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Minoxidil Before And After: Photos & Results

Originally used as a treatment for high blood pressure, Minoxidil is now best known as one of the world’s most successful hair loss treatments. Soon after its approval, reports suggested that up to 80% of patients taking it as an antihypertensive drug also experienced a slowdown in hair loss and unexpected rates of hair regrowth [1].

So what do the real-life results of taking Minoxidil look like? In this article, we’ll deep-dive into the research and show what happened to real patients’ hair before and after applying Minoxidil.

Table of Contents

What is Minoxidil and how does it help hair growth?

Minoxidil is a treatment designed to stimulate hair growth. It’s most often used as a topical hair loss treatment, though oral versions are also available. Minoxidil makes the blood vessels in your scalp dilate, improving circulation to the hair follicles and encouraging hair regrowth [2]. It’s sold under the brand name Regaine (in the UK) and Rogaine (in the US).

Rogaine has been shown to work for several hair loss conditions, including:

How soon will I see results after using Minoxidil?

According to the Regaine website, you’ll start to see visible results within 3 to 6 months of use. The Rogaine site says it can take at least 4 months for results to develop. Results are only likely to appear within this timeframe if you apply Minoxidil as recommended (usually twice a day).

Some people prefer to use Minoxidil 3 times a week. However, if you use less than the recommended amount, hair regrowth may be slower or less successful.

Clinical research has shown that the longer you use Minoxidil, the better results you’ll see. In one study, the average reduction in hair loss severity was 0.85 within 6 months, and 1.3 within 12 months [3].

Minoxidil before and after photos: androgenetic alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness in men or female pattern hair loss in women, is the most common type of hair loss in the world. Here are the results of using Minoxidil before and after to treat androgenetic alopecia.

Female pattern hair loss and Minoxidil: before and after

Before and after hair growth results of using Minoxidil on female pattern baldness patient

This patient has typical female pattern hair loss, characterised by thinning hair and a widening parting [4]. Before using Minoxidil, her hair loss is approaching stage 2 of the Ludwig Scale.

The second image shows the results after using topical 5% Minoxidil twice a day for 6 months. Her hair loss appears to have not only stopped but reversed, with her hair looking much thicker along her parting and around her temples.

Before and 6 months after using 5% Minoxidil for treatment of female pattern baldness

These before and after Minoxidil photos above show another patient with female pattern hair loss, which improved following 6 months of topical 5% Minoxidil application [5].

Before and after hair growth results of using Minoxidil for female pattern hair loss
Before and after results of using Minoxidil for female pattern hair loss
Changes in hair density from using Minoxidil to treat androgenetic alopecia
Changes in hair density from using Minoxidil to treat androgenetic alopecia

This patient’s androgenetic alopecia is more severe than the cases above [6]. Yet Minoxidil has still stimulated visibly thicker hair growth across her scalp within 6 months.

This patient was part of a group of participants using topical 2% Minoxidil to improve symptoms of female pattern hair loss. The number of patients displaying focal atrichia — patches of skin that are visibly devoid of hair — dropped substantially at each interval.

IntervalFocal atrichia (% of patients)Photos showing hair of
1 patient at each interval
Baseline75%A, E
2 months35%B, F
4 months10%C, G
6 months0%D, H

Minoxidil reversed hair loss for all patients in the group. At baseline, 20% of patients had Ludwig Scale stage 3 hair loss, and the remaining 80% had Ludwig Scale stage 2 hair loss.

By the 6-month interval, no patients were beyond Ludwig stage 1; 20% of patients had even restored a healthy hairline, with no hair loss whatsoever:

Minoxidil hair changes according to the Ludwig Scale

Diagnosing and treating female hair loss can be difficult. Many factors can contribute to women’s hair loss, so it’s important that you find the right hair loss treatment for women.

So topical Minoxidil is a highly effective treatment for female pattern hair loss. But are the results the same for men?

Male pattern baldness and Minoxidil: before and after

These 2 male patients developed receding hairlines and bald spots on their crowns — typical symptoms of male pattern baldness [7]. The Minoxidil before and after photos below show gradual improvement of symptoms at 12 and 24-week intervals, following the use of oral Minoxidil taken once a day.

