Oral Minox worth risk?

[JanHussar]

I have good collagen genetics but want to risk it for hair gains.
Norwood 2-2.5 right now with temple recession and hair is very fine fiber type, scheduled for transplant but doubt it can get me even close to norwood 0 without looking thin af. Praying oral minox can regrow hairline some first to minimize grafts needed. Lashes, eyebrows, beard gains are cherry on top.
People think I'm young cause of my skin but if wind blows my hair they can see my fucked hairline.

Once I start I'll take standardized photos of face to track.

 

[cytoplasm]

Oral min has nothing to do with collagen. Topical min is the one that fucks it up

 

[JanHussar]

Oral min has nothing to do with collagen. Topical min is the one that fucks it up

I know common topical mixes have the alcohol issue but for oral people bring up the studies about it inhibiting Lysyl Hydroxylase.
Here's two in-vivo studies showing opposite results:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6278642/ (reduced pulmonary fibrosis in mice when injected into stomach)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3985251/ (had no impact on collagen formation in rat burn healing when applied topically)
The rat paper says

minoxidil appeared to be able to decrease the LH mRNA level, but remarkably, no consistent decrease in the total number of pyridinoline cross-links was found in the matrix deposited by fibroblasts. Since minoxidil does not completely inhibit LH gene expression at a concentration of 500 µM, an explanation could be that residual gene expression is sufficient for hydroxylation of telopeptide lysine residues to a level of normally found in collagen produced by fibroblasts

So possibly standard levels of minox don't inhibit LH enough to cause any impact on normal collagen formation compared to fibrosis which is too much collagen being formed. Or just luck of genetics if your LH->collagen system is impacted at all.
If it nuked collagen formation I would expect more reports of joint issues and similar from the studies using high dose oral minox for hypertension.

The only hair doctor I've seen shit on minox is Hasson who said he can tell when patients have been using it cause their scalp tissue is weak and less elastic. Other docs say they've noticed no changes in patients' skin over years on minox.

Skin collagen should replenish on order of months so if it does fuck my face up it should revert to normal within half a year or so.

 

[NegativeNorwood]

Get on 1mg oral finasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil per day.

I'm 3 weeks on it and I swear my eyebrows look fuller, and tiny, new beard hairs are filling in my beard. There's lot of evidence it regrew hairlines on people, this guy got his temples back in 4 months:

Temple peaks treated with minoxidil and finasteride (photo) – WRassman,M.D. BaldingBlog

8-12 months should give the best results to those who respond well to the meds.
The side effects are rare and thinking about them is extremely cucked, it's like not going out of your home because an helicopter could land on you and kill you, peak retardation.
Only 1% get side effects and they vanish after two months of continued use, and if you take the meds at night, most of them happen while you sleep and you barely notice them thru the day.

You won't lose collagen either, that's bs.

Worst case scenario: you preserve your hairline.
Best case scenario: you are Norwood 0 again in 8-12 months, with better beard, eyelashes and eyebrows.

Being a man and not taking fin + minox is a very bad decision, the risks are too low (and very tolerable) and the rewards too high.

 

[JanHussar]

Get on 1mg oral finasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil per day.

I've had pretty much stable hairline on oral fin for years now but I started after temples had recessed. Avoided minox since I didn't want to spend rest of life rubbing shit on my head every day was going to just accept what I could get with transplant. But seeing crazy gains people make on oral and convenience of pill makes it super tempting.
My rx is for 2.5mg do you think 5mg is that big difference for hair? Any issues with heart/bp during cardio?

 

[NegativeNorwood]

I've had pretty much stable hairline on oral fin for years now but I started after temples had recessed. Avoided minox since I didn't want to spend rest of life rubbing shit on my head every day was going to just accept what I could get with transplant. But seeing crazy gains people make on oral and convenience of pill makes it super tempting.
My rx is for 2.5mg do you think 5mg is that big difference for hair? Any issues with heart/bp during cardio?

