Oral Minoxidil vs Topical Minoxidil Which is Better?

[gillenator]

There really needs to be more clinical studies on this comparing the efficiency of the two.

[Melvin- Admin]

From speaking with doctors who prescribe it regularly, it’s definitely more effective than topical, but with higher incidence of side effects. Definitely not suitable for every patient.

[dtap]

On 1/4/2021 at 11:34 PM, ciaus said:

Congrats I've been using 2.5mg since the summer and I agree about keeping it below 5mg to minimize side effect chances. I didn't last long on the topical when I tried it years ago due to scalp skin conditions it irritated.

I'm in the US too, were the 5mg pills cheaper for you? I get 2.5mg pills and they are pretty cheap, and with a goodrx discount its about $15 for a 60 day supply.

Really? I didnt know they sold minoxidil pills. Where have I been all this time? Will look into it.

Do you need a script for them? How much are they? How are they working out for you?

[Legend007]

I’m going to start oral minoxidil too .. I’ve been lowering my dosage on fin .. just once every other day .. n probably supplementing oral minoxidil with it …

I hate taking meds for anything .. but when ur body or hair has health issues u have to do something about it .. or it just gets worse .. 

My hair volume has gotten less with each year .. n as much as I don’t like fin , I know it has stopped my hair from falling out as much .. 

[HairRun]

It is recommended by Dr Shapiro, so that's pretty much all I need to know lol 

[rob7331]

Not to revive this thread again, but now that some time has passed can anybody speak to their oral minoxidil experience? It seems like a relatively easy thing to add to a regimen. @Melvin- Moderator can you tell if it's been working for you at all? A net positive overall?

[Rolandas]

On 7/10/2021 at 2:27 PM, rob7331 said:

Not to revive this thread again, but now that some time has passed can anybody speak to their oral minoxidil experience? It seems like a relatively easy thing to add to a regimen. @Melvin- Moderator can you tell if it's been working for you at all? A net positive overall?

Here's my 2 week update so far.

 

[hybonix]

@Melvin- ModeratorDo you have any updates? I am about to run out of topical minox and going to get a prescription in the next week or two for oral if you have had good success with your journey.

[rob7331]

I too just had my doctor write me a prescription for oral minox. He was very curious about it and we chatted for quite a bit. He's a fantastic and caring doctor - he sent me some blood tests to get done as he wants to see a baseline before I start the oral minox. I'll be starting with a low dose at 1.25 mg a day.

Edited July 23, 2021 by rob7331

[hybonix]

17 hours ago, rob7331 said:

I too just had my doctor write me a prescription for oral minox. He was very curious about it and we chatted for quite a bit. He's a fantastic and caring doctor - he sent me some blood tests to get done as he wants to see a baseline before I start the oral minox. I'll be starting with a low dose at 1.25 mg a day.

I just started oral minox (1.25mg for 30 - 90 days and will increase to 2.5mg) yesterday night. I am experiencing a tight chest already as I tend to be very sensitive with any medication. However, this also happened when I started topical and the sides went away after a week. SMG did not order any blood tests to see where I am at and I am curious if that is something I should do or not.

[Pephair]

I've been on 2.5mg for about 4 weeks now. No worrying symptoms. I am developing small hairs near my eyebrows that are connecting right below my temples which is interesting. I'm assuming this means it is working because I didn't get this with topical 5%.

Does anyone know the likelihood of increased body hair correlates to hair growth on the scalp as well?

[washingtondc]

Bumping this thread as I also just started oral Minox, taking the same route as many and starting with 1.25 before potentially increasing. Seems like there are a few of us in this boat all starting at around the same time; hopefully it works great for everybody.

I hadn't used minoxidil much (definitely not to the degree I would have needed to to see effects) previous to now; just finasteride on and off for some years, so I'm hoping to see some benefit by adding it in. Honestly I wouldn't mind if it goes slightly systemic and thickens up my beard hair as well; that's always been pretty patchy.

Curious to see how your experience has been so far @Melvin- Moderator? Or anyone else who's been on it for a bit?

Edited August 5, 2021 by washingtondc

[Over-Rated]

On 1/5/2021 at 2:30 AM, Gasthoerer said:

While the first might be true the second makes no sense. Minox and FIN have totally different work pathes, hence there is no connection between sides of one or the other IMO.  A lot of sides from minox coming from the other ingredients, not from minox itself. 

