# Fifteen years after Rogaine. Any studies on reduction of baldness? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524 "2010-08-07T16:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/21 "2010-08-08T22:18:59Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > According to the label, it only works for a few months anyway. Does the label really say this? I’ve never heard this (and don’t have a bottle handy to read). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/22 "2010-08-09T16:01:47Z")
Thanks DSeid. That’s the type of controlled study I was looking for. > [@DSeid](#): > > [One 2 3/4 year follow-up.](http://www.eblue.org/article/S0190-9622(87)70089-9/abstract) Modest response that was maintained while medicine use was maintained at twice a day for the study period. > > [Indeed the hairs scat](http://www.eblue.org/article/S0190-9622(87)70179-0/abstract) when usage is stopped. > > Curiously I can find no studies on longer term safety or efficacy. I guess the manufacturer has no motivation to fund them and government monies are probably better spent funding other things. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/23 "2010-08-09T16:06:29Z")
I don’t get the whole hair thing… I just shave it all off. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/24 "2010-08-09T17:35:53Z")
I don’t care about my hair either, maybe because I’m not losing it. My son is losing his and is worried about it. Hair care has always been important to him, with the shampoos and conditioners and the jels and whatnot. Something I could never understand but it IS important to a lot of guys. There is a lot of money to be made in catering to and feeding that fear of balding. Hair dressers have told my son that he will “lose his hair” if he doesn’t use top quality shampoo and conditioner (like they sell.) The TV ads make it appear that there are products that can actually regrow a full head. Rogaine is a great model of the way drugs are sold these days. If they can prove that there is some effect, no matter how small, they apparently can advertise themselves as being a cure. Never mind whether Rogaine will grow hair. Has there been any study of the effects of 25 year old men smearing large amounts of high blood pressure on their heads? ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/25 "2010-08-09T22:16:22Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > I don’t care about my hair either, maybe because I’m not losing it. My son is losing his and is worried about it. Hair care has always been important to him, with the shampoos and conditioners and the jels and whatnot. Something I could never understand but it IS important to a lot of guys. > > There is a lot of money to be made in catering to and feeding that fear of balding. Hair dressers have told my son that he will “lose his hair” if he doesn’t use top quality shampoo and conditioner (like they sell.) The TV ads make it appear that there are products that can actually regrow a full head. Rogaine is a great model of the way drugs are sold these days. If they can prove that there is some effect, no matter how small, they apparently can advertise themselves as being a cure. > > Never mind whether Rogaine will grow hair. Has there been any study of the effects of 25 year old men smearing large amounts of high blood pressure on their heads? In the baldness community (yeah, there really is such a thing) one regimen many people swear by is topical Rogaine, twice daily proscar (finasteride) once daily by mouth Nizoral shampoo, daily Not offering this as medical advice, just information. I have seen this work for some people. I don’t know if it works for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/26 "2010-08-09T23:22:16Z")
From what I’ve been told Rogaine is not APPROVED for hairline loss because the success rate is even smaller than for “crowning” (bald spot). You can use it for thinning and receeding hairline. That’s what I’m using it for at least until the wedding in a few months. I’ve been using it for 2 1/2 months and there seems to be a marked improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/27 "2010-08-10T01:35:14Z")
Question – if a person who isn’t balding takes it, what happens? Does your hair become thicker, or fuller or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/28 "2010-08-10T03:46:53Z")
minoxidil wiki, FWIW, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoxidil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoxidil) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/29 "2010-08-10T21:50:10Z")
> [@digs](#): > > ps: THIS would be a great thread for a compassionate female to drop in and say “Silly boys, we don’t care if you go bald. Save your money!” Silly boys, we don’t care if you go bald. Save your money! My only requirement is that the length of the hair you \*do \*have should be inversely proportionate to how much of it is left. I.e., the more bald you are, the shorter your remaining hair should be. At a certain point (depending on exactly where you’re losing hair and the shape of your head), you’ll look most attractive just shaving everything off. