still shedding after stopping minoxidil

[leo23]

Hi,

 

Im in desperate need of advice or any piece of information. Im hoping that someone on here has the same experience.

 

I used minoxidil 5% around the end of feb 2014 after noticing that i had little difused thinning. After 3 weeks, i decided to stop using it because my scalp was itching so much and i started to lose so much hair which i assume is the initial shedding.

 

It's already the end of may (two months after i stopped using minoxidil) and still my hair is shedding. i lose about 80-100 hairs per day since i started minox. i lost about 30% of my hair thickness since i started, my ponytail thickness is significantly thinner. And my hair gets easily oily now, scalp more visible.

 

Does the initial shed usually continue this long even if i only used the product for 3 weeks? How long should I wait for the shedding to stop? Is there any way i could stop the shedding?

[Paulygon]

From what I've heard and read, 3 weeks of use doesn't seem to have hair restoration effects.. 3 weeks is enough cause the scalp itchiness, but wouldn't impact or reduce shedding.

So I think that any use of Minox for 3 weeks is like nothing happened...

Unless, I am reading the facts from your statement incorrectly, I think that your hair is probably shedding at the same rate as before use of Minox.

[leo23]

From what I've heard and read, 3 weeks of use doesn't seem to have hair restoration effects.. 3 weeks is enough cause the scalp itchiness, but wouldn't impact or reduce shedding.

So I think that any use of Minox for 3 weeks is like nothing happened...

Unless, I am reading the facts from your statement incorrectly, I think that your hair is probably shedding at the same rate as before use of Minox.

 

Maybe i did not make it clear. I normally only shed about maximum of 10 hairs at worst. This massive shed began right when i used minoxidil. And it is still going strong even when i already stopped the minoxidil 2 months ago.

[densedream]

Minoxidil is poison in my opinion. It has been said to be able to kill cats. Not sure how true that is but there is plenty of discussion on the internet about it. I used to use minox but quit after a few years. I saw great regrowth at first but then it just slowly dwindled away and I went back to where I started and even ended up worse. I had way more wrinkles and my skin looked like crap after all the minox use. After I quit I did not see an increase in shedding and maybe even a decrease. I remained on Finasteride and nizoral.

 

If you only used it for three weeks, your hair is in shock and will sort itself out with time. Nothing you can do at this point. It may end up worse than when you started because you hair has been introduced to a poison pretty much. The stuff should be banned in my opinion. I also had erection problems after starting minox. I blamed it on the propecia but after I quit minox my erections have slowly improved. Good Luck!

[leo23]

Minoxidil is poison in my opinion. It has been said to be able to kill cats. Not sure how true that is but there is plenty of discussion on the internet about it. I used to use minox but quit after a few years. I saw great regrowth at first but then it just slowly dwindled away and I went back to where I started and even ended up worse. I had way more wrinkles and my skin looked like crap after all the minox use. After I quit I did not see an increase in shedding and maybe even a decrease. I remained on Finasteride and nizoral.

 

If you only used it for three weeks, your hair is in shock and will sort itself out with time. Nothing you can do at this point. It may end up worse than when you started because you hair has been introduced to a poison pretty much. The stuff should be banned in my opinion. I also had erection problems after starting minox. I blamed it on the propecia but after I quit minox my erections have slowly improved. Good Luck!

 

Geez thanks! i dont think i was ever in a bad hair situation at all untill i started minox. Just a little thinning on the crown that barely showed. It's been almost 3 months of massive shedding since im on this so called poison. Hair effortlessly falling off my head throughout the day and a lot during shower. It's been such a stressful experience. I used to have thick hip-length hair and i have to cut it to shoulder length because of the massive shed. Now my bulk is significantly thinner, ponytail the size of my thumb. At this point, i dont even care if i lost so much length and volume. Just hoping it would stop.

 

I've read that the "initial shed" lasts about 2-3 months so im hoping the shedding would stop soon.

[densedream]

Sorry for the heavy worded reply but I just really hate this product. If you have stopped for 2 months already just give it more time and it will stop and recover. It puts your hair all out balance and wack in regards to the hair cycle. I suggest buying some Caboki hair concealer to give you a bit more density until your hair recovers from minox damage.

 

I never had that bad of thinning just slightly, I panicked, jumped on minox and my hair grew in well and I thought it was amazing. Then it reached it's peak at about 6-9 months and went downhill and left me way balder than when I started. I was shedding so unnaturally like never before. I wish I just took Propecia only. Eventually the loss stopped and and my hair regrew some but I never got back to where I was before minox.

