How To Minimize Minoxidil Skin Dryness While Using Minoxidil 

Minoxidil Skin Dryness
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Do you experience skin dryness after applying minoxidil liquid treatment? That’s absolutely normal, that’s one of minoxidil’s known side effects.

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In this article, I’m going to walk you through on how to minimize minoxidil skin dryness while on minoxidil liquid treatment.

Experiencing skin dryness while on minoxidil liquid treatment is one of its known side effects, due to the alcohol content added to the formulation to enhance minoxidil’s absorption into the skin to stimulate hair follicles for hair growth.

Therefore, because of the alcohol content in the minoxidil liquid formulation, it instigates skin dryness, which isn’t suitable for anyone, especially those with sensitive and dry skin.

I have been a long-term minoxidil liquid treatment user (the one from Kirkland brand to be precise) which I used to grow my beard and hair corners, and I have experienced the skin dryness effect, and I can honestly tell you it’s not a good experience at all. But I was able to find a way to mitigate this effect and that’s exactly what I’m about to share with you guys.

How To Minimize Minoxidil Skin Dryness.

There are three (3) ways to curtail minoxidil skin dryness. They are:

  • Switch to the minoxidil foam version.
  • Use a good moisturizer after applying minoxidil.
  • Or Wash off the minoxidil after four (4) hours.

Switch To Minoxidil Foam Version. 

When I was using minoxidil, at seventeenth (17th) week of application, I switched from the liquid to the foam version (the Rogaine brand) for comparison purposes, and I experienced less skin dryness as opposed to when using the liquid version.

The foam version of minoxidil treatment doesn’t contain alcohol as a penetration enhancer, rather it contains lactic acid instead (in a small concentration) which is an AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) to help enhance product penetration without actually drying out the skin like alcohol does.

Therefore switching to the minoxidil foam version will help curtail minoxidil skin dryness. The foam version of minoxidil is mostly recommended for those who have sensitive and dry skin. Shop for Rogaine 5% minoxidil foam treatment.

Use A Good Moisturizer. 

If you prefer to use or keep using the liquid version of minoxidil (which contains alcohol that causes skin dryness), then you should use it alongside a good moisturizer to reduce skin dryness associated with liquid minoxidil use. This is the approach I used and I can beat my hand on my chest and say, it really does the job.

By using a good moisturizer, I mean, using a moisturizer that contains the three (3) main essential ingredients that makes up a good moisturizer – humectant, emollient and occlusive.

Humectants pull moisture from the atmosphere to the skin, to hydrate the skin surface, emollients, softens and moisturizes the skin by softening dry, rough and flaky skin, making it look and feel better. While occlusives seal in moisture into the skin to retain moisture, thereby preventing trans-epidermal water loss. And the best recommended moisturizer that contains all three (3) essential ingredients is The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA (hyaluronic acid).

This humectant, emollient and occlusive-rich  moisturizer also contains urea, which also delivers humectant potentials to the skin, by drawing moisture from the atmosphere to hydrate skin surface and also mildly exfoliate the skin by getting rid of flakes which makes it very recommended for people suffering from eczema, psoriasis, corns and callus. You can read my full review here.

You can as well use any good moisturizer for this purpose, so long it contains the three (3) essential ingredients that make up a good moisturizer and does the job well.

Wash Off The Minoxidil After Four (4) Hours.

This approach also helps minimize the skin drying effect of minoxidil. Therefore, instead of leaving the minoxidil on your skin overnight or for too long on your skin during the day, you can wash it off after four (4) hours of application. This is the recommended time to allow minoxidil fully get absorbed into the skin or scalp before washing it off.

Washing off minoxidil after four (4) hours of application is totally dependable as I personally leave mine on overnight. But if you’re concerned about minoxidil drying out your skin, (which I counteract with a moisturizer after minoxidil is fully absorbed) you can wash it off after four (4) hours of application. And follow up with a moisturizer.

How To Apply A Moisturizer While Using Minoxidil Liquid Treatment To Reduce Skin Dryness. 

I’ll walk you through on how to apply a moisturizer (The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA) alongside minoxidil liquid treatment to curtail minoxidil skin dryness, just like I do mine.

Carefully follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: Cleanse Your Face Or Scalp: If you’re applying minoxidil on your face, wash your face with a pH-balanced cleanser. PH-balanced cleansers mildly cleanses the skin without overly stripping the skin of its moisture barrier. Recommended, CeraVe Foaming Cleanser. But if you’re applying it (minoxidil) on your scalp, wash your hair with a gentle and moisturizing hair shampoo.
  • Step 2: Apply Your Minoxidil (1ML Amount): As instructed by the brand, apply 1mL of minoxidil liquid treatment to the beard area. If you wish to treat your scalp area too, apply the same 1mL measurement to your scalp area. There is a meniscus line on the dropper dispenser to help you apply the right amount.
  • Step 3: Allow Minoxidil To Fully Absorb: After applying the minoxidil content to your face or scalp, allow it to fully absorb and dry completely.
  • Step 4: Apply A Moisturizer: After minoxidil has completely absorbed and dried off, go ahead and apply a generous amount of your moisturizer. If you prefer to wash off the minoxidil liquid treatment after applying it, then endeavor to allow minoxidil to sit on your skin for four (4) hours, to allow some get into your skin, before washing off, and don’t forget to follow up with a moisture-rich moisturizer afterwards. If you’re applying minoxidil to your scalp, allow it to absorb and dry off completely, then go ahead and apply a moisturizing hair cream afterwards, to keep the skin on the scalp well moisturized.

In Conclusion.

Compromising your skin health in the course of using minoxidil liquid treatment isn’t worth it.

Therefore, it’s best advised to take proper care of your skin while using minoxidil liquid product to curtail minoxidil skin dryness and keep the skin well moisturized and healthy, so as to prevent the occurrence of damaged skin barrier.

UP NEXT: Worried That You May Have Bought The Fake Kirkland Minoxidil Liquid Treatment? Here’s How To Identify

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