I got this information from www.publichealthforums.com

Minoxidil Side Effects

Topical minoxidil can have bad effects on the skin. My face bears the scars of minoxidil use. Black rings formed around my eyes and the skin took on a pock marked texture. These effects persist despite stopping the treatment over 2 years ago.

minoxidil destroyed my brothers face in less than 10 months. He went from being a fresh faced 21 year old non smoker into a haggard aged mess who looked 40. It happened slowly and he was pleased with the hair regroth. But the damage is done and he wants to kill himself. All medications have side effects but this is obscene.

I have to admit minoxidil is effective and even restored my hairline in front (even though its not designed for it), but my skin was really affected. My forehead looks "pock marked" and a fraction of the elasticity it used to have. Plus I have dark circles under my eyes.The minoxidil is a double-edged sword. My forehead looks slightly bloated and plus I think I'm developing forehead wrinkles I never had before and its been 5 months since I've been using this.

Minoxidil is very bad for skin it will age you and give you black rings around your eyes.

I had to have a eye lift to counteract wrinkles caused by topical Minoxidil. I'm 26

it gives you old man eyes

Topical minoxidil will damage your skin ( black rings, enlarged pores and wrinkles) and propecia will damage sex drive and give you man boobs It's pathetic there will be a cure for Aids before baldness

minoxidil 5 did a lot of damage to my face and skin. How can one little bottle wreck a life? People will sue

These black rings around my eyes are anoying! When will they go? It's been 6 months since I came off this shit

The list of possible side effects should include disfiguring skin changes.

Minoxidil is skin wrinkling and makes skin look haggard.

I used Minoxidil for 9 months but stopped because of the affect on my skin. It gave me black rings under my eyes and wrinkles. It enlarged pores but my Dr thought it was not Minoxidil. But there are studies showing how it inhibits collogen production and causes skin thickening. It's so effective they feel it could help with wound contraction to reduce scaring. This should be listed in the instructions so people can make informed choices.

Acromegaly is an endocrine disorder caused by chronic excessive growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland. Significant disfiguring changes occur as a result of bone, cartilage, and soft tissue hypertrophy, including the thickening of the skin, coarsening of facial features, and cutis verticis gyrata. Pseudoacromegaly, on the other hand, is the presence of similar acromegaloid features in the absence of elevated growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor levels. We present a patient with pseudoacromegaly that resulted from the long-term use of minoxidil at an unusually high dose. This is the first case report of pseudoacromegaly as a side effect of minoxidil use.

Am I risking with permanent dark circles and wrinkles under eyes that won't go away after stopping the drug while taking minoxidil and finasteride?I haven't taken Propecia yet, but have been using Regaine 5 for two years and have very f***ed up eye surroundings. Is it possible that I have made the furrows permanent by using the drug so long or is there still a point in stopping it and never trying Propecia?I have read people complaining about very long lasting dark circles and wrinkles around eyes after quitting the drug.Thanks!

I can vouch for one side effect and it is also my biggest concern "BLACK EYE".

My project manager at work is a white "caucasian" guy who is in his mid 40's and he have an eye that look like racoon.
Is soo black compare to the rest of his face.
he is also going thin, close to nw4 with wearing bang to try and cover all that he can.

One day I pick up my courage and ask him if he use minox, and he admit he was using it, on and off for about 8 years. During his mid 30's now that he been off it for almost 5 years some effect is still there, as I can clearly see.

Most white people don't get black eye not like this obvious, no matter what age they are, but some Asian people do, mostly Indians and middle eastern peoples.

I'm also noticing some wrinkle on my forehead, but is not as big concern as I don't mind looking more like my age then what people think I'm younger by 5-6 years.

But my biggest concern is are they have shown to cause permanent side effect.
Will there be drug in the future that can eliminate these effect?

The site you listed is just ONE person's experience.

Yes middle eastern people have dark circles and it seems common.


I disagree I see many whites with terrible under eye circles and bags. Does minoxidil increase this? Possibly..my sister doesn't use minoxidil and her under eye circles/bags are worse than a raccoon.

I had a g/f who was Hispanic and she had dark circles under her eyes since she was a kid, and her kid has it too. Her circles are so bad they are almost purple/brownish in nature like permanent makeup, luckily she had nice green eyes to counter those circles.

Be it acne, hair loss, or anything else if you inherit it or pre-disposed to it, these medications certainly won't make things better.

-Rich

I have been on minxo for about a yr and have not had these side effects thankfully. Just be aware that all meds may have sides, but I wouldn't panic everyone.

MikeysEgo - I am not trying to panic everyone.

If these side effect have already taken hold of people, it is merely their choice to continue on or not.
As for me, the side effect is very gradual and altough it run in my family, I'm more pronounce in this black eye then anyone else in my family.

If someone come out and said I have been on it for 2 years and got this black eye that won't go away even tough I have stop for over a year.

I will take it on board and maybe reduce interval of minox, buy a good eye cream and see if thing improve.

Still the eye cream are expensive and cosmetic company are charging like we all have money like bill gates.

I got these side effects.

They take years to subside - it really ruined my college years.

I think they mostly subsided.. but I don't think I ever got 100% back to normal. My skin is much better now, and the bloating is pretty much gone. I think i have some effects with the bags under my eyes, but might be natural aging.

thanks RickLocks for your honest opinion!

This is actually true. i am also suffering from the black eye thing. and i tought it was finasterides fault. I first noticed it after 1.5 years rogaine 5 % usage. But now that i have lowered the dosage of rogain to only 1 ml a day my black rings have got better.`


Siko are you using the 2 % or the 5 % strenght?? I am going to dropp the 5 % cuz it itches the hell out of my scalp and causes inflammation that accelerates my hairloss. Am going to see what the 2 % will do with the black eye thing..

