Does Rogaine Work?

Does Rogaine work? The answer is YES…but not for everyone. There are many different factors involved and you need to do some research and understand the consequences before you can accurately decide does Rogaine work and more importantly if Rogaine will work for you.

Rogaine is the brand name for the FDA approved drug Minoxidil, which was developed to fight hair loss by increasing the size of shrunken hair follicles. Strangely enough, it was originally developed as a medication to reduce high blood pressure but one of the side effects the researchers saw was that it caused hair growth in some of the patients. The drug company then honed in on this aspect and developed a new drug from it to produce what is now marketed as Rogaine.

Does Rogaine Work For ALL Hair Loss?

Rogaine has been shown to work only for hair loss AT THE TOP OF THE SCALP. This is frequently called the vortex region. It will not work for hair loss on any other part of the head or help reduce a receding hairline. So if you’re losing hair in the vortex area then you may consider trying Rogain but if that is not your problem then Rogaine will probably be a waste of time.

The other factor to consider before you decide does Rogaine work, is that Rogaine has been developed for hereditary hair loss, not hair loss due to other practices (for example, due to stress, medication, diseases, etc). You can tell if you have hereditary hair loss if you notice yourself losing hair in a gradual process. If you find yourself suddenly losing hair in a rapid manner you should consider immediate professional medical attention.

How Well Does Rogaine Work?

Rogaine does work but it is not a miracle cure. This means that you can’t expect to paste some Rogaine foam on your head, go to bed and wake up with a full head of hair. It doesn’t work that way. So how does Rogaine work?

Let’s take a look at the clinical trials to see what you can expect. According to the trials 55% of the men who participated reported an improvement to their hair loss condition. This means that out of 100 people surveyed, 55 of them reported that their rate of hair loss was stopped by Rogaine or they saw the growth of some new hair because of Rogaine.

How Fast Does Rogaine Work?

You should also know that before you start seeing new hair growth, you will likely experience some shedding during the first 2 weeks. What this means is that if you start using Rogaine, you can expect to see you hair getting thinner during weeks 1 – 2. This is completely normal. DO NOT stop treatment at this point or you will never see results.

The shedding just means that the Rogaine is working. Why does Rogaine work like this? What happens is that the hair follicle is being affected by the Minoxidil, which is beneficial for it, so it stops producing your current hair and starts producing new hair. This is why people say that you can tell Rogaine is working when you get “peach fuzz” at the top of your head. That’s the new hair produced by Rogaine.  If you want to know exactly how Rogaine works, check out this link: how does Rogaine work? or this Wikipedia article on Rogaine.

So to sum it up, does Rogaine work? Rogaine does work but it’s not a magic pill that will give you a full head of hair overnight. At best it will take a while (around 4 months) before you start seeing results but it’s worth it to give it a shot if you’re experiencing hereditary hair loss in the vortex area. My suggestion would be to use it in conjunction with other hair loss solutions (after making sure none of the medication will interact to produce unwanted side effects of course…ask your doctor to make sure). I hope this gives you an overview of Rogaine and answers the question does Rogaine work?