Rogaine review

All about Rogaine

In this page, you can find the most reliable information about Rogaine. After reading this Rogaine review, you will be much more informed, and you will be able to determine if Rogaine good for you or not. Remember: knowledge is power! Make your own Rogaine review after considering all the information here. In this Rogaine review, you can find some sound information about those issues:

What is Rogaine?
Chemical formula
Who should use Rogaine?
Who should NOT use Rogaine?
Rogaine side effects
What is good with Rogaine?
What is bad with Rogaine?

What is Rogaine?

Minoxidil (commercial names are Rogaine ® and Regaine ®) is a powerful direct-acting peripheral vasodilator. It reduces peripheral resistance and produces a fall in blood pressure. Thus, it was originally produced as an anti-hypertensive agent. Then, the scientist discovered that rogaine pills caused increase in body hair as a side-effect. Following this, numerous studies showed topical Rogaine's ability to slow down hair loss and promote hair regrowth. Today, Rogaine is one of two medications which have FDA approval for treatment of androgenic hair loss (the other one is Propecia).

Chemical formula

Minoxidil occurs as a white to off-white, odorless, crystalline solid that is soluble in water, is readily soluble in propylene glycol or ethanol, and is almost insoluble in acetone, chloroform or ethyl acetate. The chemical name for minoxidil is 2,4-pyrimidinediamine, 6-(1-piperidinyl)-, 3-oxide. Its chemical formula is below:

Who should use Rogaine?

Men: Rogaine is used to treat male pattern baldness in patients who are experiencing gradually thinning hair on the top of the head. Rogaine is not meant for baldness due to some conditions which are known to cause hair loss (e.g., iron deficiency or medications such as cancer chemotherapy)
Women: Rogaine for women works for many women at the earlier stages of hair loss. Actually, some recent studies have shown that Rogaine works better for slowing down hair loss in women than it does for men

Who should NOT use Rogaine?

Anyone who is allergic to minoxidil or to any of the ingredients of the solution
Women which are (or may be) pregnant or nursing
Anyone who is using other skin medications on the scalp
Anyone who has broken, inflamed, irritated, infected, or severely sunburned scalp
Who has heart disease

Rogaine side effects

Some users do experience certain problems such as scalp irritation, itching, and dandruff. However, this can be treated with a good shampoo.
Some user reported an increase in hair shedding at the start of the treatment. It is just temporary, and treatment should not be stopped. Indeed, this may actually be a signal that the treatment is working.
Due to the medication’s alcohol content, some users may develop a contact rash or irritated skin.
Because systemic absorption of topically applied drug may occur, some users may experience dizziness or a rapid heart beat with excessive doses. However, with normal use these effects are uncommon.
A minority of Rogaine users experience “hypertrichosis” problem. This is hair growth on the face or other bodily areas. This side effect appears in about 3-5 % of women who use the 2% solution, and higher among women using the 5% solution. In this case, the treatment should be stopped.

What is good with Rogaine?

It is proven, not bogus: There are many scientific studies about Rogaine. Most of them show that Rogaine is good for hair regrowth. Sometimes, the results are so impressive. Thus, FDA approved its usage for hair loss. Most of the other medicines and methods out there have no such a proof showing their efficacy. If you believe science, it is logical to choose a legitimate medicine, instead of unproven ones which many of them are just bogus.
No gender difference: Rogaine is used for both men (2% or 5%) and women (2% only). Other FDA-approved medicine Propecia is not approved for use by women.
Availability: Rogaine is available without a prescription.
Usage method: Rogaine is directly applied to the scalp. You do not have to take it orally. Thus, its systemic side-effects (to whole body) are minimum to none. So, men are relieved to know that it works without altering male hormones.

What is bad with Rogaine?

