Minoxidil & androgenic alopecia: My opinion and testimony after more than 5 years of treatment

Minoxidil is one of the only topical treatments we have available for androgenic alopecia. It is a drug that has been proven effective and non-toxic in clinical trials.

However, the effectiveness of a medication varies from one person to another. I used Minoxidil 2% and then 5% to treat my androgenic alopecia for almost 10 years.

Did it work for me? Did I experience a "shedding effect" aggravating my androgenic alopecia or other unwanted side effects? How is the application going? What happens when you stop after several years of treatment? How did I feel about applying this treatment every day for years? I tell you everything in this article!

20 years old: The diagnosis of androgenic alopecia is made and I start the Minoxidil 2%.

My dermatologist diagnosed me with androgenic alopecia at the age of 20. At the time, my hair loss wasn't really that noticeable. I was just starting to have my hairline widen and thin out a bit. This alerted my close circle of friends and family, who urged me to consult a specialist. After some blood tests and iron and vitamin supplements, my dermatologist prescribed a treatment of Minoxidil 2%.

I decided to take this treatment because it was my only hope for this condition. I told myself that I should at least try to do something to keep my hair as long as possible. I was very afraid of the future, of what I was going to be like when I was 30, 40 and 50. It's really hard to learn at 20 years old that you're going to be very thin in a decade or so because of that. This is one of the most difficult things to live with after being diagnosed with androgenic alopecia.

I was quite sad that I had to apply this solution to my scalp every day. I felt it was unfair and humiliating to have to do this every day to have hair like my friends, like every other woman. It should have been a given. I shouldn't have had to fight for it. But I didn't feel I had a choice.

I use Minoxidil 2% from Bailleul. Upon application, which should be done morning and night, the product makes the hair slightly greasy, but fortunately it dries quickly. However, the hair at the roots remains quite dull afterwards. It is important not to apply the product before washing your hair. This means that you have to do it after shampooing. The problem for me was that I never had the feeling of having clean hair again.

Because when it was clean and shiny after a shampoo, I had to apply the product that night and then the next morning and my hair looked dirty again. I had a pretty bad experience with this during the treatment.

It is important to wash your hands after application, but also all the places where the product has run on the face, such as the forehead and temples. Because if you don't do it properly, which was sometimes the case for me, you can have a little fuzz growing on these areas. I was surprised to see very fine hairs growing on my temples!

Among the side effects of Minoxidil, some people experience a "shedding effect". In fact, during the first few weeks of treatment, Minoxidil sometimes causes an accelerated loss of hair that was about to fall out (hair in telogen phase), before it grows back. I have not noticed any shedding effect. This is not necessarily something I was particularly afraid of because it was supposed to be followed by regrowth anyway.

Regarding the effectiveness of Minoxidil 2% for androgenic alopecia, I must admit that I never saw any obvious results. I had some slight hair growth at times on the top of my head, but I didn't know if this was normal (classic hair growth) or if it was related to the product. In any case, the effect was never obvious and I was still thinning even though my alopecia was very early at the time.

The Minoxidil has had one clear effect on me, and that is to make me focus a little more each day on my alopecia. At a time when I could have enjoyed life, my youth and density hair without thinking about it too much. But when the diagnosis of androgenic alopecia is made, it is difficult to say to yourself that you are not going to do anything to stop the fall. Applying this product twice a day was particularly psychologically destructive for me.

Every day, in front of the mirror, I had to face the fact that I was losing my hair and that I had to apply an oily product on my thinning scalp to counteract this. I had dull hair roots 7 days a week.

I used to feel very guilty when I decided not to follow the treatment from time to time. I remember every Saturday night I would go to my boyfriend's house to sleep and I didn't want to apply the product in front of him. I didn't want to ruin our evening with it. He knew about my alopecia, and the treatment I was on. But I just didn't want to ruin our good time with my alopecia. But on the other hand, I felt guilty for not being strict enough. I thought maybe that's why I wasn't seeing any results...

