Learn all you need to know about oral minoxidil tablets for hair loss including how it works and if it works as well as topical formulations.
Topical Minoxidil is a common go-to treatment for men and women experiencing hair loss issues.
Historically, if you want to use Minoxidil for hair loss, you use the over-the-counter topical form, and the prescription oral form is normally only used as a blood pressure treatment.
However, recently, there has been an influx of patients wondering if the oral of this medication, minoxidil tablets, can be an equally viable hair loss treatment option.
There is a lot to break down here including if oral Minoxidil is just as good for hair loss as topical, why someone would want to try a tablet over a liquid option, who shouldn’t use oral Minoxidil, what strengths are normally used, and any potential side effects.
Read on below to get the answers to some of these common oral minoxidil questions, and more.
Oral Minoxidil for hair loss is the prescription Minoxidil tablet used off-label in order to help treat a hair loss situation.
The whole situation behind how Minoxidil works to help improve hair growth is not fully understood yet, but we do know a few things.
Minoxidil was originally used as an oral medication for high blood pressure. But, during the clinical trials, researchers noticed a (positive for most) side effect -- participants noticed increased hair growth. This eventually led to the development of an FDA-approval for topical Minoxidil for hair growth, and the release of medications like Rogaine.
Minoxidil is thought to help with hair growth improvements by bringing increased blood flow to the scalp through the improved dilation of the vessels in the body. This blood flow boost carries with it more oxygen, nutrients, and generally increased healthy hair growth.
Minoxidil may also play a positive role in the hair cycle, lengthening the growth phase, and shortening the “resting” phase.
Currently, only topical Minoxidil is FDA-approved for use in hair loss. And, Minoxidil tablets are only FDA-approved for high blood pressure treatment.
However, a doctor can review your information, weigh the risks vs benefits, and prescribe oral Minoxidil tablets off-label for hair loss treatment usage.
There are a few different reasons why a person may want to try oral Minoxidil for hair loss over the topical Minoxidil route.
Some people are bad at remembering to apply a medication to their scalp twice daily, and would rather treat their hair loss by taking a tablet once a day.
Additionally, topical formulations can make the hair look greasy when applied, or require a more frequent hair washing schedule than one would like. And, sometimes, people get irritation on the scalp from using topical Minoxidil, and an oral medication would obviously alleviate that.
Finally, some people do not have a very good response from topical Minoxidil, because they have a lack of sulfotransferase enzymes in the scalp that would normally activate the Minoxidil chemical. An oral formulation would be processed through the liver, which is normally able to easily handle this enzymatic reaction to activate the Minoxidil.
There are way more studies done on the FDA-approved topical route for Minoxidil for hair loss, as compared to the oral route. So, it is hard to make a call right now as to which one might be better.
But, some studies show that oral Minoxidil may be just as good as topical Minoxidil in androgenetic alopecia (male and female patterned hair loss) situations.
One study looked into women with female pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia), and reported that the hair improvements of taking a 1mg oral dose of Minoxidil daily did not differ from the improvements of applying a 5% Minoxidil solution daily. So, the hair loss improvements may end up being about the same. However, the side effects noted here did differ. Some topical Minoxidil users reported scalp itching (19%), while the oral Minoxidil group reported more increased face and body hair growth (27% oral group vs 4% topical group), swelling of the legs (4%), and the resting heart rate increased about 6.5% on average in the oral Minoxidil group. It is also worth noting that the excess body hair growth was well tolerated, and easily controlled by waxing for most women seeing this effect.
Both men and women could potentially use oral Minoxidil. There are no gender-specific limitations when it comes to this medication, whether it is oral or topical.
However, women may be more wary of and sensitive to the increased face and body hair that may occur with oral Minoxidil treatment.
Some people should not use or be extra careful when using oral Minoxidil.
The package insert for oral Minoxidil used for high blood pressure comes with a black box warning of potentially serious heart adverse effects including cardiac effusion, tamponade, and angina (chest pain). In animal models, myocardial lesions and other cardiac adverse events were noted.
While these effects are noted on the higher doses of oral Minoxidil that someone would use for high blood pressure (much lower doses of Minoxidil are used for hair loss treatment off-label), it is still important to pay attention to, especially in patients currently dealing with or susceptible to heart issues.
Oral Minoxidil may also cause salt and water retention, swelling, kidney issues, and declines in blood pressure. Minoxidil is contraindicated in people with pheochromocytoma.
If Minoxidil is going to be used for hair loss, it is generally used in much lower doses than what is used for high blood pressure, so these risks and effects may be less prominent. But, this emphasizes the importance of making sure that your doctor is aware of all of your other conditions and medications that you are currently dealing with. Your doctor will review your information and make a decision about if oral Minoxidil for hair loss is safe and appropriate for you.
Since oral Minoxidil is not currently FDA-approved for use in hair loss, there is not a lot of guidance as to which strengths are best for hair loss. However, if used, it is generally used in significantly lower strengths than what you see for high blood pressure treatment.
Oral Minoxidil strengths for high blood pressure treatment may start at around 5mg, but the usual effective dosage range is commonly between 10mg - 40mg daily.
For off-label oral Minoxidil used for hair loss treatment, you usually see strengths ranging from 0.25mg - 5mg daily to twice daily. As you can see, this is a big difference in strengths according to the usage.
If you are prescribed oral Minoxidil off-label for use in hair loss, your doctor will weigh many factors and review your information to choose an appropriate strength for you. Never choose or change any medication dosage on your own without consulting with your doctor first.
The cost savings between these two Minoxidil routes may also be part of the draw here.
Even though oral Minoxidil is prescription-only and topical Minoxidil can be found easily over-the-counter. The oral version is more likely to be less expensive.
Depending on your pharmacy and any insurance coverage you might have, you may be able to purchase a month's supply of oral Minoxidil for under $10, whereas you may find yourself shelling out somewhere between $10-$30 a month for the generic OTC version of topical Minoxidil from the drug store.
Here at Strut Health, we offer topical Minoxidil formulations combined with other prescription medications, as well as our new offering, oral Minoxidil tablets for men or women.
To get started, simply add the hair loss treatment you are considering to your cart, complete a free online questionnaire-based doctor’s consultation, and checkout. Our U.S. doctors will review your information and make sure the treatment is appropriate for you. Then a U.S. compounding pharmacy will put your medication together and ship it to your door with our free shipping.
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