How Does Rogaine Work?

So how does Rogaine work? To tell you the truth: no one actually knows! Kind of strange right? But I can tell you what we DO know and WHY medical professionals (including the FDA) thinks it works.
Hereditary hair loss is caused by a combination of your genes, hormones and age. Over time these factors lead to a shrinking of the hair follicles on your scalp. Your hair has a natural growth cycle consisting of an active growth phase and a passive resting phase. By shrinking the hair follicles, the active growth phase becomes shorter and the passive phase becomes longer until eventually it’s possible to not have any new hair growth at all.
Rogaine works by enlarging these shrunken hair follicles to reverse the imbalance between the active and passive cycles of hair growth. It also reawakens the hair follicles that have shrunken so much that they have stopped producing new hair all together.
What isn’t known is exactly how does Rogaine work to enlarge the shrunken hair follicles.

How Does Rogaine Work To Stop Hair Loss?

Rogaine actually does nothing to directly stop hair loss! That’s why it’s so important to understand how does Rogaine work for real. Rogaine is a hair growth stimulant. It will stimulate growth of new hair but doesn’t actually stop you from losing hair. Minoxidil (Rogaine’s generic drug name) belongs to a class of hair loss treatments called “potassium channel openers.” These drugs have been clinically proven to stimulate hair growth by opening potassium channels in your scalp.
So Rogaine won’t stop baldness but it can give you extra hair (most studies say about 30%). Then over time the hair you grow will out number the hair you lose and that’s why Rogaine can be sold as a solution to hereditary hair loss.

How Do I Use Rogaine?

When you buy Rogaine there will be directions on the package but basically you just apply to your scalp 2 times a day. It’s best to apply Rogaine to a dry scalp and avoid getting it wet whenever possible but exceptions can be made. Just make sure your scalp is as dry as possible before applying the medication (for example, towel dry your hair before applying if you don’t have time to blow dry).

How Long Do I Have To Use Rogaine?

Unfortunately Rogaine isn’t a cure for hair loss and must be used continuously for as long as you want to grow new hair. That means twice a day, every day, for the rest of your life. The reason for this is that the active medication in Rogaine is what stimulates the hair growth and if that medication is no longer being applied to your head then the hair growth will stop and you will lose your newly regrown hair within 3 months or so.
Because of this it’s best to try to incorporate it into your daily routine. Missing one or two doses here and there won’t affect your long term hair growth but obviously it’s best to avoid this if possible.
It may be annoying to have to keep applying Rogaine to your scalp twice a day every day, and it may seem strange that no one actually knows how does Rogaine work, but from the clinical trials and user responses it seems that it’s safe enough to try and it probably won’t harm you to try it.