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One of the biggest problems men with pattern hair loss have to deal with is a receding frontal hairline.
If this is you, one of the first things you will probably be recommended is minoxidil.
But can minoxidil work for this kind of hair loss? Can it actually restore your previous hairline?
Today, we’ll be giving you a very clear answer and breaking down the science behind this very important topic.
After watching, you’ll know exactly what results to expect if you’re considering or are actually using minoxidil.
Stay tuned.
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Hello, and welcome to today’s video.
So the million dollar question we’ll be looking at it today: can minoxidil reverse frontal hair loss?
Now first things first: minoxidil works best for hair loss in the crown.
Same with finasteride.
Works best for the crown.
Now that doesn’t mean that Minoxidil can’t work for the front.
It can, but within limits.
Let me explain what I mean.
MINOXIDIL AND THE HAIRLINE
When we talk about frontal hair loss, we need to distinguish two things.
There’s complete baldness, and then there’s thinning.
So when I am talking about complete baldness, I’m referring to your new forehead.
Your forehead starts very low when you’re a teenager.
And it keeps on getting higher and higher as your hair loss progresses.
Typically it starts expanding at the temples, and begins to form an M shaped pattern.
And in advanced baldness, after the temples have moved sufficiently back, the middle part also recedes.
And then before you know it, you’re a Norwood 4.
So minoxidil can’t restore your forehead to what it was.
But here’s the thing. This balding process doesn’t happen overnight.
You don’t go to bed one night and wake up in the morning and the forehead has expanded.
There’s stages to this process.
A gradient.
Where the hairs get progressively finer and sparser.
As the affected area goes from completely normal to completely miniaturized.
So, while a part of the scalp is still going through this miniaturization process, BUT HASN’T YET GONE COMPLETELY BALD, minoxidil can help.
For example, have a look at this photo.
Now this is moderately advanced hair loss, around a Norwood 3 to 4.
We can imagine in the teenage years the hairline being something like this:
That’s never coming back, not with all the minoxidil in the world.
His new, best case scenario hairline is this:
Again, he can use all the minoxidil in the world, but it’s never gonna get lower that that.
All the scalp below this blue line is now completely bald.
And minoxidil will do nothing with it.
But this is the area where minoxidil can make a real difference:
This area has thinned considerably, and the remaining hairs are in various stages of the miniaturization process.
But he still has hair here.
And this is where minoxidil can give the best results: halting the hair loss and improving density.
MINOXIDIL RESPONSE RATES
Now, as we’ve discussed in other videos, about one in 2 minoxidil users will see regrowth in thinning areas.
The other 50% are advised to quit after they’ve been on it for 4 months without results.
And, for those that get results, treatment has to continue indefinitely.
As soon as it stops, any new hairs will fall back out again.
I should clarify that this 50% response rate applies to minoxidil monotherapy. So for men that are using minoxidil only.
Combining minoxidil with other treatments, be they topical or systemic, generally gives better
response rates.
Reference Links
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
bpb.pharm.or.jp/bpb/200606/b0...