What is the role of Rogaine or Headway (Minoxidil 5%,2% Solution)?

The traditional way to attach a wig to the scalp is with tape or glue. The problem is that the wig can come off relatively easily, causing embarrassment in public or humiliation in an intimate setting. To try to solve this problem wig manufacturers have developed some new and exotic methods of attachment.

Some wigs are firmly held in place by actual wire loops, which are surgically stitched, into the scalp. While the wig hardly ever falls off, serious infection (not to mention uncleanness and odor) easily occurs. That's because the holes in the scalp usually don't fully heal and close.

Another method of keeping a wig from falling off is "tunnel grafting." Pieces of skin are surgically cut out from behind the ear lobe or from the groin areas and them implanted into the scalp to form living loops of skin. When fully healed, they can accept plastic fasteners that are then secured to the wig.

Wig makers have even tried individual synthetic fibers with miniature barbs at the tips that hook directly into the scalp. These are called "implants" (not transplants), and have been outlawed in most states because of the severe pain, infection and scarring they almost always cause.

In hair "weaving", the wig is often made up of severed human hair which is fastened onto a filament netting that is, in turn, tied tightly to the client's own remaining natural hair in several places around the edge of the horseshoe-shaped balding area.
The problem is that the client often experiences additional permanent hair loss from the frequent retying or "tightening" of the wig. Because his remaining natural hair grows an average of ½ inch per month, the woven wig begins loosening within the first week. From then on, for as long as he continues to wear the "system", he will have to return approximately every six weeks to have it tightened.

After about six months he can begin to lose hair permanently along the stress points where the wig is tied. This is known in dermatology as permanent traction alopecia.
If you're considering signing a contract to purchase a wig, be sure to ask for clear and complete answers to all of your questions about exactly how your wig will be attached to your scalp.

Find out also the total initial cost of one wig and the cost of ongoing maintenance. What wig advertisements don't tell you is that you usually have to buy at least two wigs: one to wear while the other is being cleaned and refurbished. At $1,000 - $3,500 each for an average-to-excellent quality wig, and a normal usability span of less than two years per "piece", the lifetime cost of wearing wigs is sizable. And, in the case of the "gradual transformation" that's often advertised, you may have to buy four or more different wigs!
Also ask the hard questions about weather-related and perspiration-related activities. Many wig advertisements promote the idea that a man can swim and shower with his wig on. The fact is, a man can swim and shower with a wig on, but these activities usually will quickly cause permanent damage to the wig. You should ask the wig salesman: 1) "how will swimming and showering affect the color and styling of my wigs?" and 2) "How much damage will exposure to soap, water, salt and chlorine cause, and what will that do to the usability span of my wigs?"

Remember, unlike artificial limbs, wig prostheses are highly visible and extremely delicate. To keep them looking presentable, they must be of high quality, and be maintained with scrupulous care.

In 1988, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first medication for application to the scalp that has been proven to grow human hair: minoxidil solution 2%. It is currently marketed under the name Rogaine by Pharmacia & Upjohn and is now available in a 5% solution to attempt to satisfy men who found the weaker solution of little effect or no effect at all.

The fact is, minoxidil has been available since the late 1970s and had been used as an internal medicine to treat severe high blood pressure. By accident it was found to have some ability to reverse or slow down the balding process in a few men. However, Pharmacia & Upjohn admits in its press releases and product literature that “no effect on frontal baldness (the area of greatest concern to most balding and thinning men) has been demonstrated with Rogaine.” Since we at Bosley make minoxidil available to any patient who wishes to try it, we have observed the results on some 6,000 patients and concur that the drug is ineffective in the frontal hairline area. The long-term side effects of using Rogaine or Headway, if any, are unknown. There is also no assurance that the FDA will not later revoke its approval of either on the basis of further clinical experience. For now, though, these drugs are approved and available, and do offer, under the right circumstances, hair retention and limited re-growth opportunities for anyone wishing to experiment with their effectiveness. (As new information, based on more widespread use of these formulations is released, be assured that you, as a Bosley patient, will be among the first to learn of it.)

Rogaine usually costs about $50 per month over-the-counter.

Professional services provided by the licensed medical doctors of the Bosley Medical Group, L. Lee Bosley, M.D., founder and director. in Texas, by Texas Hair Institute in consultation with Bosley Medical of Beverly Hills. In Florida, by the Bosley Medical Group's Florida Physicians. In Canada, by a licensed Ontario physician in conjunction with Bosley Medical of Canada LTD.