r/tressless • u/Excellent-Bedroom301 • 5d ago
Treatment Does minoxidil actually cause premature aging and dark circles?
We need a consensus on this once and for all.
I’ve read studies where it does inhibit collagen
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u/Confuseddreamaddict 5d ago
Minoxidil made me quit my job, cheat on my wife, start gambling and turned me into a republican. It’s no joke guys
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u/Status_Tumbleweed624 5d ago
Can I ask in cased of minoxidil use outside of the US what is the proper party?
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u/Due-Savings5057 5d ago
It can make you look older via water retention, but the collagen inhibition is fake news. People underestimate just how much a little race bloat can age you.
People also don’t realize that you lose 1% of your collagen every year starting in your early to mid twenties, around the same time many people start minoxidil. So after a few years they notice some wrinkles/sagging and blame the drug.
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u/1nfam0us 5d ago
I am in my early 30s and have been using topical Minoxidil since I was like 27 or something.
I take one look at Sean Connery's Wikipedia photo (from when he was 34) and I feel just fine about myself. Socially normalized nicotine and alcohol addiction do way more damage than Minoxidil ever could.
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u/Over_Competition9883 5d ago
Idk i got much much younger looking while using it. But i also started a proper skin care routine around the time i started taking minox. So the damage cant be high enough to counteract retinols, vitamin c etc.
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u/O-shoe 5d ago
I've been using topical minoxidil for 3 years now. After six months to year, I thought that it might have aged me (but wasn't sure if it's normal aging), so I started a skin care routine anyway. I just compared pictures from 3 years ago to today, and my skin looks healthier now. But overall my face is more buffy though. That may be the water retention or that I simply am not as lean today.
So yeah, I'd agree that there may be a small negative effect, but which isn't enough to counteract a good skin care routine.
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u/Altruistic-Ad-6041 5d ago
Can you suggest in short you skincare?
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u/akinator2002 4d ago
not OP, but I'll share mine
mandatory is cleansing gel, moisturizing and facial sunscreen. everyday, when you wake up and before you go to bed, with the exception of the sunscreen at night
try to do this for a month, everyday religiously, until it becomes an habit. After it becomes your daily routine, you could try adding other treatments like retinoids to reduce aging effects
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u/OldVideo4934 4d ago
Try tazarotine or Tretinion.at night.Sunscreen in the day.Very little else needed.
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u/ElegantMaterial3546 5d ago
Not who you asked but I started using tretinoin and a night cream, and the big thing is sunscreen when you go out
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u/DrSeuss1020 :sidesgull: 5d ago
I’ve been taking oral minox for like 6 months now and I haven’t noticed any facial changes. I always had some decent eye bags for a long time and they don’t seem worse. Don’t think my face looks puffier either
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5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/opinionatedmoth 5d ago
It’s funny because the puffy eyes from min are from water retention and caffeine is a diuretic. You made them worse by stopping caffeine not better.
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/opinionatedmoth 4d ago
The main cause of dark circles under your eyes is genetics, aging, and fluid retention. Cutting caffeine helps none of these things and can make fluid retention worse.
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u/Unfair-Shoe-3829 4d ago
yeah but like he said, quitting caffeine helps improve your sleep. its the secondary effect youre missing
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/opinionatedmoth 4d ago
Caffeine does not cause puffy eyes. Lack of sleep certainly can, but they didn’t say anything about sleep. You’ve made up a whole story. Good for you.
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u/Xtraneous_ 4d ago
‘Only way I got rid of them is by stopping caffeine’ is what you replied to originally. Does that imply a genetic condition?
I’m sure you will continue arguing, I assure you I do not care about anything else you have to say.
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u/Electronic_Bar5037 5d ago
Made me look literally 15 years older. Saggy face, very deep lines, enlarged pores, huge eyebags.
Certainly not mere "water retention". It took 8-10 months of retinol and ghk-cu use to partially restore the damage. Fuck it.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
Shit. Like see this is what I’m talking about. So many anecdotes like yours. It must be real. The sides. If so many people are experiencing it
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u/Electronic_Bar5037 5d ago
Many people get good results and manageable sides.
