Minoxidil, a decades-old hair-loss medicine available as a topical foam or solution, is enjoying a fresh burst of attention online as users post before-and-after photos claiming visible regrowth for scalp, beard and eyebrow hair. The social buzz has pushed searches and sales up, but what does the research actually say about who benefits, how it works and what to watch out for? Originally developed as a blood-pressure drug, minoxidil later became one of the most widely studied treatments for androgenetic alopecia. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that it can extend the hair’s growth phase and increase blood flow around follicles, improving density over time. Another trial of 381 women with female pattern hair loss found that 5% topical mi

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