How effective is oral minoxidil?

I’m 21 and I’ve used minoxidil in the past (foam and liquid), but it was just too much of a hassle to apply consistently so I never saw any gains. Has anyone here used oral minoxidil with good results?

Oral minoxidil can be effective for male patterned hair loss. For many years, poorer countries have been using it successfully for male patterned hair loss before finasteride was released in their country. In India, for example, many people couldn’t afford Propecia and genetic finasteride wasn’t available so oral minoxidil was the only drug for hair loss.