From stem cell scalp serums to kitchen-concocted herbal rinses and viral rosemary oils, hair growth has grow to be all the fashion. With over 1 million posts under the hashtag #hairgrowth on TikTok, maximizing your hair’s length, retention, and hair care routines has remained one among beauty’s most consistent trends. Now, a latest hair growth ingredient has taken center stage—but are the advantages well worth the risk?

Minoxidil, a drug first introduced within the Seventies as a treatment for severe hypertension, was coincidentally discovered for causing hair growth in balding patients. This led to the first FDA-approved topical minoxidil solution, Rogaine, to hit the market in 1988, followed by a 5% solution in 1993. Over 40 years later, beauty brands, like Carol’s Daughter and hers, are re-popularizing the ingredient as the one best regrowth treatment money should purchase. 

“Minoxidil is growing in popularity [because it] is effective,” trichologist and scalp therapist Bridgette Hill tells ESSENCE. Reaching over 165,000 people on TikTok alone, users are documenting their use of the ingredient, from growing back edges to filling in bald spots, and even shrinking their foreheads. Inevitably, nonetheless, others expose the less desirable reality of the medication, delivering a pointy warning against using the miracle treatment in any respect. 

Below, experts weigh in on how Minoxidil works, what to know before you grow, and the potential risks of using the viral drug.

What’s minoxidil?

“Minoxidil was the primary drug approved for hair regrowth in men within the vertex (crown area) of the pinnacle,” trichologist and scalp therapist Bridgette Hill says, later approved for female and male use within the 1988 drug, Rogaine. 

“Studies have indicated that the drug can promote hair growth in some men whose hair is thinning, but it’ll not help men who’re bald,” writes journalist Gina Kolata in a New York Times article published back then. “If a person stops applying the drug, nonetheless, its advantages will disappear.” 

By 1992, one other hair loss drug hit the market, Finasteride or Propecia (a drug used for enlarged prostates), before being repurposed for hair growth five years later. “Each of those are DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), an identified hormone that may be a root reason for androgenic or genetic hair loss,” Hill says. “When Rogaine’s patent expired in December of 2000, the market opened for other non-prescription DHT blockers to be introduced as product offerings.”

This implies, for a very long time, you’ve been in a position to buy minoxidil and other hair growth medications with no prescription in the shape of a pill, solution, and foam. Nonetheless, simply because it’s easy to buy, doesn’t mean the ingredient is targeted to each variety of hair growth.

How does it work?

While some hair growth products, like oils and serums, may feel like they don’t render visible results, minoxidil is thought to be probably the most effective in the marketplace. That’s because “it helps improve blood flow and prolongs the expansion stage within the hair cycle, often known as anagen,” trichology practitioner and hairstylist Yene Damtew says. “It may possibly make miniaturized follicles larger and reduce inflammation to extend the expansion factor.”

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How effective is it?

Based on an FDA study, it took 8 months for 19% of ladies to see moderate results after using the two% solution, while about 40% saw minimal growth. Despite some claims on social media, minoxidil takes months to indicate results, and may cause more hair loss in the primary few months before it improves. 

Who’s it for? 

“With more clients experiencing hair loss or hair thinning, there was a rise in folks using Minoxidil to tackle their hair loss concerns,” Damtew says. “Minoxidil is technically approved to affect hair on the vertex (crown of the pinnacle),” Hill adds, as directed by the FDA. “Nonetheless, anecdotally, many dermatologists and hair transplant surgeons have also seen improvement when used throughout the hair.” 

Between “scalp check” videos, postpartum shedding, and obsessive hair routines, it’s easy for ladies to be convinced they’re balding after they’re not. Likewise, turning to a more severe solution (enter: minoxidil) will not be vital unless you may have hereditary thinning or hair loss, specifically on the highest of the pinnacle. 

According to the insert, you must not use Rogaine if you may have traction alopecia from styles like cornrows or ponytails, damage from hair care products, your hair loss is sudden or patchy, you may have postpartum hair loss, no family history of hair loss, or don’t know what caused it. It’s best to also avoid it in case your scalp isn’t in a healthy condition, like redness, inflammation, or irritation, which may also be a side effect. 

What are the risks? 

From unwanted hair growth all around the body—just like the face, arms, legs, and back—to flakiness, skin irritation, and a sticky scalp, “all clients should seek the advice of with a board-certified dermatologist before using minoxidil,” Damtew says. Excessive hair growth is a primary risk of using minoxidil, and even in the event you’re using the ingredient in a targeted area, it could actually still cause unwanted hair far past the appliance site. 

One woman on TikTok used a 5% minoxidil foam for men on her scalp, as a substitute of 1 for ladies, and grew beard-like facial hair, while one other claimed her hairline regressed after she stopped using it. Whilst you shouldn’t stop using minoxidil after you begin (you’ll probably lose all the brand new growth in three to 4 months), overuse is not going to improve the outcomes either. “Minoxidil will not be a vitamin but is a drug and must be utilized in the FDA-approved methods for hair loss to not encourage hair growth,” Hill says about misuse.

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How should or not it’s applied? 

“Minoxidil may be prescribed orally and topically: for men a 5% solution is advisable and for ladies a 2% solution is advisable,” Hill says. In case you’re an excellent candidate for minoxidil, you must first start with a clean scalp before applying the ingredient. Then, “apply on to the realm of hair loss and shedding as much as two times every day.” 

What’s a greater alternative? 

While most hair loss medications work like Rogaine, formulated to enhance blood flow and widen vessels and extend the hair growth phase, other vitamins and plants may prevent the intense negative effects. Based on Hill, red clover, mung beans and ashwagandha can all help hair growth. For instance, “mung beans are stuffed with vitamins and minerals which might be essential to healthy hair growth function: protein, iron, magnesium, folate protein, zinc, calcium and B vitamins,” she says. 

While herbal rinses containing moringa, aloe vera, amla, rosemary or peppermint oil, will help stimulate your follicles in an identical way. Nonetheless, in the event you still want to present minoxidil a shot, you coincidentally will probably want to look right into a waxing routine—and fast.