I tried rectal minoxidil for about a month and the blüttflew was so intense that I became gay and fell in love with my wife's boyfriend. My wife couldn't believe such a change... she was speechless...but she still pre ordered me Stellar Blade on PS5 !!!
@@haircafekevin hi Kevin I’ve been on oral minoxidil for over 6 months and I’ve not had 1 side effect at all people say you will get hypertrichosis but I have not experienced any of that whatsoever no sides at all!
I took Finasteride and Topical Minoxidil for many years. My Doctor prescribed Dutasteride about 4 years ago because I was thinning all over again. All the while, I kept applying topical Minoxidil. Started losing ground again last October. I kept using Dutasteride, but switched over to 5 mg of Oral Minoxidil and stopped topical Minoxidil. My hair is definitely getting thicker, and have no side effects. Everyone is different, its working for me.
@@WALTAH2000 -Been taking 0.5 mg of Dutasteride since July 2020. Only switch I made was past October when I stopped topical Minoxidil, and started 5 mg. of Oral Minoxidil.
I only used topical Minoxidil on my hairline and temples and hated it. But your routine, of putting it on at night, makes perfect sense to me. Might have to get back on it with this new routine.
Maybe genetic Sulfurtransferase tests should be used to see if there's a correlation with side effects like pericardial effusion? So those with abnormally high SULT1A1 enzymes probably have higher chances of serious sides like effusion Also GG on making the vid first 🕊️🕊️🕊️🤣
I switched from topical to oral for one main reason: compliance. It is a lot more practical to take oral minoxidil daily, especially if you have a family and you style your hair using other products. You don’t have to run minoxidil into your scalp, wait for it to dry in order to ensure none of it gets removed, nor do you have to time applying topical minoxidil at a certain time. It really is just adherence as Kev said. That being said, it is important to get your heart checked regularly if you’re taking the oral route
I'll always keep watching you take a dump on oral minoxidil in your videos 😂😂 but I gotta say, taking oral finasteride and oral minoxidil has been much easier to adher to with my rough schedule. I work long hours and i don't often get home until 10:30pm or so, and its harder to convince myself to apply some topicals and wait a few more hours than to take a pill and go immediately to sleep. I'm able to take oral fin and min on my meal breaks at work and so its much more convenient for me. Also, the idea of more hair growth on my beard and eyebrows and rest of the body sounds like a plus to me, and not a negative.
Oral has incontestable superiority in not having a greasy, sticky, itchy head that makes your hair look even worse. Just pop one pill in the morning and you're done. That will lead to better compliance too. Main downside to oral is the under tested possible heart issues.
This is basically the towering colossus of a reason why I will always prefer oral. Topical is just a pain in the ass. I don't have (much) body hair, I haven't died yet, and (for unrelated reasons) a cardiologist has examined my heart since starting it and confirmed everything looks normal. So, yeah, oral for me. Having said this, I can certainly sympathise with the idea that a side effect of possible death is enough to take even an extremely rare side effect seriously. I don't know enough about this to advocate one position or the other, but I was under the assumption that doctors knew enough about these things to mitigate the risks under careful medical supervision.
Minoxidil foam doesn't make your hair sticky or greasy or itchy. You just rub it in, and within minutes it's all dry and your hair looks and feels exactly like it did prior.
After 2 years using dutasteride and topical minoxidil switching to oral minoxidil changed my hair for the best making them way way thicker even my barber noticed that
I would be curious to know the oral Minoxidil manufacturer, was it Loniten or a generic, or mixture of manufacturers - I can't see a reference to Loniten in the study. Was the tablet also taken whole. In the similar 2020 study comparing both they mention oral Minoxidil as the term, however upon further reading of the foot notes the tablet had been fractionated in capsule. I don't understand why they did this and should have included the 5mg tablet whole. Why was this fractionation done to manipulate the product post-production? I only know of loniten tablet whole manufactured by Pfizer in either blister or bottle configurations. I wonder in this study was it also fractionated or taken as per manufacturers specifications. They use similar terms which raises a few eyebrows. Just some thoughts. Great to see this topic revisited sir 🙏
I went back and checked the article. Since it was a double blind study, both the topical minoxidil group and the oral minoxidil group had to use both treatments, but one treatment of the two treatments was just placebo in each group. I think they couldn't make a convincing placebo minoxidil tablet because of the branding on the tablet, so they put the minoxidil in a capsule. That way the subjects wouldn't know if they were taking real oral minoxidil or not. They say it was made up by a compounding pharmacy. So that was why they did it that way. I assume they validated the dose of oral minoxidil. This group from Brazil has done a number of studies on oral minoxidil, including some studies on SULT1A1 activity predicting response to oral minoxidil, so they seem like a pretty solid group of researchers who are sincerely trying to research the role of oral minoxidil in hair loss. Thanks as always for your thoughtful comments!
@@LarsRyeJeppesen Most people cannot regularly apply topical minoxidil because it is too much work? I don't know, man. Maybe I am just used to it since I have been doing it for so long, but I apply topical minoxidil daily (every night about three hours before bed). I can't remember ever thinking it was too much work or too difficult. I think if people can apply hair product, brush their teeth, bathe, etc. regularly, I think they can apply topical minoxidil regularly as well.
@@longlostaudio8247 yes, agree. But compliance is the most important factor in hair loss treatment, so I would definitely say oral min is to be preferred. Especially if you are a thinning everywhere, it can be hard to apply topical
Congratulations on hitting 40K subscribers! Your channel has been a beacon of hope and guidance for those of us navigating the tricky waters of hair loss. Your advice is not only practical but also incredibly empowering. Here's to many more milestones and continued success in helping people feel confident in their own skin. Cheers to 40K and beyond! 🎉✨ Also l wanted to ask you two questions. Do you think a blood test is neccessary or a good idea before starting dutasteride once a week? Also can dutasteride affect strength gains and energy levels? Thanks again Kevin
Thanks choom! Nah, there is no blood marker that will predict how well you will respond to a 5AR inhibitor so I wouldn't bother. Dutasteride won't have any negative effects on strength or athleticism. I made some videos about this regarding finasteride but dutasteride is a similar enough drug that what I say here also applies to dutasteride. ua-cam.com/video/bXDPx7Vp8GI/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/wRXZY-wY8b0/v-deo.html
Hello, how long can i ceep cutted finasteride tablets in a small closed container? I thought of prestoring them into gelatine capsules for easier swallowing and that i could prepare like 30of them and dont have to cut every 4th day?
They should last until at least the expiration. The tablets are not air tight, the film is just to protect women from handling it since it can absorb through the skin.
I appreciate you pushing evidence-based treatments, Kevin. Very informative and helpful review, as always. Some points to consider though, which I hope you do not mind me sharing. 1. People take oral minoxidil also to comply more easily, not necessarily because it is more effective. This is part of the rationale for taking it. 2. Overall, the study showed that oral minoxidil was slightly superior to topical minoxidil, despite almost all (but not all) the p-values being non-significant. Also, topical minoxidil was not more effective than the oral solution on ANY of the parameters analysed, so we also need to acknowledge the direction of superiority, which was never in favour of topical minoxidil (even if non-significant). 3. The authors rightly mentioned that the sample might have been too small to show significant differences (which was, by the way). Statistical power needs to be taken seriously, and so I do not think we can rule out that a larger sample could show the superiority of oral minoxidil. After all, the direction of superiority seems to indicate that, and with a larger sample one might reasonably expect that effectiveness gap to widen. Again, I really like the fact that you stress the importance of evidence-based/FDA-approved treatments. It shows that this channel is to be trusted. My comment is not meant to be criticism at all, as I very much value your content. It is however important to stress objective findings, even if they are in favour of oral minoxidil. I say this knowing that, on the whole, I agree with you about the need to stick to the topical version, rather than taking oral minoxidil. And, by the way, I have just subscribed to your channel. Thank you again for all your hard work to help people deal with this evil condition, which in my view needs to be fully eradicated (and it will happen sooner or later).
Thanks for the sub! Welcome aboard. The studies done so far don't exclude a small difference in efficacy between oral and topical minoxidil, but they don't prove it either. They do indicate that there isn't a huge difference in efficacy between the two preparations. If a larger study does show a statistically significant difference, it might be small enough to not matter too much in choosing which preparation to use if we're talking about just a few hairs per cm2 difference. I agree the attraction of oral minoxidil is convenience, but there is also the safety issue to consider which I don't think has been resolved. Larger prospective randomized comparison trials would be useful, but I doubt they would get funded. So based on the data we have, we can't really claim that one preparation is more effective than the other, which is what many people on the hair loss forums and even some doctors have claimed, based on anecdotal information. On my channel I try to base my recommendations on whatever science is available and not speculate too much.
Hey Kevin, what's your opinion on using low dosages of T for muscle building? Do you think it's worth cycling or that the cardiovascular and hair loss risks are too great to justify?
