Hair Falling Out, Does Rogaine for Women Work and is It Safe?

Question

I'm 21, female, curly hair, high forehead. My hair is thinning significantly at my temples, I fill it in with make up so you won't see my scalp. I've noticed one side, where I part my hair, is missing the most hair. Should I use rogaine? What else can I do? This is horrible.

Rigo J. Mendoza, MD · Answer

Rogaine for women is safe and it is the most effective non surgical option for women.  For women, the best surgical option is the Neograft because there are no scars in the donor site.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

Rogaine is FDA approved for use by women with genetic hair loss ( also called androgenetic alopecia)

	In order to determine what kind of hair loss you have, you should see a hair specialist. This could be a dermatologist or hair restoration specialist. There are dozens and dozens of reasons to lose hair and genetic hair loss is just one of them. You might have a different reason than genetic hair loss in which case Rogaine might not help. 

	Hair loss in the temples is more commonly see in young women with hair shedding issues caused by low iron, thyroid problems or medications like the birth control pill.  

	But again you should see a specialist if you are concerned. Blood tests for iron and thyroid are needed in addition to a full scalp evaluation.

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS · Answer

Rogaine is not a bad medication, however it really doesn’t work all that well in most cases of female hair loss.  Other options include laser light therapy, and having a medical work up to make sure that there is not a treatable cause such as anemia or low thyroid levels contributing to the hair loss.

Hair Falling Out, Does Rogaine for Women Work and is It Safe?

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