Before and after hair growth results of using Minoxidil for male pattern hair loss
Before and after results of using Minoxidil to treat male pattern baldness
Before and after hair growth results of using Minoxidil to treat male pattern hair loss
Before and after results of using Minoxidil to treat male pattern hair loss

The study found that hair count and hair diameter both improved significantly over the 6-month trial as a result of oral Minoxidil use. A photographic assessment by an expert panel also declared a 100% improvement, with 43% of patients in the study achieving excellent results. Learn more about using Minoxidil for a receding hairline.

Before and after hair growth results of using oral Minoxidil to treat male pattern baldness
Before and after results of using oral Minoxidil to treat male pattern baldness

This patient shows similar levels of hair loss, identified as grade 2 hair loss on the Norwood Scale by researchers [8]. He also saw a marked improvement after just 3 months of oral Minoxidil use.

It’s important to note that these patients all have relatively early-stage hair loss. Men with more substantial hair loss — stage 4 and above — are less likely to see such dramatic improvements in their hairline using Minoxidil alone.

Is oral or topical Minoxidil better for male pattern baldness?

Each of these patients also used oral Minoxidil rather than Minoxidil foam or the topical solution. Oral Minoxidil is generally more effective as a male hair loss treatment than topical Minoxidil — but the standard dosage can cause severe hypertension, so its use is sometimes limited [7, 9]. Low-dose oral Minoxidil is usually safe, but if you have high blood pressure, speak to your GP before taking any type of oral Minoxidil.

Topical Minoxidil is also effective in men with androgenetic alopecia [10]. However, few studies have included clinical photographic evidence of Minoxidil before and after results.

Minoxidil before and after photos: alopecia areata

It’s not just genetic conditions like androgenetic alopecia that can be treated with Minoxidil. It can also treat autoimmune hair loss conditions like alopecia areata, in which white blood cells attack the follicles and cause hair to stop growing.

This patient has a visible bald patch characteristic of alopecia areata [11]. Following 12 weeks of topical 2% Minoxidil application, his hair had begun to regrow.

alopecia areata before and after using Rogaine
Before and after using Minoxidil to treat alopecia areata

The patient was part of a group of participants testing Minoxidil against other types of treatment for alopecia areata. According to the researcher’s alopecia grading scale, the average alopecia grade of the Minoxidil group dropped from 13.19 at the baseline to just 4.28 after 12 weeks.

Minoxidil can also work in conjunction with other treatments for alopecia areata. This patient has multiple bald patches on his scalp caused by alopecia areata [12]. Like many alopecia areata patients, his treatment plan consisted of corticosteroids and topical 5% Minoxidil.

Before and after hair growth results of using corticosteroids and Minoxidil to treat alopecia areata
Before and after results of using corticosteroids and Minoxidil to treat alopecia areata

Photo A shows the patient immediately after corticosteroid injections (redness and scabbing are known side effects of this) but before Minoxidil treatment. Photo B shows the patient’s hair just 8 weeks after daily Minoxidil foam application and a steroid cream for hair loss.

Minoxidil before and after: other hair loss conditions

Chemotherapy-related hair loss

Oral Minoxidil can improve chronic or permanent hair loss after chemotherapy, a type of medication known to cause hair loss.

This patient had severe diffuse hair loss across her scalp following intense chemotherapy treatment [13]. Her hair loss hadn’t improved 18 months after her chemotherapy treatment ended, so she began applying topical Minoxidil — first 2%, then 5%.

Results of using oral Minoxidil to treat chemotherapy induced hair loss
Results of using oral Minoxidil to treat chemotherapy induced hair loss

Topical Minoxidil failed to improve her symptoms. Under clinical advice, she began taking low-dose oral Minoxidil — and her hair quickly began to regrow. After 4 months, the patient could stop wearing a wig to hide her hair. After one year of Minoxidil use, her hair had regrown to full thickness:

Patient after taking oral Minoxidil medication to regrow hair after chemotherapy
Patient after 1 year of taking oral Minoxidil medication

There’s a clear difference between the efficacy of oral and topical Minoxidil in this case. But oral Minoxidil does have potential side effects, especially at higher doses, so consult with your doctor before taking oral Minoxidil for hair growth.

Traction alopecia

Oral Minoxidil can also help patients with traction alopecia, a condition caused by wearing your hair in tight hairstyles such as ponytails or dreadlocks. These before and after Minoxidil photos show a patient with traction alopecia pre- and post-11 months of treatment with oral Minoxidil [14].