No guarantee: Rogaine's manufacturer clearly states Rogaine does not work for everyone and individual results will vary. A clinical test showed about 55% of the men who used Rogaine obtained some improvement. That means that 45% of the users will not see satisfactory improvement.
Not good for forehead: Rogaine stimulates hair regrowth at the top of the head, not at the forehead. Your hair loss affects primarily forehead, Rogaine is not good for you.
Delayed effect: Seeing some hair improvement, may take time. You need to apply Rogaine 3 or 4 months to see it starts to work. So, just knowing Rogaine is not good for you may cost you wasted money and time.
Continuous treatment: Those who see some improvement then need to maintain the medication to avoid losing any hair gained. Its maximum allowed duration of usage is not known.

Some scientific information about hair loss and use of Rogaine

Male androgenetic alopecia

Male pattern hair loss is the most common cause of balding. The pathogenesis involves androgen, and in particular dihydrotestosterone, binding to androgen receptors in the dermal papilla of sensitive hair follicles. Hair follicle sensitivity is genetically determined and shows regional specificity. Androgen stimulation of scalp dermal papilla cells induces transforming growth factor beta (TGF-B) and results in cyclical miniaturization of the entire hair follicle. The resulting hair produced from that follicle is shorter and finer and provides less complete scalp coverage. In contrast androgen stimulation of beard dermal papilla cells produces insulin growth factor -2 (IGF-2) and results in cyclical enlargement of the entire hair follicle. The resulting hair produced from that follicle is longer and thicker and provides more complete facial skin coverage. Some degree of androgenetic alopecia is universal among ageing men, especially bitemporally, however less than half become bald in the Hippocratic sense. Although scalp hair coverage has little functional importance, it has cosmetic significance. Baldness changes the facial appearance of affected men. When that change is perceived as adverse it has the potential to produce emotional morbidity.

(Excerpted from: Sinclair RD. JMHG 1, No. 4, pp. 319–327, December 2004)

Androgens and alopecia

Androgens have profound effects on scalp and body hair in humans. Scalp hair grows constitutively in the absence of androgens, while body hair growth is dependent on the action of androgens. Androgenetic alopecia, referred to as male pattern hair loss (MPHL) in men and female pattern hair loss (FPHL) in women, is due to the progressive miniaturization of scalp hair. Observations in both eunuchs, who have low levels of testicular androgens, and males with genetic 5a-reductase (5aR) deficiency, who have low levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), implicate DHT as a key androgen in the pathogenesis of MPHL in men. The development of finasteride, a type 2-selective 5aR inhibitor, further advanced our understanding of the role of DHT in the pathophysiology of scalp alopecia. Controlled clinical trials with finasteride demonstrated improvements in scalp hair growth in treated men associated with reductions in scalp DHT content, and a trend towards reversal of scalp hair miniaturization was evident by histopathologic evaluation of scalp biopsies. In contrast to its beneficial effects in men, finasteride did not improve hair growth in postmenopausal women with FPHL. Histopathological evaluation of scalp biopsies confirmed that finasteride treatment produced no benefit on scalp hair in these women. These findings suggest that MPHL and FPHL are distinct clinical entities, with disparate pathophysiologies. Studies that elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which androgens regulate hair growth would provide greater understanding of these differences.

(Excerpted from: Kauman KD. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 198 (2002) 89/95)

5% minoxidil topical foam versus placebo

In order to assess the efficacy and safety of a new 5% minoxidil topical formulation in a propylene glycolefree foam vehicle in men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA), Olsen et al conducted this study. Their study was a 16-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 5% minoxidil topical foam (MTF) in 352 men, 18 to 49 years old. At week 16, 143 subjects continued on an open-label phase to collect 52 weeks of safety information on 5% MTF. The researchers found that at week 16 compared with baseline, there was a statistically significant increase in (1) hair counts in the 5% MTF group versus placebo (P \.0001) and (2) subjective assessment of improved hair loss condition (P\.0001) in the 5% MTF group versus placebo. The 5% MTF was well tolerated over a 52-week period. The researchers believe that 5% MTF is a safe and effective treatment for men with AGA.

(Excerpted from: Olsen EA et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2007;57:767-74.)

This is an informational webpage about Rogaine review