Taking a Break from Minoxidil-HELP!

[LifeLearner]

I am 6-year, once-per-day user of minoxidil, one-year user of propecia. I have never taken a break from the product longer than a day. Such lapses are rare, perhaps once per year.

Over that time, my hair density has gradually worsened in some areas, improved in others. Still at the point where no one notices I have a problem.

I shed quite a bit in showers generally and shed a lot during application.

I have recently discovered that the body can become temporarily "tolerant" to minoxidil, where one is somewhat immune to exposure. Source: http://www.**********************.or...-minoxidil.asp

I am therefore taking a one-week break from minox, and during this time, I have seen MUCH LESS shedding than usual. My hair looks thicker, fuller and healthier.

I am convinced this regrowth is related to the weight of the medication or perhaps its function, both of which give ill effects. This, without seeing any positive effects because, as indicated, I might have grown too tolerant to the medication. Actually, I only develop "sparse patches" on my head in areas that I apply it with the greatest care and repetition.

Questions:

If I have become immune to minox, has it been having ZERO effect over the past X number of years? Would I therefore be better off quitting entirely--do I now qualify as a non-user who will not lose any further hair with a total cessation of minoxidil (because it's had no effect for so long)?


If this is the case, and I CONTINUE USAGE ANYWAY, will I enter into a new, much-harsher-than-before shedding pattern? Now, I was already shedding a fair amount with minox. I guess the question here is, if I am really in an immune state, gaining little benefit from the medication, would whatever it is that causes the shedding for a new user affect me if I restarted after my week-long break no longer "immune" to the product, or am I simply past early shedding troubles considering I've been on it for so long?


Thanks to any and all for the help!

[EXprettyboy]

If you have been using minoxidil for 6 years diligently, and have mpb in your genetics, and you suddenly stop using it there is a high likelihood you will lose a considerable amount of hair in a month.
As regards your speculations about your immunity to the drug, no one could possibly know if that was in fact the case, and you would be gambling against the odds if you stop using it with that reasoning.
If you noticed thicker hair in a week from not using the product, It has nothing to do with better growth as hair takes a month to grow a centimeter. It looks better because minoxidil can dry out the hair and also have a clumping affect like hair gel.
when you start using minoxidil you know you can never stop, but somtimes people don't realize how dependent their hair is on it and get lax, But It will fall out if you stop.

[LifeLearner]

I will restart, without question. My issues are what effect it will have on me when this happens. See above.

[EXprettyboy]

My first response only addressed your first question, about the affect of a complete cessation.

Now your second query, In short, If you resume minoxidil after 1 week of not taking it, it won't make you shed. You may become aware of the cosmetic affects I mentioned before though ( It will look sparse in the applied areas, but no hair is actually falling out , its just dried out). You could try a hair product like american crew fibre, to give it a matt appearance and make it look thicker.

The reason hair sheds when you start treatments of any kind, is because you are putting follicles into a growth phase and they begin to generate new hair. These new hairs force old resting idle hairs out of the follicle.
One week is not long enough for minoxidil dependent hair to fall out. I've often not been able to afford a batch for a week every couple months. It's fine. If you didn't use it for a month, that would be long enough for a big shed of the dependent hair, and then when you resume after a month you'd get another shed from new growth.

[kanyon]

Lifelearner, you're lucky it's worked for so long. It worked for me for 6 and a half years but now it is useless and my hair has thinned out worse than when I started it 7 years ago.