Minoxidil Vs PP405: How They Compare For Hair Loss
Last reviewed on 13 October 2026. We review our treatment guides every six months to keep them accurate.
Key points
They are close cousins, but not the same. Minoxidil and PP405 are both topicals that work on the follicles rather than on hormones, but minoxidil boosts the follicles you already have, while PP405 tries to wake dormant ones back up.
Minoxidil is the proven, non-hormonal topical. Applied to the scalp, it widens blood vessels and prolongs the growth phase of the hair cycle, so hairs grow for longer and come through thicker. It is licensed and has decades of evidence.
PP405 is an experimental stem-cell activator. It is a topical designed to switch tired follicle stem cells back on by changing how they use energy, a newer and more regenerative idea, but it is still in clinical trials and not approved.
The decisive difference is availability and evidence. Minoxidil is available now with strong evidence; PP405 is not yet available, and for it the fullest results have not been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Both are non-hormonal, so PP405’s appeal here is different. Unlike a DHT drug, minoxidil already avoids hormones, so what makes PP405 interesting alongside it is its more regenerative mechanism, not avoiding side effects.
Because they do different jobs, they are not really rivals. One boosts active follicles and the other wakes dormant ones, so in principle they could complement each other rather than compete.
Neither can bring back hair that is truly gone. Both aim to support or revive follicles that are still there; where follicles are lost, a hair transplant is the only option that adds hair. Which suits you is best decided with a clinician.
Minoxidil and PP405 are the most closely related pair among the newer hair-loss comparisons, because both are topicals that act on the follicles rather than on the hormone behind male pattern loss. The difference is what they do to those follicles: minoxidil boosts the ones that are still active, while PP405 tries to reactivate ones that have gone dormant. Minoxidil is a proven, licensed treatment; PP405 is a newer idea still in clinical trials. The key differences are how they work, and how proven and available each is.
This guide compares minoxidil and PP405 neutrally: what each is, how they differ, how effective they are, where each stands, who each suits, and how they fit with other treatments. It is general information and not a substitute for advice from a doctor.
The short answer
Minoxidil and PP405 are both non-hormonal topicals that work on the follicles, but they do different jobs. Minoxidil is a proven stimulant: it widens blood vessels and prolongs the growth phase of the hair cycle, so the follicles you still have grow for longer and come through thicker. It is licensed, cheap and backed by decades of evidence. PP405 is a different kind of treatment: an experimental topical designed to wake dormant follicle stem cells by changing how they use energy, a more regenerative idea aimed at switching inactive follicles back on rather than boosting active ones. It is promising, but still in trials, not approved, and its fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. Because both are already non-hormonal, what makes PP405 interesting is not avoiding side effects but its more fundamental mechanism. In practice, minoxidil is the proven topical you can use now, while PP405 is an experimental one to watch, and since they work differently they could in principle be used together. Neither, in any case, can bring back follicles that are already gone.
What is minoxidil?
Minoxidil is the most widely used topical treatment for hair loss, applied to the scalp as a solution or foam (and sometimes taken as a low-dose tablet). Rather than targeting the hormone behind male pattern loss, it stimulates the follicles directly. As a comprehensive review of minoxidil describes, it "acts through multiple pathways (vasodilator, anti-inflammatory agent, inducer of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, an antiandrogen), and may also affect the length of the anagen and telogen phases", and in practice its main effects are widening the blood vessels around the follicle and prolonging the growth phase, so hairs grow for longer and thicker. The same review notes that "topical minoxidil causes hair regrowth in both frontotemporal and vertex areas". Although that list mentions a minor anti-androgen action, minoxidil is not used or relied upon as a DHT blocker; it is a stimulant that boosts the follicles you still have. Our guide on minoxidil for hair loss covers it in detail, and finasteride versus minoxidil compares it with the first-line DHT-lowering tablet.
What is PP405?
PP405 is an experimental topical from the company Pelage, aimed not at hormones but at the follicle’s own stem cells. It grew out of research at UCLA into how hair-follicle stem cells use energy. That work, published in Nature Cell Biology, found that "HFSCs utilize glycolytic metabolism and produce significantly more lactate than other cells in the epidermis", and that pushing cells to make more lactate wakes them up: "loss of function of Mpc1 has been shown to drive lactate production through enhanced conversion of pyruvate to lactate by Ldh", and in animals, deleting that carrier produced "a strong acceleration of the ventral and dorsal hair cycles". The researchers showed a topical small molecule could do the same: "topical treatment of animals in telogen (day 50) with UK-5099 led to a robust acceleration of the hair cycle". PP405 is the drug built on this idea, designed to switch dormant follicles back on. It is applied to the scalp and has been through early human trials, but, as our guide on PP405 for hair loss explains, its results so far come mainly from company announcements rather than full peer-reviewed publications, and it is not yet approved.
Which is more effective for hair loss?
On the evidence available, minoxidil is clearly the more proven treatment, simply because it is established and PP405 is not. Minoxidil has decades of use and good trial support for growing hair at the crown and front, as the minoxidil review sets out, and it is licensed for the purpose. PP405 is based on solid laboratory science, shown in the UCLA work above, and the company has reported encouraging early trial results, but those results have not yet been published in full in peer-reviewed journals, and larger, longer trials are still to come.
The two are also not directly comparable, because they do different jobs. Minoxidil boosts the follicles that are still active, with proven results; PP405 tries to reactivate follicles that have gone dormant, with a plausible mechanism but, as yet, no published, independent human evidence to show how well it works. So the honest position is that minoxidil is the proven, available option, while PP405 is a promising but unproven one that works in a different, more regenerative way.
Minoxidil vs PP405: how do they compare?
