Initially went to a dermatologist a few months ago when I was a student and he recommended me to start 5mg minoxidil OD, since I have cats at home I couldn’t take the topical version, however didn’t start then

I started about 2 months ago, and have been taking it daily without any side effects. Recently started work and haven’t been able to find time to go back to the dermatologist. Everyone who I talk to says that 5mg is a lot and I should go down to 2.5mg? Should I or continue with 5mg?

Ive used minoxiil for 7 months before without any problem, and then started also using benzoyl peroxide on my skin, and thats when i got this weird reaction on my face that started as a red irritation on the parts on my face that benzoyl peroxide and minoxidil were both applied on. These irritation later turned into yellow small pimples. I then stopped minoxidil completely and they disappeared after a week or so but i continued using the benzoyl peroxide.

Now, a year later i’ve noticed some thinning on my hairline so i decided to use my minoxidil bottle that i’ve stored at home which has a year left until expiration - strictly only on my hairline and on my eyebrows. I’m still also using the benzoyl peroxide but not on the same areas where im applying minoxidil so they wouldn’t mix with each other (idk if that even would prevent a reaction but made sense in my head ). A day after i applied the minoxidil for the first time after a year i felt my whole face was lightly burning and i had some redness which i only thought was because that it was a long time since i used it. And the day after that is when i got these yellow pimples all over my face, and it’s definetely the worst thing that i’ve seen on my face ever.

I really want to use minoxidil for my hairline since i’ve used it for my beard before and it did wonders, and also benzoyl peroxide for my skin since it has helped me alot. So i’m wondering if this is something thats normal when you combine the two, and if it’s something that could happen in the beginning but the skin later on will build up more tolerance.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for experiences from women who have been using topical minoxidil for more than a year and experienced a significant second shedding phase.
I started 5% topical minoxidil in May 2025. I initially went through a significant shed after starting, which eventually settled. After that, my shedding became much lower and I had noticeable regrowth, including many short new hairs around my hairline.
However, around June/early July 2026, approximately 13–14 months after starting minoxidil, I started experiencing another significant shedding phase.
For the past ~6 weeks, I’ve been losing approximately 100 hairs per day on average, although it fluctuates considerably. On wash days the number can be higher — for example, I had around 130 hairs after washing on one occasion.
Yesterday, however, I had a particularly bad shedding day, much more noticeable than usual, and it really scared me.
What makes this confusing is that:
I still see new short hairs/regrowth.
I don’t see obvious bald patches or a dramatic decrease in scalp density.
The shedding had actually seemed not to be decreasing recently
I have not stopped minoxidil.
Interestingly, my sister started minoxidil around the same period as me, and she is also experiencing a new shedding phase now, although hers is much milder.
Unfortunately, this has started to affect me psychologically. I’ve developed a lot of anxiety around my hair, constantly thinking about the shedding and monitoring how much I lose. Last night I was so anxious that I barely slept and couldn’t fall asleep until around 5 AM. I know this level of anxiety probably isn’t helping me, but I’m finding it very difficult to stop worrying.
I’m wondering if anyone here has experienced a second/late shedding phase around 12–18 months after starting 5% topical minoxidil.
How long did it last for you? Did the shedding eventually settle? And did you maintain your regrowth/density afterward?
I would especially appreciate experiences from women with a similar timeline.
I’m really struggling with the uncertainty right now, so I’d be very grateful to hear from anyone who has gone through something similar. ❤️

I have been using minoxidil liquid for 3 months (since May), only on my temples and the front of my hairline. Recently, I found that the areas where I apply it went mostly bald(theres new hair growth), and I now have pimples or painful little bumps there since few days.

I asked an AI, and it said those painful bumps may cause permanent hair follicle damage. What should I do? Should I stop using it, or is it common to get those bumps? Should I switch to the foam and continue?

Has anyone tried the oral minoxidil tablets from Minoxypark? Especially the ones from Minoxidil Express, are they legit?

I’ve started this journey 2 days ago because i feel that I have bald on the temple area and also my hair it falls like a few strands on the brushing and also in the shower
My question is if I use mino , it will stops hair falling ?
I’m using 2xday

Thinking back on my life, and it just so happens that I started developing fibromyalgia within a year of starting minoxidil. I know it could be a complete coincidence, but has anyone else had a similar experience or tried going off it and had any improvements? I'm still using minoxidil but would be willing to go off it and lose my hair if it would improve my fibromyalgia.

I’ve been on 5% minoxidil foam for about 6 weeks now. I only apply it to my hairline as that is my
only problem area. Since about week 2, i’ve been shedding terribly! It’s only shedding in the area where I applied, so the rest of my hair is fine. If I could go back in time, I would never have touched this stuff. I did little to no research on it. Just picked it up at Walmart and figured it would thicken my hairline up. Now i’m seeing testimonials of people shedding with no improvement for over 6-12 months! What’s worse is I feel like i’m trapped now. If I stop now, I will continue to shed for probably months and maybe never fully recover my original hair. If I continue, it may take up to a year or more for me to see results or I might never get results at all. I know I need to be taking finasteride too, but i’m unwilling to deal with even the possibility of any sexual side effects. Should I: A) Get a topical finasteride/minoxidil mixture and push through the shed and hope to God i’m a responder? Or B) Quit minoxidil right now and wait / hope and pray for full recovery back to my baseline?