No, testosterone won't be effective for performance enhancement unless you use something above a trt dose. 500 mg per week would work, and used with a 5ar inhibitor it would be hair safe. You'll need to use it with an aromatase inhibitor during cycle and use PCT drugs like clomid.
me personally, i had to get a chest xray from taking oral minoxidil. I had shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and a higher heart rate / higher rate of exhaustion when working out. Thankfully the xray came out all good, but this was only from a week of taking it!!!
This is a very interesting video, Kevin. I actually asked my Derm to write me LDOM at 1.25mg, since I have a very busy schedule and hoped it would be a good compromise between efficacy & convenience to reinforce my crown hair, which didn' recover with Finasteride alone. Now 3 months in, I've experienced some shed, but primarily hypertrichosis! I thought Armenians like me had all the hair, but I had no idea how much more I could have with oral minoxidil. Keeping a smooth body has required enough effort that it would probably just be easier to use topical. It's something I'll bring up with him at next appt.
Hey Kevin im from Germany and i want to know what you think about my Daily hair Protocol. 28 years and NW 3 frontal thinning. 7 am: Biotin 1x tablet Saw Palmetto 1x tablet Minoxidil 3ml 1mg Fin (Hormosan German Brand) 5 pm: 3 ml Pantostin 9-10 pm: Redensyl 2ml Minoxidil 3ml +sometimes Rosmary Oil and 1-2 times per Week Microneedeling. Thank You!!
@@DAS-nq5hv man, i could have told you are german giving the time slots lol. listen, as Kevin said, what you need in Minoxidil and Finasteride or if you are not happy with Finasteride, try Dut, but i dont see any sense in using Fin and Dut together. Also rosemary oil wont get you more hair if you are on topical minoxidil two times per day. If I were you. i would take one pill of Finasteride and apply minoxidil once or twice a day, the rest is not going to make any difference.
Hey Kevin I agree completely when it comes to oral minoxidil, even if it is deemed safe, taking a risk with your cardiovascular health is taking a risk with your life.
I wonder if a lot of people who claim to see superior results from oral minoxidil initially used topical but switched because they thought that it wasn’t working. After switching to oral they start seeing the long term results of topical, so they misattribute the increase in hair growth to switching to oral. Just a theory!
yo man great video as always! i think the bigger and main difference between topical and oral minox has always been the ease of use though. especially for a life thing, adding another pill in the stack is much much muuuuch easier and doable than having a whole ass routine where you have to take into account showers and how your hair looks etc etc etc
Hi kevin , its been 10-11 months on fin for me , i don't see any reduction in hair fall and i am still losing ground to the point where it got noticeable in the front hairline area.. i am 19 and still in the NW1 range , do you think i should start taking Dutasteride ?
Thanks Kevin for the info. Do you think a combination of topical minoxidil once a day in the morning, plus oral minoxidil 2.5 mg once a day in the evening,can be beneficial, or is it not recommended to combine?
Hello kevin, this is unrelated to the video but i have been thinking about starting finasteride thanks to your amazing videos, but still a bit unsure if i need it or not. My hair is long and curly, but very coarse and thin. I would probably say i’m a norwood 2 and have a pretty big 5head as well. I’m just wondering if it’s worth taking for dealing with coarse thinning hair even if i’m not significantly balding yet?
Yeah, you don't want to wait until you've lost ground. Finasteride is much better at maintaining what you have. If you wait until you've lost ground then you may not be able to get it back. Just get on treatment now and forget about hair loss.
Hey Kevin, just had my hair transplanted and i wanted to ask theyre recommending me gf (growth factor) serum which basically has vitamins for hair in it but its 300 eur. for 6 months supply should i get it? And will it make a difference in how thick my hair from transplant will come out or is it a scam. Thank you. Also did you use something like this when you got your transplant or no? Also when can i start taking finasteride again. My doctor recommended 1-2 weeks after surgery, but can i use it right away?
Hey Kev, a low dose isotretinoin (10mg daily) will skyrock the oral minoxidil results, is it true? Does it make sense to use Accutane daily to respond better to minoxidil?
No, there is no evidence that will work. Isotretinoin can even possibly cause hair loss. I talk about it here. ua-cam.com/video/ZzTJcjmYiCY/v-deo.html Please, just take topical minoxidil.
Gary Linkov? Not sure he does anything other than reaction videos or commercials for his Telehealth business. That aside, we probably agree on most things.
Hi Kevin, first of all, thanks for your video ! But i ve a question if you have the time.. Why some doctor say oral minoxidil is superior if it s not true ? I know some top hair doctor in Europe say it s a revolution and when i see the study i don t understand why they think that.. i hope my English is correct because i m from France ! And congratulations for 40k !
Thanks! Doctors may be saying oral minoxidil is superior based on some specific patients where they saw a good result, but all the studies so far don't show it to be any better than topical. This new study just came out, so maybe some of these doctors may change their minds.
Hello Kevin, I’ve been taking finesteride for a month now and im experiencing genital insensitivity as a side effect (total test before starting was 420) do you think i should push through few more weeks and then side effects would go away since you mentioned in one of your previous video that the sides go away in few months of experiencing them. Thxx
Yeah, I would try muscling through it for a few more weeks. After that I would titrate down. Try 0.5 or 0.2 MG of oral finasteride daily or every other day. If necessary you can try as little as 0.1 MG daily as that is the smallest dose you can use that still works.
@dhruv1106 What Kevin said, plus take supplements such as Creatine, zinc, ginko biloba, L-citrulline or L-arginine on a daily basis. Take Ashwagandha, no more than 10 pills every month to up all your hormones and lower cortisol. Don't take it too many days in a row because too much can make you oversleep and or tired. Doing leg day boosts free T, taking ginger may also boost T levels so look into it as well.
Hey Kevin thanks for all the videos. Wanted to ask, i saw some people claim that topical minoxidil used on hair that aren't affected by AGA will result on being worse than when you started if you stop using it due to them becoming "dependent" on it. I couldn't tell if that was some misinformation or not. I personally had slight temple recession but only on one side but im applying minixidil (along with taking fin) on both temples and the crown, dermatologist even said i could do it on my whole head if it was more convenient, so was just wondering if there's any validity to those claims or just bogus rumors people spread. Cheers.
There is no evidence of that whatsoever. Any extra growth you get on minoxidil will be dependent on minoxidil but if you stop things will go back to the way they were before you started using minoxidil, it won't be worse.
Hello Kevin, I have a question for you. Does only finasteride or only minoxyl or finasteride + minoxyl (topical) save hair from baldness forever or does it only prolong baldness for 10 years?
Hey Kevin I’ve been on fin for a while now but do you think it’s a waste of money if I start applying my own blend of pumpkinseed, rosemary and peppermint oil as an adjunct treatment or should I save my money?
Not sure if you've done it already but could you comment on the Bloom+ hair growth serum by Alphaura? Someone recommended it to me and I need to decide if it's snake oil or not (Note: I'm already on the main hair loss stack of topical min/oral fin) Much appreciated ❤
Hey Kev, late comment I know, but I have been doing some extra digging on oral minox lately as I see a dermatologist who offers it. They offer the sublingual version, which *supposedly* bypasses a lot of the systemic problems by navigating digestion in the liver (I believe?). Have you heard of this at all? I know that's how other medications work, but I am yet to find any reputable research on this mechanism for LDOM. Thanks mate.
deleted my comment because I wanted to rephrase it, do you think serum testostorne levels on 2.5mg of dutastride eventually go back to baseline? I say this because there's a trend that DHT blockers tend to get back to baseline levels of test after a while, a year in the case of dut 0.5mg dut for example. This is true for everything except 2.5mg of dut but I figured the increased concentration of dutastride meant that it would merely take longer to reach this point, past the studies duration, similar to how when you discontinue the drugs its 2.5mg of dut that takes the longest then perhaps its 2.5mg of dut that also takes the longest to go to baseline like all the other drugs? just wanted to see if you agree with my theory
Im on 5mg oral minoxidil for 7 months. Feel fine. Im actually taking topical on my temples too right after micro needling. Probably an obsession but rip to my heart. I will disagree on you with dermarolling for hair growth. But as always great video hair loss wizard
Hey Kevin, I am now on Finasteride for 5 months. I never had a real shedding phase, instead I had a short break from hairloss at ~two months, and after that hair seemed to fall out as usual. Still see a lot of hairs in my day-to-day life, but unsure how much is normal. When should I get to dutasteride? I‘m 20 if that helps.
It might be a little too soon to give up on finasteride. Maybe give it 2 or 3 more months before switching to dutasteride. I usually tell people not to switch before 6 months, and the efficacy can take up to 2 years to peak.
Sup Kevin! Question for you, will crushed finasteride pills fully dissolve evenly in topical minoxidil? Or is it possible that the finished solution will have varying concentrations of finasteride throughout the bottle? I appreciate your knowledge!
