Attempting to switch from Rogaine to Natural

**heresjohnny** · 06-03-2010, 05:20 PM

Sorry I dont really have an answer for you. Not sure anyone on here can tell you were you will end up if you stop using Rogaine. It would not be an overnight transition, but from what I have read, within a year your hair loss would reflect where you would be had you never used Rogaine at all. Where that place is ??? Do you have older brothers?

**helpme123** · 06-03-2010, 07:21 PM

Thanks! Yeah, I've read that too on other sites. Seems like I'll just look ike I would have as if I never used it at all...which is OK, except this horrifying long shot possibility that I'll be totally bald. I do not have nay brothers, however my dad made until 50 with quite a bit ot hair, Both my grandfathers were pretty bald by 30, which I have just surpassed.

**heresjohnny** · 06-03-2010, 09:48 PM

kind of scary huh lol... I might, if it were me, work the new in and the old out.. I saw possibly in a post here a very extensive list of vitamins and minerals and what each ones importance to hair care was... good luck I�m sure it is liberating to some extent to just say WTF and let it go.

**CIT_Girl** · 06-04-2010, 08:17 AM

If you discontinue using Rogaine, you will likely experience significant shedding 3 months to 5 months after you stop it. It's possible you will not experiencing shedding after cessation, in which case, you will know it was not doing anything for you.

If you are looking to switch to all-natural therapies/products, I would suggest trying saw palmetto, vitamins (zinc, in particular) and Hair Cycle products.

**helpme123** · 06-06-2010, 01:52 PM

Thanks a lot for the replies everyone. The suggestions and confidence help. I saw that about saw palmetto and will give it a shot! I will also keep you updated on how it's going in case that could help someone else out! Thanks again!

**DrKDSiporin** · 06-08-2010, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by helpme123

Hello All,

I have been using Rogaine for about 10 years and I feel like it used to work somewhat. I never saw regrowth but balding seemed to cease. Now it seems I'm balding while using it. I don't really want to use it anymore as I'm trying to only use natural stuff in my hair (oils, etc.) Anybody out there know what I can expect to happen when I stop using the Rogaine totally? How bald wil I be. I still have pretty good coverage now. Should I wean myself off of it instead of just quitting?. I have already gone to every other day instead of every day. I just feel like it's not really working anymore and start to wonder if it ever really did or was did I just thinning a little and then starting to thin a little more now. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you

Dear Helpme,
I think you are raising a topic that is very infrequently addressed, and that there are no absolutely science based answers for, and that is the issue of when to stop or slow down medical therapies, and in your specific case, minoxidil, when you are not seeing objective evidence of improvement. The reason there are no scientic answers, is because, to my knowledge, there have been no prospective controlled studies looking at men with hair loss who used minoxidil for a while, and then stopped. In other words, nobody has scientifically examined what happens to patients over a period of time, when they withdraw the medication.
The drug companies of course, would like you to continue the medications indefinitely, because that drives their profits up. However, there probably are a great deal of men who are using both propecia and minoxidil, who are not benefitting greatly. Still, I must say, that with the lack of scientific evidence, we have been told that if you stop minoxidil and or propecia, you will eventually return to the place that you would have been had you never started the medications. Theoretically this makes sense, which is why we recomment to our patients, that if they are not suffering any side effects, if they can afford the treatment, and if they are still worried about future hair loss, the best plan is to stay with the treatments. Nobody has looked at weaning off the treatments, cutting the dose or the applications in half, or in switching regimens years after you started the medication, so everything is just conjecture.
My personal belief is that you can cut back on both rogaine and propecia years after you started, and still maintain a benefit, but I emphasize that this is just my personal opinion, and not backed by any scientific evidence. I tell my patients that if you are very concerned about your hair loss, then continue with both rogaine, or propecia, or both. If you are unsure of whether you are seeing any benefit, then in my mind the best approach is to be seen by a physician or professional who can objectively measure your hair loss either through digital photographs, or trichograms or either hair measuring devices, so that you can follow your hair loss over time and make a decision based on some objective criteria.
If you do not want to go through the trouble of doing this, then it a personal decision. Obviously the biggest risk is that after withdrawing the treatment you undergo accelerated loss, and that should be a concern, however, that does not mean you cannot try stopping the treatment for awhile, to see how you respond.
I am working with a company who has a water which may increase the ability of rogaine to thicken your hair.
If anybody is interested in trying this water, I would be happy to talk to you about it. The water can be ingested, which is fairly expensive, or sprayed on your scalp immediately before applying the rogaine, which is much less expensive. In theory the water would work best when both ingested and sprayed. Still this is an experimental treatment, but I would love to entertain any of your questions regarding the use of this water.
Ken Siporin, M.D., F.A.C.S., 310 479-4247

**KeepTheHair** · 06-09-2010, 12:45 AM

I have heard a ton of stories of people stopping minoxidil treatments and shedding a ton of hairs after a few months. Perhaps slowly stop using it rather than suddenly stopping. Perhaps use it less until better treatments are available?

