Oral Minoxidil, Reddit Tressless

Reddit Oral Minoxidil Hair Growth Success Stories

52 Comments

I regularly update my old popular post on oral Minoxidil for hair loss. Almost every week there are interesting new stories and testimonials on low-dose oral Minoxidil (LDOM) growing hair in people. And the news media has become extremely interested in this subject.

However, in that post, I purposely neglected including links to Reddit before and after hair growth transformation stories. There are just too many to count. I have now made this post for that specific purpose.

The Most Efficacious Hair Loss Drugs Ranked

I feel like there are even more hair growth success stories in regards to oral Minoxidil than the gold standard oral Dutasteride (Avodart). Make sure to go through the numerous comments in my post on oral Dutasteride for hair loss reviews.

Note that Dutasteride is only officially approved to treat hair loss in Japan and South Korea. In the rest of the world, this enlarged prostate medication is used off-label to treat androgenic alopecia (male pattern hair loss).

Countering my increasingly pro oral Minoxidil bias, a widely cited 2021 systemic review of 23 studies via meta-analysis found the following efficacy ranking for the main hair loss medications:

  1. 0.5 mg/d of oral dutasteride.
  2. 5 mg/d of oral finasteride.
  3. 5 mg/d of oral minoxidil.
  4. 1 mg/d of oral finasteride.
  5. 5% topical minoxidil.’
  6. 2% topical minoxidil.
  7. 0.25 mg/d of oral minoxidil.

I wish this analysis had also tried to include extra strength Minoxidil 10% or 15%. In any case, I would be curious to see a similar study that covers the years 2022 and 2023. Oral Minoxidil for hair loss only became popular in the US and Europe over the past two years. In Thailand (and, to a lesser extent, Australia), this popularity came much earlier.

Reddit Oral Minoxidil Hair Growth Stories

On Reddit Tressless, there are daily success stories of people regrowing hair while on oral Minoxidil. In most cases, people are taking 2.5 mg per day (like myself), though many take 5 mg per day or even more. Please talk to your doctor if you ever take this drug, especially if you have any pre-existing heart conditions.

Over the past year, I collected many of these success story links. Below is a list of some of the most inspiring transformations that oftentimes include extraordinary before and after photos. Make sure to swipe through all the images in each link, and not just see the first one.

In many cases, people were taking Finasteride or Dutasteride for a while too, but adding oral Minoxidil into the mix truly made the biggest difference. In some cases, a person got on two drugs around the same time, but I still counted the result as supportive of oral Minoxidil.

You can click on each of the images below and go through the original poster’s responses to comments and questions. This will give you a decent idea on what drug seemed to make the biggest impact on the hair regrowth.

Note that all of these people are likely legitimate. In many cases, I checked out their past posting history. Moreover, there is absolutely no financial benefit in someone promoting oral Minoxidil. If you use GoodRx in the US and select the generic option, low-dose oral Minoxidil will cost you less than $10 per month. Even cheaper than topical Minoxidil foam. I just do not see any financial incentive for people to push this medication over other alternatives.

If any of the below people post future updates, please feel free to add the relevant link in the comments to this post. Or, for that matter, if you see any new Reddit testimonial that blows your mind, feel free to share. Especially if the person is only taking low-dose oral Minoxidil and nothing else.

8 mos: oral (Du, Min), topical (Min, Ru, Ketoconazole), microneedling. NW7 for 7 years
byu/ClayPot357 intressless

3 Month Progress – Fin & Oral Min
byu/tresslessthr0waway intressless

Dut (2years) / RU58841 (5 months) / Oral Min (1 year)
byu/nuKaross intressless

Update on hair, will be posting monthly! Nov 8 – Jan 14
byu/Hairevrywherebuthead intressless

4 Months Progress (1mg Fin, 5mg Oral Min & Nizoral 2x/week)
byu/djbaroud intressless

2 Years On Oral Min and Oral Fin
byu/levinewill intressless

Oral Fin/Min 6 month before and after
byu/minicoopj intressless

Oral min 2.5mg closing in on 3 months
byu/_the_orange_box_ intressless

It works. About a 1 year transformation.
byu/HarryBalsagna_ intressless

6 months update: Dut 3x/week / oral min / dut+prp mesotherapy
byu/salsasanluis intressless

[M30] 15 months progress on Oral Dutasteride and Sublingual Minoxidil
byu/Throwaway_no_hair intressless

[24M] – 70 days progress on > daily oral fin (1mg) + daily topical and oral min (1.5mg)
byu/No-Bodybuilder4389 intressless

My progress story for my hair loss treatment
byu/sohaibkkhan intressless

Oral minoxidil works wonders!!!
byu/Affectionate-Fill319 intressless

~6 months of chemicals and needles
byu/Competitive_Help_513 intressless

CurrentBody, LED, LLLT, Low Level Laser Therapy

CurrentBody LED Hair Regrowth Device

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I have covered a number of popular laser hair growth devices on this site in the past. Including the LaserComb and Theradome.