Yeah, the active ingredient itself is ethanol soluble so it will blend in fine with a PG/ethanol solution like a K&B solution or stemoxydine. You'll have some powdery residue in it but that's the filler material, no big deal.
Hey Kevin, in older videos I see you use more than recommended dose of liquid minoxidil. Do you still use more than 1ml and do you think it's more effective than 1ml?
Hey Kevin. In your experience, does minoxidil in foam form causes less side effects than the normal liquid form? I tried minoxidil 5% for 2 months and got really bad heart related side effects (mostly chest tightness). Even when using only 3 ou 4 drops of the product caused me to feel weird after a few minutes. On the other hand, I have been using alfatradiol and getting decent results. I'm combining with 0.5 fin every other day and even got some recovery on my crown area! Really surprised with the results. Loved the brazillian references btw. Cheers from Brazil.
Hey man, thanks for the great video. I also didn't want to take any risk with taking oral minoxidil so i started using the liquid min about 3 month ago. Since then i didn't notice any regrowth but i noticed hair thinning and dryness on my scalp where i put it. I thought it might be related to propylene glycol sensitivity. I also don't have access to the foam version here so i was thinking about quitting minoxidil (i'm already on finastride for 3 months) I still have a full head of hair but i'm afraid that quitting minoxidil can cause a massive shed. I always blame myself because probably only fin could be enough for me. Do you have any advice for me?
I have great results with oral minoxidil, been on for 3+ years, easily doubled my hair density in 4 months. The riskier side effects alone makes me want to swap back to topical min, but I just know for a fact that I'm too lazy to keep up the regiment, and I really don't want to lose the ground I've made. Am I still at risk for pericardial effusion after 3+ years and have EKG's done?
I'm aware of the major downfalls, but for me the price and convenience compared to topical is still good (the price here is 6-8 USD and lasts for half a month, overtime it sucks in devalued brazillian real, while oral min is dirty cheap as fin). I'm on topical + fin for more than 2 years, but I'll ask my doctor to keep tabs on my cardiac health and his permission to starting oral minoxidil. Without your videos I'd be already guns blazing on the pills and not going to a doc, so, thanks, choom (unironically). I swear I won't get paranoid, but I'm going to proceed responsibly. If I get a no, I'll suck it up. Yeah, it is costly as being a moderate smoker to my case, but still safe.
Hey kevin, I am on topical minoxidil and finasteride for bit over a year. I had an amazing results during my first 6 months and then lost all the fine results in a gradual manner(I was in a very stressful period and my diet and sleep routines were pretty bad). Would you attribute this to medication losing its efficacy or it just me needing to change my lifestyle? Your insights would be very helpful. I just want those results back. Sigh
I think it is probably just a seasonal shed. You'll get all the results back but only if you say on treatment. I'd give your stack at least 1-2 years to judge its efficacy. If things continue to get worse after that then I'd try a stronger 5AR inhibitor, like 0.5 MG of dutasteride.
I never really thought oral min. had superior efficacy. I started taking it recently so I can take my topical min. less frequently purely for convenience. I'm taking oral min. 2.5mg per day, and use 5% topical min. 2-3 times per week, whenever it's super convenient for me. I also switched from 1mg fin. to 0.5mg oral dut. in the last couple months. I haven't noticed any negative effects from anything I'm taking, just maintaining a great head of hair at 41 years old.
There are a lot of people taking it because they are convinced it has superior efficacy. That's not the case. Taking it for convenience is more rational, as long as you are aware of possible serious sides.
@@haircafekevin yeah, Dr. Linkov said as much when I commented on a post of his saying I recently purchased it from his website. But I don't view it that way, I just view it as a matter of convenience and understand the potential sides for the heart can be quite deleterious.
Is stopping hair loss for that minority really impossible? I mean like there’s people who take 2.5mg of oral dut and it’s only slowing the hair loss down but it doesn’t stop it. I mean what other options is left?
People aren't losing hair on 2.5 MG of dutasteride. They're just panicking about a shed. I have never seen any convincing evidence of someone losing ground on 2.5 MG of dut.
Hey Kev, what you think of hair transplants before the age of 25? I’m a moderate diffuse thinner (3rd month in fin an min) at 22years old. I do know that usually diffuse thinners are not very good candidates for a transplant, on top of that I’m under 25. What’s your advice?
There are some doctors who specialize with diffuse thinners. Check the hair restoration network for sources. I think it is a good idea. With verteporfin futures issues with donor availability won't be much of an issue so I'd go for it. You may also want to try concealers like Caboki. Works wonders for diffuse thinners.
Thanks man. Luckily for me it’s still not time to consider a transplant since I’m only 3 months into medications and started noticing balding almost a year ago, with noticeable thinning only under very harsh light (looks like I have a full head of hair to most people). Btw thanks for the answer. Can you do a video about FOL-005? Looks promising as an adjunct to minoxidil and will probably come to market next year .Have a nice day!
Hi kevin I talked about my situation with you a few days ago and you told me either fin or dut should help me. My questions are : 1-will my chances be better if i use dut as someone who has aggressive hairloss at such a young age? (19), 2- is dutasteride Every other day as good as everyday? Will it be good or should i use it Every day?, 3- I'm living in iran, the country is very limited and generic fin made here is kinda cheap and i guess not high quality but generic dut 0.5 is more expensive, like 7 times more expensive than 1mg fin and the company seems kinda legit to me since they even mentioned hairloss studies in their site about dutasteride and those kind of stuff. Do you think will this generic 0.5 dut be as good as something like avodart?. Thanks bro
I would probably start fin 1 mg per day and give it a good 6 months to see how it is working. If it isn't working as well as you'd like because either your hair loss is very aggressive or the quality of the drug is not good, then you could switch to dut. Dut can be used once a day or every other day with the same effect probably. The reason I'd start with fin is that you are looking at a lifetime of treatment and fin will be cheaper and probably just as effective. So at least give it a good trial. I wouldn't get too worried about the generic versions being weaker. Both drugs work well even on lower doses, so if the drugs don't contain the full 1 mg of fin or 0.5 mg of dut, they'll probably still work. Good luck!
Is there any correlation with minoxidil working on your beard and your scalp? I’m wondering because I’ve used it for my beard and seeing if that means I have that enzyme
It's not known, but minoxidil should work better on non-scalp hair since DHT isn't a factor. It's probably why you hear people report body hair growth on oral minoxidil even when it doesn't do anything for their scalp hair.
Is seasonal shed a thing? I'm shedding hair like crazy, but started creatine some weeks ago. I don't know which one to blame, I'm currently taking Dutasteride by the way.
Yes it is, all hair growth is cyclical. Even people who don't have androgenic alopecia have sheds. Creatine isn't causing it, just give it a few months to stabilize.
Any thoughts on using oral minoxidil to prevent the risk to pet cats? My girlfriend has 2 cats and I'm not trying to accidentally kill her cats so I use the oral minoxidil instead of topical. Would love to hear if you have an opinion on this use case.
Usually just 5 mg, although I did briefly try megadosing well above 10 mg it thinking it would give me insane results but quickly stopped realizing it was stupid. I would never touch oral minoxidil again.
Thoughts on continuing taking fin deep into your 50/60s? is going to be effective as dht naturally goes down with age. Does thw risk of P cancer increase?
Finasteride lowers the overall risk of prostate cancer, and the concern about more high-grade prostate cancer turned out to be a false alarm because cancer mortality actually is less on fin during long term follow-up. There's no reason not to continue the drug into your 50s, 60s, or beyond. Here's the reference on prostate cancer, doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc1809961
Some people complain of palpitations on topical minoxidil, but actually the most serious problem, pericardial effusion has not been reported with topical minoxidil, though it has been reported with low dose oral minoxidil. It seems like theoretically it could happen with topical minoxidil, but maybe the fact that it is so slowly absorbed and the blood levels stay very low means that pericardial effusion doesn't happen.
Good video! Does switching from fin to dut cause a shed. Like is it possible that the gains made out of fin all those hairs will shed after switching to dut because I’m on dut for a month and I’m going back to baseline.
I use 2% minoxidil topically(once a day) as men, what do you think? I have satisfying results - shedding and new hairs growing in temples that used to be bald
5% is more effective than 2%. If you are doing great on 2% that's fine, but I wouldn't hesitate to go to 5% if I had any doubt about how 2% was working.
@@haircafekevin Thank you Kevin. You are awsome giving us facts & information. I thought I saw a research paper saying it does somewhat little prevention. Do you know any other research that some pills do turning white hair to black hair? I heard prostate pills do turn hair to black.
hey kevin i hope you are fine i want to ask you do you think taking everyday 0.5mg avodart dutasterid plus minoxidil 5mg two times a day can protect my hair for more than decade
Minoxidil should be used at least once per day for effectiveness whether it is oral or topical. Topical actually has a longer half life, about 22-23 hours compared to 7.