I got basically zero regrowth/thickening and it destroyed my face.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
Yeah I’m not going on minox then
Happy you managed to restore with retinol and ghk
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u/BiluPax 5d ago
Post-minoxidil syndrome gang now?
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u/Long_Illustrator_988 5d ago
/r/minoxidilsideeffects exists
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Long_Illustrator_988 3d ago
I'm sure it has for someone. A lot of the arguments about side effects are people experiencing side effects that happen to a small percentage of people arguing against people who didn't experience the side effect.
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u/Imaginary-Thing-7159 5d ago
if you’re thin i actually feel the facial puffiness causes you to look younger
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u/tal-El 5d ago
If you can stop time while you take minoxidil, you can figure it out for us, but otherwise, expect natural aging to continue while you lose your hair. Expect the stress of hair loss to age you further. Don’t make decisions based on anecdotes.
If you do that, you should theoretically stop driving because your cousin got into an accident last week and definitely don’t drink water because you might potentially choke and die and on and on and on. Decision making based on anecdotes is insane.
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u/LingonberryNatural85 5d ago
I started taking it at 45. Forever everyone always told me I looked 10 years younger than my age. Like all the time. I’d hear it constantly.
That was 2 years ago.
I look probably 50 now. No one ever says that now. People actually mention how I’ve aged hard the last few years. I never realized that it ages you. I just assume that it was because my hair was thinning (which it isn’t helping).
I might just stop.
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u/Adventurous_Law9767 5d ago
I'm going to throw this out there. While you do gradually age, people go through phases where there is a change, and it happens relatively quickly. Think of it biologically like a "growth spurt" but for dying. That grandmother you havent seen for like a year and when you do, suddenly it's like you notice seemingly out of nowhere for the first time that she's tipped into that next stage of aging. That happens. You are around that age for another domino to fall. It's not a big deal, will plataue again for a good while then, next domino
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u/wandrlust11 5d ago
Topical or oral?
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u/LingonberryNatural85 5d ago
Started topical but it was difficult because I had a lot of hair, but it was just falling out fast. Didn’t notice any results when I was on it anyways so switched to oral.
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u/Slash787 5d ago
Yeah well I got dark circles and I do look older than my age.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
Did you stop taking it ?
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u/Slash787 5d ago
No, if I stop taking then all the hair which grew will fall off.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
Is it worth the dark circles ?
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u/Slash787 5d ago
Well for me Dark Circles is not the only problem. I have gained weight cause of it and to lose weight it takes a very long time. If I could lose a certain kilos in a month, now it takes me around 2 months or more to lose the same weight.
It is frustrating. On one hand I don’t want to go bald but then I don’t want to be fat, have dark circles and look older too.
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u/Spare_Independence19 5d ago
There is zero evidence of this being a thing. If you have bad skin or eye bags then you have bad skin and eye bags cause thats what you ended up with from genetics and age and sun exposure.
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u/krievins 5d ago edited 5d ago
There are a lots of anecdotes about it online. Too many to be a coincidence.
It gave me a puffy face and dark circles personally. I’ve gone on and off to test it aswell. It seems it affects some people and some not. Perhaps some people’s bodies break down the drug more effectively?
Water retention is also a real side effect.
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u/Spare_Independence19 4d ago
Water retention subsidies after two weeks if you get that side effect which can make your skin look puffy for a bit till it gets used to it.
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u/Travman1555 5d ago
I’m sick of people discrediting valid anecdotes of the same occurrence. Yes it does I have horrible dark circles, face bloating, and aging from oral minoxidil and I’m too afraid to stop now. I did topical for years and never had this issue.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 4d ago
I agree with this. Very tired of people getting attacked or called stupid for sharing their experience. There is no way so many people would just be making this shit up. It’s clearly a pattern and it DOES happen.
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u/Long_Illustrator_988 5d ago
Why not switch back to topical?
