Is it true if you stop using Minoxidil your hair will fall?

Question

I hear from people who stop using it that their hair has fallen double and more !! as your scalp has got use to something then you stop it so u lose more that what u gain if you stop it , is that true ??

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

Minoxidil will not cure hair loss.  It does work but it only works as long as you keep using it.You will not lose more hair than you normally would if you stop using it.  It does not make your hairloss worse.

Anil R. Shah, MD · Answer

Hello,Minoxidil is effective in protecting the non-transplanted hairs by keeping them in anagen phase for longer.  Patients often times need a blueprint for maintaining native hairs so that future procedures are not necessary.  Transplanted hairs have been reported to grow faster with minoxidil.  Evidence has been reported by several studies with limited numbers including at a Consensus Report at the 9th Annual Meeting in 2002.  The main downside of minoxidil is irritation which is often mitigated by the use of foam. 
Best,
 Dr. Anil Shah

Benjamin C. Paul, MD · Answer

Thanks for asking this question. Some hairs really benefit from Minoxidil use - but not all the hairs benefit from this hair fertilizer. In my experience, weaning off the minoxidil slowly reduces shedding when compared with a cold-turkey stop.  Good luck!!

Camilo Diaz, MD · Answer

Simply put, if you stop using Minoxidil then the benefits of using it will cease and the hair loss will continue to fall.
If you go down this path of minoxidil use then its a regime that needs to be continued to see the real benefits.

Ryan Welter, MD · Answer

Any hair that minoxidil has caused to grow will be lost with the drug is discontinued.  Minoxidil does nothing for slowing the progression of hair loss whereas finasteride can slow progression and leave you with more hair over the course of your lifetime when used properly.  Cellular therapy has been shown promise in both slowing hair loss and recruiting new hair to grow.  I typically recommend finasteride and cellular therapy to most of my patients and use minoxidil as an add on therapy to enhance results.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

For those that use minoxidil for genetic hair loss, it's certainly true that if minoxidil was found to work, then stopping it will cause hair loss. Minoxidil needs to be used forever (or until the patient decides not to treat the hair loss any more or decides the minoxidil is not helping)But there's nothing special about minoxidil. Every single medical treatment for genetic hair loss has the same 'rules."If you stop hormone blocking pills, the result is hair loss.If you stop minoxidil, the result is hair loss. If you stop low level laser, the result is hair loss.If you stop PRP the result is hair loss. Genetic hair loss in both men and women is progressive meaning the natural process is for more and more loss to occur.

Sara Wasserbauer, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

If you begin using Minoxidil it must be used every single day. If you stop using it any hair you grew or thickened by using it will either fall out or lose thickness. Native hair is now susceptible to falling out as well.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

The only hair that is lost by withdrawing minoxidil is the hair that was grown by the drug. Normal doeds not become minoxidil dependent as new hair grown by this drug

Is it true if you stop using Minoxidil your hair will fall?

Answers (8)

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