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Time Tested...baldy
approved
In 1988, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company introduced the first FDA-approved product proven to regrow hair. Since 1996, in light of their excellent safety profile, Rogaine Regular Strength for Men and Rogaine for Women have been sold as over-the-counter (non prescription) drugs. Rogaine
extra strength is now sold over the counter as well. It is a clear solution you apply to the top of your scalp where hair is thinning.
Rogaine is available as a pre-mixed
product created by Upjohn, but you can very easily obtain the
active ingredients in generic versions of this product. We
have made this accessible for you at the bottom of this page.
What exactly is it?
Minoxidil in its 2% form has been
approved for use in both Men and Women, however the 5% mixture has
just recently been approved for over the counter distribution, but
is only for use in Men. Minoxidil is an ingredient which
works to stimulate the hair follicles into growth. It is
safe to say that the 5% version is the strongest regrowth product available over the counter, while the 2% is something you
may wish to start with if you're just starting to experience balding.
Once again it is important to pace
yourself with hair loss treatments. As with any treatment,
you run the risk of it losing its effectiveness over time, so
start light, see if it works, then increase to 5% if you are not
seeing the results you want.
Pros and Cons
If you're like most people, the big
question is "Where do I start?" Trying to decide
the answer to this question is one of the toughest because starting something means a major
commitment. So the two major players are Propecia and Minox. Here are some benefits of
Minox over
Propecia:
- You can buy Minoxidil without
Prescription, whereas Propecia requires one
- Minox works locally, and
since it is a topical, its systemic (internal) effects are
minimal, whereas Propecia directly alters the Male Hormonal
system.
- Minox in its 2% form is
safe for use in both Men *and* Women, whereas Propecia is
only for use in Men
Propecia and
Minoxidil, the Ultimate Combination
If you are looking to kick start
some regrowth, and maintain what you have, but either have had no
success on Propecia or Rogaine alone, combining them is a sure way
to almost guarantee yourself some results.
The following fellow used Minox
and Propecia together for a year or so....
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Want
proof? Just take a look at Jon Ross's pictures: |
| Before
Propecia & Minox
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After
Propecia & Minox
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Email
Jon at res03hsp@gte.net
You can also view his full Bio here: Jon
Ross |
Using
both in conjunction is probably the most effective known treatment
to date for best regrowth. Why? Well, listen as one of our
users - Mike Leake [maleake@aol.com]
explains the plusses and minuses of Minox alone and in
conjunction with a therapy like Propecia:
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"Since part of the problem with hair thinning appears to be
a Nitric Oxide deficit due to vascular damage, anything that works on a hormonal level
(Propecia) is unlikely to substitute for those agents that supply
Nitroxides (Minox). In the past, many have tried dumping minox in favor of just sticking with other agents they were also using that worked on a hormonal level. They invariably regret it a few months later when all the minoxidil-stimulated and
minox-dependent shedding.
Minox stimulates hair to grow, of course, by non-hormonal methods.
Minox and other
Nitroxides are therefore able to stimulate hair that would remain unstimulated by hormone
modulation alone (Propecia). This is obvious from the chemicals involved, but also from those who start out with
Propecia and get some results, but get even more results when they use
Minox in addition.
Thus, when you remove that Nitric Oxide (NO) crutch, regardless how successful the hormonal modulation you may also be doing, you lose those hairs that were stimulated into activity by something that pinch-hit for the missing NO.
Since MPB is multifactorial, it only makes sense
that if you take care of just one of the factors you will have less than 100% success.
It's like someone who can't walk because he's got a broken leg and crippling arthritis, too. Mend the broken bone and you still have a problem."
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What are the downsides of
Minox?
- Since it is a topical
solution, you must apply it daily once or twice a day.
This can mean greater inconvenience for you and fitting into
your lifestyle.
Possible Side
Effects
- Mild scalp irritation
- Infrequently people have
experienced low blood pressure or an increase in heart rate
at the time of application.
How long will it
last?
Results vary from person to person. There
were,
however, a couple studies which evaluated men who had used topical
Minox in the 2% and 3% form for 5 years. These studies
show some very good information on the lasting effectiveness of
Minox over time. Some feel that they show a
decrease in effectiveness, whereas others feel it shows its long
term ability to fight off impending doom. Keeping in mind
that the absence of treatment will most assuredly mean a continued
dramatic balding, and discontinued regrowth, seeing how well Minox fended off this
effect for such a long time could indeed be an argument for its
staying power. Are you a half full or half empty kind of
person? Read the studies and decide for yourself!
Keep in mind, this was not the well known 5% form of Minoxidil,
nor were they using any other treatments at the time. You
have the luxury of combining effective treatments to further
increase your chances of regrowth. Both are available
below in PDF
format. You must have Acrobat Reader to view the
files - which is also available below.
Please
note: The file may appear blurry when viewing.
Simply go up to "View" and choose "Actual
Size" when it appears. This will clear it up.
Click Here to view one of our user's
Assessments of the above studies
The moral of the story
is that you need to pace yourself. Some of these treatments
won't last forever, but if used effectively, you can theoretically
extend their results for 5, 10, even 15 years. Dumping
everything on your head day 1 runs you the risk of seeing a
tolerance after 5 years for *EVERYTHING* and leaves you with no
options for other alternatives. See what works, give it 6
months, if it does then use it until it stops working. If it
doesn't, slowly add things one by one, starting with the most well
known effective treatments.
What Kind of
Results Can I Expect?
As with any regimen, your own
persistence and patience are the two most important factors in
seeing success. The process of losing hair takes time, so it
is logical to understand that reversing the process will time as
well. Many men take over 20 years to lose their
hair, so keep this in mind when starting any regimen.
With Minox, there is a lot of
work it needs to start doing on your scalp before you will see any
sort of beneficial results. If you have already begun to
lose your hair, there is a long process of follicle deterioration
that has already occurred, and the repair of that - bringing you
back to ground zero - is going to take some time. The
timeline for Minox is similar to that of Propecia:
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Month 1 - 2: You
may see an increase in shedding during this
time period. Do not worry - this most likely means the
treatment is working. What is happening, is that you
will have stimulated a new growth cycle to begin, and this
is going to push out some of the deteriorating follicles to
make way for the newer, stronger ones.
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Month 3 - 9: This
is the period where you may art to see some results.
Your first hairs may be small, thin, and lightly
pigmented. Over time these hairs will cycle through
their growth phases and each time come in stronger longer,
and darker. This response time may take up to a year
to occur, depending on the person.
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After 1 Year: You
will have gotten ahold of your hair loss problem. You
either will be experiencing new growth, or seeing a
significant slowing or stoppage of your balding.
Is this just
another Snake Oil?
No. Minoxidil has been
approved by the FDA as a Proven effective to stop hair loss
and for hair regrowth.
Where can I
buy minoxidil?
Click here to...
ORDER
ROGAINE/MINOXIDIL
FOR MEN AND WOMEN
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