Kevin I cant use finasteride anymore. I used 0.25mgs eod for a month and sides are still there although slightly less. Im just very unlucky I guess. I bought 5% minoxidil(liquid) should I use that and pray it works? Should i even bother if I’m not using fin?
I wouldn't give up on finasteride yet. Try 0.1 MG daily. That is the smallest dose you can use that still works. Also, side effects usually go away with continued use so many try muscling through it for a month.
@@haircafekevinTbh 0.25mgs eod isn’t that effective for hairloss and I’ll have to add min even if i stay at this dose. The guy on the channel “Hair Transplant In India” says 0.25mg eod is useless. It’s like I’m getting sides without much benefit of the drug. It’s just a nightmare bro. I hate hairloss.
Do you think its reasonable to apply topical minoxidil only on bald temples if you are more of a receder than a diffuse thinner, and if so how would you go about dose considering the area is much smaller than standard?
Just apply however much is needed to get full coverage. If that is less than 1 ML then that is fine. It is an acceptable strategy so long as you are on finasteride as finasteride will prevent further recession.
Hey kevin...... I am currently on fin+top min for about a month.......I'm a diffuse thinner at 18y......should i use dutasteride(use once\twice a week) or countinue on fin....?
I'd just stay the course unless you've already lost a significant amount of ground before starting treatment. Give it about a year to judge efficacy. Finasteride and minoxidil should be fine.
Yeah......I already lost quite a lot ......the fin have stabilised the hair loss......but since I have lost quite a lot at this age and I might as well add dutasteride into my regiment......and can you recommend on how i should incorporate it into my routine(should it be a once or twice a week thing or should I completely switch to it and skip fin ?). And btw Thank-you for making these videos....I would have never known what to do if it weren't for these videos......😅🤎
Hey Dear Kevin, the hair wizard! Do you think that topical finasteride and minoxidil lose efficacy over time? I want to start the treatment, but I’m afraid that will only last for 2 or 3 years… Love your content Maestro!
Nah, Finasteride works forever. Check out my video on it. ua-cam.com/video/LsF9MwIM_AM/v-deo.html In the case of minoxidil, it only loses efficacy if used by itself. Used with minoxidil it also lasts forever.
For last 1.5 years i was on minoxidil+finasteroid topical lotion and 0.5 mg dutasteroid. My hair loss stppoed but didn't gain much hair so my dermatologist prescribed me oral minoxidil 2.5 mg on alternate days
That's risky, I would use it at least once per day. Once per day has proven effective but there is no evidence that it maintains its efficacy with less frequent dosing than that.
Hey Kevin, my hair is around a norwood 2 and I have been on oral finasteride 1mg/day and topical minoxidil 5% once a day for 6 months now. I take pictures every 4 weeks after the same 6mm buzzcut, with consistent lighting, angles and everything to properly evaluate my progress. There has been zero change (positive or negative) between my baseline and now. I know this is considered "successful treatment" and I will definitely stay on finasteride as long as I want to keep my hair, but I am unsure about minoxidil and not regrowing any hair makes me question if the hassle is worth it. How long do you think I should continue minoxidil and at what point would you stop minoxidil if no progress arises? Thank You!
If you have gained nothing from minoxidil then you can safely stop it and lose nothing. I'd give it a few more months before dropping it though, maybe try adding 0.1 tretinoin gel to your minoxidil to improve your response.
@@haircafekevin Thanks for the response! I will do that. Do you think another 6 months (12 in total) will be enough time to give minoxidil a proper chance?
KEVIN! do you have any opinion on using topical AND oral minoxidil together? Are there any studies showing whether the using them both have better effects or same effect as if you were to use either of them only? Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kevin this may sound stupid but why does my hair feel thicker and look thicker when I apply topical minoxidil when it dries vs when I don’t apply any topical minoxidil it just feels thinner and look thinner
It's because of the PG. Minoxidil has kind of a mousse like effect that makes it stick up and prevent it from getting flat. I kind of like the effect and I know other people report positively about it too.
can confirm, only side effect with topical is the minor inflammation on the scalp due to the alcohol and propylene glycol, oral minoxidil is overrated caused me hypertrichosis and i definitely dont want it to fuck up my heart
Hey, Kevin! I’ve been on Fin for 5 years, Topical minoxidil for around 2 years. When I added in minoxidil I got really fantastic growth from the get-go. I was back to a NW0. Over the last like 9 months or so those results have been reduced by like 50%. Still above “pre-min” baseline but … does not look good :( I keep telling myself this is just a really prolonged shed or something. But as the months go by, I’m more and more tempted to try OM. I’ve also added tret to my hairline after my forehead… no positive change. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Like I said in the video there isn't any evidence oral minoxidil would be better than topical. You probably should consider stronger 5AR blocking, meaning switching to dutasteride 0.5 mg, either just substituting it for the fin a couple times a week or just switching completely to 0.5 mg daily.
What about rectal minoxidil?
I started rectal minoxidil 3 weeks ago and I’m already observing a huge increase in blüdfleu out of my ass!
Need any help with that?
I tried rectal minoxidil for about a month and the blüttflew was so intense that I became gay and fell in love with my wife's boyfriend. My wife couldn't believe such a change... she was speechless...but she still pre ordered me Stellar Blade on PS5 !!!
@exactly1176 Lucky! I want Stellar Blade but the wife's boyfriend is being a cheapskate.
Would be (systemically) as harmful to the cardiovascular health as taking it orally.
I personally use intravenous Minoxidil for maximum systemic efficiency. After 6 months of daily use, I can confirm I'm now a hair.
The ultimate in hypertrichosis.
Stupid answers, you must be a clown
@@haircafekevin hi Kevin I’ve been on oral minoxidil for over 6 months and I’ve not had 1 side effect at all people say you will get hypertrichosis but I have not experienced any of that whatsoever no sides at all!
What a stupid comment, that adds absolutely nothing.
@@grahamlowe9124 yes you haven't had one side affect, youve had all of them (just a joke)
babe wake up, haircafe posted another minoxidil video
Just realized you hit 40k subscribers! Congratulations choom
I just noticed that too. Thanks!
I took Finasteride and Topical Minoxidil for many years. My Doctor prescribed Dutasteride about 4 years ago because I was thinning all over again. All the while, I kept applying topical Minoxidil. Started losing ground again last October. I kept using Dutasteride, but switched over to 5 mg of Oral Minoxidil and stopped topical Minoxidil. My hair is definitely getting thicker, and have no side effects. Everyone is different, its working for me.
Yeah it works wonders for me. Hair even got darker. No sides.
How many months did you wait to get the result?
prob a shed from switching to dutasteride that levelled itself out
@@WALTAH2000 -Been taking 0.5 mg of Dutasteride since July 2020. Only switch I made was past October when I stopped topical Minoxidil, and started 5 mg. of Oral Minoxidil.
@@OA-10 -about 4 months.
I love that you and the Hair Chemist both posted about oral minoxidil on the same day with very different views.
Crazy coincidence.
Noticed the same thing lol
Kevin saying football instead of soccer is goated
Thanks, growing up we always called it Football or American Football to distinguish the two sports.
Congratulations on reaching 40K Kevin! Very well deserved!
Kevin ur video an post accutane and on the explanation on the whole phenomenon was great! Congrats to 40k!
Thank you choom! Always love reading your feedback.
Daddy Kevin, can you please give us an update on your current hair loss regimen? Please and thank you.
I only used topical Minoxidil on my hairline and temples and hated it. But your routine, of putting it on at night, makes perfect sense to me. Might have to get back on it with this new routine.
Maybe genetic Sulfurtransferase tests should be used to see if there's a correlation with side effects like pericardial effusion? So those with abnormally high SULT1A1 enzymes probably have higher chances of serious sides like effusion
Also GG on making the vid first 🕊️🕊️🕊️🤣
Thanks. That's an interesting hypothesis. You probably know about Dr. Trueb's Cantu syndrome hypothesis as to what causes the pericardial effusions.
@@haircafekevin AFAIK the Cantu syndrome thing was first noted by Dorothy Grange and colleagues in 2006
Just finished editing my video about this same topic that I'll publish tomorrow...good timing
Looking forward to watching it.
Number one hair loss channel.Congrats man!
I switched from topical to oral for one main reason: compliance. It is a lot more practical to take oral minoxidil daily, especially if you have a family and you style your hair using other products. You don’t have to run minoxidil into your scalp, wait for it to dry in order to ensure none of it gets removed, nor do you have to time applying topical minoxidil at a certain time. It really is just adherence as Kev said. That being said, it is important to get your heart checked regularly if you’re taking the oral route
I'll always keep watching you take a dump on oral minoxidil in your videos 😂😂 but I gotta say, taking oral finasteride and oral minoxidil has been much easier to adher to with my rough schedule. I work long hours and i don't often get home until 10:30pm or so, and its harder to convince myself to apply some topicals and wait a few more hours than to take a pill and go immediately to sleep. I'm able to take oral fin and min on my meal breaks at work and so its much more convenient for me. Also, the idea of more hair growth on my beard and eyebrows and rest of the body sounds like a plus to me, and not a negative.
