Minoxidil Article - Rogaine to be sold in stores

WASHINGTON (AP) February 13, 1996

Balding Americans will be able to buy the hair-growth drug Rogaine by spring without stopping to see a doctor first.

The Food and Drug Administration decided Monday that Rogaine can be sold in drugstores alongside shampoos and hair colorings, making it the only medically proven drug to fight baldness available without a prescription.

But while the move means people can buy a little hope against hair loss for about $30 a month, the FDA warned that not everybody should.

Some 40 million men and 20 million women suffer hair loss, most the hereditary form commonly known as male pattern balding. This is the only hair loss helped by Rogaine, which has been sold by prescription since 1988.

Even for those people, however, Rogaine doesn't always work, said FDA spokeswoman Ivy Kupec. It helps about 25 percent of men and 20 percent of women to gradually grow back moderate amounts of hair, mostly on the top of the head

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