I also didn't want to mess with tropical, doesn't make sense IMO.
I've been 1mg oral fin and 5mg oral minox for 3 weeks, and 0 side effects.
Take them for a year before considering transplant, because all the good surgeons won't accept you as a patient if you didn't take them for a year continuosly.

And yes I've been told 2.5mg oral minox is too low, you could start two weeks with 2.5mg to see if you have sides, and switch to 5mg after.

 

[baldgeeza]

take tretinoin

 

[Deleted member 27472]

Collagen loss from minoxidil is a meme, minimal at worst

 

[Vain786]

Get on 1mg oral finasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil per day.

why oral over topical minox tho

arent u gonna get unwanted growth of hair thats just annyoing as fuck

 

[NegativeNorwood]

why oral over topical minox tho

arent u gonna get unwanted growth of hair thats just annyoing as fuck

Rare side effect. If you are so unlucky, just laser that excess hair and don't worry about it anymore.
Why would you bother with overpriced topicals, rubbing that shit on your face when it's scientifically proven that 5mg oral minoxidil daily is much more effective, takes way less effort (just swallow a pill) and is way cheaper (2 months worth of oral minoxidil is 6 euros, that's the price for 30 pills of Loniten 10 mg).

Oral mogs topical to Kompong Luong and back

 

[JanHussar]

why oral over topical minox tho

arent u gonna get unwanted growth of hair thats just annyoing as fuck

Everything he said, also hair growth on brows, lashes, and face would be a plus for me.
Ironically if it thickens or darkens my body hair at all it'll make laser more effective since I have mostly very light hair.

Rare side effect. If you are so unlucky, just laser that excess hair and don't worry about it anymore.
Why would you bother with overpriced topicals, rubbing that shit on your face when it's scientifically proven that 5mg oral minoxidil daily is much more effective, takes way less effort (just swallow a pill) and is way cheaper (2 months worth of oral minoxidil is 6 euros, that's the price for 30 pills of Loniten 10 mg).

Oral mogs topical to Kompong Luong and back

Have you noticed any growth yet? I've just hit over two weeks, switched from 2.5mg daily to 2.5mg in morning and 2.5mg in evening early on. No sides except maybe some slight dark circles under eyes but I plan to get filler or fat graft so whatever.
Got a dermapen yesterday to start using since I saw a study show 6x better results when combined with minox vs just minox alone.

 

[NegativeNorwood]

Everything he said, also hair growth on brows, lashes, and face would be a plus for me.
Ironically if it thickens or darkens my body hair at all it'll make laser more effective since I have mostly very light hair.


Have you noticed any growth yet? I've just hit over two weeks, switched from 2.5mg daily to 2.5mg in morning and 2.5mg in evening early on. No sides except maybe some slight dark circles under eyes but I plan to get filler or fat graft so whatever.
Got a dermapen yesterday to start using since I saw a study show 6x better results when combined with minox vs just minox alone.

My doctor recommended 5mg at night as the best protocol, no idea if taking 7.5mg spaced out is good or not. You are having dark circles so it probably isn't, but honestly I don't know.

Yes! Eyelashes longer, eyebrow hairs slightly thicker, and beard/moustache hairs noticeable thicker. No new hairs on beard yet. Scalp looks the same, experienced slight shedding but that's expected at this stage and means the drugs are working.

Great to know about the dermapen, will definitely buy one and use it for the temples, eyebrows and the beard zones where I want more hair. Thanks for the info!
How many times per week will you use the dermapen?

 

[JanHussar]

My doctor recommended 5mg at night as the best protocol, no idea if taking 7.5mg spaced out is good or not. You are having dark circles so it probably isn't, but honestly I don't know.

Yes! Eyelashes longer, eyebrow hairs slightly thicker, and beard/moustache hairs noticeable thicker. No new hairs on beard yet. Scalp looks the same, experienced slight shedding but that's expected at this stage and means the drugs are working.

