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How Does Minoxidil Help With Hair Loss?
Minoxidil is a topical treatment that is used in individuals with male and female pattern hair loss, also known as androgenetic alopecia.
In males, Minoxidil is best used in conjunction with Finasteride.
How Does Minoxidil Help With Androgenetic Alopecia?
In androgenetic alopecia, hair miniaturisation occurs, whereby matured hair that is thick and pigmented turns into finer and less pigmented ones called vellus hair.
Miniaturisation may progress to a point where hair follicles shrink and no more hair grows from it, leading to a reduction in hair numbers and hair loss.
Minoxidil has been shown to reverse the miniaturisation of hair follicles in the crown area and frontal scalp of patients with androgenetic alopecia [1]. This is done by increasing blood circulation to the area and lengthening the growth phase of each hair follicle.
Limitations of Minoxidil
However, Minoxidil does not work on areas of the scalp that has grown completely bald, as this suggests that the opening of the hair follicles have closed completely.
In such cases, the only treatment that allows for hair growth would be a hair transplant, also known as follicular unit extraction.
Should you have any concerns regarding the use of Minoxidil or the type of hair loss you may be experiencing, do consult a trusted doctor to carry out a proper assessment and diagnosis of your condition. Hope this helps!
Read this article for the complete guide to hair loss treatment in Singapore.
References:
[1] Mirmirani P, Consolo M, Oyetakin-White P, Baron E, Leahy P, Karnik P. Similar response patterns to topical minoxidil foam 5% in frontal and vertex scalp of men with androgenetic alopecia: a microarray analysis. Br J Dermatol. 2015;172(6):1555-1561. doi:10.1111/bjd.13399
