Minoxidil 10% and 15%: Is High-Strength More Effective?
Wondering about minoxidil 10% or higher for hair loss? When it comes to this topical product, a higher strength doesn’t necessarily mean better or more effective.
You can use minoxidil for a receding hairline or hair loss on your crown. You may know it as Rogaine®, the brand name it’s sold under.
Minoxidil comes in a few different strengths. While we don’t have much research on minoxidil 10% and 15%, the stronger stuff doesn’t appear to be better. In fact, the 5% solution may be the most effective of all.
Which minoxidil is best? Well, it depends. Below, we’ll dive into the effectiveness of 10% and 15% minoxidil and any potential risks of using them.
Are Minoxidil 10% and Minoxidil 15% Available?
Yes, minoxidil 10% and minoxidil 15% are available — but not over the counter.
Minoxidil comes in several strengths. Do a bit of clicking around online, and you’ll find a range of products like minoxidil 1%, minoxidil 2%, minoxidil 5%, minoxidil 7,% and even minoxidil 15%.
These numbers refer to the percentage of the active ingredient — how much minoxidil is in the medication. But again, stronger doesn’t necessarily mean better.
Topical minoxidil is available over the counter in both liquid and foam formulations. You’ll most likely see these products as 2% and 5% minoxidil. These are the only minoxidil dosages approved by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
At 2% and 5%, minoxidil is FDA-approved to treat androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss).
It’s also used off-label to treat other types of hair loss, including:
Alopecia areata
Chemotherapy-induced alopecia
Hair loss after a hair transplant
Scarring alopecia
Off-label use means a healthcare professional legally prescribes a medication to treat something it’s not specifically FDA-approved for.
How Does Minoxidil Work?
Minoxidil was first developed as a vasodilator (something that opens up blood vessels) and used to treat severe refractory hypertension — high blood pressure resistant to treatment.
When it comes to hair, minoxidil increases blood flow to the scalp. It also shortens the telogen (resting) phase of the hair growth cycle and extends the anagen (growing) phase. This combo leads to thicker, longer hair.
At least, that’s what we think. Researchers don’t know exactly how minoxidil works to improve hair density (just that it does), but think of it as a gift from the hair gods.
And it’s not just topical minoxidil that can work wonders on your hairline. Research into oral minoxidil and hair loss looks promising, but more clinical trials are needed.
Though oral minoxidil is prescription-only, you can buy topical minoxidil over the counter. We offer access to oral minoxidil following a virtual consultation with one of our healthcare providers.
We’ve covered more on where to get minoxidil in our blog.
As for 10% and 15% minoxidil topical, they’re not as common over the counter. You might see them advertised online as more powerful hair loss treatments, but these strengths aren’t generally recommended — and they may not actually be more effective.
Are Minoxidil 10% and Minoxidil 15% Effective?
Now for the big question: Is higher-strength minoxidil more effective? We can’t say for sure, but it might not be.
There isn’t much research into 10% and 15% topical minoxidil solutions. We know a lot more about 2% and 5% minoxidil.
What do we know, exactly? Well, both 2% and 5% minoxidil have been shown to be effective at increasing hair growth and decreasing hair loss. And the 5% strength seems to be more effective than minoxidil 2%.
Research on Minoxidil 10%
As mentioned, 10% minoxidil isn’t available over the counter. So getting your hands on some isn’t as simple as stopping by a drugstore (or our website) to pick up a bottle.
More recent research looked at a higher dose of minoxidil and found it wasn’t more effective. A 2021 study gave 90 men with male pattern baldness 5% minoxidil, 10% minoxidil, or a placebo. Participants used the topical treatment for 36 weeks.
Surprisingly, 5% minoxidil was found to be more effective than 10% minoxidil. Guys who used the 5% solution saw more hair regrow around their hairlines and crowns of their heads.
Shocked? Us too.
The 5% treatment also caused less scalp irritation compared to 10% minoxidil.
People sometimes confuse 10% minoxidil with an oral medication known as Loniten®, which contains 10 milligrams (mg) of minoxidil. But 10% and 10 milligrams aren’t the same dosage (we understand the confusion, though), and Loniten is for treating high blood pressure, not hair loss.
Research on Minoxidil 15%
Minoxidil 15% is only available with a prescription, and it’s not easy to find.
If 5% minoxidil doesn’t kick your hair follicles into shape, the 15% solution might do the trick. But the study showing results like this was done on women.
Research from 2016 looked at women with female pattern hair loss who didn’t respond to 5% minoxidil treatment. The participants used 15% minoxidil for 12 weeks. At the end of the treatment period, 60 percent of the women experienced hair growth.
Another bonus was that none of the women reported adverse events when using the stronger solution.
A 2022 review looked into multiple minoxidil studies to see if concentrations higher than 5% are better. It found that minoxidil is ”poorly soluble” and that concentrations greater than 5% tend to be unstable. This means it could crystallize and separate from the solution or simply be less effective.