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/30 "2010-08-10T22:08:00Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > ps: THIS would be a great thread for a compassionate female to drop in and say “Silly boys, we don’t care if you go bald. Save your money!” > > Silly boys, we don’t care if you go bald. Save your money! > > My only requirement is that the length of the hair you \*do \*have should be inversely proportionate to how much of it is left. I.e., the more bald you are, the shorter your remaining hair should be. At a certain point (depending on exactly where you’re losing hair and the shape of your head), you’ll look most attractive just shaving everything off. So if I have a full head of thick hair, I should grow it out until it consumes whole ecosystems like kudzu? ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/31 "2010-08-11T02:37:15Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Question – if a person who isn’t balding takes it, what happens? Does your hair become thicker, or fuller or something like that? Since nobody else has answered, I’ll throw out some speculation. They market a variety of Rogaine specifically for women with thinning hair. It works, at least to the degree that the government hasn’t shut it down for false advertising. Rogaine works by keeping hair follicles from shutting down (and then scarring up) that would otherwise shut down. It doesn’t AFAIK have any positive effect on active hair follicles. I say positive effect because one acknowledged side effect of Rogaine is short term hair loss due to speeding up the growth-dormancy-growth cycle in normal follicles. So a person with normal hair could actually lose hair using Rogaine. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/32 "2010-08-11T03:12:23Z")
Really? That sucks. Well, so much for the “give-myself-a-nice-head-of-luscious-shampoo-commercial-hair” idea. (Note: I’m not balding nor do I have thinning hair. Just really poker straight, baby fine hair.) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/33 "2010-08-11T03:35:16Z")
I got two words for you: Steve Ballmer. I’m sure he would spring for a couple of billion to tag “cured baldness” on his bio. I’m just saying… ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/34 "2010-08-11T04:03:34Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > I got two words for you: Steve Ballmer. > > I’m sure he would spring for a couple of billion to tag “cured baldness” on his bio. I’m just saying… Ballmer could easily afford the best micro transplant surgery. He could get a full head of hair in a couple of years, I’m fairly sure. If he doesn’t have one, it’s cause he doesn’t want one. It’s actually a significant work issue for certain careers - actors, rockers, politicians, certain types of sales. [http://hairtransplant-info.com/celebrity-hair-transplants-in-photos/](http://hairtransplant-info.com/celebrity-hair-transplants-in-photos/) If it’s not an issue for someone career wise, I don’t know why they’d go through the trouble. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/35 "2010-08-11T12:25:34Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > > [@Guinastasia](#): > > > > Question – if a person who isn’t balding takes it, what happens? Does your hair become thicker, or fuller or something like that? > > Since nobody else has answered, I’ll throw out some speculation… Well your speculation may be as good as it gets. My initial thoughts were a straight up “no” but then I read [this article](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/470297_2) on what little we know of how it works, and I am not so sure. Hair diameter does tend to increase and that effect on the growth cycle means that hairs stay in longer … so a definite “No one knows. But maybe.” ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/36 "2010-08-11T14:00:37Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > So if I have a full head of thick hair, I should grow it out until it consumes whole ecosystems like kudzu? The rule applies specifically to men who’re losing their hair. But I’m not going to stop you if you want to try–as long as you supply pictures. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/37 "2010-08-11T17:37:58Z")
Face it, most wigs look awful. Why is it so hard to attach replacement hairs to a head? Given the market for a good quality wig, why haven’t inventors been able to come up with a solution?:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/38 "2010-08-11T19:58:37Z")
Actually I’d love to know the answer, if there is one, to **ralph** ’s question. When my mother lost her hair after chemo, she planned to wear a wig, but ended up not doing so because all the wigs she found were either ill-fitting or ugly. Surely Hollywood movies employ wigs which don’t look terrible and seem to fit well; how has that not filtered down to the mainstream market? ---
**Author:** ![Add99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Add99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Add99)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/39 "2010-08-12T00:59:20Z")
Phil Spector found some nice wigs, ask him. “I don’t get the whole hair thing, just shave it”, said Samson. Everyone knows hair = testosterone + youth. Look at Fabio. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524/40 "2010-08-12T15:23:58Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Surely Hollywood movies employ wigs which don’t look terrible and seem to fit well; how has that not filtered down to the mainstream market? My WAG? They’re custom-fitted and attached before every shoot by professional hair and makeup artists, as well as touched up frequently as the day goes on. I.e., it’s obscenely expensive and time-consuming. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifteen-years-after-rogaine-any-studies-on-reduction-of-baldness/549524.md?page=3)