Does using Minoxidil on a hair transplant area 3 months post op make the hair growth results appear sooner?

It can take 6 to 12 months after surgery to see results.  If you are concerned it is best to contact your doctor.Minoxidil will not speed up the growth.

Dear Posh_hills_123,Thank you for your question. Using Minoxidil on a Hair Transplant 3 months after the procedure certainly will not harm the result, and has the potential to help with hair growth. Please let us know if you have any other question or concerns.Sincerely,Dr. P Daniel Ward

Greetings,
Adding Minoxidil to your regimen at this point will probably not make any significant difference in the rate of transplanted hair growth, but it certainly won't hurt and may help the hair that you still have in that area.  Consider finasteride as well if you are a candidate.  Good luck.

Hair follicles will often enter a dormant, or “telogen,” phase after the shock of being transplanted, and shed their existing hair strands before cycling into the next stage of regrowth. This is perhaps the most common reason for temporary “shock loss” and why it may take several months before the results of a hair transplantation procedure are noticeable. Because minoxidil works, in part, by encouraging those follicles to re-enter the anagen (or growth) phase and to stay in that phase longer, it absolutely could make results appear more quickly after you have healed from your hair transplant procedure. However, it is important to remember that different patients can respond to medications differently, so individual results may vary. As with any medication, you should discuss with your doctor whether it is the right course for you.
More importantly, most forms of hair loss are progressive and hair transplantation only moves healthy hair follicles into thinning areas; it does not prevent further hair loss from occurring. This means that a patient who does not use some form of hair loss prevention will most likely grow dissatisfied with their hair restoration results. Even once the newly transplanted follicles begin to grow, if something is not done to prevent the older surrounding follicles from failing there will either be no improvement or a noticeable loss of overall thickness. This is why we generally recommend, at minimum, that patients adhere to a regular regimen of 5% minoxidil and/or finasteride, and in some cases may combine that with other prescription medications, depending on the patient’s individual needs. While minoxidil may help you see results more quickly, it is really more important as a part of an ongoing hair maintenance plan.

At this point, no, it probably wouldn't make any difference in the results of your hair transplant procedure. It definitely wouldn't hurt though, and would likely help your natural hair grow thicker which would improve the appearance of your hair overall.

Hello in California,Thank you for posting.  You've asked a really good question.  Many surgeons recommend you use Minoxidil both before and after a hair transplant in order to get the best possible results from the procedure.  There is evidence that starting to apply Minoxidil within a few days of the transplant can prevent the normal shedding of the hair that is seen in the first 1 to 4 weeks, and that hair growth starts sooner than without Minoxidil.  Using Finasteride in combination at the same time is even better, since Finasteride is an even more effective treatment for hair loss and for stabilizing the follicles. At 3 months out you've missed the opportunity to see these effects of Minoxidil on the grafts, but there is certainly no harm and likely some benefit to starting and continuing to use Minoxidil now (I also recommend Finasteride).  This can help slow down hair loss in the rest of the ungrafted scalp where hair loss will continue if untreated, and may help the grafted hair grow thicker and fuller.  There's very little downside to use either of these medications as harmful side effects are quite uncommon (less than 4%).  Remember that you should use these medications for at least one year to see the maximum results, and preferably forever.I hope this helps.

I did a study a while ago where I put minoxidil on one side of the head of over a dozen patients and then watched to see if one side grew faster and better.  The answer was no it did not