How Effective Is Rogaine?
While the Food and Drug Administration recognizes that Rogaine works, it is well known that it doesn’t work for everyone, and that it works well only for a few people. The older version of Rogaine was effective in regrowing hair on balding head to a significant degree for only about 40 percent of the people who used it. So far statistics for the new more potent version of Rogaine have indicated that these numbers are only slightly improved. For example, in a recent study conducted by Upjohn 40 percent of users participating in the study displayed moderate to dense gains, while 22 percent achieved minimal regrowth.
Many experts say that in reality only ten percent of people who try Rogaine see the benefits of reversal of their balding. This means that the vast majority of people who try Rogaine either show no hair regrowth as a result of using it or show so little regrowth that it makes no visible difference to their bald appearance. In addition, Rogaine seems only to be able to work on hair that is lost on the upper vortex of the scalp and not on the hairline. For balding at the hairline Rogaine can do very little.
Also, it is notable that hair regrown due to the application of Rogaine needs its continuous application to survive. In other words, any hair regrown by using Rogaine will fall out if you stop using it! This means that even if you are one of the lucky minority for whom Rogaine does regrow substantial amounts of hair, you will need to continuously use it for the rest of your life to enjoy its benefits. If you don’t want your regrown hair to fall out you will have to pay Rogaine’s hefty cost for the rest of your life.
Although Rogaine is only partially effective in reversing balding, it is worth noting that it seems to be more effective in preventing further hair loss. Most experts agree that Rogaine has a significant stabilizing effect on balding. For people whose hair is thinning Rogaine seems to be able to slow down if not stop further hair loss. This good news is however tempered by the fact that any hair you save by using Rogaine will fall out as soon as you stop using it. Again, if you rely upon Rogaine to save your thinning hair, then you will be entirely dependent on it for the rest of your life.
The effectiveness of Rogaine is slightly different for the sexes. Upjohn’s statistics regarding the earlier version of Rogaine, claimed that 19 percent of female users of Rogaine experience moderate regrowth of their lost hair and that another forty percent experienced minimal regrowth. In the case of men, it was claimed that 26 percent report moderate regrowth and that another 33 percent experience minimal regrowth. Moderate regrowth seems to be more common for men than for women, and minimal regrowth seems to be more common for women than for men. New tests are being conducted with stronger solutions of Rogaine to determine its effect on both men and women. Nevertheless, many medical doctors are already recommending the stronger five percent solution of Rogaine for both sexes.