Oral minoxidil dosing: 5mg once daily versus 2.5 twice daily

Question

Hi, I’ve consistently used 5mg oral minoxidil to treat my hair loss since January 2022. For a lot of that time, I took the 5mg all at once. Recently I switched to 2.5 in the morning and 2.5 at night. Will this hurt my hair progress? I can’t find any good information about dosing, and my dermatologist suggested it didn’t matter. I’ve seen a chart suggesting 5mg at once causes a higher blood concentration, but minoxidil has a short half life.

Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD · Answer

It's great that you're seeking to optimize your treatment for hair loss. Minoxidil, whether taken as a single dose or split into two doses, generally aims to maintain a consistent level of the medication in your bloodstream to effectively promote hair growth.

Pharmacokinetics: Minoxidil indeed has a relatively short half-life, around 4 hours, but its effects on hair follicles last much longer. This means that even with fluctuating blood concentrations, the overall impact on hair growth remains stable.

Dosing: Splitting the dose into 2.5 mg twice daily can help maintain more stable blood levels throughout the day. Some users find this approach beneficial in reducing side effects, such as blood pressure fluctuations, since the peak concentration isn't as high as taking 5 mg all at once.

Effectiveness: According to most dermatologists and available literature, the total daily dose is more critical than the timing. Both dosing regimens (5 mg once daily or 2.5 mg twice daily) should provide similar overall efficacy in terms of hair growth.

Personal Response: Individual responses can vary. If you notice any changes in hair growth or side effects with the new dosing schedule, it's worth discussing with your dermatologist. They can help you decide if you should continue with the split dose or revert to the single dose.

In summary, switching to 2.5 mg twice daily should not hurt your hair progress and may even offer some advantages in terms of side effect management. Always follow up with your dermatologist if you have concerns or notice any changes.

Best of luck with your treatment!

Jacquelline Leva, DO · Answer

Hi Thank you for your inquiry, I'm glad you spoke to your dermatologist first before changing your dosing. From the overall understanding in the literature splitting minoxdil 2.5mg vs 5mg has the safe effect. If you are looking for other ways to increase strength of your treatment for hair loss growth you may want to talk to your dermatologist about prp or even hair transplant further down the line depending how much loss you experiencing. Also work on life style too such as improving stress levels and establishing a healthy scalp hair routine and scalp nutraceuticals

Oral minoxidil dosing: 5mg once daily versus 2.5 twice daily

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Everything you need to know about Hair Loss Treatment

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Oral minoxidil dosing: 5mg once daily versus 2.5 twice daily

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Everything you need to know about Hair Loss Treatment

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.