Jump to:
Minoxidil is a common active ingredient in hair loss treatments. For men looking to stimulate beard growth, a minoxidil beard product can be a good option.
What Are Minoxidil Beard Treatments?
Minoxidil beard products are oils or creams that contain minoxidil. Researchers are unsure of the exact mechanism of action, however, studies have shown that minoxidil can help with baldness and thinning hair.
While results can vary from one man to another for facial hair growth, minoxidil is worth trying. Minoxidil is an active ingredient that acts by dilating blood vessels when taken orally.
You’ll find this ingredient in most hair loss products. Men typically get good results when applying minoxidil to treat thinning hair and male pattern baldness. You can also find beard products that use minoxidil as an active ingredient.
There isn’t much research that looks at whether minoxidil can help with growing facial hair, but these products tend to have good reviews and suggest that this ingredient can support beard growth.
Read on to learn more about this ingredient, how it can stimulate beard growth and how to use minoxidil beard products to get the best results possible.
You Might Also Like:
What Is Minoxidil?
ZikG/Shutterstock
Minoxidil is a chemical compound. It belongs to the vasodilator class since it acts on blood vessels. Researchers don’t understand the full mechanism of action.
However, this medication might work by dilating blood vessels when taken orally or applied topically. In the context of beard growth, it means that a topical treatment could widen the potassium channels in your artery cells and result in a slight dilation of the blood vessels.
As a result, blood flow will increase, and your hair follicles will get more oxygen and more nutrients. Your hair follicles can then turn these nutrients into hair cells during the growth stage.
How Well Does Minoxidil Work?
Minoxidil is a popular active ingredient in hair loss treatments because it yields good results and is generally safe to use. Plus, several studies have shown this treatment works well.
For instance, a study found that patients who used a 2% or 5% minoxidil solution experienced a significant improvement in the reduction of their hair loss symptoms. The patients also reported seeing hair growth.
The group that used the 5% solution saw the most significant improvement. The same study also found that the minoxidil treatment seemed to increase follicle size.
Patients who used the treatment were also more likely to have a larger percentage of their hair follicle transition to the anagen phase, which is the phase during which hair grows.
Another study found that minoxidil works well for treating androgenetic alopecia in men, which is the medical term for male pattern baldness. This condition is often the result of genetic factors that cause men to develop a receding hairline above the temples as they age.
This study compared the use of a placebo with a 2% and a 5% minoxidil solution. The participants who used the 5% minoxidil solution saw the best results in terms of hair growth.
This study is interesting because it relied on researchers measuring scalp coverage rather than collecting self-reported results from the patients. Overall, this study found that the 5% minoxidil solution resulted in 45% more hair growth compared to the 2% solution.
Is Minoxidil Safe to Use?
Minoxidil has been around since the 1950s. Initially, researchers developed the medication to treat ulcers. However, studies found that the treatment had a positive effect on blood pressure, which is why minoxidil quickly became a common medication to address hypertension.
After several studies found that patients experienced hair growth while taking this medication, researchers decided to tap into the medication’s potential as a hair loss treatment and developed topical hair loss treatments.
Minoxidil has been on the market for several years and is generally safe to use. The FDA has approved this treatment for hair loss and other uses. There are a few potential side effects you should be aware of, including irritation, redness, and abnormal hair growth.
Some people are also allergic to this medication and can experience a more serious reaction. If you look at beard minoxidil treatments, you’ll find that most products use a fairly small quantity of this active ingredient.
Hair loss treatments typically have a minoxidil content of 2% or 5%, and the quantities are similar for beard growth serums and similar products. Using a small concentration of this ingredient makes it safer to use and can prevent side effects.
If you experience irritation or other side effects, you should try using a product with a lower concentration or consider using the product less often.
Will Minoxidil Work on Facial Hair?
The downside of using minoxidil for facial hair is that studies typically look at the effects of this treatment on the scalp. Another study looked at how well a 3% minoxidil solution worked for beard growth compared to a placebo.
This study found that subjects who used the minoxidil solution experienced more hair growth compared to the placebo, but the difference wasn’t conclusive. However, the study only looked at 48 subjects and mostly relied on self-reported results.
Plus, it used a 3% solution, which means that a 5% solution might have led to more conclusive results. If you look at online reviews for minoxidil beard products, you’ll find that some shoppers are happy with the results while others don’t see a significant difference.
It seems that minoxidil works well for some men and helps with facial hair growth in certain conditions. However, depending on the root cause behind the slow growth or the hair loss you’re experiencing, minoxidil may or may not work for you.
Who Should Use Minoxidil for Beards
It’s difficult to pinpoint the conditions that make minoxidil a good option for helping with beard growth. However, the findings of the different studies conducted on minoxidil as a hair loss treatment can provide us with a few clues.
Minoxidil seems to work best for men who suffer from male pattern baldness. This condition is usually the result of genetics that determine how your hair follicles respond to a hormone called DHT.
