Minoxidil Beard FAQ

Proudly brought to you by the same people that created the original Minox FAQ document, located in a closed Facebook group called The Minox Beard Spot. Group founded and administered by Basik Ali.

Minoxidil is a generic medication used for hair regrowth. It was originally developed for treating hypertension (high blood pressure) as an oral medication, and prescribed under the name Loniten¹⁾.

Patients taking the drug orally discovered that — as a side effect — it promoted hair growth on the body. Research has demonstrated, that if applied topically to the scalp as a creme or liquid, it would still grow hair for the majority of people using it. In the United States, over-the-counter versions contain 2% or 5% minoxidil at most, due to FDA regulations.

For more information on minoxidil, read this article on Beard Profile.

Summary: Minoxidil is a hair regrowth solution that also works for hair growth. Note that regrowth and growth are different, as regrowth means that one had or is currently losing their hair (see androgenic alopecia).

There's no set age, but we advise no one younger than 18 to use it. If you're young, see what you can grow before using minox. You may know somebody who is 16 years old with a full beard; this is an exception — there are not many 16 year olds that can grow full beards. Boys finish puberty at approximately 16-20 years old, with many going as far as 22 years old.

Even then, many men cannot grow facial hair at these young ages and realize that their beard genetics kick in around their mid-twenties. Facial hair continues to develop throughout our lives, well into our 30s.

Summary: If you are over 18, feel free to make such a decision on your own after reading this FAQ thoroughly.

No. The FDA in the United States of America has approved minoxidil only for use on the scalp. Because of this, the product directions instruct users to apply it only there. More specifically, it is meant only for the vertex of the scalp. Technically, companies selling minoxidil (such as Rogaine) are legally not allowed to advertise the product for any area of the body other than the vertex. This is simply due to the fact that it's the only area that has been tested.

This does not indicate that it does not work elsewhere! We call this false equivalency.

If, however, you apply the product to the face, which has better blood circulation and absorption than the scalp, the likelihood increases that minoxidil will find its way into your bloodstream. We also call this systemic, despite the product being topical. The risk of side effect may increase, including body hair in places other than your face.

Summary: No, because it has never been tested there and approved by the FDA. It has, however, been tested in Thailand²⁾³⁾.

See the previous answer.

Additionally, when minoxidil enters your system, it can (and likely will) promote hair growth on the whole body. Various members of TMBS have reported new vellus hair growth on places such as the:

• forehead
• ears
• eyebrows
• upper cheek bones
• hands, legs, feet
• chest, stomach
• back

These new hairs are vellus and have a high probability of falling out once you cease minoxidil applications. In fact, many minoxidil beard users experience cessation of this extra hair even while continuing to apply the solution, several months in.

For more information and suggestions on how to deal with this temporary side effect, see this video from The Beard Solution:

Summary: Body hair is inevitable, but if the hair does not mature into terminal hair, then it will likely go away. This happens whether you apply to your scalp as intended, or to the face. Systemic absorption.

Of course. It is a drug, after all. Although, most of the common side effects are fairly minor.

The first few applications might make your skin feel itchy or irritated, and possibly a little red. This is common and usually disappears after a few days or couple of weeks as your body adjusts to the minoxidil.

The listed side effects of topical minoxidil can be found here. Take note of oral side effects as well, and disregard those. You will not and do not want to take minoxidil orally during this process.

Summary: Yes, minoxidil can cause some side effects. But so can Tylenol.

Twice a day is recommended; once in the morning and once in the evening, roughly twelve hours apart.

Since the human body can only metabolize a certain amount of minoxidil within a 24-hour period, more frequent applications than two per day is unnecessary. Although twice per day is recommended, it is not obligatory.

Some TMBS members report increased sensitivity to minoxidil and can only take one application a day. Other members can only take one application per day due to their work schedules. While results can be expected sooner when applying twice daily, many TMBS members are reporting steady results with only one daily application. Many have completed their minoxidil journey with a single application per day.

Summary: Twice per day, keeping applications 8-12 hours apart. More than that will not make it work any better, and may cause side effects.

1ml per application is recommended.

Liquid: there is a fill line on the dropper that comes with your supply. If you have a spray bottle, it may be 6 sprays. Read your packaging for directions.

Foam: for most brands of foam, it is half a cap. Foligain and Qgain are exceptions, which is a single pump.

If you are growing out a beard, more may be needed as it clings to the hair. This means you will potentially use up your supply faster. Wash or rinse your face prior to applying to ensure it and the and pores are clean, and apply the minoxidil either with your finger or dropper.

Summary: 1ml per application, although some men opt to use less. This may be a good idea when first starting out, so that your body gets used to the minoxidil.

