stopping oral minoxidil after growth

[HarryHonolulu]

hey all

I am about to hop on the oral minoxidil train and have a basic question:

let's say in 12 months time I see serious regrowth. could I just stop taking oral minoxidil and stay on oral finasteride?

my logic is probably flawed, but I just assumed the minoxidil is to regrow the hair and the finasteride is to maintain it... 

Edited December 13, 2022 by HarryHonolulu

[Melvin- Admin]

If you get gains from OM you will lose it if you stop it. 

[HarryHonolulu]

thanks Melvin.

will Oral Minoxidil do anything for miniaturization in the hairline? i.e. will it "thicken" visibly thin hair? 

or what is its major area of success?

Edited December 13, 2022 by HarryHonolulu

[Melvin- Admin]

3 minutes ago, HarryHonolulu said:

thanks Melvin.

will Oral Minoxidil do anything for miniaturization in the hairline? i.e. will it "thicken" visibly thin hair? 

or what is its major area of success?

It thickens everything. I’ve noticed Its even thickened my donor. The actual hair shaft is thicker. There’s concerns which are valid about blood pressure and heart palpitations. But I haven’t experienced any side’s thankfully. But if you do I would stop right away. 

[HarryHonolulu]

what dosage are you on?

for what it's worth, my cousin is a cardiologist and literally said "go ahead, see how it goes, the cardiovascular risks at low dose are negligible"

[Melvin- Admin]

25 minutes ago, HarryHonolulu said:

what dosage are you on?

for what it's worth, my cousin is a cardiologist and literally said "go ahead, see how it goes, the cardiovascular risks at low dose are negligible"

I’m on 2.5 mg, I do 5 mg 3x a week. Yea at this dosage the risk is low.

[GoliGoliGoli]

It isn't what you're asking, but I've always wondered if you can get on Oral and Topical Min, use oral for like 6-12 months, then get off and only use topical and keep whatever gains you got from Oral

[Melvin- Admin]

46 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

It isn't what you're asking, but I've always wondered if you can get on Oral and Topical Min, use oral for like 6-12 months, then get off and only use topical and keep whatever gains you got from Oral

I’m not sure that would work, I’m sure you’ll keep some gains, but not all.

[Gatsby]

7 hours ago, HarryHonolulu said:

hey all

I am about to hop on the oral minoxidil train and have a basic question:

let's say in 12 months time I see serious regrowth. could I just stop taking oral minoxidil and stay on oral finasteride?

my logic is probably flawed, but I just assumed the minoxidil is to regrow the hair and the finasteride is to maintain it... 

The problem when you are taking more than one hair loss drug is that you really don't know what is doing what (though I'm sure you have a fair idea). What if the gains are all attributed to the oral minoxidil?

[WhereIsMyMind]

In reality there is no study proving that minoxidil gains should be lost afterwards, there's no scientific explanation for that.

But what we know, from empirical evidence, is that most people who had gains on minoxidil lose them if they stop it. There are some studies combining minoxidil + microneedling, which keep gains much longer after stopping though.

In short, you are in experimental territory, better try find out for yourself, but be warned that most likely, it won't work.

[g8n2h9k3u7]

Doubtful. DHT-inhibitors and minoxidil have completely different mechanisms of action. In my experience (with topical, not oral), the two have no synergy whatsoever. If you stop minoxidil you will lose all gains in a timeframe of weeks. Moreover, you will actually shed beyond your baseline level of hairloss, though the shed will regrow and within a few weeks you will return to baseline.