Oral has incontestable superiority in not having a greasy, sticky, itchy head that makes your hair look even worse. Just pop one pill in the morning and you're done. That will lead to better compliance too. Main downside to oral is the under tested possible heart issues.
You will use topical minoxidil before sleeping at night, who cares about hair being greasy before or at bed lmao
True, but all things have balance, including the body hair that oral makes you grow.
Trade one effect for another.
This is basically the towering colossus of a reason why I will always prefer oral. Topical is just a pain in the ass. I don't have (much) body hair, I haven't died yet, and (for unrelated reasons) a cardiologist has examined my heart since starting it and confirmed everything looks normal. So, yeah, oral for me.
Having said this, I can certainly sympathise with the idea that a side effect of possible death is enough to take even an extremely rare side effect seriously. I don't know enough about this to advocate one position or the other, but I was under the assumption that doctors knew enough about these things to mitigate the risks under careful medical supervision.
@@Imeanwhateverbro lmao? Whatever, but most people use it twice a day, plus I still hated the feeling at night. To each his own.
Minoxidil foam doesn't make your hair sticky or greasy or itchy. You just rub it in, and within minutes it's all dry and your hair looks and feels exactly like it did prior.
Kevin is the GOAT! The only UA-camr I'll ever take hairloss advice from, EVER!
After 2 years using dutasteride and topical minoxidil switching to oral minoxidil changed my hair for the best making them way way thicker even my barber noticed that
Same
Yeah bro but the risk is something to consider if you want to live long.
what dosage did you do?
How many months did you wait to get the results ?
@@michaeldro7317 5mg
I would be curious to know the oral Minoxidil manufacturer, was it Loniten or a generic, or mixture of manufacturers - I can't see a reference to Loniten in the study. Was the tablet also taken whole. In the similar 2020 study comparing both they mention oral Minoxidil as the term, however upon further reading of the foot notes the tablet had been fractionated in capsule. I don't understand why they did this and should have included the 5mg tablet whole. Why was this fractionation done to manipulate the product post-production? I only know of loniten tablet whole manufactured by Pfizer in either blister or bottle configurations. I wonder in this study was it also fractionated or taken as per manufacturers specifications. They use similar terms which raises a few eyebrows. Just some thoughts. Great to see this topic revisited sir 🙏
I went back and checked the article. Since it was a double blind study, both the topical minoxidil group and the oral minoxidil group had to use both treatments, but one treatment of the two treatments was just placebo in each group. I think they couldn't make a convincing placebo minoxidil tablet because of the branding on the tablet, so they put the minoxidil in a capsule. That way the subjects wouldn't know if they were taking real oral minoxidil or not. They say it was made up by a compounding pharmacy.
So that was why they did it that way. I assume they validated the dose of oral minoxidil. This group from Brazil has done a number of studies on oral minoxidil, including some studies on SULT1A1 activity predicting response to oral minoxidil, so they seem like a pretty solid group of researchers who are sincerely trying to research the role of oral minoxidil in hair loss.
Thanks as always for your thoughtful comments!
people out here afraid of taking 1mg of fin but will swill minoxidil like it's an estus flask
Overrated AND potentially dangerous. That's a pretty bad combination. Topical minoxidil for the win.
Most people cannot regularly apply topical minoxidil.. it's just too much work. Popping a pill daily is so easy.
@@LarsRyeJeppesen Most people cannot regularly apply topical minoxidil because it is too much work? I don't know, man. Maybe I am just used to it since I have been doing it for so long, but I apply topical minoxidil daily (every night about three hours before bed). I can't remember ever thinking it was too much work or too difficult. I think if people can apply hair product, brush their teeth, bathe, etc. regularly, I think they can apply topical minoxidil regularly as well.
@@LarsRyeJeppesen It literally takes 2 minutes
@@LarsRyeJeppesenit takes the same amount of time as brushing your teeth. You just proved Kevin’s point about the hype is mainly from laziness
@@longlostaudio8247 yes, agree. But compliance is the most important factor in hair loss treatment, so I would definitely say oral min is to be preferred. Especially if you are a thinning everywhere, it can be hard to apply topical
Congratulations on hitting 40K subscribers! Your channel has been a beacon of hope and guidance for those of us navigating the tricky waters of hair loss. Your advice is not only practical but also incredibly empowering. Here's to many more milestones and continued success in helping people feel confident in their own skin. Cheers to 40K and beyond! 🎉✨
Also l wanted to ask you two questions. Do you think a blood test is neccessary or a good idea before starting dutasteride once a week? Also can dutasteride affect strength gains and energy levels? Thanks again Kevin
Thanks choom!
Nah, there is no blood marker that will predict how well you will respond to a 5AR inhibitor so I wouldn't bother.
Dutasteride won't have any negative effects on strength or athleticism. I made some videos about this regarding finasteride but dutasteride is a similar enough drug that what I say here also applies to dutasteride.
ua-cam.com/video/bXDPx7Vp8GI/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/wRXZY-wY8b0/v-deo.html
Hello, how long can i ceep cutted finasteride tablets in a small closed container? I thought of prestoring them into gelatine capsules for easier swallowing and that i could prepare like 30of them and dont have to cut every 4th day?
They should last until at least the expiration. The tablets are not air tight, the film is just to protect women from handling it since it can absorb through the skin.
I appreciate you pushing evidence-based treatments, Kevin. Very informative and helpful review, as always. Some points to consider though, which I hope you do not mind me sharing.
1. People take oral minoxidil also to comply more easily, not necessarily because it is more effective. This is part of the rationale for taking it.
2. Overall, the study showed that oral minoxidil was slightly superior to topical minoxidil, despite almost all (but not all) the p-values being non-significant. Also, topical minoxidil was not more effective than the oral solution on ANY of the parameters analysed, so we also need to acknowledge the direction of superiority, which was never in favour of topical minoxidil (even if non-significant).
3. The authors rightly mentioned that the sample might have been too small to show significant differences (which was, by the way). Statistical power needs to be taken seriously, and so I do not think we can rule out that a larger sample could show the superiority of oral minoxidil. After all, the direction of superiority seems to indicate that, and with a larger sample one might reasonably expect that effectiveness gap to widen.
Again, I really like the fact that you stress the importance of evidence-based/FDA-approved treatments. It shows that this channel is to be trusted. My comment is not meant to be criticism at all, as I very much value your content. It is however important to stress objective findings, even if they are in favour of oral minoxidil. I say this knowing that, on the whole, I agree with you about the need to stick to the topical version, rather than taking oral minoxidil. And, by the way, I have just subscribed to your channel. Thank you again for all your hard work to help people deal with this evil condition, which in my view needs to be fully eradicated (and it will happen sooner or later).
Thanks for the sub! Welcome aboard.
The studies done so far don't exclude a small difference in efficacy between oral and topical minoxidil, but they don't prove it either. They do indicate that there isn't a huge difference in efficacy between the two preparations. If a larger study does show a statistically significant difference, it might be small enough to not matter too much in choosing which preparation to use if we're talking about just a few hairs per cm2 difference.
I agree the attraction of oral minoxidil is convenience, but there is also the safety issue to consider which I don't think has been resolved.
Larger prospective randomized comparison trials would be useful, but I doubt they would get funded. So based on the data we have, we can't really claim that one preparation is more effective than the other, which is what many people on the hair loss forums and even some doctors have claimed, based on anecdotal information. On my channel I try to base my recommendations on whatever science is available and not speculate too much.
still dont understand how people are willing to risk having a fluid sac build up around their heart for hair
Death before dishonor
Hey Kevin, what's your opinion on using low dosages of T for muscle building? Do you think it's worth cycling or that the cardiovascular and hair loss risks are too great to justify?
No, testosterone won't be effective for performance enhancement unless you use something above a trt dose. 500 mg per week would work, and used with a 5ar inhibitor it would be hair safe.
You'll need to use it with an aromatase inhibitor during cycle and use PCT drugs like clomid.
5% Minoxidil is 50 mg Minoxidil / ml? How much of that goes systematic?
me personally, i had to get a chest xray from taking oral minoxidil. I had shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and a higher heart rate / higher rate of exhaustion when working out. Thankfully the xray came out all good, but this was only from a week of taking it!!!
You still taking or not?
@@asheeshdabral5939 i stopped after about 6 days. Im all good now
Unrelated to the video but I think (?) I just found out that you are a vegan. Really cool 😎🌱
For 21 years now.
That original clip was brutal beyond repair for the guy
Totally
Thx for the amazing video choom! R.I.P. TO THE ORAL MINOXIDIL HYPE ⚰️
This is a very interesting video, Kevin.