Here are four videos showing methods of applying liquid minoxidil.

There are a few techniques that people have used to apply the foam minoxidil. Find what works best for you.

Dispense the foam directly onto the face by holding the can vertically so that you don’t waste the gas. If you don’t hold it vertically you end up with liquid coming out, not foam. Let it dissolve a little on the face, then massage it in.Member 1

Shake 30 seconds so that when you spray it into the cap, it's a shaving cream consistency. Then using 1 or 2 fingers, massage into your beard area. It drys very quickly, and I've experienced no itch or irritation.Member 2

1.) Wash face with hot water (or take hot shower), then wash hands with cold water. 2.) Squirt out the foam into the cap half full. This is 1ml. Spraying into hands or directly on face will likely result in excess dosage. 3.) One finger in the cap half-full with minox foam, then apply it equally on face and massage vigorously on face until dry. 4.) Your face should be dry in less than a minute.Member 3

You can store the foam canister in room temperature. It does not need to be in the refrigerator or in the freezer. I shake the bottle and I spray the foam in the cup of the bottle about half of the cup. Sadly it won't last longer than a month depending on if you overuse it or if the foam turns to liquid depending on the room temperature. It could possibly last for a month. Next, I use a rubber glove because unlike the liquid minoxidil, the foam does not have a dropper, so we have to use our hands. This is done because I want it fully absorbed on my face rather than it absorbing on hands, thus less chances having hair on your hands. I use two fingers to grab the foam and dab it on the area where I want to apply it. When I apply the foam on the area, the foam evaporates because the temperature on the skin thus turns it into liquid. Dab or rub on the area. Last thing I do is I rub around the face. No need to wait until it dries. It will dry in less than 10 minutes. On a side note, you will smell the alcohol when you apply on the mustache area and will feel a burn around some areas especially near the month. This is all normal.Member 4

Half a cap was plenty. I usually even had enough to go back and add more to certain areas. Don't keep it somewhere warm. Keeping it somewhere room temperature is fine. Just fill the cap up half way, use one finger to apply it and rub it in. Obviously it helps if you keep your beard trimmed down short. It's also a good idea to use gloves so you get the most you can on your face instead of getting it absorbed into your fingers. Your bare hands can be a little warm which will often dissolve some of the foam before you even get it on your face.Member 5

Whether foam or liquid, it should stay on for 4 hours. Tests have shown 50% is absorbed in the first hour, and 75% by hour four.

You should try to keep it on a minimum of an hour, or the application will be wasted. Bear in mind that this study was conducted on the scalp, which is less absorbent than the face. However, it is the most accurate information we have, so it should be treated as the standard amount of time.

Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2395092

Summary: Four hours. Then rinse or wash if you'd like and apply a moisturizer if need be. You can leave it on for longer than four hours.

We use the minoxidil treatment until the new hair that we have gained have matured into terminal hair. If you cease the minoxidil treatment before the vellus hair have been replaced with coarse, mature hair, then that hair may fall out as if you never had them.

Terminal hair, on the other hand, are permanent. Even without the continued use of minoxidil, your new beard will continue to grow like any other beard. You should plan on using minoxidil for anywhere from six months to two years, minimum.

Three months is not enough for the vast majority of guys. If this is the case for someone, they are an exception and quite lucky.

Some people find that they need more time than one year for the vellus hair to be replaced with terminal. Every person is different, and there is no way for us to guess how long your body will need for all your new facial hair to mature. People using for less than 6 months often report losing their gains.

Summary: As long as it takes for the hair to mature. This is generally between one and two years, with six months being a fantastic, lucky individual. Assume you are not fantastically lucky, and have patience.

According to Rogaine, a clinical trial has shown some people may see results as early as 8 weeks (based on the scalp, of course). They go on to point out that it can take up to 16 weeks to see results. Just bear in mind, results will vary from person to person, so you should be patient.

As a rough interpretation, if you see anything before 8 weeks, you are on the upper end of the responsive scale. Anything longer than 16 weeks with zero gains may indicate you are what many call a “slow gainer,” but people can still see improvement past this point.

For perspective: 16 weeks = 3 months, 3 weeks.

As previously expressed, there is no real catch-all time frame for seeing vellus, or for hair maturation. Furthermore, this is based on the scalp and there are other factors that may play a part, but this is the best we can do to benchmark gains.

The majority of us using minoxidil for our beards report seeing the biggest improvements happening between months 2-3 and beyond. Patience is the key. Continued treatment brings continued new growth. You will not see all of your potential the moment you start seeing vellus sprout; more will come even months later.

