Minoxidil is highly effective but has side effects.

Minoxidil has been shown to have a hair growth effect and is an indispensable drug for the treatment of AGA.
It is widely used including external medicines, oral medicines, and injections, but hirsutism can be cited as a side effect.
This is a side effect that women are especially concerned about when undergoing hair loss treatment.
This time, we will talk about the side effects of minoxidil.hirsutism” will be explained.

If you would like to know more about minoxidil, please take a look here.

Side effects of minoxidil

The incidence of side effects with minoxidil is as follows:

Side effects have been confirmed for all oral medications, external medications, and injections.
Approximately 2 to 3% of people who use topical medications or injections experience hair loss around the face, and are said to have relatively few side effects.
on the other hand,Hirsutism has been confirmed on average in around 20% of patients taking oral medications, and there are reports that it has been observed in over 90% of cases.
I can't say for certain, but it seems certain that it is not a drug with few side effects.

If you stop taking minoxidil...

If you reduce the amount of medication due to concerns about side effects,Theoretically, the hair growth effect will decrease not only for body hair but also for hair., it is thought that if it is discontinued or interrupted, it will gradually return to normal.

In our clinic's experience, some patients choose to increase the concentration of minoxidil and proceed with treatment if they understand the side effects and want to emphasize the hair growth effect.
On the other hand, there are some people who wish to reduce their dosage because they are concerned about body hair.
For example, some people report that their body hair has become thinner after reducing their 10mg prescription to 5mg.The effect of drug reduction on hair growth seems to depend on the patient.

About taking minoxidil after hair removal is complete

The number of people receiving medical hair removal and aesthetic hair removal is increasing every year.
Men are also becoming more interested in beauty, and hair removal is no longer just for women.

Therefore, what will happen if you use minoxidil while undergoing hair removal treatment? We often get questions like this.
The mechanism of hair removal in both medical hair removal and aesthetic hair removal is to recognize and react to the melanin pigment in the hair, causing hair loss (hair loss), so theoretically hair removal is complete and the cells in the hair root have completely died. New hair cannot grow from existing pores.
This also applies to hair on the head. If the hair roots have already died and turned into skin, the hair will not regrow even if you take or administer drugs. will not be affected by.

Some patients report that their hair has grown thicker even after hair removal has been completed.
So why do some people feel like their hair has grown thicker even after complete hair removal?

When you undergo hair removal treatment, your skin may look beautiful at first glance, but thin, thin hair with a thinner pigment will remain.
During hair removal, the melanin pigment cannot be recognized and cannot be completely removed.
This hair growth is affected by the side effects of minoxidil, soThe thick and dense growth of downy hair is the reason why even people who should have completed hair removal may feel like their hair is growing back.
On the other hand, it may be easier to recognize the hair roots of downy hair, and although it may be a hassle, it is also an opportunity to remove the downy hair that has become thicker due to side effects with hair removal.

Hair loss while taking minoxidil

Doctors have different opinions on hair removal while using minoxidil.
Some clinics do not perform treatments on people using minoxidil, or accept the condition that they stop using minoxidil during the treatment period.
However, once you stop using the drug, the hair growth effect may decrease.

As for patients themselves, I think there are some who want to grow hair but want to lose body hair.
Considering the patient's feelings, our clinic's opinion is that there is no need to stop taking minoxidil for hair loss.I think it would be a good idea to listen to the patient's wishes and understand that the hair removal effect may be reduced before using it in conjunction with hair removal.

Summary of this time

・Although minoxidil has been shown to have a hair growth effect, it also causes hirsutism as a side effect.
・Side effects may be improved by discontinuing or reducing the dose of oral medication.
・Doctors have different opinions regarding hair removal while using minoxidil, but our clinic's opinion is that there is no need to stop taking minoxidil for hair removal, and please understand that the hair removal effect may decrease. I think it would be good to use hair removal in combination with this.

▼If you would like to know about treatments other than minoxidil, please also check this out!