I actually asked my Derm to write me LDOM at 1.25mg, since I have a very busy schedule and hoped it would be a good compromise between efficacy & convenience to reinforce my crown hair, which didn' recover with Finasteride alone. Now 3 months in, I've experienced some shed, but primarily hypertrichosis! I thought Armenians like me had all the hair, but I had no idea how much more I could have with oral minoxidil. Keeping a smooth body has required enough effort that it would probably just be easier to use topical. It's something I'll bring up with him at next appt.
Hey Kevin im from Germany and i want to know what you think about my Daily hair Protocol. 28 years and NW 3 frontal thinning.
7 am:
Biotin 1x tablet
Saw Palmetto 1x tablet
Minoxidil 3ml
1mg Fin (Hormosan German Brand)
5 pm:
3 ml Pantostin
9-10 pm:
Redensyl 2ml
Minoxidil 3ml
+sometimes Rosmary Oil and 1-2 times per Week Microneedeling.
Thank You!!
The other things don't hurt but all you really need are finasteride and minoxidil.
Is it rational to add 0,5mg Dutasterid 2x a week to 1mg Fin After 7 months of using fin?
@@DAS-nq5hv man, i could have told you are german giving the time slots lol. listen, as Kevin said, what you need in Minoxidil and Finasteride or if you are not happy with Finasteride, try Dut, but i dont see any sense in using Fin and Dut together. Also rosemary oil wont get you more hair if you are on topical minoxidil two times per day. If I were you. i would take one pill of Finasteride and apply minoxidil once or twice a day, the rest is not going to make any difference.
“baldy like me dah” is one of the best inside jokes this channel has
You just proved to me that their about the same. Which is good because its difficult for me to use topical because i get a really inflamed scalp
Hey Kevin I agree completely when it comes to oral minoxidil, even if it is deemed safe, taking a risk with your cardiovascular health is taking a risk with your life.
I wonder if a lot of people who claim to see superior results from oral minoxidil initially used topical but switched because they thought that it wasn’t working.
After switching to oral they start seeing the long term results of topical, so they misattribute the increase in hair growth to switching to oral.
Just a theory!
yo man great video as always! i think the bigger and main difference between topical and oral minox has always been the ease of use though. especially for a life thing, adding another pill in the stack is much much muuuuch easier and doable than having a whole ass routine where you have to take into account showers and how your hair looks etc etc etc
Hi kevin , its been 10-11 months on fin for me , i don't see any reduction in hair fall and i am still losing ground to the point where it got noticeable in the front hairline area.. i am 19 and still in the NW1 range , do you think i should start taking Dutasteride ?
You have to wait at least 2 years,
You can add minoxidil for your routine
I'd second that that adding minoxidil should be your next step.
Thanks Kevin for the info.
Do you think a combination of topical minoxidil once a day in the morning, plus oral minoxidil 2.5 mg once a day in the evening,can be beneficial, or is it not recommended to combine?
No, it will just increase your risk of hypertrichosis and other side effects. Just use topical minoxidil.
Hello kevin, this is unrelated to the video but i have been thinking about starting finasteride thanks to your amazing videos, but still a bit unsure if i need it or not. My hair is long and curly, but very coarse and thin. I would probably say i’m a norwood 2 and have a pretty big 5head as well. I’m just wondering if it’s worth taking for dealing with coarse thinning hair even if i’m not significantly balding yet?
Yeah, you don't want to wait until you've lost ground. Finasteride is much better at maintaining what you have. If you wait until you've lost ground then you may not be able to get it back.
Just get on treatment now and forget about hair loss.
How long does oral finasteride and oral dutasteride expire after the date?
How long does topical minoxidil expire after the date?
Don't know, but prescription drugs can last years after their expiration so it is probably fine.
Hey Kevin, just had my hair transplanted and i wanted to ask theyre recommending me gf (growth factor) serum which basically has vitamins for hair in it but its 300 eur. for 6 months supply should i get it? And will it make a difference in how thick my hair from transplant will come out or is it a scam. Thank you. Also did you use something like this when you got your transplant or no? Also when can i start taking finasteride again. My doctor recommended 1-2 weeks after surgery, but can i use it right away?
Hey Kev, a low dose isotretinoin (10mg daily) will skyrock the oral minoxidil results, is it true? Does it make sense to use Accutane daily to respond better to minoxidil?
No, there is no evidence that will work. Isotretinoin can even possibly cause hair loss.
I talk about it here.
ua-cam.com/video/ZzTJcjmYiCY/v-deo.html
Please, just take topical minoxidil.
When is the Dr. Gary Vs. Haircafe series* coming out? You crushed Perfect Hair Health!
Gary Linkov? Not sure he does anything other than reaction videos or commercials for his Telehealth business. That aside, we probably agree on most things.
He’s the biggest oral minoxidil UA-camr or close to 😅
@@kenanderson5739 How convenient that he just so happens to be selling oral minoxidil.
Hi Kevin, first of all, thanks for your video ! But i ve a question if you have the time.. Why some doctor say oral minoxidil is superior if it s not true ? I know some top hair doctor in Europe say it s a revolution and when i see the study i don t understand why they think that.. i hope my English is correct because i m from France ! And congratulations for 40k !
Thanks! Doctors may be saying oral minoxidil is superior based on some specific patients where they saw a good result, but all the studies so far don't show it to be any better than topical. This new study just came out, so maybe some of these doctors may change their minds.
Hello Kevin, I’ve been taking finesteride for a month now and im experiencing genital insensitivity as a side effect (total test before starting was 420) do you think i should push through few more weeks and then side effects would go away since you mentioned in one of your previous video that the sides go away in few months of experiencing them. Thxx
Yeah, I would try muscling through it for a few more weeks. After that I would titrate down. Try 0.5 or 0.2 MG of oral finasteride daily or every other day.
If necessary you can try as little as 0.1 MG daily as that is the smallest dose you can use that still works.
@dhruv1106 What Kevin said, plus take supplements such as Creatine, zinc, ginko biloba, L-citrulline or L-arginine on a daily basis. Take Ashwagandha, no more than 10 pills every month to up all your hormones and lower cortisol. Don't take it too many days in a row because too much can make you oversleep and or tired. Doing leg day boosts free T, taking ginger may also boost T levels so look into it as well.
Hey Kevin thanks for all the videos. Wanted to ask, i saw some people claim that topical minoxidil used on hair that aren't affected by AGA will result on being worse than when you started if you stop using it due to them becoming "dependent" on it. I couldn't tell if that was some misinformation or not. I personally had slight temple recession but only on one side but im applying minixidil (along with taking fin) on both temples and the crown, dermatologist even said i could do it on my whole head if it was more convenient, so was just wondering if there's any validity to those claims or just bogus rumors people spread. Cheers.
There is no evidence of that whatsoever. Any extra growth you get on minoxidil will be dependent on minoxidil but if you stop things will go back to the way they were before you started using minoxidil, it won't be worse.
Hello Kevin, I have a question for you. Does only finasteride or only minoxyl or finasteride + minoxyl (topical) save hair from baldness forever or does it only prolong baldness for 10 years?
Finasteride works indefinitely at stopping hair loss. Minoxidil is to help improve your chances at regrowth.
Kevin is sunscreen for hair important to prevent hair loss, skin cancer, and anti aging? Do you use sunscreen for hair?
40K SUBSCRIBERS!! 40k SUBSCRIBERS!! Bring on the 40k special video!
Hey Kevin I’ve been on fin for a while now but do you think it’s a waste of money if I start applying my own blend of pumpkinseed, rosemary and peppermint oil as an adjunct treatment or should I save my money?
Yes, those are all completely worthless. (I have made videos about all of them on this channel) You'd be much better off using topical minoxidil.
@@haircafekevin i was thinking about using it but I’m scared of the cardiac side effects so I’ll wait a year at least
Not sure if you've done it already but could you comment on the Bloom+ hair growth serum by Alphaura?
Someone recommended it to me and I need to decide if it's snake oil or not
(Note: I'm already on the main hair loss stack of topical min/oral fin)
Much appreciated ❤
Does oral minoxidil needs Sulfottransferase to work?
nvm you mentioned in the end
Hey Kev, late comment I know, but I have been doing some extra digging on oral minox lately as I see a dermatologist who offers it.
They offer the sublingual version, which *supposedly* bypasses a lot of the systemic problems by navigating digestion in the liver (I believe?).
Have you heard of this at all? I know that's how other medications work, but I am yet to find any reputable research on this mechanism for LDOM.
Thanks mate.
deleted my comment because I wanted to rephrase it, do you think serum testostorne levels on 2.5mg of dutastride eventually go back to baseline? I say this because there's a trend that DHT blockers tend to get back to baseline levels of test after a while, a year in the case of dut 0.5mg dut for example.