Some report that growth seems to stall for a couple weeks to a month, and then proceed to burst out with new growth. It takes at least 90 - 112 days to get an idea of whether the product will work at all for an individual.

Summary: Give it a good 2-3 months before getting worried you're not seeing anything.

Minoxidil is mixed with an alcohol carrier and propylene gylcol, which are what is drying your face out. First, try to make it to four hours of having the application on, then wash or rinse your face. Afterward, feel free to apply a moisturizer.

The reason you want to apply your moisturizer after washing or rinsing your face is because you want it clean and flake-free. Water will help with the absorption of the oils contained in your moisturizing products.

If you cannot get past dryness, you may want to opt for foam. Very few individuals get dry face from foam minoxidil, and most do not need to moisturize whatsoever after the four hours have elapsed.

Summary: Rinse your face well after the application time has elapsed, then apply your moisturizer. Switch to foam if it gets to be too bad with liquid.

Generally speaking, it is not recommended. While rare and not necessarily documented, there may be rare cases of photosensitivity of the skin due to the minox.

If you have to go out into the sun, it is highly recommended to block the direct sunlight from hitting your face.

If you absolutely must, apply sunblock carefully to your face after the minoxidil has had some time to dry. It's not recommended, but it's better to be safe. If you work outside in the direct sunlight all day, consider only applying once per day, in the evening. Feel free to leave it on all night and moisturize in the morning.

It is vellus hair. Vellus hair is short, fine and soft hair that grows over most parts of the body, usually less than 2mm in length. Fully developed (terminal) hair is generally longer, coarser, thicker, and darker. For more information about hair development, see hair follicle.

Vellus do not become terminal; they must shed and be replaced with a terminal hair and pigmentation is only one criteria. Associating arbitrary timescales to the journey is pointless — it takes as long as it takes. Having a healthy, active lifestyle to ensure good hormone levels is recommended.

This is normal. The new hair is pushing out the old. Even if it occurs on your head, it will pass. This is part of the process and must happen. For more information, see shedding.

Many use Kirkland Signature as it is the cheapest, but any brand containing 5% minoxidil is fine. More than 5% may be a health issue, and less seems to yield less results. There is some efficacy to 10% being useful for those that are not responding well to minoxidil, but it needs to be a mixture without DHT blockers.

Click here to jump down to a full list of minoxidil brands.

Liquid is cheaper and takes about 1 hour to dry once applied. The foam tends to be twice the price (depending on location), but dries in about 15 minutes or less. Either is fine for getting beard gains. Foam will have your skin considerably less dry and itchy, however.

If you ask users, they tend to contradict each other. Liquid is known to be absorbed easier due to its propylene glycol content, but foam has been shown to work just as well. Your mileage may vary.

It is recommended that after the hair is terminal, which can take anywhere from six months to two years, you begin to taper off. It's not necessary, and plenty of people just stop suddenly with no loss of gains, but it doesn't hurt. In a way, people tend to start tapering off without realizing it, as we get less motivated the closer we are to our end point.

There's no standard way of tapering, simply do as you wish and start applying less weekly once you know you're ready to end the journey.

From what we've seen, most people do keep their growth. What people seem to lose is vellus hair that did not transition into terminal while on minoxidil. Keep using minoxidil until the hair is terminal, and your gains will stay. Don't quit too early, or you may find yourself starting the journey back up in a few months.

Your facial hair will grow like any other guy's so long as you've gotten it to the terminal stage. It should really not be referred to as a “minoxidil beard,” as that creates misconceptions. Cemmos

While it may be okay to use certain medications while on minoxidil, there are certain drugs that may interact negatively with topical minoxidil.

Below is a link to a list of different medications and how they interact with topical minoxidil. While this list can be helpful if used as a guide, we recommend that you always ask your doctor first before using minoxidil if you're on specific medications.

Drug Interactions (Drugs.com)

Shaving with a smooth face or trimming to a short length makes treatment easiest and least wasteful of the minoxidil. There is no correlation with shaving and growth results.

Remember that balding men are able to keep progress going on their scalps even with all of the hair there. These people also have genetics working against them, as balding is an ongoing, lifelong process.

Shaving can help exfoliate the skin by a process known as derma-planing. It's simply straight-edged blade to remove excess dead skin cells. While it can help with exfoliation, shaving can also irritate the skin and can lead to ingrown hairs which can (in rare cases if left untreated) lead to infection.

There are other methods of exfoliation that can be more effective and are less risky. Using a boar bristle brush, or even a toothbrush or damp cotton rag, can be an effective method of exfoliation that doesn't run the risk of ingrown hair, and doesn't require you to shave off your beard.

