rogaine question

[azza786]

hi all,

 

for the last few days, i have been trying to decide if i should get on rogaine as well as proscar (which i am currently taking) as recommended by many physicians (including my one) and by those who have been on it as well.

 

the problem with me is that my scalp tends to flake easily. even now at 2 months post op, its a mess on my recepient area, some areas seem as if a little bit of white talcum powder has intentionally been applied!

 

so based on that, i am not really willing to increase the rate of flaking as i dont like it at all.

 

also, from past experience, i did not have the greatest time with rogaine in that even though i got some thickening, i did get my fair share of shedding. so the worry of startig and stopping and maybe having to face this is not what im looking for.

 

as you all may be aware that my first HT results were somewhat underachieved and i wonder sometimes that maybe rogaine could have made a difference. i am not sure.

 

currently if you look at my blog, you can see that im on proscar, revita and msm.

 

has anybody got any useful insights they can give?

 

i know im being a pain as i have probs asked this before but this is a different situation with a different approach this time.

 

thanks for your time

 

az!

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

If you are in your 20's or 30's, have a fair amount of residual "native" hair on top, and want to do EVERYTHING possible to hold onto it and remain as thick as possible, then I would recommend using both minoxidil topically and finasteride orally.

It sounds like your scalp may be reacting to the Propylene Glycol preservative that is used in the topical minoxidil solution. The new Rogaine Foam, though more expensive, doesn't have this chemical in it and may be more friendly to your skin.

There is a synergistic effect from using both of these drugs. The problem with minoxidil is that you have to be religiously faithful about using it. If you take little "breaks" from using it, your gains will be lost quickly and such a strategy doesn't make any sense.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[azza786]

dr beehner,

 

thank you for your reply. so from your post, am i correct to assume that if the intention is to get grafts to grow in quicker from OP and the person has scalp issues such as mine, then it makes sense to not use rogaine and use other oral methods of doin so

 

however, if the intnetion is to as you have said is to hold onto whatever you can possible then it makes sense to use both fin and minox together.

 

the reason im in 2 minds about rogaine is that it could/ could not speed up growth and grow all my grafts. i didnt use rogaine in my previous procedure and the outcome wasnt sufficient. im ambigous as to if minox would have made the difference or not.

[wantego]

Azza I'm hoping you do not mind me adding my own question to your thread. If you do let me know and I will delete it.

 

My doctors paperwork suggest we use Rogaine on our transplants for 12 months. I think this may be to "jump start" the grafts. What will happen if we stop Rogaine after 12 months? Will we lose our growth to our grafts?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Good topic.

 

I will be moving this to the "Hair Loss Drugs" section of the forum later tonight.

 

Bill

[azza786]

Originally posted by wantego:

Azza I'm hoping you do not mind me adding my own question to your thread. If you do let me know and I will delete it.

 

My doctors paperwork suggest we use Rogaine on our transplants for 12 months. I think this may be to "jump start" the grafts. What will happen if we stop Rogaine after 12 months? Will we lose our growth to our grafts?

 

no worrys wantego,

 

the more the merrier, i dont mind.

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Those grafts are not going anywhere.

I havent noticed any jumpstart using it.

[TooThin]

azza:

 

I used to get itching and flakiness from the liquid form of Rogaine. However, I have been using the Rogaine 5% foam product for about 20 months now and have not experienced the itchy, dry scalp.

 

If you have an ongoing problem of dry, itchy scalp, I suggest you try using Nizoral shampoo twice per week. I find it works well.

 

Formerly TooThin

[azza786]

Originally posted by TooThin:

azza:

 

I used to get itching and flakiness from the liquid form of Rogaine. However, I have been using the Rogaine 5% foam product for about 20 months now and have not experienced the itchy, dry scalp.

 

If you have an ongoing problem of dry, itchy scalp, I suggest you try using Nizoral shampoo twice per week. I find it works well.

 

Formerly TooThin

 

so what do you make of the foam with your long usage?

[wantego]

What do you guys find is the best way to get the foam directly to the scalp instead of all over your hair?

[azza786]

the problem is that i dont mind taking rogaine but am skeptical about the down time that can occur from it i.e. shedding etc. a HT is a pain the backside as it is in terms of the waiting game and the inclusion of rogaine could make it worse.

 

and as many have said, its not a good idea to jump on and off it. so i dont really understand that if the only reason to use minoxidil is to get it to grow quicker, then you may as well lessen the hassle and allow for it to grow when it wants and use other means such as proscar, revita or nizoral.

 

there have been reports by patients who have lost some of their transplanted hair due to stopping use of rogaine. its a very ambigous situation.

[azza786]

jus thinking about it,, if rogaine really is soo effective and you are a bit hasty on using it, i guess using the 2% once a day wouldnt kill will it!

[JohnS]

Originally posted by wantego:

What do you guys find is the best way to get the foam directly to the scalp instead of all over your hair?

 

Maybe you should try melting the foam before applying it. In small studies with the macaque, the foam was melted before application and worked. Put it into the cap and let it melt by using a small amount of heat from a blow dryer, then apply it will a dropper. This will get it directly to your scalp and it dries just as quick as in the foam state.

[JohnS]

Originally posted by wantego:

Azza I'm hoping you do not mind me adding my own question to your thread. If you do let me know and I will delete it.

 

My doctors paperwork suggest we use Rogaine on our transplants for 12 months. I think this may be to "jump start" the grafts. What will happen if we stop Rogaine after 12 months? Will we lose our growth to our grafts?

 

 

The transplanted hairs will not regress when stopping minoxidil applications, since they are not prone to miniaturization, though the surrounding hairs might regress to their former state if they were prone to miniaturize.

 

In a small study, minoxidil used within 48-72 hours following a transplant avoided the normal shedding of transplanted hairs in a number of participants and in others that did shed, growth began earlier than normal, using within a month or so. IMO, there really is no downside in early minoxidil applications.

[azza786]

Originally posted by JohnS:

Originally posted by wantego:

Azza I'm hoping you do not mind me adding my own question to your thread. If you do let me know and I will delete it.

 

My doctors paperwork suggest we use Rogaine on our transplants for 12 months. I think this may be to "jump start" the grafts. What will happen if we stop Rogaine after 12 months? Will we lose our growth to our grafts?

 

 

The transplanted hairs will not regress when stopping minoxidil applications, since they are not prone to miniaturization, though the surrounding hairs might regress to their former state if they were prone to miniaturize.

 

In a small study, minoxidil used within 48-72 hours following a transplant avoided the normal shedding of transplanted hairs in a number of participants and in others that did shed, growth began earlier than normal, using within a month or so. IMO, there really is no downside in early minoxidil applications.

 

john,

 

yes i have seen these claims on here. like i said its not the worry about getting on it, it is just the worry of what could happen to HT hair if they become hooked on to it.

[LT]

You said "I have been using the Rogaine 5% foam product for about 20 months now"

 

So is Rogain doing anything for you after 20 months? I am about to order Rogain and give a better shot than I did last time only 3 months wasn't long enough to see any results.