While research is available to support the generally-held idea that hair loss treatment side effects are not serious enough to warrant medical concern, and in 1996 the FDA approved Rogaine with minoxidil for over-the-counter sale, you should still be careful if you are considering a hair loss treatment.
Side Effects From Minor To Serious
While some treatments for hair loss may produce either minimal or no side effects on their own, when used with other medications, their hair loss treatment side effects can be magnified. They may also produce unexpected side effects if the user has an underlying medical condition.
Users of Rogaine, for instance, have found that among its hair loss treatment side effects are scalp irritation and itching, or dryness, redness, and flaky skin. All of these conditions, however, may be alleviated with a reliable dandruff shampoo; Rogaine, however, has very rarely caused some more serious hair loss treatment side effects which require medical attention.
They include blurred vision; a significant drop in blood pressure; rapid heartbeat; dizziness; headache; decreased libido or even impotence; sudden weight gain; and even chest pain.
A Surprising Hair Loss Treatment Side Effect
Another hair loss treatment side effect, which is not technically unintended, is that any areas of the body which come into contact with a topical hair loss treatment may begin to grow unwanted hair. Those using the topical treatments should be very careful to protect any skin on which they do not want new hair growth and to wash their hands thoroughly after each application.
A Cosmetic Side Effect
Another of Rogaine's hair loss treatment side effects is that it can leave a user's hair looking greasy; this is a result of the Propylene Glycol in the original Rogaine Formula. Rogaine Foam, now available for men, eliminates the problem, but women can only use the over-the-counter 2% Rogaine solution.
Hair loss treatment side effects are, unfortunately, something to which their users will have to adjust, as hair loss treatments require a period of several months to produce visible results. And they all have to be applied once or twice a day.
The hair loss treatment side effects of Rogaine are typical of those caused by other hair loss preventatives and are in most cases limited to scalp irritation. But any more severe conditions which develop after you begin using a hair loss treatment should be brought to your doctor's attention.