Anyway, oral makes IMO only sense if you are a topical non responder IMO.  

I am using FIN since 7+ years without critical side effects. Unfortunately, I got heavy skin irritations from liquid minox. I do not get any from the foam, but figured I have not enough enzymes in the skin and hence am a non responder. On oral minox I got a lot of regrowth/new growth, but also on beard and body hair. Had to stop as I could not get a prescription though and drinking the liquid gave me again skin irritations.  

Very interesting.

It makes sense the topical minoxidil can be used orally as it's basically just alcohol and pg.

How did you measure it out exactly? What dosage did you use? 0.1ml = 5mg?

[Over-Rated]

On 1/28/2021 at 10:53 AM, ciaus said:

There was a guy that had a topic over in the hair loss drug section that said he was drinking it. I tried to warn him against it. Here's the label for one of the more popular brands of minoxidil sold in the USA, the Kirkland brand. It clearly has a warning about swallowing it

 

That doesn't mean much though. Of course they put that in case someone tries to drink 1ml or something.

One must look at the ingredients, they are all 'safe' and you would only require 1 or 2 drops.

Active Ingredients: Kirkland Minoxidil 5% w/v. Inactive ingredients: Alcohol, 30% v/v, propylene glycol, 50% v/v, purified water.

5% strength means

1ml = 50mg 0.1ml = 5mg 0.01ml = 0.5mg

One "drop" is around 0.05ml roughly which equates to 2.5mg of minoxidil.

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Over-Rated

[BOW32]

How is everyone getting on out of the guys who have started it on this thread this year? I have my order arriving soon, and plan to start with 1.25mg daily. 

[Lightmare]

+1, how is this going for everyone?  

[kirkland]

I've been on oral minox for almost a full year, going from 1.25 to 2.5 mg per day. No sides. Increase in thickness of body hair but not really transforming into Bigfoot so I'm good.

[Lightmare]

@kirklandhave you noticed any improvements in your scalp hair?  

[kirkland]

Given that I recently had a transplant as a NW6, the only area that I would notice improvement is in the crown area where it is thinning and received no transplants. If there was improvement, it is not dramatic but subtle.  I've been debating bumping the dosage to 5 mg per day and testing that dosage for six months. At 2.5 mg per day, I've had no sides.

[aaron1234]

Add me to the list of those trying out oral minoxidil, starting at 1.25 mg.  I tried the topical version many years ago and my scalp had an allergic reaction to it.  I've been on oral min for 2 weeks now and have felt some slight chest tightness and tingling in my feet.  Going to keep on it unless the sides get worse.  

[kirkland]

My suggestion is to pick up an at-home blood pressure cuff and monitor your systolic and diastolic pressures. I found one on Amazon (Canada) that works really well and was not pricey: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08B5XB6TR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Minox is a hypertensive medication and so you should monitor your blood pressure as a precaution, particularly if you are experiencing symptoms in the chest or extremities.

[gillenator]

This should also be discussed with your PCP especially when taking the oral form.

[Lightmare]

Thanks Kirkland for sharing.  

I used topical min for 3 years and had initially fantastic regrowth in the crown and good regrowth in the frontal 3rd, but most of it was lost slowly until last year when I had my HT and started taking fin.  Additionally, after about 3 months on the topical min I got horrible minoxidandruff flakes that have stayed with me ever since (both topical and foam).  

10 days ago I finally got a prescription for Oral Minoxidil.  Currently I am combining the 1.25mg half-pill with once a day Lipogaine (skin reacts better to that) at night.  

So far no sides, and my doctor plans to increase the dose to 2.5mg if I tolerate after a month or so.  At this point I'll hope to ditch the topical min and be free of the dandruff curse for good.  I've been using a blood monitor at the recommendation of my doctor and so far so good.

[kirkland]

10 hours ago, Lightmare said:

I've been using a blood monitor at the recommendation of my doctor and so far so good.

Good to hear.

[NARMAK]

Personally i'm not comfortable recommending oral Minoxidil to others. I think topical Minoxidil can be more targeted on the scalp and there's less chance of the side affects Oral Minoxidil usually has associated with it. Also you avoid some Trichosis potentially rearing its head. 

I'd say Norwood 3/4 and those with diffuse thinning would benefit from. It the most. As some of you here have said, you're coming from a full NW5+ transplant on the top and it's much harder to evaluate the efficacy.