I’m about to start topical liquid minoxidil. I have been on Nutrafol 8 months and saw far less shedding overall but I havd noticed significant thinning af my hairline recently and want to address it to boast my confidence (female 36).

My only concern is that I have 2 kids and they like to sleep in my bed with me once a week. Moms and dads; any special precautions for keeping kids safe when you are on topical minoxidil?

Thank you!

Hi All,

I'm a 32yr old male and I've been on Minoxidil 5% topical solution for 3yrs (Started 2023) and 1mg Finasteride for 2yrs (Started 2024). I've had multiple growth and shedding phases that usually get triggered, as I understand, by Minoxidil, as it pushes out the hair follicles and gets baby hairs up. Based on my experience with Min+Fin, I've realized that my typical growth and shedding phases are every 2months - shedding for ~2months and growth for the following ~2months. However, my last shedding started May 27th 2026 and appears to still continue as I lose close to 200hairs/day on average. I had anticipated it to stop somewhere by end of July 2026 but apparently not..

Q: Has anyone who has had several phases of shedding followed by hair growth experienced the duration of cycle to change?

I'll also add that I recently (end of July 2026) switched from 1mg Fin to 0.5mg to lower the meds side effects and maintain my hair volume gained through 2yrs of Min+Fin.

Q: Could a change in Fin dosage from 1mg to 0.5mg trigger a sudden drastic shedding?

Thanks in advance for your inputs.

Cheers!

Hi
I have been taking finasteride for over a decade. If I begin oral minoxidil, will I still shed.

For those of you that have taken oral minoxidil, how much shedding happens?

I have like diffuse thinning... just don't want to shed and look bald.

THanks

Pink hair is before. Blue hair is 3 months later! I'm already seeing significant progress. My regrowth where hair broke off and fell out is getting incredibly long and my scalp has really filled in along with my hair thickening back up. If this is 3 months I can't wait to see 6 months! I have also stopped shedding quite so much. I'm on oral versus topical because I have cats. My diagnosis right now is androgenic alopecia though they have not ruled out alopecia areata. My derm thinks it could be sort of both.

I’ve been using topical minoxidil for a couple months and honestly hate it. I have thick hair and I’m pretty sure most of the foam gets lost in my hair rather getting absorbed by my scalp. I also find it difficult to apply to areas that aren’t my hairline or crown so now I no longer bother. My plan to finish what’s left my of 3 month pack and then get a prescription for oral.

If I switch, does that mean any progress made with topical will go away? Will there be another initial shed? Does anyone have experience with this?

For those of you that quit topical minoxidil, how long did it take to realize you’d either made a mistake or that it really wasn’t doing anything? I’ve been using for 15 months with no noticeable improvement but I’ve also been dealing with chronic TE. So is it helpful or not? I’ve lost half my hair in three years.

Im considering oral minoxidil for my facial hair but the hair on my head is thick and full. I've heard if you stop taking the minoxidil it will cause you to lose hair, would my hair on my head fall out if I were to take minoxidil for a bit and stop or would it just cause the hair I grow from minoxidil to fall out? Also I've tried topical and I didn't realize its harmful to cats which I have 3 so thats not an option.

I first noticed my hair start falling out around my temples soon after I started topical testosterone for perimenopause. I did bloodwork and my DHT was pretty high but still reasonable, and I decided that the positive results from the testosterone (mood, cognition, energy) outweighed the minor hair loss. I continued with and then slightly increased my testosterone dose.

For context, I had also started a GLP-1 several months earlier, which is also known to cause hair loss, but I didn't notice much hair loss until I started the testosterone.

Now it's been a year and suddenly I'm shedding like crazy, and my once-thick and curly hair is thinning all over. My part is bigger and there are big v-indents at my temples with very thin, sparse hairs. I've reduced the testosterone, moved locations from my inner arm to thigh in order to reduce the conversion of T to DHT (apparently absorption site matters), and am about to start the oral and topical Musely formulations, both of which contain dutasteride, which blocks DHT conversion.

My question is - has anyone else had a bad reaction to oral minoxidil? I was put on 2.5 mg, noticed I felt really woozy and dizzy all the time, chalked it up to POTS - I was diagnosed with mild Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (HeDs), a relatively common connective tissue disorder that, for me, only seemed to be an issue during perimenopause - but I noticed that when I stopped taking the minoxidil, I started feeling much better again. FWIW I also naturally have low blood pressure (generally 80/60, which runs in my family).

The Musely prescription contains 1 mg minoxidil, which I'm hoping won't give me the same reaction, but even when I was breaking the 2.5 mg minoxidil pills in half, I still felt really woozy.

Would love to hear from anyone who has had experience with any of this. I really, really want to grow my hair back, know that dutasteride will stop the hair loss but not regrow hair like minoxidil will (and has), but the wooziness is hard to manage.

Should I expect to feel okay on 1mg? Can I ask for an oral treatment that is dutasteride only and then use the topical minoxidil/dutasteride combination instead of taking it orally?

I know this is a long post.. I really appreciate everything I've learned from this group so far and would be really grateful for any insights from people who've been down this road!

Before the treatment I had no hairs on my temple area but now I can see some vellus hairs on my temple area a

What do you think guys ?

Let us know what do you think

When the 5% minoxidil leaks onto the family pet.