If you are sitting in the bathroom right now trying a home hair loss treatment consisting of Indian goose berries and raw eggs in preparation for your shower, where you will apply your special brand of shampoo spiked with jojoba oil and aloe then this article could be for you! In this article titled “Does Over The Counter Minoxidil Really Work” we will lay out the facts to try to get to the bottom of this question.

The oral form of minoxidil is used for the treatment of hypertension and is available by prescription only. The over the counter variety is specifically formulated for male and female pattern baldness and can be found in the 2% and 5% varieties. Anything above 5% and the chances of scalp irritation increase dramatically.

But does minoxidil work. It is fair to say that it works for some. After all this product sells like crazy year after year which leads you to believe it is working for someone. After all most people won’t spend $30 per month on anything unless there is some value there. Let’s look at what the numbers are telling us about this topical formula.

The real advantage of most hair loss and/or hair re-growth products is in their ability to protect existing hair from the ravages of balding. Studies indicate it is helpful in slowing the most common type of balding (androgenetic alopecia) in nine out ten instances. Does it work? For this specific type of balding it is fair to say, yes it does.

But in cases where dramatic scalp re-growth is needed the results are just fair. Studies indicate that it helps re-grow hair in 20 percent to 40 percent of those who use it. Not so bad, until you throw in the fact that over half of this new found scalp coverage will be fine or fuzzy. You have to wonder whether the nursery rhyme “fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair” was written by a disgruntled minoxidil user. Perhaps we will never know.

In summary, does minoxidil work is a subjective topic that depends on a person’s perspective. But in the end most would say that it probably does, especially in instances where the balding process is in its early stages.

What Next? There are currently a handful of hair re-growth products (specially formulated for both men and women) which have been proven effective both in blocking harmful hormones and bringing the all important dead hair follicles back to life. These specially formulated treatments can be used both as a preventative tool, starting before hair loss becomes severe, or after loss of hair has become noticeable. Whatever the level of balding or thinning you are experiencing these products could be just what is needed to overcome this latest life challenge.