Minoxidil & Nioxin a deadly cocktail?

I’ve been on Minoxidil 5% twice daily and Nizoral shampoo twice weekly for the last 19 weeks. I went through the usual schtick – had a shedding phase that lasted 6 agonizing weeks and then I had some impressive regrowth up until 15 weeks. Ever since then I’ve started to go into a second shedding phase. I know some people go through this as well; if so, how long did yours last? How many shedding phases can one expect to go through? :(

Secondly, I’ve added Nioxin to the mix. The shedding phase started before then, so I suppose I can’t blame it on the kit, but I apply the nioxin scalp liquid shortly after my minoxidil and it stings a lot. Is this a good or a bad thing? I remembered getting scalp irritation (just a red afterglow) when I used nioxin many years ago; back then I got amazing results from using only just that. Is combining the two a bad idea, or is the minoxidil helping the nioxin absorb better or vice versa? I know people say you should wait for one to dry before applying the other, but will this really make a difference to whatever’s happening? :confused: