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How to Use Minoxidil for Beard Growth – The Ultimate Guide (2023)

Are you one of those men with a beard or patchy mustache? Growing facial hair that you can be proud of seems like a distant dream.

In the face of continuous beard growth concerns, most men just give up.

Luckily, many advancements in health science and technology are presenting us with new insights each year into how the human body works and how to best fight stressful problems such as patchy or thin facial hair.

One possible answer that more men are testing out these days is Minoxidil. From chat forums to social media and YouTube, discussions about this drug are occurring all across the internet.

Most men claim that Minoxidil can stimulate facial hair growth and help strengthen men’s beards who have long struggled with irregular patterns, thin growth, patchy beard, or any number of other beard-related concerns.

Thicker hair and hair regrowth to achieve a fuller beard is the best results men could wish for.

Nonetheless, opinions are extremely mixed. Other men swear by Minoxidil’s usefulness as a good beard treatment, but others are anxious about too much hype and other possible side effects.

What do you really want to learn more about Minoxidil for beard growth? Is it an efficient beard treatment that most men think, or is it only a fad? It’s about time that you uncover the truth.

This post aims to provide you with everything you need to know on how to use Minoxidil for beard growth, how to use it, potential side effects, and many more.

Are you ready? Without further ado, let’s dive in!

What is Minoxidil?

In case you didn’t know yet, Minoxidil is a baldness prevention treatment accessible over the counter treatment. It’s approved by the Food and Drug

Administration for use on the scalp and men have seen positive results when using the recommended amount. Currently, it’s marketed through different brand names.

However, you know it best as the active ingredient in the popular anti-baldness treatment, Rogaine. Minoxidil was originally formulated to treat high blood pressure.

You see, Rogaine utilizes a solution of two percent or five percent minoxidil to support hair growth in men experiencing male pattern baldness and other women.

For treatment on scalp baldness, it’s efficient for at least two to three women.

The treatment was mainly utilized as an that was utilized to control the blood pressure of most hypertensive patients.

Unnecessary hair growth was noted as a side effect of that oral medicine. Its topical solution arrived as an answer for hair loss patients.

It supports hair growth by expanding the blood vessels, due to which the follicles receive more oxygen and nutrients.

It does not just restore the hair on your body, but it supports hairless follicles. Thus, it can produce hair on glabrous spots on your face that prevent your bearded looks.

The best part here is that Minoxidil can help you change yourself from a smooth-faced boy to that bearded mature-looking gentleman.

Which is best: 5% or 10%?

Minoxidil isn’t approved by the FDA for face application but only for scalp application.

Through thorough research for over thirty years ago, the minoxidil five percent solution was discovered to be efficient and safe for growing hair.

It works by stopping hair loss caused by male pattern baldness when used to the scalp’s vertex and for female pattern baldness when used on the scalp’s top.

How does Minoxidil grow facial hair?

You are aware that Minoxidil can generate results, but how does it grow facial hair?

You see, Minoxidil works by improving blood flow and oxygen to your hair scalp, helping to reinvigorate hair follicles that have been damaged by an over-production of the hormone DHT.

Keep in mind that DHT causes miniaturization to hair follicles that results in lowered blood flow and a lack of nutrients being sent to the scalp.

Using Minoxidil continuously offers a helping hand to your hair follicles, particularly when utilized with other parts of the treatment plans.

Constant use of Minoxidil can prevent a receding hairline, but evidence shows that it can regrow hair.

Minoxidil does that by improving the scalp’s blood flow and thus increasing the number of oxygen and nutrients accessible to your hair follicles.

Such follicles then become revitalized and healthier, offering your hair the ideal foundation to regrow.

how to use minoxidil for beard growth
how to use minoxidil for beard growth

How does hair grow?

When a person grows their hair, it comes from a pouch-like structure under the skin called a hair follicle.

This structure is fed with tiny blood vessels. The cells in this follicle are what gives the hair its color.

There are a variety of factors that influence how fast and how slow your hair will grow. Age, hormones, ethnicity, and medication all play a role in the growth of your hair.

