Well, I must say I was on the liquid version for a year but only used it at once. That one never gave me problems. It wasn't till I switched to Foam and used that one that I started getting problems. I used the foam one for a year as well. After quitting my hair got worse than before even starting rogaine. But it eventually went back to baseline. They say 6 months but it took me more like 8 months to restore hair back to normal. Everyone is different though.
Nah, I don't like putting oil on my face. Olive oil caused massive closed comedones. See Jojoba oil isn't actually an oil, it's a wax. It just has oil in its name. And it is the only thing out there that mimics our sebum. Nothing else does. I'm 31 right now. I don't really want to post anything other than I sent you those pics so you can see for yourself. I'm actually a guy. I somehow think that Rogaine made my hair way worse as I kept shedding and my scalp was red, but people kept saying it's just a shed phase. So I stuck with it. But my receding hairline kept getting worse. Initially after quitting my hair got sooo bad it was like I was almost bald. But I read studies where quitting rogaine made you go below baseline for a bit during the telogen effluvium and then it would go back to baseline. Anyways, odd part is that in recent months my hair has really been growing out like crazy. I'm on finasteride as well which I was with the rogaine but it's only now after quitting rogaine that I am growing tonnes of new hairs. There's just so much stubble coming out. As long as you keep your skin from being irritated it should heal. See your skin doesn't shed dead skin usually because that dead skin protects it while it heals underneath. But we strip it all away constantly and trigger all the inflammatory processes with harsh chemicals. When you're young your skin can handle this, but as you get older it gets tougher.
Minoxidil is quite evil. I mean there's no doubt we are a minority who suffer this because it builds up in our system for some reason. It's like playing russian roullette because there's no way of telling how you will respond. I mean there are cases of people getting pseudoacromelagy on minoxidil. Here's a case study where someone got it:
This is basically the first case that was recorded. The person took a higher amount than recommended though.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12789195
Pseudoacromegaly induced by the long-term use of minoxidil.
Nguyen KH, Marks JG Jr.
Source
Department of Dermatology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
Acromegaly is an endocrine disorder caused by chronic excessive growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland. Significant disfiguring changes occur as a result of bone, cartilage, and soft tissue hypertrophy, including the thickening of the skin, coarsening of facial features, and cutis verticis gyrata. Pseudoacromegaly, on the other hand, is the presence of similar acromegaloid features in the absence of elevated growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor levels. We present a patient with pseudoacromegaly that resulted from the long-term use of minoxidil at an unusually high dose. This is the first case report of pseudoacromegaly as a side effect of minoxidil use.
I actually stopped washing my face all together. The problem is the more you irritate the skin and keep exposing the skin that is trying to heal underneath the slower it heals. This helped a lot now recently i started adding jojoba oil in the morning and at night. I just massage it in. This stuff is great because you can really feel it pushing dried sebum out of your skin. It has a molecular size that lets it get in the pore and do its magic. Most creams just sit on top. I think part of why minoxidil made my skin as bad is it dried it. Before i had the greasiest oiliest face you could imagine, I had to wipe it with kleenex at times. But my skin was amazing and flawless. And it seems even without washing its been taking forever for my natural sebum to come back. That's when I decided jojoba will work since it mimics sebum. When i look in natural light i see all these bumps under my skin that are flesh colored. This was caused by minoxidil as well and the jojoba has been bringing them out. Unfortunately they turn into acne before they fade most of the time. Sometimes they just disappear. It is definitely reversible. Eat lots of carrots and tomatoes, etc. Don't bother with Vitamin C cream as you want it internally available. Take fish oil and flax oil and try to exercise a lot. My skin has been becoming more supple lately so it's a good sign. I know jojoba is probably a big factor since it's known for hydrating the skin. I think that once all the flesh coloured bumps disappear the skin will be more even. The pores have shrunk considerably compared to 11 months ago but still noticeable in the right light. It's a timley process for recovery.
Doctors won't mention anything because the studies done on Rogaine didn't come across it. But most people who use it attribute it to normal aging. Anyone who would have noticed during the clinical trials would probably not report it. The trials are often done with only specific side effects to pick from as well. In my case I went from being carded to looking 50! I knew something wasn't right because you don't go from having amazing skin to wrinkles in a few months, that's not how aging works. Most doctors will also tell you "you're just aging". It doesn't affect everyone it becomes systematic in a few people and builds up in your body. It may be because we have larger pores in our scalps. Anyways, I found out because i'm a huge science geek and I search through medical journals and papers if I want answers. Give it some more time before considering the fillers. I didn't start noticing better results till month 9 of being off it. Jojoba oil could also restore some of the suppleness. Your body will regenerate your skin just keep it healthy and don't irritate your skin.
Two groups have studied the effect of minoxidil on collagen synthesis. Murad and Pinnell[48] showed that minoxidil suppressed activity of the enzyme lysyl hydroxylase in human skin fibroblast cultures at concentrations down to 25 µmol L,-1 leading to production of a collagen deficient in hydroxylysine.[49] This appeared to be specific for lysyl hydroxylase as the activity of prolyl hydroxylase, which shares the same substrates and cofactors as lysyl hydroxylase, was unaffected. Minoxidil (0.5 mmol L-1) also suppressed collagen synthesis by rat vibrissae dermal papilla cells, both in monolayer cultures and in cells grown in collagen gels.[50]
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Posted to Extra Strength Rogaine: Aged 5 Years in 2 Months, Even Though Hair Grew - Tacoma, WA on 5 Nov 2012
Posted to Extra Strength Rogaine: Aged 5 Years in 2 Months, Even Though Hair Grew - Tacoma, WA on 5 Nov 2012
Posted to Extra Strength Rogaine: Aged 5 Years in 2 Months, Even Though Hair Grew - Tacoma, WA on 2 Nov 2012
Posted to Extra Strength Rogaine: Aged 5 Years in 2 Months, Even Though Hair Grew - Tacoma, WA on 2 Nov 2012
Posted to Extra Strength Rogaine: Aged 5 Years in 2 Months, Even Though Hair Grew - Tacoma, WA on 2 Nov 2012