Results From Minoxidil: Before And After Pictures

Every man wants to experience life with a thicker, healthier, more luxurious head of hair.

With increased confidence and a positive outlook on life, it feels like anything is possible.

Unfortunately, losing your hair can be traumatizing, especially if it happens before old age.

This is why men are increasingly looking for options to prevent hair loss, so they can maintain, and regain that confidence to carry them on through life's adventures.

Minoxidil is one option to stop hair fall and regain a thick, natural looking head of hair.

This article will explain what typical results to expect, concerning slowing, and reversing hair loss caused by the hereditary condition MPB, or "male pattern baldness".

We have also offered alternatives to minoxidil, for those men concerned about possible side effects of this drug.

Yes, I want to know the safer, effective alternative to minoxidil!

How long does it take to see results from minoxidil?

Most people see noticeable hair growth within 3 to 12 months.

However, results vary from user to user. Some might see results within 3 months, while others may not see results for up to 12.

Because of initial hair fall (a side effect of minoxidil), it's important you do not become discouraged and quit treatment early.

Your results may vary from the experience of other patients.

To understand if minoxidil will work for you, once you start treatment you should give it up to a year.

This is a drug after all, and this process needs time to work its magic.

How to apply minoxidil?

Minoxidil is very easy to administer.

It is applied with a foam or a medicated topical solution administered directly to your scalp with a dropper bottle.

Anyone can do this by themselves, and no professional assistance is required.

Minoxidil results after 4 months of use

There is noticeable thicker, healthier-looking hair. It is not completely filled in, but it's definitely thicker than before treatment.

Minoxidil results after 8 months of use

After 8 months of use, many users experience drastically increased thickness.

You can see for yourself how these patients have achieved fantastic results.

While results vary from patient to patient, there are thousands of pictures on the Internet of men who have maintained healthy heads of hair by consistently applying minoxidil.

What is minoxidil? 

Minoxidil is considered one of the most effective hair loss treatments available today without a prescription.

It can easily be purchased in most pharmacies, or from online merchants like Amazon.com.

Minoxidil is the active ingredient in Rogaine minoxidil, the popular hair restoration product for men. It has been FDA-approved and on the market since 1987.

How effective is minoxidil? 

Minoxidil is a medical treatment for hair loss, helping both men and women retain and grow back thicker, stronger strands of hair.

Unfortunately, once you stop minoxidil treatment, hair loss will begin again. You wouldn't want that. So to keep hair thinning to a minimum, you will need to retain a strict regimen.

It is scientifically verified that 60% of minoxidil users experience a stop in hair loss or an increase in hair regrowth. However, that also means that 40% of users have less effective results.

Overall, topical minoxidil has been proven to be quite effective for many sufferers of male pattern hair loss.

How does minoxidil work? 

As a treatment for hair fall, minoxidil works by:

1. Increasing blood circulation to the scalp.
2. Stimulating hair follicles to produce stronger and healthier strands of hair.
3. Allowing more oxygen, blood, and nutrients to travel to the hair follicles which consequently causes them to grow back.

Treatment is applied topically to the scalp in the form of a spray, foam or liquid, twice a day without any breaks in the treatment.

It is meant as ongoing treatment and once started, should not be stopped.

If treatment is stopped, the gains will be lost, and shedding will carry on its previous, natural course.

Understanding our hair growth cycle 

Like all things in this world, your hair has a life cycle.

To understand further how you can have realistic results, you must understand your hair growth cycle.

Your hair grows through a multi-phase growth cycle.

These hair growth phases include the:

Anagen phase

Inside the hair follicle, a single fibre forms and slowly begins to grow.

This is the growth phase and hair may grow here for several years, to varying lengths, depending on the location of the body.

Catagen phase

This is a transitional phase where hair stops growing.

The hair shrinks in diameter and becomes club hair. Club hairs are a natural end result of hair growth, and feature a bulb of keratin protein at the root tip of a strand.

Telogen phase

This is the final stage of the hair growth cycle.

During this phase, the hair stops growing and remains dormant, before finally shedding and beginning the growth of new hair again in the anagen phase.

How does the hair growth cycle affect minoxidil effectiveness?

While many issues can cause hair fall, the most common cause is male pattern baldness.

This sort of hair fall happens when the hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone), a byproduct of testosterone, attaches itself to receptors in the scalp, causing follicles to begin a process called "miniaturization".

This miniaturization causes your hair follicles to become progressively smaller in diameter, shorter in length, and lighter in colour, resulting in a less robust anagen phase.

This means that hair is unable to grow properly. 

