Rogaine – How Rogaine Was Accidentally Discovered From A High Blood Pressure Medication

Rogaine is a powerful hair loss prevention medication that was first released in 1988. In fact, Rogaine was the very first product that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration that was specifically released to treat balding and thinning hair in both men and women. It went through years of clinical research and testing before being released to the public.

What Is Rogaine Made Of?

Rogaine gets its powerful effects from a drug named minoxidil. It comes as a lotion and is applied to the scalp area by rubbing a small amount into the skin. The good thing about Rogaine is that it is colorless and odorless. Nobody around you will be able to tell that you have a medicinal hair loss product rubbed into your scalp.

If Rogaine Came Out In 1988, Why Was Minoxidil Already On The Market Before Then?

For those of you who know the history of Rogaine and its amazing active ingredient, minoxidil, you are probably wondering why minoxidil was already being sold as a medication long before Rogaine was released in 1988. This is where the history of Rogaine becomes interesting.

Minoxidil was already on the pharmaceutical market and being sold in pill form. Individuals needed a doctor’s prescription in order to purchase minoxidil. Ironically enough, this drug was used to treat people suffering from high blood pressure. The product name that these pills were sold through was called Loniten.

How Loniten, A High-Blood Pressure Medication, Gave Birth To Rogaine

As mentioned above, Loniten was taken by many patients to lower their blood pressure. And guess what the key ingredient in this prescription pill was? Minoxidil.

After enough patients were taking this product, they did feel relief that their blood pressure was being treated, but they started to complain to their doctors about an interesting side effect: Hair Growth!

Now I would not exactly call this a negative complaint, as those patients that were experiencing thinning hair or bald patches had noticed an increase in new hair growth on parts of their scalp that had been completely bald for up to several years prior.

Too Much Hair Growth!

Unfortunately, new hair growth did not just pertain to the scalp. People that were taking the prescription medication for high blood pressure, Loniten, also started to see unwanted hair growing over other body parts. They were seeing new hair growth on their arms, back, chest, legs, everywhere! At first the doctors were very excited to have discovered a hair growth solution, but this extra hair growth created the problems.

Rogaine Is Born

As the old saying goes, every problem has with it the seed of a great solution. Doctors and researchers quickly tended to the side effects of this unwanted hair growth as a result of taking Loniten, which as you know contained the active ingredient minoxidil. What they did was create a topical lotion made up of minoxidil that could be applied separately to the scalp area.

This new lotion form would then have the ability to only grow hair on top of the head while not affecting the rest of the body. The results became an extraordinary a success in this new hair loss prevention product was titled Rogaine.

Rogaine – How Rogaine Was Accidentally Discovered From A High Blood Pressure Medication by Sam Turner