How long does it take for hair loss to revert after stopping Minoxidil?

Question

im 40 year old female and have been using 5%Minoxidil for a year now. Im trying to gradually get off it by reducing to 2% for a month and then decrease the days for anothe month until i eventually stop using it all together and just keep up my PRP /LLLT treatments every 6 weeks to minimise any shock loss. Any thoughts? will this help me not lose any of the hair i gained and if i was to lose how long does it take to see hair loss again?Thanks

Jeff Rapaport, MD · Answer

Combination therapy works better than monotherapy. If the Minoxidil is performing well,I would continue it and add the PRP and LLLT.  This should give you better density and thickness  of  hair shafts as well as decrease the possibility of shed from discontinuation of Minoxidil.  Should  you decide to stop the Minoxidil, it will  usually take 6 to 9 months to see negative changes. Find a hair expert.
Jeff Rapaport MD FAAD 
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Darice W. Fadeyi, MD · Answer

Please make sure you discuss this strategy with your dermatologist before going this route. While minoxidil works by elongating the anagen (growth) phase of the hair follicle, PRP delivers growth factors to promote vascularization and elongation of the the hair follicle. The mechanisms are different and I would not advise attempting to substitute an adjunctive treatment like PRP for minoxidil which has a long history of being a first line treatment for androgenetic alopecia. You might get away with it. But the more likely scenario is that you will in fact experience a shed and lose the hair that you were retaining by using minoxidil consistently. And you may not get it back. If application of minoxidil is a hassle, and it is for many patients, consider switching to low dose oral minoxidil once a day. It is generally very well tolerated (provided there are no preexisting cardiovascular issues) and, at appropriate doses, has equivalent efficacy to 5% minoxidil applied twice daily. Good luck!

How long does it take for hair loss to revert after stopping Minoxidil?

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