Do I Need To Use Minoxidil After A Hair Transplant Procedure?

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Posted on : June 10, 2021 | Category : All | Author: John Kahen

Patients who were using Minoxidil to restore hair can continue to use it even after a hair transplant surgery, especially if the cause of the hair loss is pattern baldness or genetic. This medication should be used as a preventive measure for hair loss once the surgery area heals.

If you are looking for a more natural and permanent solution to restore hair, then transplant surgery is an ideal hair restoration procedure. However, there is no guarantee that it will prevent future loss, especially if the cause is generally due to DHT – dihydrotestosterone.

The best way to prevent further hair loss is to continue taking preventive medications such as Minoxidil. If DHT is still in the system, attacking hair follicles, the chances are that they will continue doing so and cause future hair loss. Before getting a hair transplant surgery, it is critical that the doctor checks if the patient is eligible for this surgical procedure. The patient will be advised to start with a prevention treatment regimen in the earlier stages of hair loss before opting for a hair transplant surgery.

Minoxidil for hair loss increases blood supply in the scalp since it is a vasodilator drug and will also prevent hair loss. It will help with hair regrowth if you are prone to genetic hair loss and you have just had a hair transplant procedure. Getting a hair transplant surgery brings an exciting change in the patient’s life since it helps to restore hair for a lifetime.

It is understandable if the patient is going to employ other extra measures to speed up the hair restoration process. These measures include using serums, sprays, creams, and masks. However, there are two medications that have proved to work effectively to prevent hair loss. This due include Finasteride and Minoxidil. If you have just had a hair transplant procedure and you want to use any medication to enhance hair regrowth, you need to consult your doctor first.

What is Minoxidil?

Initially, Minoxidil was intended to treat patients with high blood pressure or hypertension. Among its side effects was hair growth. Due to this side effect, Minoxidil is now used to treat hair loss. If you are interested in using this hair loss medication, you can get it as foam or as a solution.

Minoxidil After Hair Transplant

In most hair restoration clinics, surgeons will tell their patients to use Minoxidil after a hair transplant procedure. There are reasons why this is recommended. Some of them are as follows:

Also, you can read Does Hair Transplant Surgery really work?

Minoxidil Enhances Regrowth of Transplanted Hair

Specific techniques are used by hair transplant surgeons to enhance hair regrowth after a patient has undergone a hair transplant procedure. As part of the post-surgery recommendation, some of the doctors will recommend that the patient take Minoxidil (3% and 5%). This is done to help the hair grafts grow faster. Research has been done to prove this claim. As much as Minoxidil helps to speed up hair regrowth, it isn’t necessary. More studies should be done to prove minoxidil effectiveness after transplant surgery.

Minoxidil Eliminates Shock Loss

Minoxidil for hair loss is also recommended by many surgeons after a hair transplant because it reduces the risk of shock loss, especially in women. The shedding of the non-transplanted hair is known as shock loss. Most of the time, this type of hair loss is temporary, and hair will still grow back. Using Minoxidil eliminates the shock loss phase in hair transplant surgery.

Minoxidil Controls Expected Hair Loss

The main reason for getting a hair transplant surgery is to restore lost hair, not to control further hair loss in the future. If you are affected by hair loss when you are below 35 years, there is a high probability that the hair loss will advance even after a hair transplant procedure. This means that you will need to take oral or topical medications to manage the progression of hair loss. The main reason why surgeons recommend using Minoxidil continuously is to stop further hair loss in the future. The drug does not regrow new hair but stops further hair loss. If you are using it to treat hair loss, it will only work as long as you continue using it to prevent post-transplant hair loss.

When Can I Start Using Minoxidil After Hair Transplant?

Once the doctor is done performing a hair transplant surgery, he or she will guide the patient on the appropriate time to start using minoxidil medication. The majority of hair transplant surgeons will ask their patients to start using Minoxidil at least a week after the transplant procedure. This is to allow newly transplanted hair grafts to settle in before external factors start creeping in. The doctor should also recommend to the hair loss patient how long he or she should use the minoxidil hair loss drug. Prevention of existing hair demands that Minoxidil should be used more than the extended time. If it is meant to enhance regrowth hair, then it should be used for more than four months.

