Hahaha.
I use a special towel to dry after I let it set a few minutes. The tea is strong… so a little spray cologne and it is good.
It actually is absorbed into the hair so it doesn’t rub off… must be the DMSO… that makes it part of the hair… but no roots. If you get caught in the rain… it doesn’t leech or run down your face and neck… it is permanent.
Is softer… healthier… rich…
Been doing since May. Nobody thinks my hair is dyed because it retains my natural streaks.
Ok so I followed @Agetron’s original protocol tonight, with some added ingredients that come from a Strut Health custom Minoxidil formulation and calcium alpha ketoglutarate (Ca-aKG).
Process:
Crushed the pills in a stainless steel mortar and pestle. Transferred the powder to a Pyrex measuring cup, added 30mL of DMSO. Mixed the powder and DMSO plus 3000mg of Ca-aKG into a really thick, translucent paste, and stirred it 5 times over the course of an hour. Added 90 mL of the Minoxidil liquid, but it wouldn’t naturally mix with the DMSO goop, so I threw the separated mix into a cylindrical container and whipped it with a hand blender. I then transferred the resulting mix into a 120mL glass bottle and applied some to my scalp.
Ingredients:
• 6mg Zydus rapamycin
• 2500mg generic metformin
• 30mL DMSO
• 90 mL Strut Health Minoxidil (7.5% minoxidil, dutasteride 0.1%, tretinoin 0.0125%, and biotin)
• 3000mG Ca a-KG
Notes/questions:
• The DMSO mix seems too thick. Would appreciate thoughts on how to thin it and still maintain a 20-25% concentration in the final solution.
• Because the DMSO mix is so thick, it’s not possible to strain out material the DMSO doesn’t dissolve and so there’s a meaningful amount of sediment in the final solution that can’t be separated or strained out.
• Skipped the EGCG for now because of coloration concerns. With @Agetron’s reply above, I may try in the next batch for the potential to promote growth, although with my very dark hair and no meaningful number of grays at 49, I’ll need to see how well the red staining does in my hair.
• @RapAdmin recently posted a pair of studies indicating that lower rapamycin doses outperformed higher doses for hair regrowing. Thoughts on the 6mg in this protocol and how to potentially better tune to be in line with those studies?
Some details on me:
49yo, hair started thinning at 26. Have been on and off minoxidil since. Took oral finasteride for years but found that it killed my libido and stopped a few years in. A hair doc recently described me as a Norwood ~5 with a strong front tuft who has used Minoxidil for years and years with only slowed progression to show for it. I’ve been using this same Strut formula for maybe 18 months with no improvement and continued hair loss. I’ve also been on oral metformin 1g/day for ~36 mos and oral rapamycin 6mg/wk for ~14 mos. As an n=1, I’d be confident in saying that if I were to experience any new growth going forward that it’s likely the result of this change in formula.
Will report back with any changes I see.
Sediment is typical… it will slowly dissolve… as it sits… Just shake before using…
Not sure wht your DMSO is thick? The liquid Equatev Walmart minoxidil 5% should thin it?
Also I am taking 2.5 Meg minoxidil nightly from a pill prescription, but you could also just take that liquid Equate Walmart minoxidil 5% and put 2 to 3 drops under your tongue and it will do the same According to others I’ve even tried it… no negative effects
Yeah here’s what the DMSO paste looked like in the minoxidil:
I’ll increase the absolute amount of DMSO next time around.
I am not sure what went wrong… I don’t use collagen… ummm usually you have all crushed…powdered pills… and add about 1/4 fluid ounce of DMSO… Let it sit 20 minutes… stirring occasionally.
Then add a 2 fluid ounce bottle o 5% Minoxidil and a half of one.
Guys, just a little information I saw recently in a book on cosmetic dermatology that covered the excipients like transcutol and DMSO. See the bold comment on DMSO below. Here is an excerpt:
“Penetration enhancers
In this section, the influence of PEs on the diffusion coefficient and solubility of the active in the stratum corneum is evaluated. The use of topically applied chemical agents (surfactants, solvents, emollients) is a well‐known technique to modify the stratum corneum and also modify the chemical potential of selected actives. Collectively, these materials can be referred to as PEs. Based on the chemical structure, PEs can be categorized into several groups such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, terpene fatty acid esters, and pyrrolidone derivatives [13]. PEs commonly used in skin care products have well‐known safety profiles but their ability to enhance penetration of an active is challenging because of the manifold ingredients used in many formulations.
Chemical enhancers
They are also known as absorption promoters and accelerants which are “pharmacological inert, nontoxic, nonirritating, nonallergic, rapid onset of action, and suitable duration of action, inexpensive and cosmetically acceptable [14].” A number of solvents (e.g. ethanol, propylene glycol, Transcutol® [Gattefossé, Saint‐Priest, France], and N‐methyl pyrrolidone) increase permeant partitioning into and solubility within the stratum corneum, hence increasing KP in Fick’s equation (equation 9.1). Ethanol was the first PE cosolvent incorporated into transdermal systems [15]. Synergistic[…]” “Synergistic effects between enhancers (e.g. Azone® [PI Chemicals, Shanghai, China], fatty acids) and more polar cosolvents (e.g. ethanol, propylene glycol) have also been reported suggesting that the latter facilitates the solubilization of the former within the stratum corneum, thus amplifying the lipid‐modulating effect. Similarly, solvents such as Transcutol are proposed to act by improving solubility within the membrane rather than by increasing diffusion. Another solvent, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), by contrast, is relatively aggressive and induces significant structural perturbations such as keratin denaturation and the solubilization of membrane components [16]. Table 9.2 is a list of the more commonly utilized chemical PEs.”