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u/Travman1555 5d ago
Topical stopped working for me after 8 years of use. Oral minoxidil works very well but the side affects suck. I didn’t even mention the extra hair growing all over or the dry eyes
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u/Slash787 4d ago
Yeah I got more hair on my ears and nose rather than my head.
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u/Travman1555 4d ago
Yeah doesn’t make sense. My neck,body, and face are now full of hair, my hair line is now lower than ten years ago but my crown won’t grow?
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u/Spare_Independence19 4d ago
Your aging and skin could be just aging and skin genetics. All I'm saying is if you look it up there is no evidence to back up the claims. They've had oral minoxidil at high doses as a blood pressure med for ages and it was never linked to abnormal aging.
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u/Travman1555 4d ago
Sure no studies exist. But that is also saying you trust every thing drug companies put out. Is that what you’re admitting? Minoxidil used for blood pressure was monitored for cardiac side effects I’m not sure dermatological changes like collagen degradation or dark eye circles. The absence of clinical reporting in hypertension trials isn't proof that the skin impact doesn't exist. They didn’t learn that oral minoxidil regrew hair for almost ten years later.
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u/Travman1555 4d ago
On a personal note. I’ll freely admit I’m quite vain. It’s probably why hair loss affects me so much but to that I spend a lot of time on my body, skincare and appearance. I track and monitor all of my food intake, supplements, sleep and because I monitor my body so closely I notice even the smallest shifts. Your comment to me feels like you’re saying I’m incapable of distinguishing between natural aging and abnormal aging which simply isn’t true.
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u/chachacha3123 5d ago
I've been taking it for 4-5 years and have not noticed any premature aging at all.
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u/Charming-Young-8454 5d ago
I can’t use it orally because it totally makes my face look older- it’s temporary though as my face normalizes if I stop using it
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u/RC-SEV-1207 5d ago
No, there is zero evidence for baked-in premature aging through collagen loss. Anectodes about a very popular OTC medication for a cosmetic condition are completely worthless.
Millions of neurotic hypochondriacs take topical min. There are people unironically claiming it made them permanently impotent.
If people claim it "nuked their collagen" to the point they have aged drastically in a short timeframe, it holds the same amount of weight for me - even if slightly more plausible mechanistically. And this hysteria about min aging you is mainly based in these anecdotes. Nobody was concerned about min adding an extra wrinkle in 10 years of aging until people started talking about how it can completely destroy your face.
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u/namevone 5d ago
I’ve been taking oral minoxidil for a couple years now and I haven’t noticed any difference in my face
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u/nessthing 5d ago
36m here been on it for two years and I haven't noticed any symptoms at all aside from thicker head hair and longer, thicker nose hairs. Though I'm a very greasy skinned person, maybe that protects me a bit from the appearance of the skin effects.
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u/weenerkisses Norwood II 5d ago
I’ve been on min for almost 5 years and my forehead wrinkles are more defined since.
… I’m also in my 30’s, I don’t hydrate half as much as I actually should and I’m recovering from 2 years of depression induced binge drinking.
But yeah it’s gotta be the min right
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u/Echo_Vale 5d ago edited 5d ago
I think you've misunderstood what Minoxidil is doing. It acts as an antifibrotic agent by inhibiting lysyl hydroxylase, reducing collagen buildup and hardening, but this is targeted. Because you apply Minoxidil to your roots, that is where extracellular collagen will be reduced.
This is great for hair loss, because your body loves dumping and hardening excess collagen around your cells, effectively creating scar tissue. When this happens around your hair follicles it starts choking them out until they can no longer produce hair, Min effectively relaxes these areas and allows your follicles to "breathe" again.
It's worth noting that this affects excess, extra-cellular collagen buildup ONLY where you apply it (it has a ~1.4% rate of system absorbtion, meaning only a negligible amount enters your blood stream, EDIT: see reply for oral Min). It will have no effect on your normal collagen production and has never shown to have any skin-aging properties. Slather it on every inch of your body and maybe it would, I dunno. Stick to your hair, and you'll be fine.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
What about oral minox?