It's common for this sort of hair fall to begin around the vertex scalp (receding hairline) and/or a bald patch at the top of the head.

Minoxidil works by shortening the telogen phase of the growth cycle.

This means each hair spends less time in the resting phase, and more time growing to reach its full potential.

This also means many follicles will enter the anagen phase early and begin growing hair.

Minoxidil also stimulates blood vessels in your scalp. In theory, this provides necessary nutrients by increasing blood flow to your follicles and stimulating hair growth.

Minoxidil and finasteride: friends or foes?

It is possible to increase the speed and effect of results by combining it with Finasteride (also branded as Propecia).

It is taken in the form of a 1mg tablet once a day and has the same documented side effects as minoxidil.

Finasteride works by limiting the effect of DHT on the follicles. In this sense, it could be called a DHT blocker, but is not officially recognized as so.

How to cope with minoxidil hair shedding?

For some patients who start using minoxidil, they find in the first months of treatment they actually lose more hair than they gain.

You may find more hair falling while combing, or excess hair laying on your pillow in the morning. This can be shocking, but don't fear, it's a very common and temporary side effect. It is part of the process of minoxidil taking effect.

Over several months of treatment, this temporary hair shedding will slow, and be replaced by new hair growth.

During this time of shedding it's important that you stay positive and focus on your long-term vision: a head full of thick, healthy hair.

What are the benefits of minoxidil?

Firstly, you do not need a doctor's prescription to purchase minoxidil. This makes obtaining the medication very simple and convenient. You only need to visit your local pharmacy or order it online.

While it's totally possible to have a happy, confident lifestyle even without a head full of hair, increased density can leave one with a heightened self-image, and lasting self-esteem.

This can lead to a happier, less anxious, more fulfilled-feeling life.

Why shouldn't you use minoxidil?

For many, the negatives of their results far outweigh the positives.

One of the biggest downsides of minoxidil is that to maintain the results of treatment, you must adhere to a strict application schedule. 

It's only a matter of time before the body carries on with its natural process. Once you stop taking minoxidil, the result is your hair will start falling out again.

Minoxidil can also be expensive considering it must be applied twice daily, for as long as you wish to see results.

If you travel a lot, or have a busy schedule outside your home, finding time to apply minoxidil could be problematic.

But the biggest downsides are the side effects. 

While not everyone experiences side effects, those that do may find it off-putting, and their results may suffer.

Headaches, rashes, weight loss, increased or decreased heart rates, and even depression are known side effects.

While the side effects don't hurt everyone, it does lead many to explore safer, healthier, more natural alternatives to minoxidil.

The dreaded side effects of minoxidil

The most common side effects include headaches, scalp irritation and itching.

However, the full list of side effects expands to:

• Burning sensation in the scalp
• Erectile dysfunction
• Loss of sexual desire
• Gynecomastia
• Reduced sperm count
• Weight loss or weight gain
• Acne
• Chest pain
• Swelling of hands or feet
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Slow or fast heartbeat (palpitation)
• Accelerated hair loss (temporarily)
• Hair growth in areas other than the scalp

Unfortunately, for many patients, results are also well known to come with multiple side effects. This study cited minoxidil's side effects as "common."

While these side effects don't affect every patient, you need to understand the risks involved while pursuing your results.

Some of these side effects are no joke. That's why many men are curious about minoxidil alternatives.

What are the best alternatives to minoxidil?

The question to ask yourself is, is it worth the potential side effects for a full head of hair? Especially when there are more holistic alternatives.

As a man, could you tolerate losing more hair than you have for several months?

Could you tolerate a loss of sexual desire, or the ability to maintain a strong, rocky erection?

Would you be willing to lose or gain a considerable amount of body fat? Deal with blurred vision, headaches, or even chest pain?

Because of the well-documented side effects of minoxidil, many men are opting for healthier, safer alternatives.

After all, a full head of hair isn't worth losing all that's best in life... namely, your health.

Here we will explore several popular and effective alternatives to minoxidil.

1. Hair transplant 

One of the most popular alternatives to minoxidil is hair transplantation.

This procedure involves a trained medical professional taking life donor hairs from the back or side of your scalp and then transplanting those hairs to the balding areas.

Once the affected area accepts these hairs, they begin to grow as normal.

While hair transplants have a very high success rate, they are expensive and can leave embarrassing scars.

Though, many may prefer a transplant scar over being bald.

2. Herbal remedies 

A quick search for "herbal hair loss treatment" will turn up over one thousand results on the Amazon marketplace.

