Does minoxidil affect hormones?

Does minoxidil affect hormones or not? It’s a question that many find important when considering to use minoxidil in their fight against hair loss or not.

Since hormones are such a delicate chemical balance, it’s indispensable that we protect this homeostasis in order to remain physically, but also mentally healthy.

Let me explain whether minoxidil impacts our hormones or not.

We’re not completely sure if minoxidil affects hormones. Some studies suggest they do, but rather by regulating the receptors instead of causing an androgen effect. This first study suggests that minoxidil functions as an anti-androgen by suppressing androgen receptor-related functions.

Researchers in Taiwan proposed that minoxidil may obstruct certain androgen receptors which can block the use of those cells that require these androgen receptors for growth.

It is possible that the minoxidil makes certain androgen receptors unstable, or at least less stable, which can be caused due to the minoxidil binding to the androgen receptors.

Another study also suggested that minoxidil acts as an antiandrogen by significantly downregulating the 5α-R2 gene expression in HaCaT cells.

Does minoxidil affect female hormones?

These studies imply that minoxidil can in fact have some sort of impact on our hormones, or rather their function.

Yet, minoxidil has not been shown to particularly impact female hormones. That’s also part of why the FDA has approved minoxidil for women, and labeled it a safe product to use for hair loss.

Can minoxidil affect hormones?

We’re not exactly sure. But studies propose that it’s possible that minoxidil can indeed impact hormones to a certain degree. Not through an androgen effect itself, but rather by influencing the receptors.

Nevertheless, more, and bigger studies with a larger human population are essential to conclude if minoxidil does indeed play a role in regulating hormones or not.

It should be noted that minoxidil is considered a safe product to combat hair loss for both men and women. This is confirmed by the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Is minoxidil a steroid or not?

No, minoxidil is in no way, shape, or form a steroid. It belongs to the class of vasodilators, which means they aid to open up the blood vessels by dilating them.

This dilation of the blood vessels will in turn help to grow new hairs by providing more blood and oxygen flow to the hair follicles. This means that minoxidil will probably not affect your workouts negatively.

Minoxidil is available in both a foam, and a liquid version. The foam typically doesn’t contain the solvent propylene glycol, which means it dries out the skin to a lesser degree than the liquid does. But both are equally effective.

Does minoxidil increase testosterone?

Does minoxidil raise testosterone?

Since minoxidil is not a steroid, using said product will not result in elevated testosterone levels.

Minoxidil helps to slow down hair loss, but this has nothing to do with raising one’s testosterone levels

Is minoxidil a corticosteroid?

No, minoxidil is not a corticosteroid.

A corticosteroid is a class of steroids that are considered anti-inflammatory medication.

And while minoxidil can be used to treat hypertension, it’s not used as an anti-inflammatory drug.

Does minoxidil lower testosterone?

Since minoxidil has no effect on testosterone levels, it also doesn’t lower our current testosterone.

Does minoxidil increase estrogen?

Minoxidil has not been shown to increase nor decrease estrogen levels.

As such, it’s considered safe to use for women to combat hair loss.

Can I use minoxidil with steroid cream?

Yes, you can use minoxidil with steroid cream(s).

However, you should make sure to apply each of them separately with some time in between in order to make sure both don’t interfere with each other’s working. This also gives each product the chance to be properly absorbed before applying the other medication.

What kind of drug is minoxidil?

Minoxidil belongs to the class of medicines that’s labeled vasodilators, also commonly called antihypertensives.

Antihypertensives are utilized to deal with hypertension (high blood pressure).

In modern times, minoxidil is used less as an antihypertensive medication, and more as a tool to combat hair loss. That’s because it can help to slow down, and sometimes even completely halt hair loss.

Final note

It’s entirely possible that minoxidil influences androgen receptors rather than inducing an androgen effect directly.

Still, the point remains that it’s possible that the hormones get effected in some way. Nevertheless, the current scientific evidence is not conclusive, which means more evidence based research should be performed in order to conclude if hormones are impacted or not.

What we do know is that testosterone and estrogen, the primary male and female hormones respectively aren’t influenced or changed at all. Thus, it is considered a safe product by the FDA to combat both male and female pattern baldness.