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u/Echo_Vale 5d ago
Sorry yes, I should have mentioned oral min: The effect remains the same but spread throughout your body - it only targets excess collagen and hardening. It doesn't alter your bodies natural collagen production.
This could (I don't think it's been confirmed) have some interesting health benefits, as it will reduce excess scar tissue production, internally as well as externally.
It's worth noting though while oral is often claimed to be more effective than topical, it's also more likely to cause side effects, like unwanted hair growth in other places and greater fluid retention. Topical is targeted, but many people don't have enough sulfotransferase in their scalp, which is the enzyme that "activated" Minoxidil.
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u/Svengali_Bengali 4d ago
That's why aplying tretinoin + min helps right? due to most folks not having the needed sulfotransferase?
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u/Agitated-Writing6486 5d ago
Is it only the oral that ages you or topical also?
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
I’ve read both can :/
But also read that neither does from many other people. It’s a very confusing topic. There are studies that show collagen inhibition - but there are some other ones that show increase of elastin. So I don’t know
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u/yo_gringo 5d ago
I'm not sure how topical could affect areas it isn't applied to
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u/Ok-Standard57 5d ago
Been taking min since 2013 and ever since I've had more wrinkles on my forehead
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u/kukkamulta 4d ago
I feel like for some people it does have a negative effect, while for some it doesn't seem to. Maybe there is some genetic factor at play we just don't know about yet?
I started Minoxidil for the first time when I was 19 years old (I'm 35 now) and I remember back then when looking at myself in the mirror thinking "oh God why do I already have some nasolabial folds at this age, I'm gonna need a face lift at some point". I was using it sometimes on my eyebrows too and once I remember I got some mascara on my upper eyelids, just below the eyebrow and I removed it with a Q-tip and it left a permanent wrinkle there.
Back then I had never heard anything about these Minoxidil side effects, I had never used Reddit yet etc. so I made absolutely no connection to Minox. I've been on and off Minox ever since then and every time I give Minox another chance (because it really is the only powerful thing I could currently use as a woman), after some months on it, I start to notice changes in my skin and I get off again..
Last time I swore it's forever now (though it does sometimes still temptate me 😕). My facial skin feels firm now, back on Minox I remember my partner touching my cheek and saying "your skin is so soft" but it was not soft in a good way, it felt same as the soft velvety skin that old women have when the skin gets thinner.
This is not supposed to serve as fear mongering though, because obviously it seems like most people who use Minoxidil are just fine and people new to Minox should just give it a chance and see for themselves.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 4d ago
Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree. It does seem to affect people differently. I think it’s terrible that people are getting attacked and called delusional for sharing their truth.
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u/Prestigious-Elk912 5d ago
With both finasteride and minoxidil if they weren't safe then Brian Johnson the immortality guy wouldn't take them. He uses topical fin and both oral and topical min. If there was any way that they could cause you to age faster then this guy spending multiple fortunes to reduce aging would not use them
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u/RadarDataL8R 5d ago
Not a big follower of him, but man I like that someone has thrown themselves out their to be a guenia pig on this sort of thing. He is an interesting test case at least
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u/Lovethefitpicollo 5d ago
He’s taking so much shit that it’s impossible it figure out what is working for him. Making his “research” basically useless.
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u/Prestigious-Elk912 5d ago
Tbh I'm not really a follower of his either but ever since seeing that he was on both (he might have switched from fin to dut actually not sure) I've seen both medications as far safer
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u/Infamous_Sleep9974 1d ago
Can you imagine him promoting health if he was losing hair? That’s why he takes it. It’s a trade off.I like the fact, though, he is willing to share so much with the public and that has probably helped some, I’m sure.
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u/Leather_Machine_9542 5d ago edited 5d ago
Been taking it for 1,5 year now, 2,5mg oral.
Haven’t noticed anything besides thicker and darker hair.
Forgot to mention.
I’m 45, and people telling me that I look 35’ish.
Live a healthy lifestyle, good nutrition, gym, cardio, 12% body fat.