Hair grows in two stages, the active and the resting phase. Each stage has its own distinct characteristics and serves specific functions.

Most hair grows at the scalp at a rate of about one centimeter per month, while facial hair grows much slower. The shape of the hair follicles determines how fast or slowly they will grow.

Round follicles grow more quickly than ovals, while oval-shaped follicles grow slower, usually about 2 to 3 weeks.

The length of hair growth depends on where you have your hair. If you don’t trim it regularly, it can take anywhere from 56 to 73 days to regrow.

The length of facial hair may take anywhere from two to three weeks to reach a full meter. In contrast, eyebrows can take from 100 to 150 days to regrow.

A round follicle, meanwhile, can take up to three weeks to grow a meter.

The length of the growth phase varies. On the head, a single strand of hair will grow about 1 centimeter per month.

The growth rate of facial hair is slower and more gradual. The shape of the cross-section of the hair also influences how long it takes to grow.

A round follicle will grow straighter and longer hair. And it will take about two weeks for ear and eyebrows to reach their maximum length.

If you suffer from thinning hair, have a read about the benefits of sea salt spray for adding extra volume to your hair.

How do I apply Minoxidil to my beard- 5 simple steps?

You can easily grow your beard using Minoxidil with these five easy steps.

1. Wash your face with a balanced pH cleanser

Many minoxidil products are composed of skin irritations like alcohol and propylene glycol.

Those irritants are what cause unnecessary side effects. Thus, using a pH-balanced cleanser will help your skin maintains its optimum pH, lowering any potential irritation from the product.

2. Apply the proper amount 

Rogaine liquid products often come with a dropper along with the suggested amount marked with a meniscus.

Use the dropper to apply the medication or apply it with your fingers to ensure it touches the desired region.

If you like to use the foam version, you can scoop it with your fingers and apply it to your beard. Ensure you use the proper amount to prevent wastage and abnormal side effects.

3. Let the skin absorb it

The longer your skin absorbs, the better the hair growth results will be.

Let the medication sit on your beard for at least one to five hours. Your skin will have sufficient time to absorb at least half of the drug applied in an hour.

If you prefer, you can apply Minoxidil at night and leave it overnight.

4. Wash your face

Wash your face and beard not more than four hours after applying Minoxidil. Doing so will prevent your face from drying out.

5. Don’t forget to moisturize

Moisturize your face after washing it. Keep in mind that Minoxidil has various chemicals and skin irritants. You would like to replenish your skin after the damage the drug has done.

Use a quality moisturizer with ingredients such as hyaluronic acid to rejuvenate your skin.

How long should I use Minoxidil for my beard?

For optimal results, you will need to use Minoxidil consistently and reliably on your beard for six to twenty-four months.

It will not just help to use the product so often, as the hair growth cycle needs time.

Make sure you are consistent enough will applying the product to your beard.

How often should I use Minoxidil on my beard?

It is recommended to maximize results from Minoxidil. That’s why you must use it constantly and regularly.

The jury’s out on whether using it twice a day is better. However, go for it if you can get in the habit of doing it when you brush your teeth.

Don’t forget that you must keep it on for approximately four hours. That makes the entire morning and night thing routine perfect.

However, as with any product that goes on your skin, just cut it down to one application per day, especially if you have easily irritated or sensitive skin.

It is not worth ruining your delicate skin for a chance at speeding things up.

Is minoxidil effects permanent on my beard?

Yes, absolutely! There might be formal research proving it, per se.

However, secondhand proof strongly recommends that beard growth with Minoxidil is 100% permanent. It seems to align with the science itself.

Bear in mind that you are not painting hairs on your face. Instead, you are stimulating the regrowth of hairs.

As a rule, you can stop using Minoxidil after you have grown your beard as thick and full as you’d wish.

Best Minoxidil for beard growth

When it comes to options, you must decide between using minoxidil foam or minoxidil solution. We will come them here in just a little bit in case anyone cares.

Minoxidil solution (five percent)

Minoxidil solution is available in five percent and three percent strengths.

