The Birth Of Rogaine: How A Blood Pressure Medication Became A Hair loss Solution

The very first hair restoration medication that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in order to treat men and women suffering from hair loss was called "Rogaine". Rogaine hit the market back in 1988 after many years of thorough testing and successful clinical trials.

Rogaine is actually the product name but is made up of a drug called "minoxidil". It comes in the form of a lotion which is rubbed on the scalp and is odorless, as well as colorless. Although Rogaine was officially made available in 1988, the drug minoxidil was already approved by the FDA as a prescription in pill form. However, the drug itself was used to treat high blood pressure. These pills were sold under the name "Loniten".

As stated above, the high blood pressure medication known as Loniten is made up of minoxidil. What started to happen is that patients with high blood pressure that were taking this prescription drug began to notice increased new hair growth on areas of their scalp that had been balding for a long period of time. However, this side effect also affected different parts of the body with unwanted hair growth.

Doctors labeled this condition of extra hair growth as "hypertrichosis". At first, many patients who had balding or thinning hair were happily surprised by the new hair that started to grow as a result of this high blood pressure medication. However, once it started to affect their arms, chest, back, and legs with extra hair, it became a big problem.

But as they say, every problem presents another solution. Researchers quickly jumped on this side effect and created the lotion form of minoxidil that could be applied to the scalp directly without affecting other parts of the body with unwanted hair growth. The goal was obviously to create direct hair growth on the scalp only, which became a success and born was the product called Rogaine.

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