Using minoxidil on recepien area after transplant, is it pointless?

[Blane123]

Would there be any point on using minoxidil on my temples where I've had my hair transplant done? Will I still be able to regrow some new hairs over there and improve density? Or not because of limited blood supply?

[LaserCaps]

The medication is systemic.  Put it on any one spot and it's working the whole head.  The medication is absorbed by the skin but has a universal effect throughout.  The only thing you're doing by putting it everywhere is just wasting the med.  

The purpose of the med is to help retain the native hair.  Grafts do not need the medication. They come from an area that seems to be resistant to DHT.  If the hair is permanent in the donor, it'll be permanent wherever it's placed.  

The head is very vascular.  Limited blood supply? I don't think so.  

Nothing regrows hair.  You can, however, retain and even enhanced miniaturized hair.  Once gone, however, the hair will not return.

You may want to consider all medical modalities.  The mechanism of action of each is totally different and there's synergy when combined.  That is, they work better together than separately. 

[ciaus]

There's some evidence it could help jumpstart results, since minoxidil effects and extends the growth cycles of all your hairs. But not enough to confirm. This oold study from 1987 with 12 participants that just had transplants had 2 that didn't shed the transplanted hairs at all and 2 others that started regrowing the hairs at 4 weeks instead of the usual 3-4 months. 

You've got to consider they started the minoxidil just 2-3 days after the transplants. That's still a pretty vulnerable time for the grafts, especially if we're talking about using topical minoxidil. I wouldn't have the guts to be touching that area so soon and applying something that dries out the skin and could potentially create enough irritation to slow healing. Taking oral minoxidil would get around that though.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3558912/

[Gatsby]

16 hours ago, Blane123 said:

Would there be any point on using minoxidil on my temples where I've had my hair transplant done? Will I still be able to regrow some new hairs over there and improve density? Or not because of limited blood supply?

If the native hair in your temple points is gone then minoxidil won't do a thing. But if you have some miniaturized hair s there then why not. I personally wouldn't be applying topical minoxidil on the recipient area post op for a couple of weeks as it will still be a tender area. Oral minoxidil would be a good choice though and you won't have to touch the recipient area at all.