Minoxidil is one of the world’s most popular hair loss treatments. It is effective against several kinds of alopecia, from male or female pattern baldness to alopecia areata [1]. But how quickly does Minoxidil work, and when can you expect to see results?
While this medication starts working from the first time you use it, it takes some time and patience to see its first results. This article will tell you all you know about the expected timeline for Minoxidil use, including:
While it was initially developed as a blood pressure medication, Minoxidil is now known as one of the most effective non-surgical hair restoration treatments. It is one of the only 2 medications approved by the FDA and MHRA for treating male pattern baldness (alongside Finasteride).
Most people use topical Minoxidil, which can be found as a solution, gel, foam or spray. Men typically use Minoxidil 5%, while women use Minoxidil 2%. However, some users prefer oral Minoxidil tablets, for added convenience (despite having more systemic side effects than the solution).
Minoxidil works by dilating the blood vessels that supply the hair follicles, giving them access to more oxygen and nutrients [1]. This provides them with the necessary resources to produce more healthy hair faster.
Before and after six months of 5% Minoxidil application in a patient with female pattern hair loss.
Before and after 12 weeks of 2% topical Minoxidil use to treat alopecia areata.
Clinical trials reveal that both men and women with androgenetic alopecia can start seeing new hair growth within 6-8 weeks of starting Minoxidil treatment [2]. So you can expect to see your first results around 2 months after you start taking this medication. However, these results are not final, as Minoxidil hair growth peaks 12-16 weeks after treatment start [2].
No significant difference has been found between the effectiveness of oral and topical Minoxidil, nor in the time it takes them to work [3]. Research shows that topical Minoxidil takes 6-8 weeks of consistent treatment to show initial results, just like the oral variety.
Patience is key when using Minoxidil, as the best results come over time, with consistent use. One study of female pattern hair loss patients found that six months of Minoxidil use reduced hair loss severity by 0.85 on the Sinclair scale, increasing to 1.3 after a year [4].
That means female hair loss can improve by more than one Sinclair stage on average after a year of Minoxidil use.
Let’s take a look at the results of Minoxidil over several months to see how ongoing use of Minoxidil can improve your hair density.
After a month of using Minoxidil, you probably won’t see much improvement in your hair. In fact, you may find that you’re experiencing additional hair shedding. This is known as Minoxidil shedding, and it’s a normal part of the hair growth process.
This happens because Minoxidil pushes your hair through the hair growth cycle at an accelerated rate, so it can reach the growth phase faster.
More of your hair moves into the shedding phase at the same time, causing more hair loss than usual. Fortunately, this is a one-time occurrence. The hair shedding will stop within a few weeks, and your hair will soon start to regrow.
Here are the visual results of two patients after 12 weeks of topical Minoxidil treatment for male pattern baldness [5]:
This same study showed that derma rolling for hair growth can enhance the effects of Minoxidil at three months. Microneedling helps your scalp absorb more of the active ingredient, giving you better results. Learn more about using Minoxidil together with a derma roller.
This image shows the hair regrowth results for a female hair loss patient at baseline (a, e), then after two (b, f), four (c, g), and six (d, h) months of 1ml daily topical 2% Minoxidil treatment [6]:
After six months of treatment, this patient’s previously severe hair loss has almost completely regrown thanks to Minoxidil.
One 12-month study established the effectiveness of 5% topical Minoxidil on 984 patients with male pattern hair loss [7]. After a year, areas of alopecia had shrunk in 62% of patients.
This patient with crown hair loss used 5% topical Minoxidil for a year. While he has seen some good hair regrowth across the scalp, his Minoxidil results after 1 year still show a lack of density around his crown:
Finasteride is known to be effective at tackling crown hair loss. So if you have male pattern baldness and Minoxidil hasn’t given you the results you want, using a combination of Minoxidil and Finasteride may help enhance your hairline and help you regrow hair.
If you start using Minoxidil, you’ll need to keep using it to maintain your new hair growth. Stopping Minoxidil usually means hair shedding will resume within three to four months, leading to lost progress [1].
Find out more about what happens if you stop using Minoxidil.
If you have been using Minoxidil for more than 6 months and you see no signs of hair growth, it may not be the right treatment for your hair loss. While Minoxidil is versatile, it cannot help every type and stage of alopecia
The best thing you can do is see a trichologist, who can diagnose the reason your hair is falling out and offer a more effective treatment alternative to Minoxidil.
Minoxidil is just one of several effective hair loss treatments. Other options may work for you, depending on which type of alopecia you have. These include:
If you have spent a long time waiting for your hair growth treatment to work and have not seen results, we are here to help. Book a consultation with our dedicated hair doctors at your most convenient clinic location.
As soon as your alopecia is diagnosed, our trichologist will recommend a personalised treatment plan tailored to your particular condition, hair type and preferences. This will help your hair grow fuller, stronger and healthier.
Should no non-surgical treatment be right for you, you may still be eligible for a permanent hair transplant. Our success rates are almost 100% for both FUE and FUT procedures. See our results for yourself in our before and after hair transplant photo gallery
Find out more about the Minoxidil timeline by reading the answers to these frequently asked questions.
If you notice increased hair loss about 3-6 weeks into your Minoxidil treatment, you will be relieved to know this is a normal and temporary phenomenon. Minoxidil dread shed occurs in some users due to the medication shortening their hair follicle resting phase, to push them into the growth phase sooner. This means more hair than normal will fall out during the shedding phase. But it will start growing back fuller within about 4-6 weeks of onset [4].
Minoxidil takes the same amount of time to work regardless of your hair loss stage. However, if your baldness is advanced, the results may be underwhelming. Minoxidil works well to treat mild to moderate hair loss, but it can only produce modest results against significant alopecia, especially if you have many dead hair follicles. So if you have a large bald spot on your scalp, a hair transplant may be your only option to regain adequate hair growth.
The most important factor in achieving fast Minoxidil results is using it exactly as prescribed (or according to the instructions on the leaflet). Forgetting doses or using too little medication can delay and diminish your results.
Moreover, it’s best to cut back on habits that can cause excess hair loss. For example, fixing your heat-damaged hair and cutting back on heat styling can improve your hair health and reduce unnecessary hair breakage. Moreover, smoking can cause hair loss, as it constricts your blood vessels, reducing blood flow to your scalp. This works against the Minoxidil, which dilates your blood vessels, so your hair follicles get all the necessary nutrients for hair growth.
Using Minoxidil combined with Finasteride can lead to enhanced hair growth compared to using only one of these treatments. However, the combination cannot yield results faster than either of these medications. It normally takes Minoxidil at least 2 months [2][3] and Finasteride at least 3 months [8] to produce visible results and the process cannot be sped up. So even if you take these treatments combined, you will still need to wait 2-3 months to see the first signs of hair regrowth.
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