This is true for everything except 2.5mg of dut but I figured the increased concentration of dutastride meant that it would merely take longer to reach this point, past the studies duration, similar to how when you discontinue the drugs its 2.5mg of dut that takes the longest then perhaps its 2.5mg of dut that also takes the longest to go to baseline like all the other drugs? just wanted to see if you agree with my theory
Im on 5mg oral minoxidil for 7 months. Feel fine. Im actually taking topical on my temples too right after micro needling. Probably an obsession but rip to my heart.
I will disagree on you with dermarolling for hair growth. But as always great video hair loss wizard
Hey Kevin, I am now on Finasteride for 5 months. I never had a real shedding phase, instead I had a short break from hairloss at ~two months, and after that hair seemed to fall out as usual. Still see a lot of hairs in my day-to-day life, but unsure how much is normal. When should I get to dutasteride? I‘m 20 if that helps.
It might be a little too soon to give up on finasteride. Maybe give it 2 or 3 more months before switching to dutasteride. I usually tell people not to switch before 6 months, and the efficacy can take up to 2 years to peak.
Thoughts on DHT blocking shampoos and micro needling?
Sup Kevin! Question for you, will crushed finasteride pills fully dissolve evenly in topical minoxidil? Or is it possible that the finished solution will have varying concentrations of finasteride throughout the bottle? I appreciate your knowledge!
Yeah, the active ingredient itself is ethanol soluble so it will blend in fine with a PG/ethanol solution like a K&B solution or stemoxydine. You'll have some powdery residue in it but that's the filler material, no big deal.
Hmm, just watched hair chemist video, who love oral minoxidil and clames that his hair is thicker on oral minoxidil than ever, even eyebrows
bro speaks and my dht automatically decrease
Hey Kevin, in older videos I see you use more than recommended dose of liquid minoxidil. Do you still use more than 1ml and do you think it's more effective than 1ml?
I don't think it is necessary and there is no evidence it is any better.
It just gives me more peace of mind to saturate my scalp.
@@haircafekevin thanks for taking time to respond.
Hey Kevin. In your experience, does minoxidil in foam form causes less side effects than the normal liquid form? I tried minoxidil 5% for 2 months and got really bad heart related side effects (mostly chest tightness). Even when using only 3 ou 4 drops of the product caused me to feel weird after a few minutes. On the other hand, I have been using alfatradiol and getting decent results. I'm combining with 0.5 fin every other day and even got some recovery on my crown area! Really surprised with the results. Loved the brazillian references btw. Cheers from Brazil.
I think it is about the same. If you're getting sides from 5 percent minoxidil then look into 2 percent minoxidil.
Hey man, thanks for the great video. I also didn't want to take any risk with taking oral minoxidil so i started using the liquid min about 3 month ago. Since then i didn't notice any regrowth but i noticed hair thinning and dryness on my scalp where i put it. I thought it might be related to propylene glycol sensitivity. I also don't have access to the foam version here so i was thinking about quitting minoxidil (i'm already on finastride for 3 months)
I still have a full head of hair but i'm afraid that quitting minoxidil can cause a massive shed. I always blame myself because probably only fin could be enough for me.
Do you have any advice for me?
If you've just been on it for 3 months then you can probably just stop. If you were maintaining fine with just fin alone then I'd stay on that.
I have great results with oral minoxidil, been on for 3+ years, easily doubled my hair density in 4 months. The riskier side effects alone makes me want to swap back to topical min, but I just know for a fact that I'm too lazy to keep up the regiment, and I really don't want to lose the ground I've made.
Am I still at risk for pericardial effusion after 3+ years and have EKG's done?
Do you use topical minoxidile(hair Growth) + Finestride (hair Losss) ?
I'm aware of the major downfalls, but for me the price and convenience compared to topical is still good (the price here is 6-8 USD and lasts for half a month, overtime it sucks in devalued brazillian real, while oral min is dirty cheap as fin). I'm on topical + fin for more than 2 years, but I'll ask my doctor to keep tabs on my cardiac health and his permission to starting oral minoxidil. Without your videos I'd be already guns blazing on the pills and not going to a doc, so, thanks, choom (unironically). I swear I won't get paranoid, but I'm going to proceed responsibly. If I get a no, I'll suck it up. Yeah, it is costly as being a moderate smoker to my case, but still safe.
If you're going to use it, I agree with the cautious approach you are taking.
Hey kevin, I am on topical minoxidil and finasteride for bit over a year. I had an amazing results during my first 6 months and then lost all the fine results in a gradual manner(I was in a very stressful period and my diet and sleep routines were pretty bad). Would you attribute this to medication losing its efficacy or it just me needing to change my lifestyle? Your insights would be very helpful. I just want those results back. Sigh
I think it is probably just a seasonal shed. You'll get all the results back but only if you say on treatment.
I'd give your stack at least 1-2 years to judge its efficacy. If things continue to get worse after that then I'd try a stronger 5AR inhibitor, like 0.5 MG of dutasteride.
I never really thought oral min. had superior efficacy. I started taking it recently so I can take my topical min. less frequently purely for convenience. I'm taking oral min. 2.5mg per day, and use 5% topical min. 2-3 times per week, whenever it's super convenient for me. I also switched from 1mg fin. to 0.5mg oral dut. in the last couple months. I haven't noticed any negative effects from anything I'm taking, just maintaining a great head of hair at 41 years old.
There are a lot of people taking it because they are convinced it has superior efficacy. That's not the case. Taking it for convenience is more rational, as long as you are aware of possible serious sides.
@@haircafekevin So, Kevin, 1mg of oral minoxidil on a daily basis is equal to 5% of topical minoxidil ?
@@haircafekevin yeah, Dr. Linkov said as much when I commented on a post of his saying I recently purchased it from his website. But I don't view it that way, I just view it as a matter of convenience and understand the potential sides for the heart can be quite deleterious.
@@Alexeloy1 No, I actually go over a study in this video that compares 1 MG of oral minoxidil to topical minoxidil. Keep watching.
@@haircafekevin yes, i saw that, so they're like almost the same
Is stopping hair loss for that minority really impossible? I mean like there’s people who take 2.5mg of oral dut and it’s only slowing the hair loss down but it doesn’t stop it. I mean what other options is left?
People aren't losing hair on 2.5 MG of dutasteride. They're just panicking about a shed.
I have never seen any convincing evidence of someone losing ground on 2.5 MG of dut.
Hey Kev, what you think of hair transplants before the age of 25? I’m a moderate diffuse thinner (3rd month in fin an min) at 22years old. I do know that usually diffuse thinners are not very good candidates for a transplant, on top of that I’m under 25. What’s your advice?
There are some doctors who specialize with diffuse thinners. Check the hair restoration network for sources.
I think it is a good idea. With verteporfin futures issues with donor availability won't be much of an issue so I'd go for it.
You may also want to try concealers like Caboki. Works wonders for diffuse thinners.
Thanks man. Luckily for me it’s still not time to consider a transplant since I’m only 3 months into medications and started noticing balding almost a year ago, with noticeable thinning only under very harsh light (looks like I have a full head of hair to most people). Btw thanks for the answer. Can you do a video about FOL-005? Looks promising as an adjunct to minoxidil and will probably come to market next year .Have a nice day!
Hi kevin I talked about my situation with you a few days ago and you told me either fin or dut should help me. My questions are : 1-will my chances be better if i use dut as someone who has aggressive hairloss at such a young age? (19), 2- is dutasteride Every other day as good as everyday? Will it be good or should i use it Every day?, 3- I'm living in iran, the country is very limited and generic fin made here is kinda cheap and i guess not high quality but generic dut 0.5 is more expensive, like 7 times more expensive than 1mg fin and the company seems kinda legit to me since they even mentioned hairloss studies in their site about dutasteride and those kind of stuff. Do you think will this generic 0.5 dut be as good as something like avodart?. Thanks bro
I would probably start fin 1 mg per day and give it a good 6 months to see how it is working. If it isn't working as well as you'd like because either your hair loss is very aggressive or the quality of the drug is not good, then you could switch to dut. Dut can be used once a day or every other day with the same effect probably. The reason I'd start with fin is that you are looking at a lifetime of treatment and fin will be cheaper and probably just as effective. So at least give it a good trial. I wouldn't get too worried about the generic versions being weaker. Both drugs work well even on lower doses, so if the drugs don't contain the full 1 mg of fin or 0.5 mg of dut, they'll probably still work.
Good luck!
Also wondering what you think of full or partial hair systems if you basically tried everything and in the years and did not work out or look good
They look really good. I'd consider it if my hair was beyond saving.
Is there any correlation with minoxidil working on your beard and your scalp? I’m wondering because I’ve used it for my beard and seeing if that means I have that enzyme
It's not known, but minoxidil should work better on non-scalp hair since DHT isn't a factor. It's probably why you hear people report body hair growth on oral minoxidil even when it doesn't do anything for their scalp hair.
