Rogaine Once or Twice per day?

Rogaine (chemical name Minoxidil) is one of only two officially approved hair loss treatments in the US and EU. There are a number of mechanisms via how Minoxidil works to grow hair. Nowadays, most people use Rogaine 5% Minoxidil Foam rather than topical Minoxidil. Some people prefer to use high-strength Minoxidil.

Rogaine (Minoxidil) Foam.The instructions on the packaging tell male users to apply Rogaine foam twice per day. However, many people choose to apply it just once per day instead.

There is some evidence that once a day use of Rogaine (Minoxidil 2% or 5%) is almost as effective as using it twice per day. The half-life of topical Rogaine is 22 hours.

Please closely read all the options in the below poll before voting. You can only vote once, and cannot edit your vote.

Poll: Rogaine Once or Twice per Day?

Due to the poll slowing down this site, I ended it early. Final results are shown below based on a total of 480 votes:

Rogaine (Minoxidil) usage frequency results.

33 thoughts on “Rogaine Once or Twice per day?”

    1. Photos looks great. Reminds me that about 5 years ago I visited a dermatologist and asked him if he performed PRP injections and he told me that he wasn’t since he had seen result photos and wasn’t impressed but he does dutasteride injections since he had seen positive results with that. In the end I went for PRP with another doctor and was disappointed with the non-results in my case. Now makes me think maybe the first doc was right.

    2. Also notice – both patients in photos were also concurrently treated with minoxidil 11% + finasteride cream (in addition to the dutasteride injections). And we all know that minox works at least for a while.

  1. I do it once per day as I hate having any of the residue in my hair when I’m out plus the extra time to wait for my hair to try after I shower just adds to my morning routine.

  2. Minoxidil twice 5 mg oral per day worked well for me (maintenance) even without Finasteride yet has a vasodilative effect on a blood vessel close to my left eardrum.. So you hear your heartbeat all the time.. extremely unpleasant side effect. Which is why I dropped and countered it by vasoconstrictive effect of Rutin or Quercetin, both work for hair (to a lesser extent) ironically. I plan to combine 1x 5 mg oral Minoxidil and 500 mg Quercetin in autumn and see how it goes.

    1. One Punch, do you have a source for the oral minoxidil w/o a prescription? I’ve been taking 100 mg/week for years without issue but my online source has been taken away. Thanks

      1. I’ve been using one pump (~0.1 ml – measure single pump volume and recalculate if necessary) of minoxidil solution spray (50 mg/ml – no foam!) below the tongue which equals 5 mg.

        Check for ingredients, the less the better. It should contain no more than minoxidil, ethanol or water.

        1. How to measure single pump volume:

          dry beaker glass or drinking glass
          syringe

          Count how many spray pumps (push through) it takes to soak 1 milliliter solution into the syringe. Divide 1 by the number of pumps and you get single pump volume.

        2. Minoxidil is barely water and ethanol soluble. The formula must contain either glycerol OR propylene glycol. I’m currently testing glycerol, water, minoxidil and dmso as oral spray formulation.

    2. You need to take a diuretic if you’re taking oral minoxidil (MXD) because it causes fluid retention.

      Admin, there’s a good systematic review about topical MXD that mostly described statistical significance in studies that used twice daily application. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019 Feb 1;18(2):155-160. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30794366

      Pubmed does have a few more recent double-blind RCTs that assess once vs BID MXD application in females.

      – I’m a pharmacologist

      1. Thanks for that hint, I’m consuming almost every natural diuretic like coffee, green and black tea, nigella sativa, parsley, etc. but will read into diuretic pharmaceuticals.

  3. I started losing my hair when I was 20, I always used minoxidil once a day “before going to bed” I wash my hair every morning. Now I am 47 years old and I still have hair when I should have already been completely bald at 25 … if you are young and you are losing your hair, do not waste time, minoxidil and finasteride are the only drugs that can stop or at least slow down the process , in most cases those “famous” side effects are just paranoia … Then if you can be a real champion try not to give a damn and shave it all away

    1. There is a video from a japanese guy on an interview with Dr. Tsuji. Basically, tsuji has done it and human experiments are being conducted as we speak. Results will be announced near the end of 2019. Commercialization will start in 2020, but there will be a hefty price in the beginning ( approx. 200k ). It will get affordable for the average joe after 10 years. There was no official confirmation, so take this into account at your own risk.

    1. If it costs $375,000, here me now, I will go to med school, train to become a surgeon, study with sensei Tsuji in the art of hair, and then offer my protection to the HLC community for a mere fraction—we’re talking 2-5K for a full head restoration job—just come to my office and when I hand you the exorbitant price sheet, tell me you’re having a hard time seeing it since your vision isn’t “2020” *wink* BOOM! Done! Buy a convertible with the money you save and feel that brand new hair swaying in the breeze!

      1. @Tocatta That’s a fun little paragraph :) Well written. Let’s actually hope that that video isn’t fake. Would be a letdown but let’s wait for late 2019 when the alledged announcement could be made. Cheers

    2. Egghead, what are your thoughts on that video? You think it’s real? Because if it is then balding will officially become a choice, at least for those who can afford it. Because everyone thought that human trials would start in 2020 but the video says that that’s not the case? (At least unofficially) Your thoughts?

  4. Minoxidil and almost all topical treatments are such a pain in the neck, that nobody can stand applying this s every single day. If a company marketed a comb that can dispense the treatment while combing my hair as regular, I would think about Minoxidil.

  5. i got fluid retention and dark eyebags from using it after a while. if no side effects then can be very effective for some

  6. I started using it at the first sign of crown thinning about 7 years ago. I’ve still lost ground, but I’m convinced I would have been in head shaving territory by now if not for minoxidil. (Obviously I can’t prove this, but I do notice a shed if I run out for a few days). My hair is thinner on top, but I can still get away with a side part and most people have no idea that I’m worried about going bald.

    2x per day, the vast majority of days. For the sake of a few hundred bucks more a year, I want to make sure I’m getting the max effect.

    1. If foam minoxidil is used then you can shower after 15 mins to he on the safe side.
      If topical minoxidil is used then I think it take around 90 mins to absorb before you can then wash your hair.

      Hope that helps

  7. Do NOT – I repeat do NOT! drink/swallow minoxidil spray/foam product that’s intended for the scalp.

    Beyond risk of being toxic (that’s not always noticeable for you even over time) There is something called “the cocktail-effect” that can drive cancer and others disease in combination with genes and food, other medications with topical minoxidil by mouth. Do not take medicine not intended to!

    Spray / Foam is ok on the scalp nothing more. Please don’t give unsolicited professional medical advice – without being a doctor.

    Regards
    Dr James

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