I have genetically freakishly thin eyebrows that always bothered me. 20-ish years ago I started using bimatoprost and it made my eyebrows “normal”- well beyond my expectations. Thrilled. Took 4-6 months as I recall.
My hair thinning is only in front- classic MPB Norwood 2 1/2-3. I’ve taken Finasteride for 25 years and use Minoxidil 2x day most days- sometimes 1x. I decided to add Bimatoprost into my nighttime regiment. I gave it 9 months. Nada, zilch. Nothing has ever worked to regain the recession in front- my regiment just slows the progression (quite effectively- owing to me starting early).
I also have a freakishly sparse “beard”. 2 weeks without shaving and I look exactly like a 14 year old boy trying to grow a beard- and that is AFTER 18 months of Minoxidil beard regiment with microneedling (which has increased my “beard” coverage by ~40%). I digress…
Anyway, I added Bimatoprost to one side for, again, 9 months; and, again, nada.
I’m going to try agetron’s formula with microneedling.
I already do microneedling from my neck up into my hairline. A word of caution, if I apply minoxidil before or after microneedling, it goes systemic pretty quick and sends my heart racing. It was pretty uncomfortable, and I stopped that experiment.
Given the info above about using microneedling to help deliver the Rapamycin, I’d like to try agetron’s formula x-minoxidil on the microneedling day, so I will mix up a second batch without the Minoxidil.
Herein, we report a dissolvable microneedle device for the co-delivery of rapamycin and epigallocatechin gallate nanoparticles that can significantly promote hair regeneration. Compared with the mice without any treatment, our strategy can facilitate hair growth within 7 days. Higher hair shaft growth rate and hair follicle density with inconspicuous inflammation were exhibited in C57BL/6 mice, elucidating its potential for clinical application.
I am pleased with my tonic - but it is slow but consistent improvement. Each element adds something DSMO the solvent and access/penetration through the skin… 5% Minoxidil increases the anagen interval… finasteride blocking the production of DHT… rapamycin activates autophagy which encourages growth… metformin promotes growth and heals scalp eruptions…EGCG (extract) also blunts DHT inhibiting the activity of hormones that induce hair loss and promoting hair regrowth by stimulating hair follicles.
Making a new batch of tonic tonight – I will be sure to add EGCG extract. Walgreens has it I think. Might get the pills too. I have a doctor friend still working at age 83 years he swears by Green Tea pills. he has taken for past 3 years.
Don’t forget the Resveratrol! Finasteride coupled with full body hair has worked well for me the past 15 years. But after reading this thread I have been using my rapamycin cream and OneSkin higher up on my forehead!
Everything I see is capsules vs pills. The alternative would be powder from Bulk Supplements which is 50% EGCG.
What is the opinion of Bulk Supplements in general? They are up front on their website that everyone sources from China, but that they then test every batch they get from China in-house for purity, contaminants, etc. Kinda reads like a “we know you don’t trust China, so rest assured, we test everything again here in the US because we don’t trust China either”!
I know a lot of people don’t trust Do Not Age. Bulk Supplements has very similar products— but better quality control???
Were there any problems with the quality of Do Not Age? I have bought some of their supplements and if there is a problem, I would switch. I thought it was just the price??? Please let me know of any better suppliers as I am always looking for something better. Thanks!!!
Not sure if it would qualify as a problem, but I have been using their rather expensive hyaluronic acid supplement for almost a year now with no visible results to my old crepey skin, nor “invisible” results to osteoarthritis or anything else. Don’t plan to continue it. n=1
Just ran out of regular hair tonic tonight. As mentioned, I am pleased with my consistent gains on the crown and front. Looks much better.
But, always one for a better plan… skunk works in action. Tonight I am adding ECGC… Green tea extract and Resveratrol!
Also, now that my hair has stabilized… so, I am going to start just using the tonic just once daily… after my morning shower. Skip nighttime application.
The two new additions ECGC… Green tea extract and Resveratrol gave the tonic a chocolaty appearance. Lol. I cut off the ends of gel capsules with scissors and squeezed it in.
Now has a bit of a scent… not strong… just more than before.
Yes, their hyaluronic acid is crazy expensive. I use double wood for that. Much cheaper! Still not sure what benefits I get from it and which are from the collagen. However my skin has plumped up instead of being dry and loose. My wife says I now have fat fingers. Not sure if that is a compliment though…
Interesting… add Rosemary added benefit will be fresh scent. Lol.
Oh and BTW - the new - improved tonic gives a slightly browner glaze to my hair - so after a few uses might cause my grey bits to be less. Also, seems to have a bit of an oil to it now which could benefit scalp… less dryness and itching.
Thanks for the tip. I will try double wood. Saving money is always good, as our supplement stacks become very expensive. And always great to hear positive user experiences!
(as a side note, minoxidil tablets are available from many of the companies on the list of reliable online pharmacies, for very little money - i.e. $1 for a strip of 10 tablets of 5mg, which would need to be broken up to deliver the much lower dose used in the study). The doctor is quoted as now giving patients “effective doses of one-fortieth of a pill and began routinely prescribing the drug. That first patient still takes it.”
But there is a cheap treatment, he and other dermatologists say, costing pennies a day, that restores hair in many patients. It is minoxidil, an old and well-known hair-loss treatment drug used in a very different way. Rather than being applied directly to the scalp, it is being prescribed in very low-dose pills.
Although a growing group of dermatologists is offering low-dose minoxidil pills, the treatment remains relatively unknown to most patients and many doctors. It has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this purpose and so is prescribed off-label — a common practice in dermatology.
At a meeting in Miami in 2015, Dr. Sinclair reported that low doses of minoxidil prompted hair growth in 100 successive women.
He published those results in 2017, noting that rigorous studies were needed, in which some patients would be randomly assigned to take minoxidil and others a sugar pill. But that has not happened. He says he has now treated more than 10,000 patients.
Recently, a rising number of hair-loss dermatologists have been giving the low-dose pills to patients with male and female pattern hair loss, a normal occurrence with age.
The research papers that have been published on this is below:
Background
Minoxidil and spironolactone are oral antihypertensives known to stimulate hair growth.
Objective
To report on a case series of women with pattern hair loss (PHL) treated with once daily minoxidil 0.25 mg and spironolactone 25 mg.
Methods
Women newly diagnosed with a Sinclair stage 2–5 PHL were scored for hair shedding and hair density before and after 12 months of treatment with oral minoxidil 0.25 mg and spironolactone 25 mg.
Results
A total of 100 women were included in this observational pilot study. Mean age was 48.44 years (range 18–80). Mean hair loss severity at baseline was Sinclair 2.79 (range 2–5). Mean hair shedding score at baseline was 4.82. Mean duration of diagnosis was 6.5 years (range 0.5–30). Mean reduction in hair loss severity score was 0.85 at 6 months and 1.3 at 12 months. Mean reduction in hair shedding score was 2.3 at 6 months and 2.6 at 12 months. Mean change in blood pressure was −4.52 mmHg systolic and −6.48 mmHg diastolic. Side effects were seen in eight women but were generally mild. No patients developed hyperkalemia or any other blood test abnormality. Six of these women continued treatment, and two women who developed urticaria discontinued treatment.
Female pattern hair loss: a pilot study investigating combination therapy with low-dose oral minoxidil and spironolactone
