Hi, The standard prescription for androgenetic alopecia is minoxidil 2% for females and minoxidil 5% for males. In females there is no added benefit of switching over to minoxidil 5% if not having much response with minoxidil 2%. Minoxidil is no wonder drug, one month is a very short period to notice its response. It should atleast be applied for 3 to 4 months as 1 ml twice in a day. In males low dose minoxidil 2 % isn t usually prescribed. As your doctor started with mintop 2 %, I presume you are a female client. Whatever redness, dryness of scalp you had with minoxidil 5% was basically due to irritant reaction of 5% minoxidil solution. Minoxidil foams as such are less sticky and less irritant in nature. so when your doctor suggested minoxidil foam, she must have meant minoxidil 5 % foam. When you are using foam, you do not have to use mintop forte lotion at all. whatever facts i have mentioned are basically the standard protocols followed in dermatology practice. However recent updates keep on coming over our subject there is a study which says minoxidil 5% foam once in a day application is better than minoxidil 2% solution twice in a day application for females(A randomized, single-blind trial of 5% minoxidil foam once daily versus 2% minoxidil solution twice daily in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women, published in JAAD 2011). So it is your doctor s discretion which treatment she basically wants to prescribe. Take care