Trimming will give you the psychological aspect of still being able to grow your beard without impeding application or absorption to any meaningful degree. Since vellus hair grow slower than terminal, shaving may make you feel that you have regressed (you haven't it just takes longer for vellus to grow back!)

NOTE: SHAVING WILL NOT “KILL YOUR GAINS” Adam

Summary: Trim or shave, it's completely preference. Neither of them will help or hinder your gains, but foregoing the shave may give a psychological edge to your journey.

Many of us recommend keeping it “basik.” Don't worry about the supplementation aspect of things. Rather, focus on minoxidil. If you wish to supplement, it's totally fine. But don't assume supplementation will drastically up your gains.

You should certainly try to get good nutrients from your diet, but if you believe you may have gaps in nutrition, take a multivitamin.

While many people may recommend vitamins like biotin or diatomaceous earth, they will do nothing to improve your facial hair situation. On the other hand, if you're deficient in vitamins, those may very well be of great help to you.

Sleep and low stress are big contributors to happy, healthy hair.

Summary: You don't really need to supplement, but a multivitamin wouldn't hurt. A healthy lifestyle and good, restful sleep are key, however.

A common side effect of minoxidil, especially the liquid minoxidil, is dry, flaky skin. If this happens to you, be sure to moisturize after you've rinsed or washed the minoxidil out, as stated in a section above.

Once you wash off the minoxidil (foam or liquid) after 4 hours from applying it, many members apply a moisturizer to their skin to help create optimal conditions for new hair growth.

As often as you need to. They do not help with growth simply by applying them, so don't expect beard oils or lotions to do that. But having a healthy face is always good, and if your face is dry and flaky, make sure you remedy it.

As long or short as you want. Simply leave them in. If you are using the dermaroller, it would be beneficial to apply your moisturizer immediately after rolling.

When choosing a multi-ingredient moisturizer such as beard oil, beard balm, or other moisturizer, you'll find that many products on the market from beard companies contain DHT blockers. DHT is the androgen hormone that is responsible for both the growth and development of facial hair. While these products containing DHT inhibitors will probably not effect vellus gains and may not completely stop your facial hair from developing, it is possible that they could slow your progress.

While it is true that DHT is one of the leading causes of hair loss. This is only true for men who are predisposed to male pattern baldness. Men suffering from MPB are sensitive to even normal levels of DHT⁴⁾. This is why most hair restoration products contain DHT blockers.

Increasing your DHT levels will not cause you to go bald unless you are already predisposed to losing your hair from MPB. In which case, you're going to lose your hair eventually anyway.

Here is an article from Beard Profile explaining why you should stay away or be careful with most beard products on the market: PSA - Stay Away From Most Beard Oils

CAUTION: If you decide to use a derma roller, please be advised that it can increase the side effects of minoxidil if used incorrectly.

A dermaroller is a product that re-molds the skin by creating thousands of microscopic channels through the skin, increasing the formation of new tissue by activating the body's wound-healing mechanism.

Dermarolling jump starts the processes of collagen synthesis, something minoxidil inhibits (in vitro). Collagen is extremely vital to skin strength, thickness, and elasticity.

Dermarolling also stimulates your follicles, bringing more nutrients and blood to the area than minoxidil alone.

Here is some more information on derma rolling: Derma Rolling Your Face to Stimulate Beard Growth

Here is a statistically significant clinical study showing that dermarolling + minox outperformed minoxidil by itself. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746236/

• 0.2 or 0.25 mm long needles can be used every second day on the same skin area.*
• 0.5 mm long needles can be used once or twice per week on the same skin area. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• 1 mm can be used every two - four weeks on the same skin area.

Highlighted = recommended size Derma rollers with a shorter length than 0.5mm will not be large enough to produce collagen*

Shaving or trimming low is recommended because the needles need to be able to puncture the skin for dermarolling to work. If you have long growth and roll over it, you will only be damaging and pulling hair. Trimming is safer and carries less risk of causing irritation to the skin and hair follicles as opposed to shaving.

Run it under hot water to get any dead skin/other materials off, then leave in an alcohol bath for about a minute. Let it completely dry before using. You can use any antiseptic; isopropyl alcohol is the cheapest and will get the job done.

While it's true that dermarolling will increase absorption of minoxidil, that is not the reason we do it, and it is an incredibly irresponsible thing to do. There is a common misconception that people tend to have with dermarolling, where they think that the purpose of it is to increase absorption of minoxidil. This is not the case. As stated above, we dermaroll to induce collagen synthesis, NOT to increase absorption.

Not only will applying minoxidil directly after microneedling negate the purpose of doing it, you're also putting yourself in a position where side effects may become prominent.

