Quality of Life and Patient-Reported Side Effects of Low-Dose Oral Minoxidil in Treating Female Pattern Hair Loss

    February 2026 in “ PubMed ”
    Divija Sharma, Lillian Mo, Deep Patel, Austin J. Piontkowski, Candice Medina, Kelly Hawkins, Neda Shokrian, Benjamin Ungar
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    Studysummary This study found that among women with female pattern hair loss, low-dose oral minoxidil improved hair loss severity and quality of life scores despite 71.6% experiencing mild to moderate unwanted hair growth, which most patients did not consider a reason to discontinue treatment. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    A study involving 102 women with female pattern hair loss (FPHL) assessed the impact of low-dose oral minoxidil (LDOM) on quality of life and side effects. Over a median of 12 months, hair loss severity improved significantly, and quality of life scores increased from 67 to 39. Although 71.6% of participants experienced unwanted hair growth, primarily on the face, arms, and legs, 93.2% did not find it a reason to stop treatment, as most cases were mild or moderate. The study concludes that LDOM offers clinical and quality of life improvements, presenting a favorable treatment option for FPHL.
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