5 years later, I switched to Minoxidil 5%.

When the results were not satisfactory, I decided to consult another dermatologist at the Sabouraud Center a few years later. I was hoping that I would be diagnosed with another pathology or that I would be offered a more effective treatment. I found myself in a waiting room with flyers for wigs, which at the time, did not really reassure me! I was confirmed as having advanced androgenic alopecia, in 2 minutes tops, including auscultation of the skull! The dermatologist then prescribed Androcure (a treatment that I refused) and Minoxidil 5%.

Minoxidil 5% is a higher dosage than the 2% and is normally prescribed only to men with androgenic alopecia because it has adverse side effects in women. However, some dermatologists prescribe it to women when Minoxidil 2% is not effective enough.

I had a lot of itchy scalp with the Minoxidil 5%. I spent hours scratching my head with this formulation. It felt like a burning sensation. But I continued because I was desperate to find a treatment that worked for me, and most of all, I was afraid to stop. After a few months, the itching subsided. I also had a lot of migraines during this period, not really knowing if it was due to the Minoxidil or not.

I did not find the Minoxidil 5% more effective than the 2%. I didn't have more regrowth and I didn't see any difference in my alopecia. Well, I was lucky enough to have a couple of curly hairs grow on the top of my feet, which wasn't really the effect I wanted!

29 years old, I'm quitting!

The more the years went by, the more I found this treatment restrictive to follow on a daily basis. I was really getting tired of it because the effectiveness was not there for me. At the age of 29, my partner and I decided to have a baby. The question arose as to whether I should continue the treatment during the baby trials and then the pregnancy. But given the lack of effectiveness of the product, I quickly decided not to take any unnecessary risks for my baby for so few results. I must admit that I was also very happy and relieved to stop all this. But I told myself that I would resume the treatment after the pregnancy.

For the first few months without Minoxidil (before I got pregnant), I didn't notice any difference after stopping the product. After my first pregnancy and delivery, I never had the desire or energy to go back on the drug. I had enough on my plate with my baby and my hair was not my priority at the time. In addition, I breastfed my daughter for 2 years and I didn't want to take the treatment during the breastfeeding period either.

After two years of breastfeeding, my androgenic alopecia had progressed significantly. Was this due to stopping the Minoxidil or to hormonal changes during pregnancy and postpartum? A bit of both? I will never know. I must say that I also took a pill during this period that is compatible with breastfeeding, Optimizette, which has the side effect of aggravating the alopecia...

Despite the worsening alopecia, I decided not to take the product again. I don't have the energy, I don't believe in it anymore and this treatment is too much of a strain for me with too few results. These two years without taking it have been liberating for me.

My androgenic alopecia is progressing, I switch to hair topper and it's changing my life!

Two years after the birth of my daughter, my alopecia became visible to others. I don't have any pictures to share, because I would not take any pictures of myself if my alopecia was visible...

One day, a colleague at work stares at my alopecia while I'm on a coffee break and chatting with other colleagues. I realised that this was a pivotal moment when my alopecia became visible to others. It is out of the question for me to become a subject of discussion or pity. I have known about hair hair toppers for 4 years. I had time to get used to the idea that it might be the only really effective solution for me. Initially, the idea was quite difficult to accept, but the years have helped me to accept it gradually.

So it was at the age of 30 that I first walked through the door of a supplement store hair and started wearing a topper to hide the consequences of my androgenic alopecia. This was extremely liberating for me. I was able to rebuild myself and feel beautiful again.

This experiment with androgenic alopecia, Minoxidil 2% and 5% and hair topper was shared on YouTube. If you are interested, feel free to check out the videos

Find the other videos on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgFJ9SejriuuyUGDZ6GT9kA/videos?app=desktop

Discover toppers hair and wigs from Comme un diadème:

https://commeundiademe.com/store/