"Natural" treatments will do very, very little for your hair.

**jooder** · 06-09-2010, 06:52 AM

I do not agree that 'natural' does very little for your hair.
I would suggest you visit immortalhair.org and visit the forum. I would also suggest you wean yourself off it while starting a natural regimen.

**helpme123** · 06-09-2010, 03:20 PM

thanks everyone for the replies! I really do appreciate it. Thank you Dr. Siporin and everyone. I am weaning myself off, and I figured someone one here may have the same issus as I do. I will visit that other site and will let everyone know what happens with my hair (or lack of). Thanks!

**KeepTheHair** · 06-09-2010, 05:00 PM

Why are you going natural? Some things aren't really bad for you just because SOME people have side effects. I know though...that these things can't be good. It all depends on how important your hair is to you and if you actually get side effects.

Whenever I am even slightly sick I get side effects from minoxidil...thats how I know im sick! When im really sick and use it I feel like dying. So I obviously don't use it when I am sick. Mostly though I don't get any side effects.

Natural just doesn't cut it for me... my hair loss regimen is definitely working for me and I am really glad I used all the stuff I did and used all the time to research it. A ketoconazole shampoo took the huuuuuuuge itching and inflammation my scalp had away in the first wash. It was a miracle.

Now everything else is helping me get some thickness back.

I doubt anything "natural" could do anything for me at all.

Good luck to you man.

**helpme123** · 06-09-2010, 08:33 PM

Thanks man! Yeah, I'm not really expecting to see a whole lot of result from going natural. Just don't want to find out that this shit gives you cancer in like 20 years. I mean it's only been on the market for like 20 plus years, so it's possible it could have long term effects. Myabe not, but the way I see it is I'm already half bald and it's not really working anymore so I don't see the point in taking something for the rest of my life just for very little improvement or just for maintenance. If I'm going to put poison on my head for the rest of my like I better have a full head of hair for it! ....just kidding, I know it's not poison!

**spamgoeshere** · 06-18-2010, 05:25 PM

..........

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**KeepTheHair** · 06-18-2010, 06:03 PM

You don't seem to understand how minoxidil works.

Minoxidil does NOT "stop working". Minoxidil is at a constant battle to keep your hair growing, but DHT is still eating at your follicles! Minoxidil keeps working and it keeps the results that it initially had. But it stops producing more results after 2-3 years or so, on average most likely.

This is from minoxidil.com:

A TREATMENT�..NOT A CURE

Hopefully genetic engineering or stem cell research will develop a cure to MPB. Until that time comes, there are only regrowth treatments available. There are misconceptions about developing a 'tolerance' to minoxidil. Minoxidil will, indeed, help to recruit atrophic follicles to grow thicker hair for about two to three years. Minoxidil then helps to keep the hair in the anagen phase, so the newly regrown hair will not atrophy and shed prematurely.

Because some patients do not continue to see significant improvement after a few years of therapy, they assume the body has developed a tolerance to minoxidil, and that it is no longer 'working'. If they stop minoxidil therapy, the hair they have regrown because of the minoxidil treatment will shed within 3-4 months. In essence, minoxidil has fooled the body into regrowing and keeping hair, which was preprogrammed to be lost. Until a cure is available, don't deprogram the success you have earned.

After two to three years of treatment, many patients are able to maintain their regrowth with a once daily application of 5% ******* or 5% minoxidil.

**KeepTheHair** · 06-18-2010, 06:05 PM

Minoxidil is a good method of having more/better hair. Though it is a ritual you will have to get into if you plan on keeping the results. Your hair will shed until you have hair similar to what you WOULD have had if you never touched the product. At least, that is what I can conclude from the studies I saw on minoxidil. Stopping really isn't a good idea.

What IS a good idea is to use finasteride and nizoral shampoo in combination with minoxidil.

Attempting to switch from Rogaine to Natural

Attempting to switch from Rogaine to Natural

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