Do we need to take oral minoxidil for lifetime? | Dr JohnWatts

3 min readDec 5, 2022

Watch Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXEahY6JZ4

Different questions are being raised by fans and followers of Dr John Watts are flooding his series of hugely popular educational videos with queries related to hair transplants and hair growth issues.

In this educational video, noted dermatologist & trichologist and one of the Best Hair Transplant Surgeons in Hyderabad Dr John Watts answers select shortlisted questions of viewers related to hair growth, hair hall and hair transplant. He has performed over 2000+ hair transplant surgeries successfully.

Trishank Kumar asks: Sir, my doctor has advised taking oral Minoxidil. I have been using 2.5mg of oral Minoxidil for a month without any side effects and I noticed good results. I have found that oral Minoxidil is more convenient, effective and economical than topical Minoxidil. I want to know if it is safe for me if I use it for a prolonged period and continue taking oral Minoxidil. I am 24 years old and facing the initial stage of baldness. Please advise.

In his response, Dr John Watts tells Trishank that oral Minoxidil is yet not proven when it comes to the long-term impact or consequences it leaves on patients as more randomized clinical trials are required to understand its pros & cons in the long run.

“The oral Minoxidil may have worked for you but you cannot generalise the result for all the patients. Oral Minoxidil may leave different results for other patients. To recommend oral Minoxidil on par with topical Minoxidil, trials need to be conducted on a large population first but this has not happened so far,” explained Dr John Watts.

Hence, he advised that it is too early to recommend the long-term use of oral Minoxidil as it may be risky.

Explaining the benefits of topical Minoxidil in detail, Dr John Watts said that it improves blood circulation and helps carry nutrients to the affected region of the scalp for increasing hair growth. “If you have genetic baldness, Minoxidil cannot help as it cannot block the DHT hormone. The moment you stop using Minoxidil, the hair growth stops,” explained Dr John.

He advised Trishank to have patience and not think of long-term use of oral Minoxidil in the absence of further scientific data.

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