Along with water and Minoxidil, it contains propylene glycol and ethanol that help transport minoxidil to the hair follicles.

You can apply it once or twice per day. The application is somewhat simple and comes with a dropper.

You only need to paint the beard area of your face and rub it in.

Just a little bit of warning. On your first uses, you might have experienced some shedding as the new and more nutrient-rich hairs push out the older hairs.

You can also notice results in as little as three to four months.

Minoxidil foam (five percent)

A minoxidil foam that doesn’t have a propylene glycol that is the main reason behind skin irritation.

Thus, if you are worried about having skin irritation on your face, you can opt for the foam version.

Pump the foam product into your hands and rub it into your beard.

You might also notice shedding in the early days of use, but you can anticipate great results at least three to four months.

The foam solution is always much better to use, as the liquid is more likely to drop into your mouth and down your chin.

Is Minoxidil safe on the face?

The safety of Minoxidil as a good beard treatment is always up for debate.

That’s not because there have been a few reports of the risky side effects, but because not enough studies have been done on the subject to say with any certainty that Minoxidil is safe for use on the face.

On top of that, company representatives with products who use Minoxidil will insist that the product be utilized only on the top of the head, as suggested in the instructions that come with the product itself.

That’s mainly because the FDA has not approved the medication for use anywhere else, and its effects, both bad and good, aren’t completely understood.

That only indicates that any use of the product on your body parts apart from the head represents what’s considered as “off-label” use.

Further, going off label is whenever you use a hygiene product or medicine in a way that’s not listed in the product’s instructions label.

That is not inherently unethical or unsafe, but it could result in unexpected consequences because experts and doctors might not know what the possible outcomes will be.

Which Form of Minoxidil is best?

Foam Minoxidil 5% – This does not contain propylene glycol and is a great choice if you have suffered any skin reactions when using the liquid version.

Liquid Minoxidil 2% – Easy to use in a dropper bottle. Easier to use for guys with longer and fuller hair.

To decide which form is best for you, start with the 2% liquid form which is easy to use on all beard types. If you don’t see any results, then try the stronger 5% foam.

Does Minoxidil have beards side effects?

Like any other type of medication, Minoxidil has the potential to cause adverse side effects.

Nonetheless, they are luckily extremely rare so here are the common side effects. Keep in mind that Minoxidil works. The most typical side effects are scalp redness and irritation, which could be an indication of intolerance to Minoxidil or one of its components.

This allergic reaction is one of the most common side effects of minoxidil.

As you begin taking the drug, you may also notice a period of intense shedding.

That typically settles down with constant use and is an indication that the medication is beginning to work through older, miniaturized hairs making way for healthier and thicker hairs to regrow.

On top of that, there’s no proof from clinical research recommending using Minoxidil over a long time to cause negative side effects.

Still, it is best to be familiar with the possible side effects of the medication, even with the low chances of developing them.

Serious Side Effects of Minoxidil

Although very rare, chest pain is a medical condition and adverse reaction to minoxidil use.

Obviously, we highly recommend professional medical advice if you suffer any of these adverse effects.

What results can you expect from using Minoxidil?

As more men try the medication as a beard-growth supplement, you can start to get a better and clearer picture of the drug’s efficacy.

The outcomes are mixed, and the reality of its efficacy is rather challenging. In short, Minoxidil can be moderately efficient in promoting beard growth.

What are other tips to help stimulate beard growth?

Are you searching for other ways to enhance your beard? There’s a broad spectrum of things you can do. Some of them are the following:

  • Regular exercise – Your body can produce enough testosterone (a hormone that stimulates facial hair growth) with the proper stimulation. Weight training, cardio, and any other form of exercise could boost your body’s testosterone production capacity.
  • Eat a healthy diet – Do not underestimate the power of healthy eating. Like your muscle, your beard won’t reach its maximum potential fed by cheap snacks and junk foods. Fresh fruits, fish, whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and grains must be incorporated into a beard-friendly diet.

Growing a healthy beard is just part of the process. The other piece is keeping it well-groomed and clean. We hope you find this article informative and helpful at the same time.

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