Author: Dr. William Rassman

I noticed severe dark circles after using rogaine 5 perc i was only using it once a day and i noticed my veins under my eyes became more pronounced. I dont know if its related to minoxidil or the seasonal allergy that attacked me this season around. Could you please tell me if its possible for minoxidil to cause this symptoms.

Thank you so much !

Could you have stayed out too late or haven’t slept well lately? I realize those are the obvious questions to ask, but they’re probably the more common causes of dark circles under the eyes. Did you rub your eyes after applying the medication? How long were you using the medication before you saw these circles start?

I just don’t know how dark circles under your eyes can be related to the Rogaine (minoxidil) you use on your scalp. Perhaps it’s blood circulation related, but if this is a side effect it’s not well documented. It seems like a stretch to think that your veins under your eyes can be dilated to produce dark circles because of Rogaine. I haven’t heard about this from any of my patients, though I have seen a few posts about it on the web and have even had people mention it to me via email. Nothing conclusive, though. Maybe it is just coincidence. If there’s real information about this phenomenon, I haven’t seen it.

Thanks for the great site. I have a new one for you. I’m 26 yo male taking the standard finasteride dose for hair loss under doctor supervision for about 18 months. None of the typical complaints.

About 6 months ago the distal tip of my foreskin began tightening with a white ring of inflexible tissue. This was recently diagnosed as ‘balanitis xerotica obliterans’ or BXO. A simple analogy is thinking of your soft eyelid skin losing its elasticity. Hardly comfortable.

I’m no hypochondriac looking to blame my condition on finasteride. I’m aware any connection is unlikely. I ask your opinion based on the following tidbit I stumbled across: “…[patients] have been found to have decreased serum levels of free testosterone, androstenedione, and dihydrotestosterone compared with control subjects. The underlying defect may be a problem with the function of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.”

Perhaps you could take a look at the medical literature on my behalf? I will be seeing my regular doctor for this matter, but I thought you might be intrigued enough to add your educated thoughts. Thanks.

Thank you for the information. It is intriguing, but I’ve not had this complaint from any of my prescribing patients. I realize not all patients might be quick to tell me about all possible issues they have, but that’s all I have to go on.

I did search PubMed, but I couldn’t find a correlation between DHT reduction and penile foreskin. The penile issues involving DHT are mainly from when you were in your mother’s womb. For example, if your mother was taking high doses of finasteride or had a genetic defect in DHT production.

Hello Dr. Rassman and contributors,

I am almost positive that tretinoin increases hair growth, at least on the face. I have never had unibrow in my life but i can grow one in a week by applying tretinoin there, and it stops growing if i stop applying. My eyebrows can also grow higher and further along the temples when applied. I have done this many many times. I was thinking since tretinoin in part possibly works by preventing hyperkeritinization that hyperkeritinization could be synergetic in balding by allowing to DHT to “stay” longer in the follicle. Also I am very certain for me that it increases eyebrow growth, however I would be very skeptical, and would not try it on my head, are their different factors that influence hair growth on eyebrows vs scalp?

Thank You

I will assume that you are not experimenting on yourself because you are trying to grow a unibrow, but if you noticed that hair grew between your eyebrows when you used the medication, it makes sense that this could be a side effect. What else can I say?

Tretinoin (also known as Retin-A) has been said to cause hair loss for some people and grow hair for others.

Wanted to write you a note regarding my response to Propecia. I have read lots of replies in regard to this subject and after two months treatment myself wanted to contribute to your very professional blog. No side effects (does increased confidence and contentment count?) and have noticed very subtle changes thus far. My hair actually does feel stronger. Somehow my hairline feels firmer and more solid. It might not look vastly different but my mind is perceiving a more dense and full head of hair. I am no longer panicking about potential hair loss and this is a magnificent relief. I would say that so far my experience of propecia has been very good and appears to be a very successful ingredient in preserving my hair. Kind Regards

It is likely that some of your miniaturization is reversing and that makes you feel that your hair is stronger (thicker hair shafts approaching normal in some of your impacted hairs).

Thanks for sharing.