“I Just Wasn’t Interested”: The Unlisted Sexual Side Effect Plaguing Some Minoxidil Users
With a bald older brother two years his senior, 45-year-old Samer Saah was growing increasingly anxious about his own hair. After watching notable thinning emerge around his temples, he brought the issue up at his annual check-up and was prescribed oral Minoxidil.
To Saah, it seemed like a no-brainer. He set a daily alarm to take his 2.5mg tablet and was quickly thrilled with the results, noting his hair grew back significantly thicker.
But three to four months into the treatment, Saah experienced something entirely unexpected: a sudden and complete loss of his sex drive.
“My sex drive just went away,” Saah, a public relations specialist living in California, explained. “Arousal was not an issue, intimacy was not an issue, I just wasn’t interested.” The unexplained drop in his libido ultimately contributed to the end of his seven-month relationship.
Minoxidil vs. Finasteride: The Sexual Side Effect Disconnect
Saah’s experience points to a growing, confusing phenomenon in the hair loss community.
A loss of libido is a well-documented and officially listed side effect of Finasteride (Propecia). Because Finasteride prevents balding by actively interfering with male sex hormones (specifically testosterone), roughly 2% to 4% of users experience sexual side effects like erectile dysfunction, ejaculation problems, or a loss of sex drive.
However, Minoxidil (also sold topically as Rogaine) works entirely differently. It is a vasodilator—meaning it widens blood vessels to boost the nutrient and oxygen supply directly to hair follicles. It does not manipulate hormones. Therefore, sexual side effects are not listed on its warning labels, and doctors are not entirely sure how the drug could biologically cause sexual dysfunction.
The Emerging Medical Data
Despite the lack of official warnings, Saah is not alone. While doctors frequently dismiss the connection, the FDA’s adverse event reporting system paints a different picture:
-
Recent Data: Since 2017, the FDA’s monitoring system has recorded 72 cases of sexual dysfunction among Minoxidil patients, including 7 specific cases of total libido loss.
-
Historical Data: A 2016 study by Chinese researchers analyzing FDA data from 2004 to 2014 found 92 recorded cases of people losing their libido while taking the drug.
(Note: Reports to the FDA system are self-reported and not officially verified by medical professionals. It is also unclear if the reporting patients were using oral or topical versions).
What Do the Doctors Say?
Medical professionals remain highly skeptical of a direct link. The Daily Mail spoke to three doctors who frequently prescribe Minoxidil; all stated they had never heard of this side effect occurring in their patients.
Saah is also keen on exercise and the outdoors. He is shown above posing on a hike
Dr. Patrick Davis, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills who prescribed the medication to Saah, expressed surprise. “For Minoxidil, there are no documented side effects with regards to libido,” Davis noted. “I would say it likely does not cause these complications, simply because it has been extensively studied already and prescribed to many individuals the world over.”
Dr. Aziz Elgindi, a UK-based hair transplant surgeon, added that Minoxidil could theoretically cause fatigue and disrupt sex-drive hormones if it caused a severe dip in blood pressure. However, this typically only occurs when patients take massive doses (10mg) used to treat severe hypertension—more than double the standard 2.5mg dose prescribed for hair loss.
Other Factors at Play
Doctors point out that male libido is highly complex. A man’s testosterone levels naturally begin to drop by 1% to 2% every year starting in their late twenties. By their 40s, an estimated 40% of men report some form of sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, extreme exhaustion—such as Saah’s grueling four-hour daily work commute—and general anxiety are the most common culprits for a sudden loss of sex drive.
Despite the heavy toll it has taken on his dating life, Saah insists he has no plans to stop taking his 2.5mg daily dose.
“My reaction is that this is an uncommon side effect that is not usually seen in Minoxidil; it is normally related to Finasteride,” concluded Dr. Davis. “But it is also clear that the benefits Samer is getting from the medication suggest it is worth him continuing on it.”
