Minoxidil, the active ingredient of Rogaine, is the only FDA-approved hair regrowth treatment for topical use. It takes about 2-3 months to see hair regrowth results.
Benefits
✓ Prevents hair loss
✓ Stimulates hair regrowth
Our Pick
Rogaine Hair Regrowth TreatmentDoes Rogaine really work for regrowing lost hair? Rogaine is usually the most discussed treatment for preventing hair loss.
In this review, we will cover everything you need to know about using Rogaine for hair loss, including before and after results from actual users, a list of side effects, and reviews.
How does Rogaine work?
Rogaine’s main active ingredient is minoxidil and it’s the “minoxidil” that stimulates hair growth, not the product itself. Minoxidil is a vasodilator (widening blood vessels) and its widening effect helps reactivate dormant hair follicles and stimulate regrowth in theory.
Minoxidil is the only FDA-approved over-the-counter ingredient proven to regrow hair. It was the company, Rogaine, that first discovered the effectiveness of minoxidil for hair regrowth and the company patented and branded it as Rogaine.
To be clear, Rogaine is not the only brand that offers a minoxidil-based hair growth treatment. Others include Keranique and Nioxin.
Is Rogaine better than any other hair loss products?
If you are not a big fan of natural hair loss remedies, Rogaine (minoxidil) is the only FDA approved topical hair regrowth solution for both men and women. In other words, it is safe and effective to use as a topical hair loss treatment. There is also finasteride, but you need a prescription for it and not recommended for female hair loss.
Rogaine before and after pictures from people with diffused hair thinning
Here are some before and after pictures of people suffering from hair loss.
Other Rogaine for women reviews
There are currently 900+ Rogaine for women reviews on Amazon right now (make sure that the review you are reading shows “Amazon Verified Purchase”). After reading almost all of them, here are a few patterns I found:
PROS
- It takes about 3-4 bottles to see the result: Most people didn’t see any results on their first or second bottle. Some mention that after using it for 6 months or longer, they regained almost all of their hair back.
- It does regrow hair: The majority of users state this over and over – Rogaine helped regrow the lost hair, but it didn’t give more hair than what the users originally had before their hair thinning started.
- Vellus to Terminal hair strands: Came out as light colored fuzzy hair, but after a consistent use for 3 months or longer, those fuzzy hair strands turned into dark and normal looking hair shafts.
CONS (Rogaine side effects)
- It makes scalp feel dry: It seems common that Rogaine can make the scalp dry and itch tingling sensation.
- It makes hair flat and sticky: Some also complain that Rogaine makes their hair sticky after applying it to the scalp. One possible solution for this is to blow dry your hair after applying it in the morning to decrease the stickiness texture. Also, the hair dryer will help lift up your hair roots.
Which one is better? Rogaine foam or liquid?
Rogaine recently introduced a foam treatment for women. Here is a quick comparison table between the original formula (liquid) and the new addition (foam):
| ORIGINAL | NEW | |
| Type | Liquid | Foam |
| Minoxidil Amount | 2% | 5% |
| How Often | Twice daily | Once daily |
As you can see, the biggest difference is the amount of Minoxidil. Rogaine foam for women contains 5% minoxidil, thus apply only once-a-day. On the other hand, the original formula, liquid, contains 2% minoxidil and recommends twice a day application.
Does Rogaine foam work?
When it comes to scalp penetration, Rogaine liquid appears to give a better absorption according to Belgravia Centre. This may explain the fact that the foam treatment contains the higher dosage of minoxidil than the liquid version.
Rogaine Hair Regrowth Treatment
Final Takeaway
Similar to other hair products for thinning hair, Rogaine will not work for everyone (if this was the case, hair loss would be a thing of the past).
However, what makes Rogaine appealing compared to many other solutions out there is that Rogaine is proven to be the safest over the counter hair regrowth treatment backed by the FDA. A lot of users prove that it has helped them regrow their lost hair and are satisfied with the results.
Have you tried Rogaine? Share your experience below.
Thank you for this post. I have been reading lots of horror stories of women who used regaine and have aged 10 years because it caused their skin to be ruined… dark eye circles, sagging skin, enlarged pores etc. Do you have any thoughts?