I was using 2% when this happened to me. BTW, it worked amazingly.. crazy hair growth. But obviously it worked too well. I had hair all over my face and body, couldn't get a clean shave, and had all the other side effects discussed like black under eyes, bloating, bad skin. It literally made me ugly.

I suggest to drop down to a low dosage, and apply to a dry scalp, rather than wet. The wet increases absorption.

well after reading all these negative comments on these boards lately maybeits just better to accept the hairloss like many other men did before. its not worth messing your self up

wow man, you have described exactly what has happened to me. My face has just looked awful. I look OLD (im only 24). I wasn't sure if it was the minox or fin.
My eyes have really dark circles all around. My skin looks terrible. and wrinkles have appeared. I know that it isn't natural aging, and one of these was causing it.

I quit minox a few weeks ago because I've been so depressed about my face for so long now. Hopefully this goes away. I always had a youthful face. I know the difference between natural aging and something causing facial side effects.

Hopefuilly some more people can chime in about this

If you get these side effects, i suggest dropping the drug. It is NOT worth it, and it will make you very unattractive.

It will subside, but it will take TIME. I would work out like crazy, get in good shape, and just get off the minox. My face didn't start looking normal for quite some time, so be patient.

if these sides really did happen and they arent going away after a few weeks after stopping you can always use retin-a or retin-a micro on your skin. Its prescribed for acne but also for aging skin, it helps exfoliate dead skin and makes your skin look smoother and younger. I had some mild acne and i used it a few years back, i still use it and my skin still looks clear.. Its worth looking into if your skin is still looking a bit different from the minox sides.

dogs3 - Where can i get retin-a from? I'd prefer buying it at the store as opposed to online, but will do what i have to.

Thanks!

retin-A will help as well. I used this for about 1 year after quitting minox and it did help.

Things will get better - but it will take time. Be patient. To this day I refuse to put a drop of minoxidil on my scalp because of what it did to my face.

Strife,

Retin-a is a prescription topical.. You can get one from your doc, or you can order it online...A lot of people order it from medsmex.com and its legitimate... there are three strengths, but the lowest strength (.025) is just as good as the top stength (.1) when ur just starting out....In fact, i still only use it like 3 or so times a week only and it's just as effective....Heres the link retin a (renova)

This is renova, its the same thing as retin-a but in an emollient base which just means its moisturizing as well. Retin a aslo comes in the form of retin-a micro (gel) but im not sure where online you can buy it...They are both basically the same thing though its just the gel might be a bit better during the summer because its not as moisturizing...but i switch it up, doesnt seem to make a difference. You should be fine with this stuff.

Also though, its really important to know that if you do decide to use it, use it at night only, id start off using it every other day or even every 3rd day until you're skin becomes adjusted (you might peel a bit and get redness at first, most eveyone gets this for the first 2-3 weeks, i did and my derm said its no problem, just cut back on the applications)....

And perhaps most importantly, if your going to be outside in the sun during the day, whethr its winter or summer, always wear sunscreen on your face, because although retin a really helps, it does so by exfoliating the top layer of your skin so your extra sensitive to sunlight...Retin a has skin smoothing properties and it can make your skin actually look younger, but if you don't wear sunscreen if your in the sun it will definitely defeat the purpose and you might actually get a few more wrinkles...

I use basic nonchemical sunscreen because my skin cant handle the chemical kind. Id say give the retin a a try, every derm recommends the stuff for acne/aging skin/ pocked skin/etc, just use it properly and use sunscreen during the day...

One last thing...im not sure if the medmex brand comes with instructions, but when you apply it, dont apply more than a peasized amount to your entire face, i know it wont seem like it covers your whole face but just keep spreading it even after it disappears and trust me its more than enough... give it a try, it cant hurt.

Thanks everyone for each input

Richlocks

I really didn't notice my black eye thing untill about 1 year into minox, I have always been using 5%, with 3 nights of 15% from Dr.Lee.

The thing was I ask Lee if this minox can cause black dark circle around your eye to appear. He blatantly came out saying no, and that he never heard of it, the only thing he knew was that it could cause itch.

Yet I was looking for more information and this website www.askwebdoc.com have many users, lets say over 1-20 users all confirming exactly how it has affected us.

So we can;t be the only people here who are concern about this side effect.

Mind you it did grow back my hair like I'm back to nw 1.5 from nw3, I am dropping this to 2% while I still have the 5% I will use it only once every 2nd day.

reduce usage.

Its crazy how some doctors think. I respect Dr. Lee very much, BUT I personally told him of my side effects years ago and he also told me had never heard of them. I guess he tells everyone who comes to him w/ these claims the same thing =)

Most derms refuse to acknowledge this side effect, plainly because it wasn't witnessed in the studies. Shows you how much doctors really know.

Or how much they really care, which is zero.
Untill the manufacturer come out and confess that this stuff is really toxic.

On Doctor Rass website, it i stated Cat will die, when you put minox on them or come in contact.

So is like using Cockroaches spray toxic level foam or liquid and putting them on your head, chances are these toxic will have to seep back our of your body from somewhere.
The sympton listed above are possible just the minor effect of this stuff.

Coming back our of your face pores is a very possible, I think that why skin get the most damage and you age 10 years quicker in over 1 year period.

I'm going to lay of this toxic soon.

what about finasterid, can finasterid cause black cirkles around eyes??