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Minoxidil Application Questions

Hello Dr. Rassman,

So I have several questions. Firstly, I read somewhere that if the scalp is wet upon application of Minoxidil, that the Minoxidil would be absorbed better achieving better/faster results. I’m a little skeptical of this. Is this true?

Secondly, if I apply the Minoxidil before I blow dry my hair, how long should I wait to blow dry it to achieve maximum effectiveness? I’m kind of in a rush in the morning and so waiting more than a half an hour would kind of be impossible. If this were the case, I might abandon application of Minoxidil in the morning. How less effective would only one application of Minoxidil per day be?

This is perhaps a stupid question that I should have asked my physician a long, long time ago, but, how is 1 mL of Minoxidil supposed to cover my entire scalp!?!? A lot of it tends to run down my forehead as it is, thereby wasting it, but even if it were all put to good use, 1 mL only seems to cover several square inches before I no longer feel any left on my fingertips during the massaging. Is it there even though I don’t feel it or something? What am I doing wrong?

I don’t know if this is relevant or not, but after 4 months of using 5% Minoxidil and noticing no results, I decided to switch to 15% Minoxidil w/ 5% Azelaic acid.

Azelaic acid is an irritant and in using it is supposed to increase the blood supply to the scalp and therefore increase the absorption of minoxidil. Your point about coverage is well taken. It takes a lot of minoxidil to cover the entire scalp, so I generally advise patients to apply it only to the areas that are thinning. Minoxidil is best applied after a hot shower, as the circulation of the scalp is higher at that time. Waiting 5-10 minutes should suffice, but using the Rogaine Foam rather than the liquid could solve your styling timing issues and it may be more effective.

Many of your additional minoxidil questions have already been answered at Rogaine.com.


2009-10-01 09:17:26Minoxidil Application Questions

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minoxidil non-responders

If you’re a nonresponder to topical minoxidil, are you just clogging your follicles by applying it?

Your focus should be on switching to oral minoxidil as 40% of men are nonresponders to topical minoxidil. Clogging your follicles doesn’t happen.

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Best Solutions for Balding

What is the best product for thinning hair and small spot on the top of my hair. Thanks

If there are many small spots of balding, then a visit with a doctor is critical because you may have a medical problem that requires expert insights. If you are a man, I am assuming that you are talking about male pattern ‘genetic’ balding. Both Propecia and Minoxidil may work. Minoxidil, applied to the balding area like a lotion, can be purchased over the counter in many stores. Propecia, a daily pill, requires a doctor’s prescription. Propecia, made only for use by men, can stop and even reverse the hair loss in some of the younger men.

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Minoxidil Tablets to Beat Male Pattern Balding?

Long time reader, first time poster. As an avid reader of your excellent blog i just wanted to post a few pictures and get an indication of where you think my hair loss is? I have been receding for a while now however over the last year I have become very concerned with the progression of my front hair loss. My father is essentially bald with a small island of hair in the middle of his scalp. My mothers side of the family also has been deal the unluck card male pattern baldness. Now I was on propecia from 20 to 25 then got off it for God knows what reason.. I guess I was just worried that I wasn’t going to be able to have kids one day (fertility issues have always been a major question for me with regard to finasteride), I guess this stems from the fact that there are no clear studies indicating if this is the case or not? And if it is then I am none the wiser. I am currently taking minoxidil tablets aswell as applying minoxidil to my hair line (I know that it is not that effective on the bi-temporal area, however I just thought I’d give it a go.. This coupled with the minoxidil tablets could be a start in my quest to beat MPB). I guess if this doesn’t work I can always go back to finasteride.

Thank you for being a avid read of Bladingblog. I generally do not give diagnosis or opinions on hair loss. We are however planning to start a new website AmIBalding.com where you can post your photos for anyone to comment. If you want a doctors opinion, you need to see a doctor (in person).

Finally, you really need to see a doctor before experimenting with drugs. Minoxidil tablets is not something you take to treat male pattern balding. It is a blood pressure lowering medication when taken orally. So for a normal person without high blood pressure, taking a blood pressure lowering medication such as oral minoxidil (by mouth) can have severe life threatening consequence and even death.

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I Modified My Finasteride Dose to Reduce My Sexual Side Effects

I lowered my Finasteride dosage from every other day to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday because I have impotence. I started this schedule only a few weeks ago, and my libido is still very low. I don’t know if Finasteride is the cause, but I know that the only way to find out for sure is to stop taking it, which I’m not prepared to do. Last year, I reduced my Finasteride dose from 1.25 mg daily to only Monday and Thursday due to low libido. It took 6-7 months for my negative sexual side effects to go away. My side effects returned after I increased my dose to every other day. Is my expectation correct — Will it take several months for my libido to return to normal (as long as Finasteride is the cause)?

Reducing the dose to as low as two pills a week is a reasonable approach, and as that seemed to address your libido, you should consider that to be the dose that is best for you. It will still be valuable in the treatment of your hair loss, maybe just 50% as effective.


2018-05-23 08:32:04I Modified My Finasteride Dose to Reduce My Sexual Side Effects

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Bleeding and graft loss after a hair transplant (photo)

There is little that can be done at this time. Go through the post-operative care with washing until the recipient area cleans up. Then look at this recipient area very closely. You may have to wait a full 8 months to know what needs to be done, if anything


2017-11-20 07:09:14Bleeding and graft loss after a hair transplant (photo)