Does Minoxidil Work?

There are two main concentrations of the Minoxidil drug. They include 2% and 5%. These two are known to enhance hair regrowth. However, 5% Minoxidil increases hair regrowth and thickness more than the 2% dose by 45%. The outcome of using Minoxidil will be seen after 12 months.

Minoxidil Side effects

Being a safe drug, once prescribed by a doctor, Minoxidil can be purchased from any pharmacy. You should expect several complications at higher concentrations of 5% to 10%. Some of the side effects that most patients should have include:

Areas that minoxidil medication is applied will have redness and irritation
Even though the patient wants to treat hair loss in the scalp region, hair may also start growing on other sides of the body, especially in women.
Headaches
Skin irritation is more rampant with the solution version of Minoxidil than in the foam version of the drug. The solution version of the drug has more alcohol than the foam version.

Must The Hair Loss Patient Use Minoxidil After Hair Transplant?

Using Minoxidil after a hair transplant procedure is not necessary. While some patients will have a hair transplant surgery to avoid using a medication, others just won’t just need it since they are not suffering from generic hair loss conditions. Most surgeons will only recommend Minoxidil as a complementary adjunctive post-transplant therapy. In other words, it is popularly used to speed up results in a hair transplant procedure. If the results were expected in 4-6 months, Minoxidil would reduce it to 2 to 3 months. As much as this hair loss drug produces good results, not everyone is comfortable using it. Therefore a consultation between the surgeon and the patient should be done to know whether it is necessary or not to use Minoxidil. This is essential because it allows the surgeon to make proper preparation for the surgery and after the surgery.

A Case Study

In a recent study, 12 hair transplant patients aged between 21 and 60 years were tested to help establish the effectiveness of Minoxidil. These subjects underwent hair transplant surgery. After having the hair transplant surgery, Minoxidil was administered 48 to 72 hours after. In 2 to 4 weeks after the procedure, the shock loss phase took place. Out of all the patients, 2 of them did not experience the shock loss phase. In all the subjects, hair growth was quick and healthy. Of the ten remaining patients, 2 of them experienced postsurgical telogen effluvium. However, within four weeks after shedding, hair growth started. Initially, patients who did not use Minoxidil experienced shedding of the transplanted hair grafts. Hair growth also began 3 to 5 months after the surgery was done.

From the mentioned study, it is plain to see that using Minoxidil as adjunctive therapy is useful after a hair transplant procedure since it speeds up recovery. To fully support these findings, doctors need to do more of these studies.

Schedule a Free Consultation Now

If you require the best services in terms of hair transplant surgeries done by the best surgeons in the US, contact Beverly hills hair restoration Clinic now. You can get the surgery done by one of our highly skilled surgeons. Moreover, you can earn a FREE Consultation session by filling the consultation form below.

FAQs

Is Minoxidil safe to use?

Minoxidil is safe to use since it is approved by the US FDA and Health Canada as a hair loss medication treatment for both women and men patients undergoing hair loss. The two versions of this drug include 2% and 5% topical solutions. Even though the minoxidil drug is safe, patients need to be cautious when using it. Besides that, Minoxidil is also used to treat severe hypertension when taken as an orally active vasodilator.

Does Minoxidil help to regrow hair?

If the hair loss has started happening, taking Minoxidil may prevent further hair loss as well as help to regrow hair. Currently, the only hair loss medication that is FDA-approved and clinically proven to help regrow hair is Minoxidil.

Does Minoxidil affect the kidney?

Using Minoxidil for a long time will affect the heart and arteries, rendering them not functioning as intended. Using it for a long time causes damage to blood, brain vessels, kidney, and the heart, which may cause kidney failure, stroke, or heart failure.

What happens if you use too much Minoxidil?

Using high concentrations of Minoxidil may lead to chest pains, face flushing, headaches, and fainting.

How long should you use Minoxidil?

You can start using Minoxidil as soon as you have had a hair transplant surgery since it starts working immediately. However, noticeable results will only be seen after six months. Full hair transplant results will only be seen after a heart.

Here are a few more topics that you shouldn’t miss:
How Much Does A Hair Transplant Cost?
Everything You Need To Know About Beard Transplant?
Why do you lose hair?
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