Can women use 5 % Rogaine

[1945mama]

I was advised by my dermatologist to use the mens rogaine because it is stronger than womens.
About 2 years ago I tried the womens for a few months and nothing happened. My hair has been thinning for at least 10 years, and I went through several months of a very stressful situation last year and my hair got so thin it was embarrasing. So in January I went to the derm. and she told me to use the mens 5% solution. After 6 months my hair is thicker than its been for decades. I don't like the feel of the stuff on my hair, but its tons better than having my scalp show. I advise women who are thinking about this to go ahead and give it a 6 month commitment and see how much it can help. I put it on twice a day.

[JaneAvril]

Hi, Tracy! It sounds like that, but not. I put it in my hairline split and that area that is thinning. It's working.

I simply pull my hair back in a comb and my hair no longer falls around my face. It's only on the top of my scalp and a tiny "leftover" bit along the front of the sides. I massage it in very well for a couple of minutes. It is working like a mousse for me to have my hair held back while it dries.

It IS medicine, but it has mousse-like ability to keep my hair in place. At least it is for me. Beforehand, I used no products in my hair. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Tracy C]

Hi Jane,

In reading your post it sounds like you are not using the foam correctly. This medicine is not a mouse. This medicine is supposed to be messaged into your scalp. You will gain more benefit from this medication if you use it properly.

[JaneAvril]

Hi, peoples! This is my first post. I finally Googled "Why can't Women use Men's Rogaine?", and found this forum! I've been using Men's foam/mousse since September 2012.
I tried the yucky women's minoxidil...an eye dropper? It ran all over my head and was just a mess. Dripping everywhere except where I wanted it to go!

I asked pharmacists why, and they told me to ask my M.D. I was watching Dr. Oz one day in September, and he said that women should use OTC Rogaine OR get a prescription for Propecia from their doctor. Propecia? EWW eww eww! The warnings were so severe for women and who wants MORE facial hair?? I bought CVS's generic minoxidil foam/mousse for men and decided to give it a dedicated try.

Let me start by saying that I have light, clear peach fuzz that hasn't increased since September. I cannot recommend it to anyone who has light to heavy facial hair that is dark. I just don't know, and I would strongly advise against it for eye brow regrowth. My eye brows never came back after I plucked them in my late teens. Just too close to the eyes for anyone, IMO. What do I know? It just scares me! I also had a very annoying "widow's peak" when I was young. It just hung down my face, so I plucked it and it never came back...not even now.

Since doing Men's minoxidil for 5 months now, twice a day, my hair is definitely thickening. I was very embarrassed when I was in front of taller people! My hair isn't quite all the way I want it, but it has a more "natural" part when it's dry. I am loving it!!

My schedule with men's "mousse":
1) Day one...shower and scrub my scalp through. Towel dry/rub my hair dry.
2) Apply the foam (smaller than a mouse...animal). I rub my scalp for at least a minute. I also apply it to the temple hair, as that's always been thin.
3) Apply before bed.
4) I wash my hair every other morning, as this has the effect of having four "applications" for 48 hours.
5) NEVER let the mousse touch your face/hairless places)!

Since September, my hair has grown long in length, but I haven't cut out any of my layers from other cuts. My hair is wavy, but now I have (layered) curls.

I'm not very vain, and I no longer wear makeup, but I don't want my hair falling out in my mid - 50s! The problems that caused this are having half of my thyroid removed at 30 and being on thyroid replacement that really doesn't help the loss of hair. I also had a radical hysterectomy and my ovaries were removed. Before I could go on hormone replacement six weeks later, I went through "quicky menopause". I decided NOT to go on any HRT and I have never regretted it! But...the two together have given me mild to moderate head hair loss. THIS I cannot accept! I'm 54, but I stopped perming or coloring (countable gray hair) just in case those ever damage my scalp! If you have thyroid or hormone problems, you know what I mean.

What I most love, other than thicker hair (stick with it!), is the conditioning it does to my hair. I just use generic (rejuvenating) shampoo and no conditioner...my hair has been short, but I'm not getting any split ends like I usually have when my hair gets long and w/o conditioners. I'm lazy...I'm sick w/ post polio. It makes me feel better to have a full head of hair.

