Mesotherapy with minoxidil Treatment

IN LONDON

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DE FELIPE group is an international network of clinics and not all treatments are available at every location. We kindly invite you to contact us to confirm whether the treatment you require is offered at your chosen clinic.

Mesotherapy with minoxidil.

Excellent results.

What is it?

Minoxidil is an arterial vasodilator drug. Patients who take it experience increased hair density and thickness, and improved hair loss. In 1981, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of 2% minoxidil as a lotion for the treatment of female alopecia. Several dermatologists in New York conducted studies of this same 2% minoxidil lotion in male patients with androgenetic alopecia, so the company that produced it was unable to register the use of this same drug for AGA, or male pattern androgenetic alopecia. They eventually reached an agreement, and in 1997, it received FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval.

Minoxidil began to be used in the form of microinjections or infiltrations, which some also called mesotherapy, for the same alopecia, with excellent results. Several studies in the 2000s found that minoxidil injections or mesotherapy were at least three times more effective than topical lotion application. This, along with changes in minoxidil concentration (currently formulated at 5%) and the introduction of minoxidil as an oral medication, have significantly improved the drug’s bioavailability. Bioavailability is defined as the ability of a drug to reach the target site where it is intended to exert a specific effect—the hair follicle.

What does the procedure involve?

Minoxidil administration through mesotherapy is three times more effective than topical application and is free of many side effects such as hypertrichosis (excessive body hair growth) or irritation, according to a 2009 publication by Morsi et al.

A study by Melo et al. published in 2020 in J Cosmetic Dermatology describes the excellent results of MINOXIDIL infiltrations or MESOTHERAPY in the scalp in patients with Alopecia (2). Minoxidil prolongs the hair growth phase, or anagen phase, and this mechanism appears to be achieved through an increase in growth factors (3). MINOXIDIL INFILTRATIONS are indicated for all types of alopecia, whether androgenetic, hormonal, telogen effluvium, or inflammatory alopecias.

Minoxidil is also administered orally or in lotion form (4). A study published by Vaño et al. showed that it is widely used among dermatologists at doses ranging from 0.5 to 5 mg (5).

What is a session like?

1. INITIAL EVALUATION

We assess the area to be treated, explain the procedure, and answer any questions you may have.

2. PREPARATION

We prepare the area to be treated.

3. PRODECIDE

The microinjection or mesotherapy procedure is performed with microneedles to reduce pain.

4. MEDICATION

Small doses of medication are placed in the areas with hair loss.

5. MINIMIZING DISCOMFORT

The sessions are performed with the assistance of a vibrating device to minimize discomfort.

6. RETURN TO YOUR ROUTINE

You can return to your normal routine immediately after the procedure.

Is it painful?

Minimally painful, we use systems to reduce pain.

Does it require sick leave?

No

How long does a session take?

15 minutes

Recovery time

Immediate

How often are sessions needed?

The frequency of microinjection or mesotherapy sessions ranges from once a week to several months, depending on the indication.

The best person to help you choose the appropriate frequency for your mesotherapy treatments is your dermatologist.

When will I see results?

It is important for the patient to understand that minoxidil is a strong hair growth stimulant. This causes hairs that are in the growing phase to be expelled by the new hair, which sprouts from the depths of the hair follicle when the follicular stem cells begin to grow. It is a long process, but the first results can be visible as early as the second or third month.

Who is a good candidate?

Minoxidil is a follicular stem cell stimulant and can improve all types of alopecia.

It was first used for androgenetic alopecia, especially in women, to prevent side effects such as excessive hair growth on the rest of the body. It later began to be used for male androgenetic alopecia. The effects were also very positive.

Contraindications

People who experience headaches, hypotension, or other side effects related to the vasodilation produced by minoxidil are not good candidates for mesotherapy with this medication.

Pre- and/or Post-Treatment Advice

  • Before a minoxidil mesotherapy session, it is important to choose the right day. Although the procedure is minimally invasive, patients receive multiple injections or microinjections into the scalp. It is not advisable to undergo the treatment on a day when you have a headache, a flu, or are simply not feeling well.

  • After treatment, it is important not to wash your hair that same day and wait until the next day to use the appropriate shampoos. One of the most suitable shampoos to use concomitantly with minoxidil is one containing saw palmetto. It should be used so that it is in contact with the scalp for at least five minutes and massaged thoroughly.

  • Occasionally, some patients experience some pain or swelling in the scalp treated with mesotherapy. It is a self-limiting reaction that resolves spontaneously, but it can be worrying for some patients. It does not require treatment, but anti-inflammatory medications can be taken optionally for one or two days.

Scientific Evidence

 

There is considerable scientific evidence of the positive effects of minoxidil infiltrations or microinjections into the scalp for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

In a study published in 2019 (Melo DF, de Mattos Barreto T, Plata GT, Araujo LR, Tortelly VD. Excellent response to mesotherapy as adjunctive treatment in male androgenetic alopecia. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020 Jan;19(1):75-77. doi: 10.1111/jocd.12983. Epub 2019 May 8. PMID: 31066492.), 20 sessions of microinjections or mesotherapy were performed every 2 weeks in patients with androgenetic alopecia, and the results were excellent.
According to Gupta et al. (Gupta AK, Polla Ravi S, Wang T, Talukder M, Starace M, Piraccini BM. Systematic review of mesotherapy: a novel avenue for the treatment of hair loss. J Dermatolog Treat. 2023 Dec;34(1):2245084. doi: 10.1080/09546634.2023.2245084. PMID: 37558233.) There are currently 416 publications referring to the effect of microinjections in the scalp, of which 27 have a high statistical power and demonstrate a noticeable hair growth with components such as minoxidil, dutasteride, growth factors, botulinum toxin and others.

In a study comparing 25 men with androgenetic alopecia treated with mesotherapy or minoxidil microinjections with 24 men treated with 5% minoxidil lotion and also with androgenetic alopecia, mesotherapy was shown to be much faster at increasing hair thickness during the first months of treatment (Gajjar PC, Mehta HH, Barvaliya M, Sonagra B. Comparative Study between Mesotherapy and Topical 5% Minoxidil by Dermoscopic Evaluation for Androgenic Alopecia in Males: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Int J Trichology. 2019 Mar-Apr; 11(2):58-67. doi: 10.4103/ijt.ijt_89_18. PMID: 31007474; PMCID: PMC6463458.).

Minoxidil mesotherapy has also been shown to be very effective in women with androgenetic alopecia. In a study of 54 women with AGA, the group receiving minoxidil mesotherapy experienced significantly greater hair growth than the placebo group (Uzel BPC, Takano GHS, Chartuni JCN, Cesetti MV, Gavioli CFB, Lemes AM, Costa IMC. Intradermal injections with 0.5% minoxidil for the treatment of female androgenetic alopecia: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Dermatol Ther. 2021 Jan;34(1):e14622. doi: 10.1111/dth.14622. Epub 2020 Dec 10. PMID: 33269529.).

DE FELIPE group is an international network of clinics and not all treatments are available at every location. We kindly invite you to contact us to confirm whether the treatment you require is offered at your chosen clinic.

Should we remind your hair how to grow back?

The price of the different procedures for the treatment  is:

1 Session

£100