The key difference between various minoxidil based hair loss treatments is in the patient’s tolerance of the product as many patients have had to abandon treatment with minoxidil due to its disturbing side effects. It is advisable to try several different minoxidil based products, for instance, those that do not contain propylene glycol, in order to test their tolerability for your scalp.

Rogaine was the first medical drug in history approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating genetically determined hair loss. By now it has been approved and is available as a cure for baldness in many other countries of the world. Its sole active ingredient is minoxidil, a vasodilator that was initially used in the form of the oral drug Loniten to treat high blood pressure. Minoxidil is a hair-growth stimulant but its exact mode of action is not exactly known. Since Loniten has long come off patent, generic minoxidil is widely available in drugstores at a very reasonable price and in most countries it does not require a doctor’s prescription.

Both Rogaine and generic minoxidil come in concentrations of 2% for women and 5% for men but many experimental, generic products use concentrations of up to 20%. Minoxidil is often blamed for causing various negative side effects. Since it has become the most frequently-used medicine for treating baldness, its side effects are well documented and they seem to be often exaggerated. In less than one percent of patients they include an irregular or fast heart beat, very low blood pressure, blurred vision, swelling face and ankles, numbness in the hands, etc. These symptoms are directly related to minoxidil being a vasodilator. In addition, minoxidil can cause unwanted hair growth on the face and other parts of the body. This is due to its ability to stimulate new hair growth. But some negative side effects that minoxidil is usually blamed for are not caused by minoxidil itself. They include inflammation, itchiness and redness of the scalp, dandruff and allergic reactions. These side effects can be attributed to the vehicles used in the solution, such as isopropyl alcohol (propanol) and propylene glycol. Many hair loss sufferers have stopped their minoxidil treatment because of scalp problems, although minoxidil rarely causes such reactions.

Furthermore, many generic, minoxidil-based topical lotions contain supplementary ingredients that are supposed to enhance their overall efficacy, such as azelaic acid, retinoic acid, herbal extracts, etc. These substances, especially the herbal extracts, are known to be allergenic to many patients. It is advisable to try various minoxidil-based products, for instance, those that do not contain propylene glycol, in order to test their tolerability for your scalp. A more expensive product, such as the original formulation - Rogaine solution - is not necessarily a better choice than a less expensive generic mixture. However, Rogaine foam, though quite expensive, is generally well tolerated. Anti-dandruff shampoos, e.g. Nizoral, can, in the majority of patients, be employed successfully to treat scalp inflammations, itchiness and dandruff caused by the use of minoxidil-based topical products.