Great to know about the dermapen, will definitely buy one and use it for the temples, eyebrows and the beard zones where I want more hair. Thanks for the info!
How many times per week will you use the dermapen?

I could switch to single 5mg pill when I next renew prescription. My impression was multiple smaller pills would provide more even blood levels so hopefully reducing the more serious sides. Like a ghetto version of an extended release drug.
The study I saw for dermapen/microneedling did it once a week. From what I've read once per 1-2 weeks is fine and any more than that is probably overkill for skin.
Good to hear you're seeing results, I've been praying I'll be a hyper responder on my temples
Edit: what weight are you? I've read oral minox dosages and results can depend on weight mainly in context of women with hair thinning needing lower doses than men.

 

[NegativeNorwood]

I could switch to single 5mg pill when I next renew prescription. My impression was multiple smaller pills would provide more even blood levels so hopefully reducing the more serious sides. Like a ghetto version of an extended release drug.
The study I saw for dermapen/microneedling did it once a week. From what I've read once per 1-2 weeks is fine and any more than that is probably overkill for skin.
Good to hear you're seeing results, I've been praying I'll be a hyper responder on my temples
Edit: what weight are you? I've read oral minox dosages and results can depend on weight mainly in context of women with hair thinning needing lower doses than men.
View attachment 2178088

Switch to 10mg and buy a pill cutter like this one to cut it in half take 5mg, it is cheaper and the effects are the same (the pill doesn't lose any properties being cutted according to the manufacturer indications). Amusingly, Finasteride shouldn't be cutted according to the manufacturer.

Great to know, 1 time per week is easily doable. Doing it everyday would be a massive PITA ngl.

Me too, I want my small temples back!

I'm 174cm and 80 kilos, in a diet currently hoping to get to 70-68 kilos. Do leaner people respond better to minoxidil?

 

[wollet2]

who cares about the collagen ive heard people experience heart sides even at 2.5mg/day

 

[Deleted member 25743]

You would only lose collagen because minox gets on your face since alcohol dries out the skin

 

[twilight]

Switch to 10mg and buy a pill cutter like this one to cut it in half take 5mg, it is cheaper and the effects are the same (the pill doesn't lose any properties being cutted according to the manufacturer indications). Amusingly, Finasteride shouldn't be cutted according to the manufacturer.

Great to know, 1 time per week is easily doable. Doing it everyday would be a massive PITA ngl.

Me too, I want my small temples back!

I'm 174cm and 80 kilos, in a diet currently hoping to get to 70-68 kilos. Do leaner people respond better to minoxidil?

you can even take it a step further and just drink topical minoxidil, like put a few drops in water and drink. I only do this cuz i can’t afford to buy oral from indian websites every month

 

[JanHussar]

Switch to 10mg and buy a pill cutter like this one to cut it in half take 5mg, it is cheaper and the effects are the same (the pill doesn't lose any properties being cutted according to the manufacturer indications). Amusingly, Finasteride shouldn't be cutted according to the manufacturer.
I'm 174cm and 80 kilos, in a diet currently hoping to get to 70-68 kilos. Do leaner people respond better to minoxidil?

The minox pills here are cheap as hell compared to fin for some reason so no big deal. Never heard that about fin, my old derm told me to use pill cutter with 5mg fin since insurance would cover it as a prostate med.
I don't think leanness would matter just total mass, so if you're obese or tall jacked guy or tiny guy.
We're both around average male weight so dose should be fine.

who cares about the collagen ive heard people experience heart sides even at 2.5mg/day

Looking wrinkly is a problem now dying of a heart explosion at 50 is problem for the future. Three men in my close family all died of heart attacks so I'm probably fucked anyways

 

[NegativeNorwood]

The minox pills here are cheap as hell compared to fin for some reason so no big deal. Never heard that about fin, my old derm told me to use pill cutter with 5mg fin since insurance would cover it as a prostate med.
I don't think leanness would matter just total mass, so if you're obese or tall jacked guy or tiny guy.
We're both around average male weight so dose should be fine.


