There are millions of hair loss sufferers in the world and many don’t bother to do anything about it for many reasons. Some reasons might be that they don’t care about going bald, many can’t afford to buy hair loss treatments, and some just don’t believe hair loss treatments really work at all. There are many hair loss treatments on the market today but I wanted to specifically focus on Rogaine Foam as it is the most popular hair loss treatment as well as I have personal experience with the product. I’ve read plenty of Rogaine Foam reviews but many seem to be tailored on promoting the product or just bashing the product altogether from an unhappy customer. As a fellow hair loss sufferer, I felt providing an honest Rogaine Foam review to be needed to really educate the public so hair loss sufferers can hear both sides of the story before considering using the product.
My Hair Loss Story
Everyone loses hair everyday. In fact it is typical to lose up to 100 hairs per day as they are being replaced by new hairs. However, I believed my hair loss was excessive and it was one of the most depressing experiences of my life at the time. Each time I got my hair ready in the morning or whenever I showered I would see tons of hair in the drain. My confidence was down big time as I constantly worried when I would be fully bald or when people would notice that I was going bald. To make matters worse, my father is bald so I just knew it was just a matter of time before I was bald. The overall experience and anticipation made it a very stressful situation as many people in society base people on looks. I didn’t know where to turn to or if there was even anything I can do to make the balding stop. I have always seen the Rogaine commercials but questioned, “Does Rogaine Foam work and what are the Rogaine Foam side effects?” I did some research on Rogaine and then decided to try the product years ago. I will share my experience with the product later in this article.
I have read through many Rogaine Foam reviews from other users and based with my personal experiences here are the positives, negatives, and some possible side effects of Rogaine Foam.
Rogaine Foam Positives
- Obviously the main positive that everyone using Rogaine Foam hopes for is that it may stop male pattern baldness and regrow your hair back.
- Many users claim it made their hair thicker, fuller, and darker.
- Rogaine Foam is very quick, easy and convenient to apply and use. You can work it into your daily regimen quite easily. Many state its the most convenient and easiest hair loss treatment to use.
- The product is only supposed to regrow hair on the top of the scalp but many users said it regrew hair even on the frontal hair line.
- Most had positive results with just using Rogaine Foam, however, many experienced even greater results when combined with other hair loss treatments. Many used Rogaine Foam for hair growth and used it concurrently with Propecia which is used to stop hair loss.
- Rogaine is the only FDA approved hair loss brand.
Rogaine Foam Negatives
- Some claim that the product doesn’t work and that Rogaine Foam didn’t stop their hair loss nor regrow their hair. First, Rogaine only works for pattern baldness so you have to make sure that your hair loss is due to pattern baldness and not occurring because of a disease, stress, or another reason. Secondly, Rogaine themselves has stated that the product doesn’t work for everyone as it claims that in studies it was effective in 85% of the people. There not many health products that work for every person and I know for sure there isn’t one single hair loss treatment that will work for every single person in the entire world. There are going to be some people where the product just doesn’t work for them. You wont know unless you try it and you must use it for at least 3 to 4 months to really gauge to see if the product is working for you.
- There are possible side effects when taking any product as Rogaine Foam also has but the more common side effects are itching and flaking of the scalp. If you do experience this while taking the product, simply stop taking the product and it will go away.
- Another issue is that when you stop taking the product your hair loss will continue. I am not speaking of just simply missing an application and you will wake up bald the next morning. But if you completely stop taking the product I believe it takes about 2 to 3 months for your hair loss to continue. The simple solution to this if the product is working, do not stop using it.
- Others claim they didn’t like the smell of Rogaine Foam, however, their is a newer unscented Rogaine Foam formula so this shouldn’t be a factor any longer.
- Some people end up using more Rogaine Foam than if they were to use the topical solution. For example, in both products you are supposed to apply two times per day. The topical solution comes with a dropper so you can measure the exact amount that you apply. However, with the foam it states to apply half a cap full two times per day. As a user of Rogaine Foam, since it so easy and convenient to apply it becomes quite easy to make it a habit to not put the foam into the cap and to just directly apply it to the scalp. The people that do this might end up using more than they should, thus depleting the bottle faster and end up spending more money. The easy solution to fix this problem is to actually do as the directions say and apply half a capful.
- Lastly some people state that Rogaine Foam made their hair loss actually increase. This is actually a possibility, however, it is normal. It is very important that you understand this so you wont panic and stop taking whatever hair loss product you decide on. Let me explain really briefly;
Hair growth has 3 cycles which consist of the anagen phase which is the growth phase. The second phase is the categen phase which is also called the transitional phase. It lasts 2 to 4 weeks and during this phase the hair actually stops growing but does not fall out. The 3rd phase is the telogen phase which is also known as the resting phase which lasts 2 to 4 months. During this time the hair still does not grow. Approximately 10 to 15% of the hair on your scalp is in the telogen phase at any one time. After the telogen phase the cycle is complete and the hair goes back into the anagen phase. It is at this time where the hair shaft is forming that the old hair is pushed out and lost.
So when you start taking a product like Rogaine Foam you stimulate the hair follicle to start producing hair. What happens is that many hair follicles that are in the telogen phase then go into the growth phase. When the hair follicle starts growing a new hair it first has to get rid of the old hair which is still attached to the hair follicle. So instead of these hairs falling out gradually at different times, they all fall out together giving you the impression that you are losing more hair. The reality is that the hair that fell out had stopped growing and it was due to fall out anyway. So shedding is a positive sign and means that you are responding well to the treatment and new hair is growing in. And when I say hair falls out it doesnt mean your entire head, it just means the hairs in the telogen phase which is about 10 to 15% of your hair. Many people do not know this and end up stopping the treatment when they should stay on it.
My Personal Experience Using Rogaine Foam
I actually first started taking Rogaine Topical Solution before I used Rogaine Foam. I purchased the product online as I was too embarrassed to buy it in the store. The product started working for me as I noticed less hair falling out and my hair seemed thicker and fuller. However, after about a couple months my scalp actually started to itch and get flaky. I knew it had to be the Rogaine as it was the only new product I was using on my hair. I began to worry as I didn’t want to stop taking the product as my hair loss would continue so I did further research. I read that some people with more sensitive scalps had the same itchy scalp problem that I had, however, when they made the switch to Rogaine Foam the itching and flaking disappeared. So I made the switch to Rogaine Foam and the itchiness and flakiness did exactly that, it disappeared. As far as the hair loss went, I also noticed the same results as the topical solution. My excessive hair loss stopped and my hair was thicker and fuller.
My Recommendation
My experience with the product is a positive one and I still currently use the product. The product has stopped my excessive hair loss which in turn has restored my confidence and ability to just keep on living life without worrying about going bald. I know that with my family history I would have been bald by now if I didn’t use the product. I also feel that Rogaine Foam is really convenient and quick to apply. I just simply added it to my daily regimen of getting ready and it only takes about 20 to 30 seconds to apply.
Based on my personal experience of using the product and reading Rogaine Foam reviews of others I recommend the product to any male experiencing pattern baldness. I hope they have the same positive experience that I am having. The real negative is that it might not work for you, however, if you purchase the 3 or 4 month supply product it is a small price to pay in order to find out if Rogaine Foam will work for you. All you have to do is give it a try and sufficient enough time to see if it is working for you.