Both are non-hormonal topicals that act on the follicles, but they differ in what they do and how proven they are:
What they are: both are topicals applied to the scalp. Minoxidil is a proven stimulant (solution, foam or low-dose tablet); PP405 is an experimental gel.
How they work: minoxidil widens blood vessels and prolongs the growth phase, boosting the follicles you still have; PP405 changes how follicle stem cells use energy to wake dormant follicles, a more regenerative approach.
What they tackle: minoxidil keeps active follicles growing for longer and thicker; PP405 tries to switch inactive follicles back on. One boosts, the other revives.
Hormones: neither touches DHT, so both are non-hormonal, which means PP405’s appeal alongside minoxidil is its mechanism, not avoiding hormonal side effects.
Availability: minoxidil is licensed and available now; PP405 is still in clinical trials and not approved.
Evidence: minoxidil has decades of use and good evidence; PP405 is promising but early, with the fullest trial results not yet published in peer-reviewed journals.
Rivals or partners: because one boosts active follicles and the other wakes dormant ones, they are complementary rather than competing, and could in principle be used together.
What neither does: neither can bring back follicles that are already gone, so both are for supporting or reviving follicles that are still there rather than replacing hair that is lost.
Which is right for you?
In practical terms today, minoxidil is the option you can actually use: it is proven, licensed, inexpensive and easy to apply, and it boosts the follicles you still have by prolonging the growth phase. PP405 is not yet available, so however appealing the idea of reactivating dormant follicles, it is not a choice you can make right now, and it remains promising rather than proven. Because minoxidil is already non-hormonal, PP405 would not be a way to avoid hormonal side effects, as it might be against a DHT drug; what makes it interesting here is the idea that it could do something minoxidil cannot, by waking follicles that have switched off rather than only supporting those still working. But that is, for now, a hope rather than a proven advantage. The more useful way to think about them is as two different, potentially complementary topicals: minoxidil to boost active follicles, proven and available; PP405 to wake dormant ones, experimental and one to watch.
Neither, in any case, suits someone whose follicles are already gone, because both aim to support or revive follicles that are still there, not to create new ones. Because PP405 is still experimental, the sensible step is to start with proven, available options such as minoxidil and to discuss the newer treatments with a clinician, who can keep you informed as each reaches approval.
Can they be combined with other treatments?
For now, combining minoxidil and PP405 is theoretical, because PP405 is not yet available. In principle it is an appealing pairing, because minoxidil boosts active follicles while PP405 would wake dormant ones, so the two work at different points and should complement rather than overlap. In practice today, minoxidil is most often combined with a treatment that tackles the hormonal cause, a DHT-lowering tablet such as finasteride, which we compare in our guide on finasteride versus minoxidil. The other emerging comparisons, including the anti-androgen clascoterone and PP405 itself, are covered in our guides on minoxidil versus Breezula, finasteride versus PP405 and Breezula versus PP405.
Neither minoxidil nor PP405 can restore hair where the follicles have been lost. Where loss is advanced, a hair transplant is a separate option that redistributes your own permanent hair, and a topical like minoxidil is often used around a transplant to support the surrounding hair. The key point is that these are treatments to support or revive the hair you still have, used as part of a wider plan, not a cure.
The bottom line
Minoxidil and PP405 are both non-hormonal topicals that act on the follicles, but they do different jobs. Minoxidil is a proven stimulant that boosts the follicles you still have, widening blood vessels and prolonging the growth phase; it is licensed, cheap and backed by decades of evidence. PP405 is an experimental topical that tries to reactivate dormant follicles by changing how their stem cells use energy, a more regenerative approach, but it is still in trials, not approved, and its fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. Neither can bring back follicles that are already gone.
If you are choosing a treatment today, minoxidil is the proven, available option, while PP405 is an experimental one to watch for the future. The two are not really rivals: minoxidil boosts active follicles, and PP405 would wake dormant ones, so they may one day be used together. A clinician can help you decide what suits your hair loss now, usually starting with the proven mainstays, and how newer treatments might fit in once they are approved.
Frequently asked questions
Is PP405 better than minoxidil for hair loss?
On the evidence available, no, because minoxidil is proven and PP405 is not. Minoxidil is a licensed treatment with decades of evidence that it boosts the follicles you still have. PP405 is an experimental topical with a promising, more regenerative mechanism, aimed at waking dormant follicles, but its fullest results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals and it is not approved. Its appeal is the idea that it might do something minoxidil cannot, but that is a reason to watch it, not evidence that it works better. For now, minoxidil remains the proven choice.
Is PP405 available yet?
No. PP405 is still in clinical trials and has not been approved for hair loss. The company has reported encouraging early results, but the full data has not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals, and no approval has been granted, so it cannot yet be bought or prescribed. Minoxidil, by contrast, is licensed and available over the counter.
What is the difference between minoxidil and PP405?
Both are non-hormonal topicals, but they work on the follicles in different ways. Minoxidil is a stimulant: it widens blood vessels and prolongs the growth phase of the hair cycle, so the follicles you still have grow for longer and thicker. PP405 is an experimental stem-cell activator: it changes how follicle stem cells use energy, aiming to wake dormant follicles back up. So minoxidil boosts active follicles, while PP405 tries to revive inactive ones; and minoxidil is available now, while PP405 is still in development.
Could PP405 do something minoxidil cannot?
That is the hope behind it, but it is not yet proven. The idea is that minoxidil mainly supports follicles that are still active, whereas PP405 aims to reactivate follicles that have gone dormant, which could, in theory, help where minoxidil alone does not. If that proves true, the two might work well together, one boosting active follicles and the other waking dormant ones. But PP405 is still in trials, and whether it reactivates dormant follicles in people to a meaningful degree has not yet been shown in full, peer-reviewed data, so for now it remains a promising idea rather than an established advantage.
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