While the vast majority of these devices make use of laser diode light, a new FDA-cleared product called CurrentBody LED hair regrowth device uses only light-emitting diode (LED) light.

LLLT and Hair Growth

In general, readers are skeptical about the hair growth benefits of wave based treatments such as low level light therapy (LLLT) and sound therapy for hair loss.

However, LLLT continues to be covered at every single major hair loss conference. Moreover, new studies keep coming out that tout the benefits of light energy and photobiomodulation (PBM) on scalp hair growth and quality. Including a 2021 one from L’Oreal that found LLLT to downregulate scalp inflammatory biomarkers in men with androgenetic alopecia.

Among the things that laser light can do for scalp health and hair quality include:

  • Stimulate the mitochondria via photon absorption.
  • Reduce inflammation and improve circulation.
  • Increase synthesis and production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
  • Increase nitric oxide (NO) synthesis.
  • Impact gene expression in a number of ways.

CurrentBody LED Hair Regrowth Device

The CurrentBody LED hair regrowth helmet device makes use of 120 red LED bulbs that deliver full scalp coverage. The average power of 18 J/cm² compared to an industry average of 6 J/cm² makes this device three times stronger than other devices on the market. It can be used by both men and women suffering from hair loss.

Note that LED diodes are nowadays much stronger than in the past when it comes to wattage output. They can even power car headlights. Historically, laser diodes were always preferred to LED diodes when it comes to LLLT devices. However, this is no longer true due to technological advancements in LED technology. Laser phototherapy (LPT) devices only use laser diodes.

The wavelength of the red light from this device is 640 nm. See my past post on laser therapy for hair loss and wavelength. Red light wavelength ranges from 400 nm to 700 nm.

The device comes in two sizes:

  1. Small/Medium (Head Measurements: 54cm – 58.7cm).
  2. Medium/Large (Head Measurements: 59.7cm – 63.5cm).

It is charged via a USB cord (but no mains plug is provided). You need to use the device for 10 minutes per day for 16 weeks for visible results. The device won “Best New Product” in the “Tools” category for the Marie Claire 2023 Hair Awards. It was also featured on the UK show “This Morning” as one of Nadine Baggott’s top products to beat hair loss.

The company sent me the below before and after image that shows a very good responder to this treatment. Note that this man is also using topical Minoxidil.

CurrentBody LED Hair Growth
CurrentBody LED device hair regrowth results. Before and after.

My Experiences with CurrentBody’s LED Device

I started using the CurrentBody LED hair regrowth device two days ago. I have never used any other laser device in my life. It was extremely easy to use the helmetlike machine right out of the box. It is also relatively lightweight when considering the large quantity of LEDs inside. Note that the device should never be used on wet hair per the user manual instructions.

After my first 10-minute treatment session, I got a slight burning smell, but I did not see any smoke or melted plastic anywhere! After my second treatment, I got a milder burning smell, but it could also be from my shirt as I had been to a bar earlier. No obvious difference in hair texture in just two days of use.

CurrentBody LED Hair
My CurrentBody LED hair growth device on its stand.

The 120 LED lights make this product look very futuristic. I used it for 10 minutes and it then shut itself off automatically based on an in-built timer.

Due to the short duration of treatment, I did not try to connect the headphones with my phone via bluetooth. That in-built option is available in case you want to listen to any music or podcasts during the 10 minutes of daily treatment.

I have not yet needed to recharge the device, but will probably try charging it via my computer USB port. If that does not work or is too slow, I will recharge via using a USB adaptor connected to an electric wall outlet.

Do note that I am also currently using 0.5 mg Dutasteride twice a week and 2.5 mg oral Minoxidil once per day for my hair loss. The oral Minoxidil seems to be working quite well and I only started using it in November 2022. I have been using the Dutasteride for a few years. So my results with the laser device could have some bias when I update this post in the future.