While the list of "natural" ingredients is long, the actual effectiveness of these remedies is questionable. Most of these treatments are not backed up by any scientific studies.

The most common ingredients in these remedies are aloe vera, lavender, rosemary oil, peppermint oil, hibiscus, saw palmetto, capsaicin, pumpkin seed oil, reishi mushroom, rose petals, and ginseng.

These remedies come in the form of shampoos, foams, ointments, and pills.

Some research has indicated these might have the ability to promote thicker hair, prevent thinning hair and increase hair density - but more research is warranted.

3. Acupuncture

There is no scientific evidence that acupuncture works as a remedy for pattern hair loss. However, it is still an increasingly popular option.

The practitioner inserts small needles into certain areas of the body, including the scalp. In theory, this can stimulate nerve-rich areas of your body, increasing blood flow to hair follicles, and thus increasing hair growth.

Still, acupuncture is a controversial and questionable treatment for hair fall.

4. Ketoconazole shampoo

Fungal infections that lead to dry, flaky scalp, can cause hair fall.

Ketoconazole works by combating fungal growth that leads to psoriasis. This can have a positive effect in keeping hair fall to a minimum.

However, this treatment does not lead to new hair growth.

5. Hair Growth Routine For Men

At Scandinavian Biolabs, we have formulated a hair regrowth treatment that helps combat male hair loss - the Hair Growth Routine For Men.

What separates our Hair Growth Routine For Men from a trillion other alopecia remedies is in our three core factors:

• Capilia Longa - one of the most sought after ingredients for hair loss remedies
• The entire routine - mix and match might work wonders, but it could also cancel out each other. Our three products are formulated to work together, assisting each other to achieve your hair goals.
• Industry-Leading Money-Back Guarantee - that's how confident we are about our effectiveness.

This routine has been proven to be ridiculously effective by this clinical study.

Our routine includes:

Hair Strength Shampoo: This moisturizes the scalp, removes excess sebum oil and strengthens existing hair strands.

Hair Recovery Conditioner: provides lipid-based protective film, prevents split ends and improves elasticity and resilience.

Bio-Pilixin Activation Serum: stimulates the scalp, extends the anagen cycle and reduces long-term shedding.

The best part of this treatment is it is 100% drug-free, without any side effects.

We have free delivery and a very healthy 150-day money-back guarantee. So if you're not happy with the results, you can just return it. No questions asked.

Many happy clients are sharing their success stories about this product. See for yourself.

Niels, after a full Hair Growth Routine for Men treatment

Niels not alone, not at all.

I didn't have a lot of faith in the product but thought "hey, it won't hurt to try it" and now after five weeks I can see a big change and will surely keep using it, amazing change! - Nikl, Aug 12, 2022

I have been using the product for about 2 months. So far I can say the product is meeting all expectations. You can definitely feel the products are of great quality and I have started to feel my hair stronger than before. As for regrowth I guess it's a little early to say for sure, but I am confident and will keep using. - Ferdinando, Jul 12, 2022

I'm using shampoo, conditioner and activator for about a month now. And I must say that number of fallen hair is smaller.

Activator give's you a nice sensation on scalp. It's like you washed hair with peppermint. With conditioner hair become so smooth and soft.

For now I'm really glad that I tried this products with the 150 day money back guarantee. - Uros, Jul 10, 2022.

Rogaine Before and After Men

Rogaine (also known as minoxidil) is a medication that is used to stimulate hair growth in men and women experiencing hair loss. It is applied directly to the scalp in the form of a foam or liquid. Many men have seen positive results from using Rogaine, with some experiencing the regrowth of lost hair within the first few months of use.

However, it is important to note that the results of Rogaine can vary from person to person and it may not work for everyone. It is also important to use the medication consistently and as directed in order to see the best results. If you are considering using Rogaine, it is always a good idea to speak with a healthcare professional for personalized advice.

See our products and why we're so loved

Conclusion

Stopping hair fall and growing thicker, fuller hair won't happen overnight.

Outside of surgery, it is a long-term process over many months, involving daily treatment throughout the hair growth phases.

For the best results, we advise using a 5% minoxidil solution.

But if you're looking for a guaranteed solution for a thick, healthy, luxurious head of hair (with zero side effects),

Check availability of our Hair Growth Routine For Men

Remember that with minoxidil the initial hair loss period is shocking but temporary. But with lady luck, you will be one of the 60% of men who achieve great results from minoxidil.

Reference

https://ishrs.org/2012/08/26/effectiveness-of-5-minoxidil-in-treating-male-pattern-hair-loss/

Disclaimer: pictures used are for illustration purposes only.