Traction Alopecia and Minoxidil? Help!

Question

i have a important question, is minoxidil safe to try with me? I have traction alopecia and hair damage from braids, can i use minoxidil? if i use it the hair i recover will go away? or will stay in my scalp? and a second question: If i use it for 2 months and my hair recovers can i safely stopped it? or i have to wait a determinated time while my follicles gets health? thank you doctors really apreciated!

Sanusi Umar, MD · Answer

Minoxidil will increase blood flow to the scalp in order to revitalize hair follicles minimized by DHT, the molecule responsible in androgenetic alopecia (male pattern balding). It can help in the earliest stages of traction alopecia, but there is no guarantee that it can reverse the damage done to your hair follicles from the braids. The improvements you may see during the time you use Minoxidil will go away once use of the drug is discontinued. For a more comprehensive assessment of your hair loss and possible treatment options, consult with a hair restoration surgeon near you.
In the meantime, if you would like to see an example of an advanced FUE hair restoration for traction alopecia, visit the link below.

Ilhan Serdaroglu, MD · Answer

Minoxidil does not work on traction alopecia because hair loss reason is pulling force to hair shaft .Hair follicle damaged by the force and persistent loss occurs.If you dont stop pulling your hair or stress on hair minoxidil will be useless.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

Traction alopecia is a type of hair loss that comes from a variety of things that lead to hair being pulled. Pony tails, braids, weaves, cornrows all have the potential to cause traction alopecia.If traction alopecia is identified soon after the first hairs are lost, then regrowth can often occur provided the hairstyle that caused the traction is stopped immediately. Sometimes the hair can even groe back on its own - but treatments such as minoxidil can help it grow back faster or to a greater extent. Many forget that early traction is associated with inflammation under the skin as well and so that is why a corticosteroid is often used as well. Minoxidil, together with use of corticosteroids is my favourite choice for early traction. Minoxidil is often used daily for 9-12 months and then stopped. Corticosteroids are used either a few times per week (ie if a topical cortisone is used or once every 2-3 months if steroid injections are used). For the majority of individuals with early forms of traction alopecia, any amount of hair that regrows will stay around when the minoxidil and corticosteroids are stopped. After 9-12 months, one usually has a good sense if significant regrowth is going to occur or not. If regrowth does not occur fully, once can consider hair transplantation or use of a wig or hairpieces.Traction alopecia is not always regrowable - eapecially if it has been present for a long time. The reason for this is that advanced traction alopecia is associated with the formation of scar tissue under the scalp. Such scar tissue blocks hairs from growing and directly kills hairs as well. For some individuals with traction, hair loss continues even when the pulling is stopped. In other words, not only does the patient notice they are not growing hair back but they notice that it is getting worse amd worse over time. This form of traction requires oral or topical anti inflammatory treatments before hair transplantation can be considered.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Any hair that you get from minoxidil will almost certainly be minoxidil dependent so if you should stop it, it will most likely fall out

Traction Alopecia and Minoxidil? Help!

Answers (4)

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