Excerpt From Book:
Cosmetic Dermatology, Draelos, Zoe Diana;
Hmmm… am I to suppose this explains how the ECGC (Green Tea) and sienna colored Resveratrol seems to be absorbed into the hair shaft.
“solvent, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), by contrast, is relatively aggressive and induces significant structural perturbations such as keratin denaturation and the solubilization of membrane components”
Got my hair cut tonight… same stylist. Said she sees new grow and very healthy hair… not dried out or stressed. Says my hair looks totally natural… with blonde tones… formerly silver. Lol.
Been using 6 months… since May 2022… darker tone… an no roots…
That’s not appealing. Switching to Transcutol and building another batch.
Yeah, no collagen on my end, either. Maybe it was the alpha ketoglutarate that caused the congealing.
I’m going to toss the whole batch and start over with a simpler recipe.
Pumpkin Seed oil - oral.
Just heard of this, although research has been around for 9 years. Study looks valid with images. NLH collection. HINDAWI Study with charts and images 24 weeks. Looks promising. Link: Effect of Pumpkin Seed Oil on Hair Growth in Men with Androgenetic Alopecia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial - PMC Its actions have been suggested to be due to phytosterols. Works like minoxidil and finasteride but is a natural substance.
Furthermore, it seems to be a good addition to one’s supplements for skin, hair and a number of health factors great Omega 3 and 6 too. Link: Pumpkin Seed Oil Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits Wow!
Can be used orally and topically (recommended topical once a week or less). No additives pure stuff. Why not - suppose to make the hair coming in on my Agetron Skunk works hooch stronger. I order this on Amazon.
Product:
I am hopeful that this discussion will eventually evolve and produce some meaningfully substantive results. So far, it would be tough to claim that shared results have been anything but weak and anecdotal at best. Self-diagnosis is fraught. Accurately reporting such diagnoses further complicates the equation. Solid results require methodologies that aren’t easily followed.
The potential for impressive results is too exciting to ignore, however. I hope we can begin a discussion and plan for increasing the scientific validity of our collective observations!
One point I have already made: the photographic evidence presented so far is almost entirely useless. Controlled data gathering with a consumer cell phone is difficult at best. It can be improved by following a few basic base-configuration steps:
Hopeful.
DG
I just ordered one too.
You can always chase your rapamycin dose with pumpkin seed oil to increase bioavailability. 
All of this is true, but it is quite hard. I use high magnification USB camera (s). These are quite good and give this sort of image. Because I avoid cutting hair I know short hairs are new.
This is interesting. It triggered a thought for me. My interest, having a full head of thick hair but a slowly receding hairline, is recovering hairline loss. What if one had a ‘jig’ that could ‘index’ to your head somehow. Using a camera such as yours, you could then fairly reliably take photos of the same close-up: my hairline, for example.
I got the camera off Amazon in the UK. GBP 72
Pumpkin seed oil… who knew?
The study you cite used 400mg a day for 24 weeks.
The Amazon bottle says 1 teaspoon is 14g of pumpkin seed oil. So… roughly 2.5% of a teaspoon would be 400mg. Google says 1tsp is roughly 100 drops of water. So we’re talking 3 waterdrops worth of pumpkin seed oil daily.
It appears that pumpkin seed oil is a “good” fat, so no concern there.
Does anyone have medical advice about adding this to a regimen that already includes Minoxidil and Finasteride? Will it compete or cause any overdose?
As a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor it should do the same job as finasteride. some of us have experienced reduce sex drive and orgasm/ejaculate issues associated with finasteride. I’d love to drop it completely and switch to pumpkin.
Here’s the Amazon link:
Seems easy enough to try out. My Pumpkin Seed oil arrives in a week.
To counteract the reduced ejaculation from finasteride - try sunflower lecithin (not soy). Give it a few months - I went from non-existent clear drops to ropey loads. stop taking it … then my loads stop in days. Definitely works for me. Maybe AmyK will chime in - Some say no proof - the proof is in your pudding!
Link: Sunflower Lecithin Benefits and Possible Side Effects - Healthier Steps
Another seed oil - like pumpkin that is good for you.
Just wondering if you’ve ever tried to take the minimum effective dose of finasteride? I have BPH and was initially given proscar, which caused me all sorts of problem down there. So I decided to just suffer. I did an unrelated research into hair loss a couple of years later as I was starting to recede and learned that most hair loss clinics recommend a much smaller dose these days. I’ve been taking 1mg three times a week and have had no symptoms since. My hair returned and It’s also shrunk my prostate back to normal levels.
Paul – I agree you can scale down finasteride use every other day … or every third day. My urologist says I have the prostrate of a guy in his 20’s. Jokingly he says he can’t find it on my check-up - knows it is in there. Yeah funny - lol.
I’ve had the pumpkin seed oil a couple of days. Not the greatest taste but it’s ok. There’s talk about using it topically too but I’m not planning on that. Interesting on the Amazon Q&A there’s some controversy about the purity. I called the number on the bottle and they say that they regularly test for purity.
