Most people who decide to hop on minoxidil do so wittingly that it’s most likely for life if they don’t want to lose their hard-earned hair.
But what does stopping minoxidil after a month do? And how much hair will you lose in the progress?
Let’s figure out how quickly you start losing hair again after discontinuing minoxidil, and if it’s fine to quit minoxidil after a while.
Stopping minoxidil after a month?
Stopping minoxidil after a month of use will probably not have led to a significant increase in hair count. The reason being that the product takes a while to start working, and the hairs need to transition from vellus hairs into permanent hairs to become enduring.
That’s why it’s not recommended to quit minoxidil after a month of usage. If you’re using minoxidil to grow, or regrow lost hair on the scalp, then it must be continued indefinitely in order to not lose the hair gains one has made.
Quitting minoxidil for a month will lead to a slow regression to baseline. To before you started your minoxidil journey. However, 4 weeks of discontinuation is not a long time. Which means that you probably won’t notice much hair loss yet, if any at all.
But rest assured. The longer you decide to discontinue the product, the more hair you will end up losing. Over time, probably in a few months after quitting minoxidil, the hair loss will become detectable.
Can I stop minoxidil for 3 days?
Yes, you can stop minoxidil for 3 days. However, it’s not recommended since you don’t end up at the saturation point that’s optimal to promote hair growth.
But if you forgot to apply your minoxidil for a few days, then there’s no need to worry. You won’t end up losing hairs after just a few days of missing your appliances.
If you do end up missing several doses, then don’t try to make up for the lost appliances by over applying. Just use the minoxidil 1-2 times daily again like you usually do.
Can you stop minoxidil for a week?
You can stop minoxidil for a week without losing much, or any hair at all, but it isn’t advocated.
What you end up doing is decrease optimal minoxidil saturation levels, which means you won’t grow as much hair as possible, and maybe you even lose some hair count.
Still, quitting minoxidil for just a week will in all likelihood not result in any noticeable hair loss.
Can I stop minoxidil after 10 days?
It’s possible to stop minoxidil after just 10 days, but I wouldn’t suggest doing so since it’s not a long enough time period to produce any noticeable effects.
But sometimes, there’s a good reason to quit minoxidil. Let’s say you’re allergic to minoxidil, or if the side effects are too severe for you to bear, then stopping minoxidil entirely is the appropriate course of action.
What happens if I stop minoxidil after 2 weeks?
If you stop minoxidil after 2 weeks, then you probably won’t have noticed any hair gains, since it’s in all likelihood too short of a time to produce any detectable increases in hair count.
If you have made progress in hair count, then these will be progressively lost again after quitting minoxidil.
Can I stop minoxidil after 20 days?
You can stop minoxidil after 20 days, but it’s not proposed since it’s too short of a period to produce any observable increases in hair growth.
If you’re allergic to minoxidil or experience detrimental side effects then it’s absolutely fine, and even desirable to quit minoxidil completely after 20 days.
Can you stop minoxidil without losing hair?
You can’t stop minoxidil without losing hair. At least not the hairs that grew back as a result of the product minoxidil.
The longer you quit, the more hairs that you regrew because of minoxidil you will lose again. It probably won’t be noticeable in the first weeks to months, but afterwards, you will start to notice that you’re losing much of the gains you’ve made. That’s why it’s recommended to continue using minoxidil indefinitely to combat hair loss.
But quitting minoxidil doesn’t mean that you will end up losing more hairs than if you would’ve never started using the product at all. It simply means that your hair loss will start progressing again.
How can I prevent hair loss after stopping minoxidil?
The hairs you regained because of minoxidil will gradually be lost over time the longer you quit if you don’t take other measures to combat hair loss. This can range from microneedling, to taking finasteride, or even getting a hair transplant as a more invasive measure.
But what is sure is that hair loss will start progressing again at a quicker rate than if you would’ve kept taking minoxidil. That’s why it’s recommended to seek other ways to fight hair loss or to keep applying minoxidil indefinitely.
How quickly do you lose hair after quitting minoxidil? An empirical study
This study examined the changes in hair count and weight in men with androgenetic alopecia, after application of 2% and 5% topical minoxidil, placebo, or no treatment. Furthermore, it examined how quickly, and how many of the gained hairs, were lost when minoxidil treatment was suddenly stopped.
The researchers spent over two years following 4 detached study groups. These were the 4 groups:
- 5% minoxidil group
- 2% minoxidil group
- Placebo group
- No administration group/control group
It is well documented through studies and empirical evidence that minoxidil is effective at promoting hair growth.
That’s why it comes as no surprise that the 5% and 2% minoxidil groups saw improved hair growth that was established through increased hair counts after three months. Progress leveled slightly from that point onwards. But the results were still much better than the control group, and the placebo group.
This study basically reaffirms the notion that both 2% and 5% topical minoxidil are effective at promoting hair growth. With 5% topical minoxidil seemingly being a bit more effective than 2% minoxidil at improving hair growth, possibly due to the higher potency of the product.
This treatment continued for almost two years. After 96 weeks, to be more precise, the scientists discontinued the treatment in both the 2% and 5% minoxidil groups.
As a result of this discontinuation, both hair count and weight soon started decreasing.
If we look at the graph three months after quitting minoxidil treatment (week 108), then we can see that the hair loss of both the 2% and 5% topical minoxidil group ducked quite far below the start of the study and placebo group.
However, it seems that this hair loss below baseline was only temporary, since the 2% and 5% minoxidil group both rebounded by week 120. They both ended up right around where they were before starting minoxidil treatment.
It is possible that this temporary hair loss was due to telogen effluvium, which is a short-lived period of hair loss due to shock or traumatic event. This means that suddenly quitting minoxidil cold turkey might trigger this phenomenon. It is also possible that the body has to readapt to the new homeostasis without the drug being present in our system. That’s why stopping minoxidil only to start again at a later date is ill-advised.
Final note
Minoxidil is one of the few, and most effective ways to combat hair loss. The downside is that it must be used indefinitely, or hair loss will start progressing again.
Stopping minoxidil for a few days to weeks most likely won’t do much harm, and any hairs that are lost will probably not be noticeable to the bare eye.
But quitting minoxidil for a few months will result in observable hair loss. That’s why you should think it through carefully before hopping on, since it’s probably for life if you wish to keep the gains you’ve worked so hard for.