Women over fifty often experience thinning hair. This can be caused by hormonal changes such as decreasing estrogen, increased sensitivity to testerone, or low thyroid. Sometimes it’s just hereditary. I did experience hair thinning a few years back, and since I’ve always had somewhat thin, very fine hair, I’ve been dealing with this problem for at least fifty years now. I therefore consider myself an expert on this subject and will now tell you all my secrets.
First, after my hair had thinned to the point where styling it was a huge chore (I had to carefully arrange each strand so as to not have scalp showing), I decided to try Rogaine™—the generic form is minoxidil. I’ve used it now for at least three years, and I estimate it has increased my hair volume by about 20 percent. This is a great result; it makes all the difference. I recommend it for anyone; it works for at least 60 percent of women. I’m also amazed at how many hairdressers don’t know anything about it, or are misinformed (one of them told me, “You must use it twice a day, every day, and if skip it even once, all your progress is down the drain.” Wrong!) Minoxidil for men and women. Find the best internet prices at onlyhairloss.
Here’s the straight scoop. Minoxidil is a clear liquid; you do need to apply it to your scalp twice a day for at least the first year. If you forget or skip a time or two, it’s no big deal. To give it an honest try, you’ll need to commit to following the procedure for at least four months to judge if it will or will not work for you. So, to start, buy one bottle of Rogaine™ and three to four bottles of the less-expensive, generic minoxidil. The reason for this is that Rogaine™ includes a couple different applicator types in their package, including a spray nozzle that I prefer. The generic brands just give you a dropper. But the bottles are all the same size, so you can use the spray nozzle on the generic bottle. Keep the original cap—I’ll tell you why later.
Apply the minoxidil once in the morning and once early in the evening if possible. You want to be sure it is thoroughly dry and absorbed before you go to bed, so it doesn’t get on the pillowcase. Otherwise you might get fuzzy facial hair—yikes! If that happens, shave or wax it off and get a prescription for Vaniqa™. But that’s expensive, so just be careful and you should be okay. The reason you need to give it a four-month trial is that minoxidil works by stimulating the dormant follicles to wake up faster, and to start producing a hair that may be slightly thicker. It cannot have any effect on hairs that are already growing. Obviously, this is not an overnight process. After four months, you should at least be able to detect some new growth. Then, keep it up twice a day for a year. After that, you can slack off to once a day. You can even skip a few days, but not too often. If the minoxidil irritates your scalp, try a different brand. It’s probably not the minoxidil itself, but the other ingredients that may cause irritation. When you travel, remove the spray nozzle or dropper, put the cap you saved back on the minoxidil bottle and put everything in a Ziploc bag. You may want to tape around the cap and bottle just as a precaution.
So there you have it. I realize it sounds fairly high-maintenance, but it’s not so terrible. I’ve had high-maintenance hair all my life, so what’s a couple extra minutes a day? The results are so worth it! The generic minoxidil is $23.95 for three bottles, theoretically a three-month supply. The Rogaine™ is more, probably about that much for one bottle. Be sure you get the 2 percent strength designed for women. Rogaine. FDA approved to stop hair loss and regrow hair.
