Many men and women across the globe are waiting and hoping that they can reverse the effects of hair loss as soon as possible.
Hair loss affects millions of men and women around the world. Many people won’t even notice until half of their hair is lost [1].
If you discover you’re suffering from hair loss so late on, it’s natural to want to find a speedy solution that can restore your head of hair to its normal appearance.
If you are looking into different hair loss treatments, the options are plentiful, but that doesn’t mean they’re always going to work for you.
One of the most popular treatments is Minoxidil, but there are many reasons why you may not use it. If this is the case, in this article we’ll be discussing some of the best Minoxidil alternatives.
What is Minoxidil and what is it used for?
Minoxidil is a treatment that is used to help men and women who are experiencing hair loss. You’ll find it in the popular topical medication, Rogaine.
Users apply Minoxidil to the area where they’re experiencing hair loss twice a day, every day. It’s thought to be so effective as it belongs to a family of medicines known as vasodilators, which widen your blood vessels to increase blood flow and encourage hair growth.
There have been a few studies into the efficacy of Minoxidil that have yielded positive results. For example, in one four-month study, 339 out of 773 participants found Minoxidil to be ‘effective’ and 54 found it ‘very effective’ [2].
Why should I not take Minoxidil?
Although studies have shown Minoxidil to be an effective treatment for hair loss, it’s not guaranteed to work for everyone.
Everyone reacts differently to treatments. So just because some people have a positive experience using Minoxidil doesn’t always mean that you’re going to have the same experience.
Minoxidil does also come with some side effects, including:
- Skin irritation
- Allergic contact dermatitis
- Temporary Minoxidil-related hair shedding.
If you experience an allergic reaction to Minoxidil products, or don’t see any improvements in your hair loss, you may want to start thinking about other alternatives to Minoxidil you can use instead.
What Minoxidil alternatives are there?
Luckily, there are plenty of other hair loss treatments on the market that have a lot of efficacy research to back up their claims.
Some of these treatments are oral prescriptions, and there is even very early-stage research that has looked into some natural treatments for hair loss.
Here are some of the options you have if you don’t want to take Minoxidil.
1. Dutasteride
Dutasteride belongs to a group of drugs known as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, or 5-ARIs. These drugs block testosterone from turning into DHT – a key cause of hair loss in men.
If you are genetically more susceptive to hair loss, DHT blockers can be very effective treatment options, and there is a lot of research to back this up [3].
Studies have found that Dutasteride can increase hair count, hair width, and hair growth more effectively than similar hair loss treatments, like Finasteride [4].
However, it’s important to remember that drugs like Dutasteride can take a while to make a difference – sometimes you may have to wait up to 3 months before seeing any noticeable results.
2. Finasteride
Finasteride works similarly to Dutasteride. It blocks testosterone from turning into DHT.
It also has a lot of clinical trials that back up its effectiveness, including a study in which more than 80% of test subjects experienced an improvement in hair loss when using a popular brand of Finasteride treatment called Propecia [5]. Finasteride results are particularly impressive for men with crown hair loss [5].
Treatments like Finasteride and Dutasteride are only usually suitable for treating male pattern baldness, rather than other types of hair loss. Finasteride for women isn’t usually recommended; it should only be prescribed in very rare circumstances.
3. Natural hair loss treatments
If you’re looking for natural alternatives to Minoxidil, there are a few ingredients that have a little bit of research behind them.
However, research is severely lacking when it comes to the efficacy of these ingredients in curing hair loss. If you really want to encourage hair growth, we would recommend using one of the treatments like Dutasteride and Finasteride which have a lot more extensive clinical studies.
For example, one study found that acupuncture showed greater hair growth than Minoxidil in patients suffering from hair loss due to the increased circulation caused by the treatment [6].
Another study found that applying rosemary oil was ‘not inferior’ to taking 2% Minoxidil [7].
Other small-scale studies have also looked at treatments like caffeine, zinc, and pumpkin seed oil, but there is not enough evidence to prove these are legitimate treatments for hair loss.
Still worried about hair loss?
Hair loss can really affect your confidence. So if you notice that your hair is starting to fall out and you want a more permanent solution, you can also try a hair transplant.
Hair transplantation is still a long process, but it delivers natural and long-lasting results. Although it can be an intense experience, it is a tried and true way to restore the hair on your head and make it appear like you never lost any hair in the first place.
At the Wimpole Clinic, we specialise in hair transplants and would love to talk you through the whole process.
Learn more about FUE vs FUT hair transplants, then book a free consultation at the Wimpole Clinic today.
- https://www.raconteur.net/combating-male-hair-loss/
- https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(03)03693-4/fulltext
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4171668/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24411083/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15529357
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9219404/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25842469/
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