[leo23]

Just an update. My hair is back to normal now. I lose 5 hairs a day at max now. And 20 hairs in the shower. The excessive shedding that happened after using minox went on for about 4 months total. Im never going back on minoxidil.

[g0910]

Four months! Wow! Thanks Leo for the update. How long after stopping Minoxidil did the shedding peak or get the worse? Leo, I just started a thread here at:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/176006-stopping-minoxidil-after-1-month.html

 

I actually had my new post at the end of this thread but moved it to my own thread which is the link above. Could you please reply on that thread and offer any advice based on your experience? Any advice will be extremely welcome. I'm basically in the same situation now as you were in. Thanks!

Edited July 11, 2014 by g0910

[leo23]

oh i'm so sorry g0910 about what you're going through. hairloss is such a terrible thing to happen to anyone and hopefully it will get better.

 

i dont think it peaked because i stopped minoxidil. i think the shedding just happened because that's what it normally does when you start minox. I stopped because i had really itchy scalp and i freaked out about the excessive shedding. i never had that severe of a shed before using it. and i read that if you use it long term, your follicles will be dependent on minox and will fall off if you stop it. i do not like that.

 

i thought that stopping minoxidil would also stop the excessive initial shedding. but it just went on. i read through the internet about their experiences with the initial shed and the length of the shed varies from person to person, from a week to five months. so i thought i'd just wait for it to stop (without using minox). trust me, the wait was not easy. my hair kept on falling throughout the day. from my own experience, stopping minoxidil during the initial shed will not take you back to how you were shedding before using it. if the initial shed has began, you just have to wait till it stops. i never thought it will but it did eventually.

 

i read on the internet that stopping minoxidil during the initial shedding phase, is a bad decision because the hair lost might not grow back. i checked my head just this week and i see a lot of small new hairs, about a quarter to a third of an inch thick in the base that tapers to the tip.

 

all in all, i never really needed minoxidil, i was only looking to possibly thicken my hair. before minox, i didnt shed a lot, i was not thinning (at least to the naked eye), or had any receding hairline. dumb decision really to try it out. i lost about 30 % of my volume and never really received anything beneficial from it. but at least i know the lost hair is growing back. i now take iron supplements, biotin, MSM, i put aloe vera on my scalp regularly and use virgin coconut oil on scalp and hair every weekend. no more minoxidil for me.

[g0910]

Thanks for the reply. Just to be clear, I wasn't shedding before I started Minox, All the shedding came from the initial dread shed. During those 4 months of shedding, how many weeks/months was the shedding the worse? Or did you loose the same amount of hairs every week? Thanks

[leo23]

it peaked by the end of month 3 where my hair fell out in clumps in the shower. i'd count the strands one by one and would stop counting if it would go more than a hundred. i remember this because i had special occasions during that period and all i can think about was my hair falling out. I use to have hip-length hair and cut 9 inches off of it sometime around month 3 in the hopes that it would lessen the hair fall due to tugging. but it didnt help.

 

i got through the whole stressful situation by not thinking about it too much. sometimes, you get preoccupied thinking about it, you just have to live and do other things. dont let it bother you, as stress can sometimes make it worse. also i would not shampoo everyday because i noticed i lose more hair in the shower so i would only shampoo when it's dirty. like thrice a week when the shedding was at it's peak.

[g0910]

I'm a worrier by nature and this situation threw me into a panic after reading some of the dreadful info on hair loss boards. I tried Minox and the paybacks will be HUGE. Their HUGE if you give up early (during the dread shed) and their huge if you use it long term and then stopped. A double-edge sword. It's one of the stupidest mistakes I ever made. I eat organic and take care of myself and try to avoid a toxic environment. So I can't IMAGINE putting this stuff on my head long term given the side effects I got in a month. Propecia is the worse I will do long term. I don't take any other meds.

 

But there's a small chance I will continue with iMinox. I've been off it 2.5 days which still allows me the option to continue, but I have not heard of any suggestions on my new thread here from knowledge hair people.. I would've hoped someone could offer different ways of sticking with this and dealing with my side effects. Also I was hoping someone would let me know if raising my Propecia dose would help or hurt my Minox initial shed.

 

About how many hairs were you loosing per day or per shower (at 3x/wk) during those peek shedding moments? Do you think taking those vitamins you described would slow the shed or does it only help new hair growth? Thx.

