Topical Minoxidil: Hair Growth Agent

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Topical Minoxidil: Hair Growth Agent

Side Effects of Topical Minoxidil

The most common side effects of topical minoxidil are skin rash and irritation. The other common side effect is thickening of body hair.

Skin irritation, rash, scurf and dandruff are signs of inflammation and contact dermatitis on the scalp caused by propylene glycol and alcohol contained in the topical minoxidil formulations.

Usually, skin irritation and rash will appear after using topical minoxidil over several months or several years.
If you experience contact dermatitis, you had better stop using a minoxidil solution for a while, or you might want to dilute the concentration of a minoxidil solution.

You can reduce the concentration of a minoxidil solution for a while. A lower concentration propylene glycol and alcohol might reduce the possibility of inflammation and contact dermatitis on the scalp.

If scalp inflammation persists for a long time, you had better visit a dermatologist for treatment of dermatitis.
After you are cured of contact dermatitis, you can resume topical minoxidil.

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Kuniyoshi YAGYU, MD

General Manager, Ginza HS Clinic (current position) | Director, Ginza HS Clinic (current position) | Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Medical School.
Doctor of Medicine.

The 24th President of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), a Board of Governors of the Asian Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons (AAHRS), a Fellow of the ISHRS, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS).

He has received many awards for his outstanding achievements in hair transplantation, including “Research Award” and “Special Achievement Award” from the ISHRS, “Mediterranean Award”, “Tiberio Award” and “Caesar Award” from the Italian Society for Hair Science and Restoration, and “Hirayama Award” from the Japan Society of Clinical Hair Restoration.

He is a certified registered physician of the Japan Surgical Society, an Honorary Fellow of cardiovascular surgery of the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery, a Fellow of the Japanese Circulation Society, and a Fellow of the Japanese Respiratory Society.

He served as a director of cardiovascular surgery at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo, Medical School. He studied at the Hannover Medical School in the Federal Republic of Germany on a scholarship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Kuniyoshi Yagyu, MD, FISHRS. He served as the President of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery from 2015 to 2016. He is a board member of the Asian Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and a Winner of the ISHRS Research Award in 2010, and ISHRS Poster Award in 2014. He has authored more than 53 research and clinical publications in books and journals. He had been specialized in cardiac surgery for 22 years. He has been practicing hair transplantation for about 20 years in Tokyo, Japan.