Before and after using Minoxidil to treat hair loss from traction alopecia
Before and after using Minoxidil to treat hair loss from traction alopecia

Telogen effluvium

Treatment isn’t always necessary for patients with telogen effluvium, as in most cases this is a temporary hair loss condition triggered by stress, illness, or trauma. When the trigger is resolved, hair regrows naturally.

However, some patients experience chronic telogen effluvium, a hair loss condition in which hair shedding continues beyond 6 months. Research has found that Minoxidil is highly effective for chronic telogen effluvium, although there’s no clinical photographic evidence to show this [15].

Minoxidil for facial hair: before and after

A common side effect of Minoxidil use (particularly oral Minoxidil) is hypertrichosis — excessive growth of body hair. While this may be unwanted in some areas, it does mean Minoxidil can also be effective at stimulating hair growth in areas like the eyebrows and beard.

This patient has noticeably thicker eyebrows after 16 weeks of topical 1% Minoxidil use [16].

Before and after using Minoxidil to regrow eyebrow hair

Learn more about using Minoxidil for eyebrow growth.

This transgender male patient also successfully used topical 5% Minoxidil to promote beard growth over the course of 5 months [17]:

Transgendered patient before using Minoxidil and 2 months after
Patient at baseline before Minoxidil treatment (left) and 2 months after using Minoxidil to promote beard growth
Minoxidil before and after photos
Patient after 3 months of using Minoxidil (left) and 5 months of using Minoxidil (right) to promote beard growth

While the patient’s transgender hormone therapy may have played a part in improving his beard growth at the 5-month interval, it’s clear that Minoxidil had some effect, as he also shows visible beard hair growth after 3 months. 

Side effects of Minoxidil

As these before and after Minoxidil photos show, both topical and oral Minoxidil can be a highly effective hair loss solution. But, as with any course of treatment, there are side effects you must be aware of. Learn more about Minoxidil side effects:

Where to get Minoxidil

Minoxidil is readily available online and over-the-counter, so it’s easy to try to tackle your hair loss. However, if you have severe hair loss thanks to advanced androgenetic alopecia, Minoxidil alone may not be enough to restore your hair.

Other hair loss medications like Finasteride or Dutasteride can be effective at promoting new hair growth and preventing further hair loss. See our comparison of Finasteride vs Minoxidil to find out how DHT blockers measure up against Minoxidil.

However for permanent results, a hair transplant is the best option. Learn more about FUE vs FUT hair transplants to find out which type is best suited to you or contact us today to meet with a hair loss specialist to discuss your hair loss treatment options.

Minoxidil Before And After: Photos & Results, Wimpole Clinic

Sources:
  1. How minoxidil was transformed from an antihypertensive to hair-loss drug
  2. Minoxidil
  3. Female pattern hair loss: a pilot study investigating combination therapy with low-dose oral minoxidil and spironolactone
  4. Medical Therapy for Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL)
  5. Comparison of low-level light therapy and combination therapy of 5% minoxidil in the treatment of female pattern hair loss
  6. Trichogenic effect of topical ketoconazole versus minoxidil 2% in female pattern hair loss: a clinical and trichoscopic evaluation
  7. Efficacy and Safety of Oral Minoxidil 5 mg Once Daily in the Treatment of Male Patients with Androgenetic Alopecia: An Open-Label and Global Photographic Assessment
  8. Effectiveness and safety of low-dose oral minoxidil in male androgenetic alopecia
  9. Minoxidil 1 mg oral versus minoxidil 5% topical solution for the treatment of female-pattern hair loss: A randomized clinical trial
  10. A randomized clinical trial of 5% topical minoxidil versus 2% topical minoxidil and placebo in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in men
  11. Comparison of efficacy of various topical treatment modalities in alopecia areata
  12. Ocrelizumab-induced alopecia areata—A series of five patients from Ontario, Canada: A case report
  13. Permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treated with low-dose oral minoxidil
  14. Treatment of traction alopecia with oral minoxidil
  15. Treatment of chronic telogen effluvium with oral minoxidil: A retrospective study
  16. Treatment of Eyebrow Hypotrichosis with 1% Minoxidil Lotion: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
  17. Case Report: Successful Use of Minoxidil to Promote Facial Hair Growth in an Adolescent Transgender Male
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