I have never seen short hairs growing in, but I think this is because of the conditioning oils in the mousse. I just can't find the short ones, although they are definitely growing in! In the morning, I brush my hair from scalp to ends, conditioning with each brushing. I had a lI]little[/I] bit of hair falling out at the very beginning (as others said above), but now I just lose about a week's worth of what was coming out daily!

The BEST thing is that the men's mousse allows me to comb up my hair from the temples to the top into a plastic hair comb to dry. I always hated my hair long because no "product" ever held my hair back. Now it really works very well. I only take the comb out when I'm leaving my house! And the hair stays back on top and curly on the bottom!

I don't use curlers, irons, blow dryers or any other appliance any more! No hairspray, regular mousse, gels, hair wax or any other "Product" anymore. Happy sigh! I'm staying away from any chemical coloring/perms, etc., too. JUST minoxidil! And it works for my hair styling.

Now I have to say that the makers of Rogaine brand and generics are really stoopid for not making the foam/mousse for women in the 2%. What a huge market for it! I'm going to use the mousse twice/day until my hair is very thick. Then I will use it once/day. The people who are upset that they will have to use it for the rest of their lives should do the math, rather than complain. Don't we all use something on our hair? I pay $40 for three cans of the generic...that's about $13.50/mo. That's a "3 month" supply, using it twice a day. When you're where you want to be at your thickness, and continue using it daily for maintenance, the rate for once/day is $6.70/mo! I can't imagine any woman who wouldn't pay $6.70 to keep their hair thick, instead of buying a bottle of wine, other hair products, or some other frivolous "treat", or a "whim" cosmetic they want to try. There's nothing more attractive than a full head of hair!
Thanks for listening and I'd love to hear about anyone else's success story!
I'm very sorry this is sooo long, but I read this whole thread before I became a member. Lots of time to think about all the posts before I could post. Just glad to be here and hear about other's successes!

[dawnawana]

Thank you for your response. I was also wondering about the laser comb.

[Tracy C]

Rogaine (or generic Minoxidil) works for both men and women. Rogaine can work anywhere on the head. I do not use it on my hair line because I don't have a problem there. I do use it everywhere on my head that was thining. It did fill in my hair quite a bit but it took a long time to do so. Here are some links to help you learn more:

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medical-treatment/medications/rogaine-minoxidil/

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medical-treatment/medications/rogaine-minoxidil/tips-on-minoxidil/

You may also benefit from low level laser therapy. I have been using the laser comb for years, long before it became FDA cleared to treat women's hair loss. It did improve my hair. Here are some links to help you learn more about that:

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medical-treatment/laser-therapy/

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medical-treatment/laser-therapy/hairmax-laser-comb/

http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/medical-treatment/laser-therapy/hairmax-laser-comb/fda-clearance-for-hair-loss-in-women/

[dawnawana]

Do you use the 5% foam all over because i am losing a bunch in the front and the box says not to use it on a receding hairline? I need it all over my whole head.


Thanks

[nikemata]

I read women using rogaine in other forums, I want to use it too but still not sure if I should use it or not

Rogaine are scientifically proven to be effective for men I don't know for women though. But, I read some other forums said it is also effective for women.

[Tracy C]

I made the foolish decision to stop Rogaine altogether a few months ago. I found I definitely had increased hair growth but I had a LOT of flyaways that I thought was maybe due to weaker, finer hair from the Rogaine.

I just noticed this... Rogaine does not make your hair weaker and finer. Any hair that grows back will be weaker and finer than the rest of your hair for a while - sometimes a really long while - but eventually the regrown hair becomes pretty close to the same as the hair that didn't fall out... Did I mention this takes a long time? It takes several cycles of growth, rest and shed for this to happen.

[Tracy C]

So what you are saying is, you have to be on rogaine for the rest of your life?

Yes, if Minoxidil works for you, you will need to keep using it for the rest of your life. It just is what it is - but it beats the alternative. Who wants to be a bald lady?

This is not a good outcome! plus I don't think looking like a fuzzy peach with extra facial hair is an attractive side effect.

The peach fuzz is just at the beginning of regrowth. In time, if you continue treatment, the regrown hair eventually turns into normal hair - but you need to continue treatment for that to happen. It has been my experience that using my laser comb along with Minoxidil helps this along.

