Anyone who has struggled with thinning hair has probably run across the treatment option of Minoxidil 5%. Around since the 1950s and included in well-known hair care products, this solution has helped many men and women regrow their hair. Minoxidil 5% is most effective against common causes of hair loss like androgenic alopecia (or male or female pattern baldness). However, some people also use it to help their hair regrow after stressful events and illnesses. So, does Minoxidil 5% work for thinning hair? Yes, it does, but is it the most effective solution for thinning hair? Not quite.

We don’t fully know how or why minoxidil 5% works. However, its discovery as a solution for hair loss yields some plausible options. Minoxidil was first used as an oral medication to lower blood pressure. Known as a vasodilator, this medication helped decrease the resistance of blood flow by relaxing blood vessels, which ultimately allowed for better blood flow and lower blood pressure.

While most side effects are not desirous, people who took this medication that had thinning hair noticed a pleasant side effect - their hair on their head started to re-grow or thicken.

Because not all people with hair loss also have high blood pressure problems, minoxidil was shortly formulated into a topical solution that people could apply to the scalp. When in contact with the skin, the solution encouraged increased blood flow to the hair follicles and also shortened the telogen (or resting) phase of the hair growth cycle. By decreasing the amount of time a follicle spends in telogen, you have more hair on your head at one time.

Another benefit of minoxidil is that the increased blood flow also helps increase the size of follicles, so your hair becomes thicker and stronger. People who struggle with typical hair thinning conditions like male pattern baldness experience shrinking follicles, making their hair quite thin and limp.

Minoxidil has been around for several decades now, and plenty of men and women have benefited from it. However, it does come with some downsides.

Firstly, minoxidil 5% only works as long as you use it. Once your hair comes back, you have to continue using it to keep the hair on your head. Thus, it is not a permanent solution to hair thinning.

Secondly, there are side effects of minoxidil 5%. Most commonly, people experience skin irritation like burning or itching. However, users may also have reddened skin, facial acne, inflammation on the scalp, increased facial hair growth, facial swelling, and increased hair loss.

The way minoxidil 5% works makes a lot of sense for combating hair loss: increase blood flow to the follicles, shorten the telogen phase, and increase follicle size. But, products with minoxidil 5% have not modernized with newer pharmacological discoveries for treating hair loss. And because the scalp is such a tight barrier to the cells and vessels below its surface, products like minoxidil often just sit on the top of the scalp, never reaching their full potential.

However, with the discovery of the Nanosome Delivery System® by DS Laboratories, products that target hair loss using this technology have a better chance of getting absorbed by the scalp so they can do what they are supposed to do: regrow hair.

For the best alternative to minoxidil 5% for thinning hair, you will want to use the SPECTRAL.DNC-N (for men) and SPECTRAL.CSF (for women). These products contain Nanoxodil 5%, which is a more powerful, robust alternative to minoxidil.

Nanoxidil 5% does the following when used to combat hair loss:

• Reduces dihydrotestosterone (DHT) - a derivative of testosterone that may shrink hair follicle size in susceptible individuals. DHT may be the primary culprit behind male pattern hair loss.

• Prevents follicular fibrosis

• Delivers antioxidants to the scalp and follicles to round up free radicals

• Prolongs the anagen (or growing) phase of the hair growth cycle

• Increases the expression of endothelial growth factor

• Reduces protein-kinase-C (PKC) isozymes

People who use Nanoxidil 5% note that the solution is not greasy like other topical hair solutions, and it fights the peskiest types of hair loss, including frontal and vertex hair loss. Studies also demonstrate that 95% of users noticed less hair loss, and 75% found increased hair growth. All of these improvements are met without the side effects that frequently accompany other hair loss solutions like minoxidil.

To stop hair thinning in its tracks and re-densify your scalp, explore products with Nanoxidil 5% today.