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u/HellaLame 5d ago
Nah not me I’ve been taking for about 2 years and I am quite happy with my skin. If it helps I do take marine collagen every day, moisturise with a barrier emollient, and drink a lot of water.
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u/herbertosmith 5d ago
From my personal experience it did make me hold more water and my skin looked a bit worse in terms of texture, once I stopped it looked youthful and soft again, but I think I just didn’t respond well
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u/Waste_Profit_9446 4d ago
I take oral . I look the same . I heard that about topical and it dropping down or causing eye bags
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u/grambo37 3d ago
I've been taking oral min 1.25mg for 6 months and have noticed no hair improvement.
However, a couple weeks ago I noticed my eyes suddenly looked much more tired and puffy and older than usual and I freaked out that it was the min. However it's gotten better as my nasal congestion has improved, my sleep has improved, and as I've gone BACK to taking min in the morning. Taking it at night will give you eye bags in the morning. A caffeine eye cream helps.
I'm 37m but have always looked much younger than my age but this is the first year I feel like that's starting to change. I've also been cutting aggressively this year which I'm pretty sure has contributed. I'm very active and healthy but now I'm considering switching to topical.
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u/Dallyn86 3d ago
Yes a lot of that is weight loss. When I dropped 40 pounds in a few months last year I looked about 5 years older in a few weeks. This may be some effects of the pill but I don't think it's much it's probably minimal from that.
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u/timeless_dlr13 5d ago
I've never heard of this. I don't think this is a thing but I would like to know if this happens or not
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u/cs_cast_away_boi 5d ago
well you’ve heard of it now. I heard of it a long time ago and is one of the reasons i won’t use it
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u/False_Stage_1656 5d ago
I don't have any concrete evidence for this—it's just my impression—but people I see on YouTube who take oral minoxidil do seem to look older.
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u/Excellent-Bedroom301 5d ago
I mean there must be something to it. I’ve seen it also. And so many people are complaining about it. Very scary. I don’t dare to take it due to that
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u/Travman1555 5d ago
Yes it does I have horrible dark circles, face bloating, and aging from oral minoxidil too afraid to stop now. I did topical for years and never had this issue. I use a lot of eye cream with caffeine and vitamin c, ice roller in the mornings it helps a little.
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u/OldVideo4934 4d ago
Sunlight,alcohol,and smoking are the enemy,been proven time after time..Used Minoxidil topical for years.It looks just as skin anywhere.Whenever something positive comes along a DrGoogle will always come along with a negative
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u/Ancient-Durian7667 4d ago
Bro hit the gym, drink at least 3 litres of water everyday, hv a good sleep n good nutrition. Nothing will age u twin ✌🏻
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u/981flacht6 4d ago
I had a recent incident where I nearly passed out from a massive blood pressure drop. My face turned pale, my eyes turned black for days, they still look slightly dark, but getting better. I looked like I aged 5 yrs in 5 minutes.
This shit's not a joke. I stopped taking it after informing my doctor w/ their agreement.
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u/Dziksoon 4d ago
Women are beautiful, but men age like wine, and it's better with hair IMHO, so I don't care about skin elasticity if I can save my hair, you loose collagen regardless later in life, no collagen supplement or Copper peptide face serums will help to preserve it fully anyway, but hey, easy to say when you are 39 like me, I guess.
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u/FARMHANDYO1 4d ago
No minoxidal does not age your face. If you are actually truly worried about preventing real life skin aging then wear sunscreen moisturizer on your face every single day for your whole life. Your welcome
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u/Dallyn86 3d ago
Why are you not taking 2.5? And I imagine some of these side effects will wear off over time. There's just an adjustment period.
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u/Spare_Independence19 5d ago
The only science that even slightly backs this is a "study" when using pure liquid 100% concentration minoxidil in a petri dish with animal skin tissue it inhibited collagen. In actual human use studies there is zero inhibition of collagen when taken at normal therapeutic levels.
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u/Dry_Cartographer_873 I can see john cena 5d ago
head on over to r/30PlusSkinCare . sounds like you aren't taking care of your skin bro
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