Minoxidil!
Doo-doo-dee-doo-doo!
Minoxidil!
Doo-doo-dee-doo!
Minoxidil!
Doo-doo-dee-doo- doo!
Dee-doo-doo!
Dee-doo-doo-doo-doo-dee-dee-doo-doo doo
Hey everybody, It’s Fri-DAY!
I know it as Fri-YAY because it is the end of the week, and I am super excited.
Today, I got a question from a viewer on Facebook.
They wanted to know --- what is the deal with minoxidil?
You may know it as Rogaine! So let’s get into what I've learned!
In 1968 the Upjohn pharmaceutical company tested minoxidil orally for patients that
had high blood pressure, and what they noticed was these patients had some odd side effects.
They were sprouting hair from their ears, from their back, and their cheeks.
Instead of saying OH MY GOD!
WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!?
They said, ah-ha!
And decided to test it as a trop- a TOPICAL!
Not A tropical, a topical treatment for the scalp.
It came out in 1988 as Rogaine, and it is now a brand owned by the Johnson & Johnson
pharmaceutical company.
How does it work?
Well, it turns out, science doesn’t know.
I know, you’re disappointed.
We’re unsure of the exact mechanism that promotes hair growth, but what we do know,
is that it is a potassium channel opener and a vasodilator, which means that it opens blood
vessels.
What scientists speculate is happening is that it opens blood vessels.
It pushes more oxygen, and nutrients, and blood through, and so that is getting to the
hair follicle.
In animal studies, what they noticed is that topical minoxidil shortens the telogen phase.
So at any given moment our hair is going through a number of different phases.
Not every hair strand is going through the same phase at the same time, cause if we did
that, we’d be molting like a snake….
GROSS!
Or we’d be bald!
It turns out that the telogen phase is the rest phase, so that’s where hair gets a
break, right before the hair strand falls out.
Because they’re shortening this phase, it means that the hair can go to the growth phase
sooner.
And so other studies have pointing out that it may also prolong the anagen or growth phase,
and that it may increase the hair follicle size, which means the diameter of the hair.
And so, one thing I want to point out here though, is things that happen in animal studies
sometimes don’t translate to human as well.
Now you’re probably like, “Oh My God!
What is this miracle ingredient, where can I buy it? ” and, “why are there still
bald heads hanging around?!?”
Well, let’s talk about the first thing.
Let’s talk about who this ingredient actually works for… because there are different types
of hair loss, and this does not work for every type of hair loss or hair loss in every stage.
It is for men and women with diffuse androgenetic alopecia, that is hereditary hair loss.
And this is the type of hair loss where the hair follicle starts to shrink in thickness.
And so each growth, produces shorter and finer hair, that eventually cease to grow at all.
Minoxidil doesn’t treat the type of hair loss that is sudden or patchy.
That is a different type of hair loss- and we are going to discuss that in another video.
Also, it does not treat the hair loss that is in the front of the scalp.
So they’re probably referring to things like a receding hairline, if you have that
this is not the ingredient or the product for you.
And lastly, you may still use it and have all of those qualifications - and still not
experience hair growth, so that is something to be mindful of.
Now Rogaine is best used BEFORE you start to lose lots of hair.
So you need to think of this a little bit like anti-aging products, where we put it
on BEFORE the wrinkles start to happen, as a sort of preventative measure and that is
because prolonged androgenetic alopecia MAY destroy hair follicles.
Another important note is that any measurable changes that you see while using the Rogaine
product - those will disappear if you decide to discontinue using the product.
So over the course of three to four months, you will lose some of those gains you made.
What this means is you’ll need to use the product for LIKE…
EVER!
But other than that, that’s a good trade off for some people.
If you wanted to buy Rogaine, there are two options.
There is a liquid version and a foam version.
For the womens there is a 2% topical solution that can be applied two times daily with a
dropper.
Or a five percent foam, that you can apply once daily.
For the men there is a five percent foam, that can be applied once a day, and a five
percent topical solution that can be applied two times a day.
Now many of you out there are sharp cookies and you’re like, “Hey!
Why do the men get to apply the five percent twice a day and the women only get to
apply it once a day?
That’s not cool!”
I’ve seen a lot of conversations about this online, where women are marching out and there
going to buy the men’s product because they feel like they’re gettin’ cheated
out on some hair growth!
So maybe it’s something where we (women) only have to apply the five percent once a
day to get the same result that men have to work twice as hard for.
When does that happen in the world?
Minoxidil is not the only solution for hair loss, there are others, but if you have ideas
you want me to talk about in a video definitely let me know by putting them in the comments
section below.
And if you liked this video and appreciate the kind of content that I make give me a
thumbs up.
If you want to join me on the journey and explore your cosmetic products, then consider
subscribing, and lastly if you want to do be notified when my videos come out, so that
you can comment and we can have a discussion, click that notification bell.
I will see you guys later