Edited July 11, 2014 by g0910

[leo23]

It was a lot. I'd stop counting when it reaches 100 but it still keeps falling further than that. I'd run my fingers through my hair while running water through it and i'd get around 5-10 strands stuck on my fingers. And that's just one stroke.

 

I dont know if the supllements i take would help with the shed. You cant really keep the hairs in your head that are gonna fall anyway with minox initial shed. I did it because i believe it helps grow hair, i think. Also, i use virgin coconut oil on my scalp for years. It prevents dandruff and conditions the scalp.

[savemyhairplease]

I use coconut oil too its very good

[lovehair1234]

ive had the same problem. ive been loosing my hair slowly for the past few years. jump on minox for 3 1/2 weeks. shed like crazy so i jumped off. Now its been a month and a half and im still continuing to lose. im just curious if i will get my hair that i shed back and how long before the shedding stops. Hoping to hear answers more then " you wouldve been that bald anyways by now" because that just simply isnt true. it wouldve taken 5 years to lose what ive lost in the last 2 months. any anwer would be greatly appreciated.

[ex-minoxuser]

I always read these posts but never post myself... maybe it is usefull though.

 

Start-shed and results minox

I started minoxidil begin august 2013. (i had a very bad tellogen effluvium after the death of a relative, no aga) I had a terrible shed almost immediately after starting minox (within a week i think), it lasted till begin october and then stopped. I lost then about 5 to 10 hairs a day and had a lot of regrowth.

 

Quit-shed minox

Unfortunately i am only 26 and would like to have children.... so i stopped half februari 2014. The quit shed was as bad as the initial starting shed, i think it has improved a little within the last month but i'm still losing at least 100 hairs a day... (i stop counting after that...) But ... i do also see little hairs slowly growing back.

 

Quitting during startshed (partially theory)

So, from my own experience combined with reading tons of these kind of posts i would say the initial shed is inavoidable and takes a few months and then stops. I does't seem to make a difference if you stop using minox during the shed. Once the shed starts you have to sit it out (on or of minox). It does make a difference for the speed of regrowth i believe... On minox the hairs start growing back much quicker than without minox. (i am comparing wit my current regrowth plus i read this in a scientific article: something to do with a shorter resting fase of the hair follicle when on minox)

As for the quit shed... i can only speak from my own experience there and i was on it for more than half a year. Maybe if you stop during the start-shed, you shed longer because the quit shed comes right after? Or maybe there is no quit shed at all? I read on a lot of fora that you only shed the new hairs you grew from minox which would mean that you don't have a quit shed after such a short period of use because there was no regrowth yet. I am pretty sure though that during my quit shed i am losing not only the new hairs but also my old hairs from before starting minox. I can say that very objectively because my old hairs are a lot langer than the new ones (max 8cm considering periode of minox-use) and since i am counting them i also see the lengths... Ofcourse there is no certain way to say if all of the shed is the 'quitshed' or a part, perhaps the long hairs, are my own shed...

Anyways, i do see hairs growing back so i suppose patience is the keyword. In theory: for every hair that falls out, a new one comes back... (although slowly...)

 

 

 

[lovehair1234]

leo i have the same problem. i have (had) amazing coverage. Ive been loosing my hair very slowly over many years. someone who was really bald would kill for my hair. having said that , i used minox for 3 1/2 weeks. from end of may to middle of june. i was shedding so much that i quit. cold turkey. yes i know dont quit cold turkey but its too late for that. any way its been 2 months and my hair has thinned all over. im sick about it. have you read how long it takes? i cant find any advice other then people telling me to read directions.. or stop talking trash about minox.. or , you were going to lose that hair anyways.. yea maybe so but definitely not this quick.. thoughts?? because this shed is killing me. I also quit during initial shed so idk if that makes it worse.

[combatdad]

Minox is poison, well it was for me. glad to hear that things have normalized. i will never use it again.

[aip253]

leo23, thanks for your feedback on minoxidil. I started minoxidil 6 weeks ago. The first 4 weeks I didn't use it regularly due to lack of time. After the first 4 weeks, I decided to give it a serious try and used it for two weeks. I don't really have a balding problem, my head is full of hair and just wanted to add some extra volume to my hairline. After using minoxidil the shedding became so crazy that I decided to stop. My hairline has now started to recede and I'm going crazy about my hair loss. Did you recover some hair after stopping minoxidil?

 

Thanks

[neely]

coconut oil someone mentioned. who else?