Can Minoxidil fill a completely bald crown? (Photo)

Question

I received two HT session (2007 and 2009) for front hair line. In 2009, thinning was started at my crown but my surgeon advised me not to put hair at crown (age 29 at that time) and use minoxidil 5% for crown. Minoxidil worked for couple of years and started losing its productivity after that. I stopped it 9 months ago. Currently, my crown is almost empty (age 36, picture attached). Please suggest if I can re-start minoxidil and it can work for my situation OR I should consider another HT.

Levent Acar, MD · Answer

Minoxidil+Finasteride can be more effective for the vertex area. But these medications are not magical,and effects are limited. You can try them in supervised from a doctor

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

Minoxidil will not cure hair loss.  It only works as long as you keep using it.  It probably will not fill in your entire bald area.

Ilhan Serdaroglu, MD · Answer

No minoxidil will not fix that problem ..Minoxidil can not work for your  situation, balding on crown ,you  should consider another HT.I advise you to have another  FUE operation of 2000-2500 grafts.It is better to see your photos and examine  in order to evaluate the donor area density  and  estimate how much graft do we need to cover area .

Cory S. Goldberg, BSc, MD, FRCS(C) · Answer

There are a few things you need to know about Minoxidil:- The maximum effect is usually obtained in the first 2 years of use only, it then becomes much less effective, as you've noticed.- Minoxidil can only slow down the rate of hair loss, and in some cases, may produce somewhat thicker hair, but only where there are still live follicles.  It cannot produce new hair.- If the area is completely bald (ie - not even small, fine hairs are present), then Minoxidil will not work at all in that area.- At this late stage, I doubt that Minoxidil will be of any use to you.You may want to consider Finasteride (Propecia) instead, it is significantly more effective and longer lasting than Minoxidil, and is taken as a 1mg/day pill.  Keep in mind:- Finasteride keeps working as long as you take it, but is most effective in young patients (you are only 37)- It does not grow new hair if the area is completely bald, but it works quite well if there are still fine, small hairs in the area - you may need to have someone look carefully with a magnifying glass or a dermatoscope  to make sure there is still hair in the area.  You can still take Finasteride to slow down hair loss in the rest of your scalp.- You have to take Finasteride for at least 12 months to see any effect.I hope this helps!

Karl Hekimian, MD · Answer

The short answer to your question is no, minoxidil will not regrow all the hair in your crown.  It is a nice treatment modality but it's often hard to realize it's "working" unless you stop it and see what happens.  You should get some improvement if you resume minoxidil but may never make up what you've lost over the last nine months.
I suggest you return to a hair restoration surgeon and go over the options available to you in detail, such as minoxidil, finasteride (Propecia), platelet rich plasma (PRP), laser and further transplant surgery.  At a glance it looks like the crown may be too large to completely cover with transplants, but that would be best determined in person.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

You can start minoxidil but I doubt that it will fill in much of your crown.  Only another transplant can do this

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