Invite to Ask a Derm, a series from SELF in which board-certified skin doctors address your pushing concerns about skin, hair, and nail health. For this installation, we tapped Susan Massick, MD, FAADan associate teacher of dermatology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine concentrated on client care, resident education, and neighborhood engagement. Her specializeds consist of acne, moles, skin cancer, and eczema.
I have a number of fight scars that advise me I endured maturing in the early 2000s. One is an almost closed-up tummy button piercing (an actual scar, thanks to Britney-mania) and the other is my a little sporadic external eyebrows. My friend’s older sis plucked the hell out of them when I remained in intermediate school and I maintained the search for more than a years– up till a prominent eyebrow professional informed me to lay off the tweezers when I was operating at my very first publication task.
Gradually however undoubtedly, a few of those little hairs grew back, however my eyebrows were never ever rather as complete as they were before I began assaulting them. When I saw a lot of skin care influencers suggesting Rogaine for eyebrows on TikTok, I had to understand: Could that really work ?! So I asked Susan Massick, MD, board-certified skin specialist and associate teacher of dermatology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, that really question.
The response: “Theoretically, yes, however even if something is trending on TikTok, that does not suggest it’s an excellent concept,” Dr. Massick informs SELF. “Topical minoxidil, the active component in Rogaine, is not FDA-approved nor has it been actively investigated for usage on the eyebrows or straight on the face.”
Minoxidil (a high blood pressure medication in its oral kind, by the method) has been FDA-approved as a loss of hair treatment for the scalp, however, which is the basis for the eyebrow-growth claims on social networks, Dr. Massick states. Scientists aren’t sure precisely how it works, however “they think it enhances blood circulation to the roots and might lengthen the active hair development stage and slow the procedure of shedding,” she discusses. That’s why Rogaine can assist protect existing hairs and perhaps grow back lost hair when utilized regularly in individuals with androgenic alopecia, an acquired condition likewise called “male pattern baldness” or “female pattern loss of hair,” she states.
Why not slather it on your overplucked millennial eyebrows? Once again, there’s simply inadequate proof to state that’s a wise (or safe) relocation: “The couple of scientific research studies taking a look at off-label usage of topical minoxidil on the face were for a little number of individuals, for short-term trials of less than 16 weeks, and at lower concentrations of 1 to 3%, compared to the normal 2 to 5% in Rogaine items,” Dr. Massick discusses. “And inflammation was a typical negative effects.”
That tail end is another significant reason she recommends versus using Rogaine to the fragile skin around your eyes.
