How to control baldness? Let's say that until the 1970s this was a question we didn't get an answer to. The first medicine for baldness appeared by chance and began to be known around 1980. In fact, the drug was manufactured for another purpose, that of controlling blood pressure, but it was enough hypertensive bald people make use of it for the discovery: Yes, there was a solution to the fall of hair.
Imagine a bald guy at the time who took this medicine to control his hypertension, and suddenly... sees new hairs growing on his bald head, he must have guessed: it's a miracle! For it was one of those patients who reported the miraculous feat to his doctor. Then, the researches about such probability began, and here is the result: the use of the medication had as a side effect, the hair growth.
The substance responsible for such a miracle went by the name of Minoxidil, with a structural formula:
Minoxidil Structure
As early as 1988, pharmacists began to prescribe the topical use of Minoxidil for patients with hair loss. Today, you can easily find such medication in pharmacies in the form of a 2% topical solution for treating reversible baldness.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Brazil School Team
Chemistry Curiosities - Chemistry - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Origin of baldness remedies"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/origem-dos-remedios-para-calvicie.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