Facial hair is possible. There is not much you can do except have hair removal treatments. It is a lot easier to remove unwanted hair than it is to restore hair that you wanted to keep.

I feel totally powerless now.

Find yourself a doctor who has experience treating hair loss. You will learn a lot from him or her. The more facts you know about treating the problem, the less powerless you will feel.

[Meg01]

Rogaine for brows

So what you are saying is, you have to be on rogaine for the rest of your life?
This is not a good outcome! plus I don't think looking like a fuzzy peach with extra facial hair is an attractive side effect.
I feel totally powerless now.

[shellelynn]

I started Rogaine for Women 2 years ago after a heavy bout of hair loss. I bought the generic Target version, and I accidentally bought and used a box of the Rogaine for Men liquid. I am prone to facial hair anyways as I have a thyroid condition, but I can attest that the Men's version definitely sped up the facial hair issue. I noticed the increase, and once I realized I was using the Men's, it made sense. I switched back to Women's and had a few rounds of laser hair removal.

I made the foolish decision to stop Rogaine altogether a few months ago. I found I definitely had increased hair growth but I had a LOT of flyaways that I thought was maybe due to weaker, finer hair from the Rogaine. Well, as they warn you, when you go off, you will lose hair. I had no idea how much. I lost probably half my volume - the the point where people noticed and were concerned. I'm back on Rogaine now and intend to stay on. I saw a dermatologist who recommended, as others attested here, that I use the Men's version, so I think I will return to it despite the facial hair issue.

[Meg01]

Rogaine A big No No for Brows

Thanks--this is very helpful. I think I'll give the 5 percent foam a try and see what happens --I'd rather have a little too much hair on my face than not enough hair on my head!

I scanned over this Article recently written in Australia. It mentions the use of Rogaine for use on Eyebrows by Millie Herd a make-up artist in Australia.
It was an interesting article until reading 1 comment from a reader.

Dear Kate, a very well written article and funny , just have to mention this one statement you published.

My shape wasn’t too bad, apparently, but needed some growing out, which could be done by...this is THE best tip ever...use ROGAINE. Yes, the stuff that old dudes use to try and encourage their left side hair to join up with the hair on the right side of their noggins.

As a health professional the use of REGAINE is NOT recommended for anywhere other than the scalp namely the Vortex area at the top of the scalp, and this only is successful for 55% of users. It doesn’t work for receding hairlines around the temples and forehead. It is especially NOT to be used for the Brows.
The active ingredient is Minoxidil, this drug was designed to help people reduce their high blood pressure, some users during trials experienced hair growth or further hair loss stopped.
If readers did a simple search on the web you will find countless bad experiences of people attempting to use Minoxidil for the exact purpose your article states.

Please note: DO NOT USE THIS FOR YOUR EYEBROWS. I am perplexed to find anyone including a misguided eyebrow technician advocating this product other than for it’s original use.
Only advice that can be given is research prior to putting anything on your skin especially your face, research research research.

Jill
Fri 08 Jul 11 (09:41am)

[Tracy C]

I use the red laser therapy for my long-ish hair and wonder how much of the laser is getting on my scalp vs. my hair.

I use the Hairmax laser comb which has teeth that part my hair as I run the laser over my scalp. I don't know if that actually makes it more effective or not, but laser therapy does make my hair look great and grow faster.

With using the 5% liquid and/or foam, did you notice any more facial hair growth than you originally had before starting it? It's one of the side effects I'm actually wary of.

I have not experienced more facial hair growth than I had before. Even if I did, it is a lot easier to make unwanted hair go away than it is to recover hair that I wanted to keep. Electrolysis hurts but it is effective. You do what you have to do.

[Tryingtostaypositive]

Hi Tracy,

Of course I don't mind that you replied. The more testimonies the better! Thank you for yours.

I have been doing "internet research" and most women say that they prefer using the 5% foam. I use the red laser therapy for my long-ish hair and wonder how much of the laser is getting on my scalp vs. my hair.

With using the 5% liquid and/or foam, did you notice any more facial hair growth than you originally had before starting it? It's one of the side effects I'm actually wary of.

Thanks for the info