While there are some parts of the body, where you don’t like the sight of all that hair, such as your legs, arms, chest or even underarms, there is one part, where you want as much hair as possible – your head! There is a reason why your hair is called your ‘crowning glory’, because really healthy, beautiful looking hair, sit pretty on the top of your head, almost like a crown. So, obviously, when you start losing hair, it becomes a cause of concern.
Before you go running off to your nearest hair transplant clinic, asking for a transplant, you need to first sit down and introspect a little. You need to first meet a doctor who could help you understand why it is that you are losing hair. In case the reasons are medical or hormonal, the treatment will have to be charted out accordingly. However, in case your hair loss is because of your excessive use of chemical based hair products or hairstyles or general lifestyle, the most effective hair loss solutions would be bringing about changes in those habits and for all you know, the hair loss might stop on its own!
In most cases, if the hair loss has only just started and is still in a controllable stage, your doctor might prescribe you medication. These could include supplements to contribute to better health or there could be more specific medications that target reducing hair loss. Minoxidil is one such medication that has been around for a while now, mainly because it is known to show genuine results.
So, can hair loss treatment with minoxidil be considered a viable option for all? Let’s take a deeper look:
Minoxidil is a topical medication that has been approved by the FDA and is commonly used to promote hair growth. This is actually, one of the most common medications used to treat androgenetic – alopeciaand can be used by both men and women. Minoxidil in its various forms, is generally an over-the-counter medication that can be purchased even without a doctor’s prescription. However, if you are thinking of starting with minoxidil for hair loss, it would not cause any harm talking to a doctor first.
The usage of minoxidil is actually quite simple – in most cases, the instructions are mentioned on the packaging and you only need to follow the same. Because this is a topical application that comes in for the form of gel or foam, you can apply it directly to the scalp.
While minoxidil is being considered as a viable method to tackle and treat hair loss, there are some points that you need to keep in mind:
- No matter which brand you use, the medicine is not going to show results overnight – you have to be patient. In most cases, the results will start to show in the first few months, but the results will vary from person to person, which means that while for some people the results will become visible sooner than others. It is best that you keep your time frame realistic and be prepared to wait a while before the hair grows in.
- Given that hair loss is different for each person, the results will also be different and this is something that one needs to understand right at the beginning. Do not go by what you see on the internet or what other people might say; your experience will be different and you need to keep your mind ready for it. So, while for some people the results might become visible in weeks, for others it could take months, and that is why you need to continue the treatment, without break.
- When using minoxidil for hair loss, early intervention is the key – most doctors will tell you that the usage of this medication should be started almost as soon as you realize that your hair loss has started. As a matter of fact, if you start the usage of minoxidil early on, it might be able to help you retain the follicles that might be becoming weak and improve hair growth.
- If you start using minoxidil, you will need to consider maintenance too, because once you stop using the medication, there is a strong chance that the hair that grew due to it, could fall out. This is one of the side effects that you might want to consider before starting with the medication.
Ideally, you should consider combining other hair loss treatments with minoxidil, because it can be truly effective as a supplementary treatment, which is why several doctors suggest the same. If you have been prescribed finasteride or low-level laser or even PRP, then adding minoxidil to the treatment protocol would be beneficial.