Is seasonal shed a thing? I'm shedding hair like crazy, but started creatine some weeks ago. I don't know which one to blame, I'm currently taking Dutasteride by the way.
Yes it is, all hair growth is cyclical. Even people who don't have androgenic alopecia have sheds. Creatine isn't causing it, just give it a few months to stabilize.
@@haircafekevinmakes sense, I'm shedding leg hair as well, a few come out when I pull them.
Any thoughts on using oral minoxidil to prevent the risk to pet cats? My girlfriend has 2 cats and I'm not trying to accidentally kill her cats so I use the oral minoxidil instead of topical. Would love to hear if you have an opinion on this use case.
Kevin how many mg of oral Minoxadil did you use to take?
Usually just 5 mg, although I did briefly try megadosing well above 10 mg it thinking it would give me insane results but quickly stopped realizing it was stupid.
I would never touch oral minoxidil again.
@@haircafekevindid you get side effects from oral minoxidil?
Thoughts on continuing taking fin deep into your 50/60s? is going to be effective as dht naturally goes down with age. Does thw risk of P cancer increase?
Finasteride lowers the overall risk of prostate cancer, and the concern about more high-grade prostate cancer turned out to be a false alarm because cancer mortality actually is less on fin during long term follow-up. There's no reason not to continue the drug into your 50s, 60s, or beyond. Here's the reference on prostate cancer, doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc1809961
@@haircafekevin Thanks kev! The thought of keeping my salt & pepper curly Mane late into my 50's is just Delightful😝😝
Can you get these heart problems from topical minoxidil in any shape or form?
Some people complain of palpitations on topical minoxidil, but actually the most serious problem, pericardial effusion has not been reported with topical minoxidil, though it has been reported with low dose oral minoxidil. It seems like theoretically it could happen with topical minoxidil, but maybe the fact that it is so slowly absorbed and the blood levels stay very low means that pericardial effusion doesn't happen.
Good video! Does switching from fin to dut cause a shed. Like is it possible that the gains made out of fin all those hairs will shed after switching to dut because I’m on dut for a month and I’m going back to baseline.
Possibly, but it won't be as big of a shed as you had the first time since you'll have fewer telogen hairs.
I use 2% minoxidil topically(once a day) as men, what do you think? I have satisfying results - shedding and new hairs growing in temples that used to be bald
5% is more effective than 2%. If you are doing great on 2% that's fine, but I wouldn't hesitate to go to 5% if I had any doubt about how 2% was working.
@@haircafekevin Thank you very much for answer. I'll keep that in mind.
Hello Kevin. You are awsome clearifying about oral. Do you think topical minoxidil prevent Male hormone? Is there any studies about it?
No, it isn't hormonal. If it suppressed male hormones then it wouldn't work on facial hair since facial hair actually benefits from androgens.
@@haircafekevin Thank you Kevin. You are awsome giving us facts & information. I thought I saw a research paper saying it does somewhat little prevention. Do you know any other research that some pills do turning white hair to black hair? I heard prostate pills do turn hair to black.
what brand of topical minoxidil should i purchase, and also uncented does it matter,?
Doesn't matter.
hey kevin i hope you are fine i want to ask you do you think taking everyday 0.5mg avodart dutasterid plus minoxidil 5mg two times a day can protect my hair for more than decade
Hey Kev, what is the main reason for grey hair? Are grey hairs caused by stress? Or is it purely genetic?
Hydrogen peroxide turns hair grey depends on ur genes I think
Hair looking good. Did you have another HT recently, maybe dermatch or sth?
Little bit of derm match on the front and some bed head.
Thanks!
Is oral minoxidil EOD effective? I find compliance with topical hard
Minoxidil should be used at least once per day for effectiveness whether it is oral or topical. Topical actually has a longer half life, about 22-23 hours compared to 7.
Kevin I cant use finasteride anymore. I used 0.25mgs eod for a month and sides are still there although slightly less. Im just very unlucky I guess. I bought 5% minoxidil(liquid) should I use that and pray it works? Should i even bother if I’m not using fin?
I wouldn't give up on finasteride yet. Try 0.1 MG daily. That is the smallest dose you can use that still works. Also, side effects usually go away with continued use so many try muscling through it for a month.
@@haircafekevinTbh 0.25mgs eod isn’t that effective for hairloss and I’ll have to add min even if i stay at this dose. The guy on the channel “Hair Transplant In India” says 0.25mg eod is useless. It’s like I’m getting sides without much benefit of the drug. It’s just a nightmare bro. I hate hairloss.
Do you think its reasonable to apply topical minoxidil only on bald temples if you are more of a receder than a diffuse thinner, and if so how would you go about dose considering the area is much smaller than standard?
Just apply however much is needed to get full coverage. If that is less than 1 ML then that is fine.
It is an acceptable strategy so long as you are on finasteride as finasteride will prevent further recession.
Yes, I am on dutasteride (simply because it's ridiculously cheaper in my country than fin for some reason) @@haircafekevin
Hey kevin......
I am currently on fin+top min for about a month.......I'm a diffuse thinner at 18y......should i use dutasteride(use once\twice a week) or countinue on fin....?
I'd just stay the course unless you've already lost a significant amount of ground before starting treatment. Give it about a year to judge efficacy.
Finasteride and minoxidil should be fine.
Yeah......I already lost quite a lot ......the fin have stabilised the hair loss......but since I have lost quite a lot at this age and I might as well add dutasteride into my regiment......and can you recommend on how i should incorporate it into my routine(should it be a once or twice a week thing or should I completely switch to it and skip fin ?).
And btw Thank-you for making these videos....I would have never known what to do if it weren't for these videos......😅🤎
Hey Dear Kevin, the hair wizard! Do you think that topical finasteride and minoxidil lose efficacy over time? I want to start the treatment, but I’m afraid that will only last for 2 or 3 years…
Love your content Maestro!
Nah, Finasteride works forever. Check out my video on it.
ua-cam.com/video/LsF9MwIM_AM/v-deo.html
In the case of minoxidil, it only loses efficacy if used by itself. Used with minoxidil it also lasts forever.
For last 1.5 years i was on minoxidil+finasteroid
topical lotion and 0.5 mg dutasteroid. My hair loss stppoed but didn't gain much hair so my dermatologist prescribed me oral minoxidil 2.5 mg on alternate days
Once you achieve desired results with topical minoxidil use every day can you use it less days per week to maintain?
That's risky, I would use it at least once per day. Once per day has proven effective but there is no evidence that it maintains its efficacy with less frequent dosing than that.
Hey Kevin,
my hair is around a norwood 2 and I have been on oral finasteride 1mg/day and topical minoxidil 5% once a day for 6 months now.
I take pictures every 4 weeks after the same 6mm buzzcut, with consistent lighting, angles and everything to properly evaluate my progress.
There has been zero change (positive or negative) between my baseline and now.
I know this is considered "successful treatment" and I will definitely stay on finasteride as long as I want to keep my hair,
but I am unsure about minoxidil and not regrowing any hair makes me question if the hassle is worth it.
How long do you think I should continue minoxidil
and at what point would you stop minoxidil if no progress arises?
Thank You!
If you have gained nothing from minoxidil then you can safely stop it and lose nothing.
I'd give it a few more months before dropping it though, maybe try adding 0.1 tretinoin gel to your minoxidil to improve your response.
@@haircafekevin
Thanks for the response!
I will do that.
Do you think another 6 months (12 in total) will be enough time to give minoxidil a proper chance?
@@maxrises Yes, especially with finasteride.
KEVIN! do you have any opinion on using topical AND oral minoxidil together? Are there any studies showing whether the using them both have better effects or same effect as if you were to use either of them only? Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kevin this may sound stupid but why does my hair feel thicker and look thicker when I apply topical minoxidil when it dries vs when I don’t apply any topical minoxidil it just feels thinner and look thinner
It's because of the PG. Minoxidil has kind of a mousse like effect that makes it stick up and prevent it from getting flat. I kind of like the effect and I know other people report positively about it too.
can confirm, only side effect with topical is the minor inflammation on the scalp due to the alcohol and propylene glycol, oral minoxidil is overrated caused me hypertrichosis and i definitely dont want it to fuck up my heart
Hey, Kevin!
I’ve been on Fin for 5 years, Topical minoxidil for around 2 years. When I added in minoxidil I got really fantastic growth from the get-go. I was back to a NW0. Over the last like 9 months or so those results have been reduced by like 50%. Still above “pre-min” baseline but … does not look good :( I keep telling myself this is just a really prolonged shed or something. But as the months go by, I’m more and more tempted to try OM. I’ve also added tret to my hairline after my forehead… no positive change. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Like I said in the video there isn't any evidence oral minoxidil would be better than topical. You probably should consider stronger 5AR blocking, meaning switching to dutasteride 0.5 mg, either just substituting it for the fin a couple times a week or just switching completely to 0.5 mg daily.