransferase, which is an important regulatory factor in the sulfation process of minoxidil.

A study by Southern Medical University pointed out that the scalp activity of sulfotransferase in patients who are sensitive to minoxidil is higher than that in people who are not sensitive to minoxidil.

Therefore, if our body lacks sulfotransferase, it will be difficult for minoxidil to take effect in our body and promote our hair growth.

The second is forehead or M-type hair loss

If you have forehead alopecia, especially M-type alopecia, the use of minoxidil in this case can be said to have little effect.

Whether it is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or a large amount of clinical data, they have confirmed this view.

Third, the hair follicle atrophy is more serious

For the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in Nigeria, mild to moderate alopecia patients, drug treatment is recommended, while for moderate to severe alopecia patients, their own hair follicles shrink more severely. At this time, the use of drugs is no longer effective. Only hair transplant

Therefore, based on the above three reasons, many people may have no effect when using minoxidil, but don’t worry, there are still many ways to treat hair loss. As long as the right method is used, the hair problem can be improved. .

I also need to be reminded that if there are related hair loss problems, you must not use drugs without authorization, which may aggravate the hair loss. You must use symptomatic drugs under the guidance of a doctor, and you must strictly control the time of medication, usage and dosage, and other issues. Hair loss drugs are suitable for different types of hair loss, so some people use the same drug well, and some people useless. They all need to be combined with their personal circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How effective is Minoxidil?

Minoxidil has an effect on the crown of the head, but it has a poor treatment effect on forehead and temporal hair loss. You read it right, it’s true.

Ineffective for forehead alopecia: The biggest problem with male alopecia is that the hair on the forehead hairline becomes thinner or less, resulting in gradual thinning of the hair volume, or the hairline gradually moves back, on both sides of the forehead or above the sideburns. The most obvious receding area is the M-shaped hair loss area. The reason for this is that the hair follicles in the forehead area have a higher 5a reductase activity, which causes the hair follicles to be more affected by DHT. Excessive DHT makes the hair follicles shrink at a faster rate, which in turn leads to a variety of products. The effect of treating forehead hair loss is always unsatisfactory.

In fact, the oral and topical drugs currently used to treat hair loss have been mentioned in the label and description to improve the uncertainty of forehead hair loss; it is impossible to expect other non-drug properties to have much effect on the forehead. In the packaging and instructions of Rokin Minoxidil, it is clearly informed that Rokin is mainly for hair loss on the top of the head, and does not mention the effect on hair loss on the forehead.

Even in the overhead area, the effective rate of minoxidil is only 39%, at least this data was submitted to the US FDA.

In the invalid part of the patients, the hair follicles of the scalp do not contain “sulfatase”, and the “minoxidil sulfate” converted into “minoxidil sulfate” under the action of “sulfatase” has the effect of stimulating hair growth. .

Of course, don’t think that minoxidil is useless just because you see this data. On the contrary, from the perspective of external use, minoxidil is still the most effective drug at present. If it is matched with related oral agents (prescription drugs) or matched with hair transplants, then the effect of minoxidil is also very significant. (Telling some big truths, shivering.)

2. Who can not use Minoxidil?

Minoan does not affect systemic blood pressure, but the blood pressure is too low, and patients with heart disease should not use it externally. In addition, it cannot be used by mothers during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

3. How long does Minoxidil have an effect?

The growth of hair is relatively slow and requires a process, including the growth phase, the anagen phase and the telogen phase. After a few years of hair growth, it will enter a degenerative period and gradually fall off. After another 3-4 months of resting period, new hair will grow. In the first month of using minoxidil, the original hair fell off due to the anagen phase one after another, but at this time, the new hair is still in the resting phase and the symptoms seem to be more serious. However, if you insist on using it for 3-4 months, you will have better results, so you must have a certain amount of patience for the treatment of hair loss. Minoxidil does not promote the thickening and lengthening of the original hair, but makes new hair grow after the old hair ends its growth cycle.

4. What are the side effects of Minoxidil?

Any medicine has certain side effects. The possible side effects of minoxidil solution used in the treatment of androgen alopecia include: 1. Hirsutism, which is obvious on the face, neck, upper limbs and legs; 2. Tachycardia; 3. Allergy symptoms, including local skin redness, itching, etc.