The study also reported mixed results and that higher concentrations increased the likelihood of irritation. The lesson? More research is needed.
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Is 2% or 5% Minoxidil More Effective?
We know you’re curious about high-strength minoxidil, but it’s worth understanding more about the over-the-counter strengths as well.
A 2002 study compared 5% and 2% minoxidil. Almost 400 men with male pattern baldness used either the 2% or 5% solution or a placebo twice a day for 48 weeks.
At the end of the experiment, the 5% minoxidil treatment was described as ”significantly superior” to the 2% treatment and the placebo.
Men who used 5% minoxidil had a higher hair count and scalp coverage — and we’re not talking about a small amount here. At week 48, they had a whopping 45 percent more hair regrowth than those who used 2% minoxidil. Wowza.
Even better? The 5% minoxidil worked quicker than the 2% minoxidil treatment.
There was one downside, though. The men who used the 5% treatment had more side effects, like itching and irritation, than those who used the 2% treatment.
Just FYI: Minoxidil has been shown to be effective, but don’t expect to wake up one morning to a full head of hair. It can take about eight weeks for minoxidil to start working its magic, and the best results may come after four months of treatment (or longer). Also, you have to keep applying it to avoid losing the new hairs that grow in.
You can learn more about how long it takes minoxidil to work in our guide.
Risks of Using High-Strength Minoxidil
The risks of using high-strength minoxidil at either 10% or 15% include an increased likelihood of side effects.
When using it as a topical solution, side effects of minoxidil may include:
Skin irritation
Itching
Dryness or scaly scalp
Allergic contact dermatitis
Hair shedding (oh, the irony)
Hypertrichosis (unwanted hair growth on areas other than the scalp)
Oral minoxidil comes with potential side effects, too. These include:
Low blood pressure or high heart rate
Swelling
Weight gain
Enlarged breast tissue in men
Worsening angina (chest pain)
Inflammation in the lining around the heart
Excess fluid around the heart
Exacerbation of congestive heart failure
Facial hair growth or excess hair on other parts of the body
There’s also the risk of a high-strength minoxidil product not working for you — not bad for your health, but your wallet and hairline may not be happy.
Alternatives to High-Strength Minoxidil 10%
You don’t need to use extra-strength Rogaine to treat hair loss. Lower-strength solutions and other treatment options can make hair grow faster.
Here are some other options to treat hair loss:
Minoxidil 5% topical solution. Yup, good ol’ 5% minoxidil works great. You can buy liquid minoxidil solution (applied from a dropper) over the counter. Check out our guide on how to apply liquid minoxidil to get it right.
Oral finasteride. Finasteride (generic Propecia®) is FDA-approved for treating male pattern hair loss. It’s available (following a consultation with a healthcare professional) in pill form to take once a day. It stops testosterone from converting into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone linked to hair loss. Oral finasteride has been shown to slow down hair loss and promote new hair growth.
Topical finasteride & minoxidil spray. Finasteride is also available as a topical product, and you can get the best of both worlds with a combo treatment. Learn more about using them together in our guide to minoxidil and finasteride.
Hair care products. Give your hair some TLC. Use volumizing shampoo, volumizing conditioner, or thickening shampoo with saw palmetto to make your hair look fuller. Learn more in our guide to hair loss shampoos.
Supplements for hair health. Biotin gummies provide the key nutrients your hair needs to look its best. Think folic acid and vitamins B7, B12, C, D, and E — to name just a few. These gummies can give your skin and nails a boost, too. Win-win-win.
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No matter the treatment plan, the best place to start is somewhere. Early action is the best hair loss prevention.
The Verdict on 10% and 15% Minoxidil for Hair Thinning
You see a higher number on a bottle and think it must be better than a lower dose — seems logical enough. And when you’re losing hair, you want the strongest stuff you can get your hands on. We get it.
However, 10% and 15% minoxidil may not be more effective than lower concentrations.
Here’s the low-down:
If you’re wondering which minoxidil is best, 5% minoxidil is more effective than 2%. Men tend to experience a lot more hair growth when using 5% minoxidil compared to 2%. And when we say a lot, we mean a lot. Research shows that a 5% solution could provide 45 percent more hair growth than a 2% option.
High-strength minoxidil comes with an increased risk of side effects. The downside of using a 5% minoxidil product over a 2% one is that you’re more likely to get side effects like itching, irritation, or a scaly scalp. That risk is there with anything over 5%, including 10% and 15%.
More research is needed into 10% and 15% minoxidil. We just don’t know enough about the strong stuff. It’s not FDA-approved for hair loss — unlike 2% and 5% minoxidil — and studies on higher-strength formulations are few and far between. Clinical trials that have been done suggest that 5% minoxidil could be more effective than 10% minoxidil. Go figure.
Noticing a receding hairline, thinning hair, or a bald patch up top? We got you. Check out our range of hair loss treatments (including our minoxidil and finasteride combo kit) to get back to a healthy head of hair.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment or medication.