Looking wrinkly is a problem now dying of a heart explosion at 50 is problem for the future. Three men in my close family all died of heart attacks so I'm probably fucked anyways

5mg fin is too much, only 1mg should be taken per day, and pills per se are 1mg, so no need to cut them. Loniten (oral minoxidil) OTOH can be cutted without any issue if wanted to, I got 10mg prescribed because it is cheaper that way. I pay 16€ for 28x1mg finasteride pills, and 6 eur for 30x10mg Loniten pills. I had to get minoxidil custom made at first (45€ for 100x2.5mg pills) because there was a shortage. After that, I was informed that Loniten was classed as foreign medication in Spain, and that I had to buy it in a specific pharmacy (as a plus, no more national shortages, so now I should be able to acquire it without issues).

 

[Deleted member 25059]

this nigger is worried collagen while he wants to take the heart drug

 

[twilight]

5mg fin is too much, only 1mg should be taken per day, and pills per se are 1mg, so no need to cut them. Loniten (oral minoxidil) OTOH can be cutted without any issue if wanted to, I got 10mg prescribed because it is cheaper that way. I pay 16€ for 28x1mg finasteride pills, and 6 eur for 30x10mg Loniten pills. I had to get minoxidil custom made at first (45€ for 100x2.5mg pills) because there was a shortage. After that, I was informed that Loniten was classed as foreign medication in Spain, and that I had to buy it in a specific pharmacy (as a plus, no more national shortages, so now I should be able to acquire it without issues).

he’s saying you get 5mg finasteride and then cut it into 4 pieces for the 1.25mg per pill, because it’s cheaper to buy 5mg than 1mg

 

[shortroundadjacent]

I have good collagen genetics but want to risk it for hair gains.
Norwood 2-2.5 right now with temple recession and hair is very fine fiber type, scheduled for transplant but doubt it can get me even close to norwood 0 without looking thin af. Praying oral minox can regrow hairline some first to minimize grafts needed. Lashes, eyebrows, beard gains are cherry on top.
People think I'm young cause of my skin but if wind blows my hair they can see my fucked hairline.

Once I start I'll take standardized photos of face to track.

You absolutely need to be murdered.

 

[NegativeNorwood]

he’s saying you get 5mg finasteride and then cut it into 4 pieces for the 1.25mg per pill, because it’s cheaper to buy 5mg than 1mg

My bad, complete boomer moment for me
Sorry @JanHussar , completely misunderstood what you said.

 

[Posmo]

Get on 1mg oral finasteride + 5mg oral minoxidil per day.

I'm 3 weeks on it and I swear my eyebrows look fuller, and tiny, new beard hairs are filling in my beard. There's lot of evidence it regrew hairlines on people, this guy got his temples back in 4 months:

Temple peaks treated with minoxidil and finasteride (photo) – WRassman,M.D. BaldingBlog

8-12 months should give the best results to those who respond well to the meds.
The side effects are rare and thinking about them is extremely cucked, it's like not going out of your home because an helicopter could land on you and kill you, peak retardation.
Only 1% get side effects and they vanish after two months of continued use, and if you take the meds at night, most of them happen while you sleep and you barely notice them thru the day.

You won't lose collagen either, that's bs.

Worst case scenario: you preserve your hairline.
Best case scenario: you are Norwood 0 again in 8-12 months, with better beard, eyelashes and eyebrows.

Being a man and not taking fin + minox is a very bad decision, the risks are too low (and very tolerable) and the rewards too high.

Is there difference between taking .5 vs 1mg fin daily

 

[NegativeNorwood]

Is there difference between taking .5 vs 1mg fin daily

The recommended dose is 1mg per day. There should be considerable difference because 1mg is twice as much.