We derma roll to increase collagen production only. Increased absorption is a side effect, not our goal. This may result in an increase in side effects such as headaches, dizziness, increased heart rate, heart palpitations, chest pain, etc.

If you are going to derma roll, please wait AT LEAST 24 hours before applying minox.

This will assure that your skin has had a little time to close some of the micro-punctures created by the needling. By inducing more collagen production, we enable better growth of new hair we are stimulating with the help of the minoxidil. Applying minoxidil into your open wounds created by derma rolling negates the collagen production that you are desiring to induce.

That being said: while it is definitely not a good idea to apply minoxidil directly after derma rolling, it can be greatly beneficial to apply a good (non-DHT blocking) beard oil or lotion to your face after derma rolling. You can either apply right away, or give it some time and apply sometime after rolling, at your convenience.

Say you're derma rolling 2 days a week with a 0.5mm, then follow this schedule:

Here is some more info on why we are utilizing the derma roller (must be part of TMBS on Facebook to see):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheMinoxBeardSpot/permalink/1531727133791384/⠀

The following is a list of countries and the brand of minoxidil sold in them.

• Minoxidil Anagen 5% - $150arg
• Ylox - $190

• Alopexy 2%/5% liquid - 43€

Available in local drug stores or departmental stores, or online at Backpack. The best prices are found in local drug stores or departmental stores, and are easier to locate and obtain than trying to get it delivered to you by ordering online.

If one wants to purchase Kirkland 5% minoxidil, various Facebook based online shops will sell.

Some brands include:

• Trugain 5% Ziska Pharmaceutical LTD Price range: BDT 350-400 (approx). Most people use Trugain because it is the cheapest. Trugain comes with both a spray nozzle and a dropper. As a result, it has more convenient options to apply to the face.
• Splendora5%, by Square Pharma available in local stores and comes only with spray nozzle: http://www.squarepharma.com.bd/products-details.php?pid=576
• Xenogrow 5%, by Incepta Pharma, available in local stores: http://www.inceptapharma.com/view-product.php?pid=469

• TRICOXANE - farmacias Bolivia - 170 bs.

• Aloxidil 5% - R$140
• Kirkland - Biovea
• Farmácia de manipulação - ~50BRL

• Rogaine - $49.99

• Se puede conseguir en otras farmacias, aparece por minoxidil pero con distintos nombres de marca comercial.
• Anagencassará Minoxidi Loción Capilar 5% 100mL, Farmacias Ahumada, Hecho en Argentina (26 dólares o $17.000 pesos chilenos apróximadamente)

• “Gradska ljekarna Zagreb“ (Zagreb City Pharmacy): 200kn (around 27€)

• Kirkland minoxidil - one bottle 250CZK / 10 dollars

• Pilogan - $24
• Minoxidil 2% MK.- 24.000 pesos

• Performa Extra Strength 5 - 52pounds

• Foligan P5 5% - €28.3 - Biovea

• Alopexy 2%/5% liquid - €43

• Mintop Forte 5% - Rs500/600
• Tugain

• Hairgrow 5% minox 1 month supply for $10

• Folcress - $400 ~ $520
• Sistema GB - mx$354

• Foligain P5: €28,30
• Foligain N5: €30,95

• Recrea forte 5% - vitusapotek - $41.90

• Kenacin 3%

• Kirkland s/. 100 o $30

• Regroe - 1100/1500php (WARNING: 6% has DHT blockers. AVOID)
• Isac 5% - P495

• Loxon 2%/5% - 27PLN/49PLN
• Piloxidil 2% - 23PLN

• Bailleul 5% liquid - $25

• Avogain - 170 Saudi riyals

• Minoxidil viñas - 22Euro
• Lacovin

• Alopexy 2%/5% liquid - 56CHF

Tunisia has three available products which can only be purchased in pharmacies (not available with online shopping):

• Minostyl 5% (very rare local brand and not really popular) :90mL bottle for $10
• the French brand Alopexy : 60mL for $10
• 5% Pharmagreb $10 for 120ML, a very good deal

• Regaine - £50

• Kirkland - Costco - $17.89
• Equate - Walmart - $18.76
• CVS Pharmacy - CVS Pharmacy
• Up & Up - Target
• Rogaine Foam - Walmart - $24.24
• Rogaine Foam - Target - $27.19
• Rogaine Foam - CVS - $32.99
• Rogaine Foam - Walgreens - $31.99

Most US drugstores sell minoxidil; drugstores frequently offer the product at a discount price as part of their sales promotions. Amazon and eBay are also sources to find minoxidil.

• Zitoxil -1915 BsF - Farmatodo y Locatel