Generally speaking, scalp itching, contact dermatitis, scalp redness, and erythema are actually all one thing, that is, propylene glycol allergy. This kind of allergy is usually a bit obvious in the initial stage, but most people will eventually adapt; dizziness, headache The main reason is the changes in blood circulation. Minoxidil is a local vasodilator, which can increase blood flow and cause problems similar to mild dizziness; hair loss increases, which is what we often call the shedding period, hair growth after medication There will be some changes in the cycle, and temporary hair loss will increase, which is a normal phenomenon; hirsutism is generally caused by improper use of drugs, and there is no direct relationship between split ends and minoxidil drugs.

What if there are serious side effects?

Occasionally ingestion of minoxidil solution can produce systemic reactions related to the vasodilator effect of minoxidil. Symptoms and signs of drug overdose are extremely similar to cardiovascular reactions accompanied by fluid retention, hypotension, and tachycardia. Fluid retention can be treated with suitable diuretics. Tachycardia can be controlled by taking adrenaline blockers. Symptoms of hypotension can be treated by intravenous injection of normal saline. Sympathomimetic drugs such as norepinephrine and epinephrine should be avoided because they will over-stimulate cardiac activity. Therefore, minoxidil must be used under the guidance of a doctor.

5. Is Minoxidil a hormone?

Hormonal drugs are drugs that use human or animal hormones (including organic substances with the same structure and principle of action as hormones) as their active ingredients. Hormonal drugs can be divided into glucocorticoids, adrenal cortex hormones, norepinephrine hormones, progesterone, estrogen, androgen, etc.

Minoxidil was first marketed in Canada as a drug for the treatment of hair loss in 1986, and was approved for marketing in the United States by the US FDA (Food and Drug Safety Commission) in 1987, and was approved as an OTC drug in 1996. Before listing, the FDA requires pharmaceutical companies to conduct a large number of clinical trials. If the hormone contains hormones, the FDA will not approve the listing. This is also true in our country.

6. After applying minoxidil for a period of time, the long hairs fell off again. Is it normal?

The external application is still within a course of treatment, unhealthy hair is falling, new healthy hair is growing, but it takes several cycles to grow thick and dark hair. It takes a certain process to treat hair loss, which needs to be relatively large. With his patience and perseverance, since he has grown small hair, it shows that the hair follicles have begun to recover.

7. Can I take other medicines while using minoxidil?

Correct answer: Orthostatic hypotension may still exist in patients who take peripheral vasodilators at the same time. If they are used externally with other drugs at the same time, drug interactions may occur, and they must be taken under the guidance of a physician.

8. Can I dye or perm my hair when using Minoxidil hair tonic?

Whether these practices can change the efficacy of minoxidil, we have no information in this regard. However, in order to avoid possible irritation of the hair, try to avoid dyeing and perming.

9. Can I wash my hair, swim or get caught in the rain after applying minoxidil hair tonic?

Can not. In order to achieve the best effect of the drug, the drug should be maintained on the scalp for at least four hours. After four hours, you can wash your hair, swim, or get caught in the rain.

10. Will Minoxidil be odorous and affect work and social life after using it?

The minoxidil solution is partially ethanol, which evaporates quickly after use, and the active ingredients of the drug enter the scalp without any peculiar smell. However, in foreign applications, high-concentration minoxidil solution sometimes leaves on the scalp The crystal of the drug.

11. Is Minoxidil a medical insurance drug?

Minoxidil tincture (liniment) is used for male androgenetic alopecia, female androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata. There is no record in the 2010 edition of the national and provincial and municipal health insurance catalogues, which means that minoxidil tincture is not Medical insurance drugs cannot be purchased with a medical insurance card. (Is it a bit disappointed…)

12. Where can I buy Minoxidil?

Minoxidil is a liquid, and ordinary pharmacies do not have the ability to store it.

13. Can Minoxidil make gray hair black?

The answer is no. Minoxidil tincture improves the blood and nutrient supply of the hair follicles by dilating the capillaries under the scalp, and ultimately promotes the growth of hair, which has little to do with the blackening of white hair.