November 2024 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Minoxidil rejuvenates hair follicles and reduces aging signs in male pattern baldness.
December 2024 in “European Journal of Dermatology” In this study, oral minoxidil treatment at 2.5 mg/day significantly increased nail growth speed by 50.7% and hair growth speed by 35.9% in healthy adult men, while also increasing heart rate but not affecting blood pressure.
July 2026 in “Mendeley Data” Higher doses of oral minoxidil can help hair growth but need careful monitoring for side effects.
Minoxidil can cause hair growth as a side effect.
In this network meta-analysis, the researchers reported that topical minoxidil 5% was the most effective off-label therapy for increasing hair density in men with androgenetic alopecia, while other treatments like melatonin and cetirizine showed potential benefits, highlighting a need for further comparative trials.
6 citations
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February 1996 in “Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics” Scale created to measure hair loss in men and women; MK-386 reduces acne; Niaspan treats dyslipidemia; minoxidil increases heart rate.
January 2025 in “Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB)” This study observed that topical application of maslinic acid stimulated hair growth in mice comparably to minoxidil, possibly through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and involving ciliary gene activity, highlighting increased levels of trichogenic gene expression and protein levels.
2 citations
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January 2022 in “Skin appendage disorders” This study found that for people with androgenetic alopecia, increasing the dosage of low-dose oral minoxidil is associated with improvements in hair diameter and density, but also raises the risk of hypertrichosis and cardiovascular adverse events.
March 2026 in “Journal of Dermatological Treatment” In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, topical 3% minoxidil was found to significantly improve facial hair density and diameter, quality of life, and patient satisfaction in transgender men on stable gender-affirming hormone therapy, with minimal adverse events compared to placebo.
January 2026 in “Frontiers in Pharmacology” This review reports that topical minoxidil remains the primary treatment for androgenetic alopecia, while oral and sublingual forms offer alternative options, each with varying efficacy and side effects.
March 2023 in “The Scientific Issues of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University Series pedagogy” In this study, new formulations of 2% minoxidil cream and a minoxidil shampoo with plant antioxidants showed significant hair growth-stimulating and follicle-protective effects in an experimental alopecia model.
February 2024 in “Current Drug Delivery” In this study, researchers developed an emulgel formulation containing minoxidil for hair growth, using chitosan and fucoidan as gelling agents, achieving controlled drug release with 99.7% released by the 12th hour.
6 citations
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January 2016 in “Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters” This study reported that certain minoxidil conjugates, specifically those with spermine, methylenedianiline, and diaminofluorene, were able to induce differentiation in HL-60 acute myeloid leukemia cells without toxicity at a concentration of 10 μM.
5 citations
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January 2018 in “Skin appendage disorders” Minoxidil base is preferred for hair loss treatment, but minoxidil sulfate may be an alternative for unresponsive patients.
7 citations
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January 1989 Minoxidil and 4-MA can help treat hair loss.
16 citations
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March 2009 in “Skin Pharmacology and Physiology” This study found that the penetration enhancer SEPA™ significantly increased both the speed and amount of hair growth from minoxidil in balding stumptail macaques compared to Rogaine®.
24 citations
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September 2019 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” This study found that using very-low-dose oral minoxidil (0.25 mg/d) led to improvement or stabilization of hair parameters in 40% to 60% of men with androgenetic alopecia, although results were not statistically significant for the overall group.
In this randomized, controlled trial, the researchers observed that sub-lingual minoxidil at doses of 1.35 mg and 4.05 mg, but not 0.45 mg, significantly increased hair fibre diameter in men with male androgenetic alopecia over 24 weeks, suggesting a dose-dependent reversal of follicle miniaturization.
March 2005 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Two lotions used day and night may be a good alternative to minoxidil for hair loss, with better cosmetic effects and tolerance.
April 2023 in “Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology” This study reported that optimized transfersomes and their gel form significantly improved transdermal delivery and hair growth promotion of minoxidil in C57BL/6 mice compared to commercial formulations.
July 2023 in “UNESP Institutional Repository (São Paulo State University)” This study found that oral minoxidil increased the growth rates of nails and hair in healthy adult men, with 2.5mg proving more effective for nails than 1mg, and both doses boosting hair growth, without significant adverse effects.
September 2022 in “Research Square (Research Square)” This study found that a specific gene mutation was identified in a family with monilethrix, and treatment with 5% minoxidil liniment improved hair quality in the proband without adverse events.
16 citations
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June 2021 in “Journal of Dermatological Treatment” This study reported that while topical minoxidil exhibits hair regrowth in androgenetic alopecia, oral minoxidil 5 mg/day was more effective than topical forms after six months, with low doses also potentially effective for women and other hair loss types.
This study found that minoxidil nanoliposomes led to faster hair growth and reduced scalp bacteria in mice compared to free minoxidil.
14 citations
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January 2016 in “Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications” In this study, researchers found that ginsenoside Re from Panax ginseng increased hair shaft length and duration in mice, comparable to minoxidil, by modulating TGF-β signaling pathways.
May 2025 in “Biological and Clinical Sciences Research Journal” This randomized controlled trial found that topical 5% minoxidil was more effective than topical 5% Procapil in treating androgenetic alopecia after six months, as indicated by patient self-assessment, global photography, and researcher evaluation, with statistically significant differences favoring minoxidil.
269 citations
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August 2002 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” This study found that 5% topical minoxidil significantly increased hair regrowth and improved psychosocial perceptions of hair loss in men with androgenetic alopecia compared to 2% topical minoxidil and placebo over 48 weeks.
July 2024 in “Pharmaceutics” In a mouse model of androgenetic alopecia, this study found that a novel hydrogel containing minoxidil-incorporated engineered exosomes (Gel@MNs) enhanced hair regeneration more effectively than conventional minoxidil, increasing hair follicle number and size while reducing skin irritation.
5 citations
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January 2015 in “Journal of clinical & experimental dermatology research” This study found that the MorrF topical solution combination showed significantly better hair growth improvements than Minoxidil alone in male patients with Androgenetic Alopecia.
12 citations
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January 1988 in “Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology” Minoxidil promotes hair growth without causing DNA damage.