DHT is a male sex hormone that your body creates as a byproduct of making testosterone. DHT plays an important role in hair growth. However, as you age, there are receptors in your follicles that can become more sensitive to this hormone.
As DHT cells attach themselves to your hair follicles, they will cause the follicles to shrink. This process results in slow growth and can eventually lead to hair loss as the follicle dies out. Minoxidil can reverse this process by stimulating blood flow and enlarging the hair follicles.
It works for the hair that grows on your scalp, and there are no reasons to believe that it wouldn’t work the same way for your facial hair, provided that DHT is playing a part in the slow growth you’re seeing.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that there are many other factors affecting beard growth.
For instance, genetics play an important role since they determine how many hair follicles you have and their location. While minoxidil can help hair follicles produce more hair growth, it can’t fill in the spots where you don’t have hair follicles.
The Importance of a Healthy Lifestyle and Diet
Nadianb/Shutterstock
Even though researchers don’t fully understand how minoxidil works, they know that it can improve blood flow to the hair follicle. It seems that minoxidil can support beard growth by bringing more oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicle.
The follicle cells can then turn these vitamins and nutrients into hair cells. However, minoxidil alone might not be enough. You need to provide your hair follicles with the nutrients and vitamins needed to form healthy hair cells:
- Vitamin A is a crucial component for cell growth throughout your body. You can get Vitamin A from leafy greens, eggs, milk, seafood, and more.
- Vitamin B is also important. Biotin is a form of vitamin B that helps with hair growth. You can find beard growth serums with biotin or get this vitamin from foods like organ meats, nuts, legumes, and whole grains.
- Vitamin C and E are other important additions to your diet because they can protect your hair follicles from free radicals. The best way to introduce more Vitamin C to your diet is to eat more citrus fruits. You can find Vitamin E in foods like avocados or almonds.
- A Vitamin D deficiency can result in hair loss. Eat seafood and mushrooms to prevent a deficiency.
Your hair follicles also need different minerals:
- Iron plays an important role in red blood cell production. If your blood is rich in red blood cells, it will carry more oxygen to your hair follicles. You can get more iron by eating eggs and red meat.
- There are oil glands around your hair follicles that can harm hair growth if they stop working properly. Eating foods rich in zinc like lentils, spinach, or pumpkin seeds will support these oil glands.
- Lastly, your hair follicles need proteins as building blocks to create hair cells. Make sure you eat at least 0.36 grams of proteins per pound of body weight a day to prevent a deficiency.
You should also quit smoking since it can cause plaque to form in blood vessels and arteries, which can restrict blood flow.
Read Next: The Best Vitamins for Beard Growth
Choosing the Right Minoxidil Beard Product
If you want to give minoxidil treatments a try, it’s important to choose a quality beard growth serum or beard oil.
- The following considerations will help you choose a quality product that helps with facial hair growth:
- Pay attention to the minoxidil concentration. A solution with 5% will have a more noticeable effect compared to a product that contains 2% minoxidil.
- Look at the other ingredients included. Avoid products that contain fragrances and other chemicals that could irritate your skin.
- The water content is another important consideration. While moisturizing your skin can help soothe irritation and address other skincare concerns, it’s best to avoid products that will cause your hair follicles to absorb hydrating ingredients instead of active ingredients like minoxidil.
- Minoxidil isn’t the only ingredient that can help with beard growth. Consider using a product that contains biotin as well as minoxidil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Read on to learn more about minoxidil beard products.
How Should You Use a Beard Growth Serum?
You’ll get better results if you apply a beard growth serum daily. Use a small quantity and take the time to massage the product into your skin.
Should You Use a Beard Roller Along With a Minoxidil Product?
A derma roller can help with beard growth by pricking your skin and stimulating blood flow. You should use a beard roller two or three times a week.
Is Minoxidil Safe to Use?
Minoxidil can cause a few mild side effects, but it’s safe to use. However, you should look at the individual reviews for the product you’re thinking about using to see if shoppers experience unwanted side effects due to the other ingredients.
How Long Does It Take for Minoxidil to Work?
You should see a difference within a month. It can take a few weeks for dormant hair follicles to start generating new hair growth.
Will Minoxidil Work for Everyone?
Minoxidil will work best if you’re running into issues with growing your beard due to age and hormonal problems. However, this active ingredient might not work if you can’t grow a beard due to skin health issues or a vitamin deficiency.
So, What Are Minoxidil Beard Treatments?
Minoxidil beard treatments are a family of products that use the active ingredient Minoxidil to stimulate beard growth.
While scientists don’t fully understand how minoxidil works, it’s a popular treatment for hair loss and it seems to help by stimulating blood flow in the hair follicles and reversing the negative effects of the DHT hormone.
Minoxidil is safe to use and can make a significant difference if you can’t grow a healthy beard due to hormonal issues that often appear with age.