Rapamycin, one of the most promising geroprotective drugs that was originally used as an immunosuppressant in transplantation patients, is now being tested for many uses, including hair regeneration. One study found that not only does rapamycin stimulate hair regrowth, it can also partially reverse hair graying. EGCG is a polyphenol found in green tea and a potent antioxidant that has shown effectiveness against various conditions, including androgenic alopecia.
Main ingredients are odorless… DMSO… 20 % to dissolve rapamycin (4 pills 2mg) and it permeate the skin, 80% of minoxidil 5%, 3 pills 5mg finasteride, 4 pills 500mg Metformin, just recently added 4 gel caps EGCG green tea… and 4 of Resveratrol. Cut ends off and squeeze.
Can skip EGCG and Resveratrol… if you don’t want brown accents in hair.
I dissolve the cap for 2mg rap and drop it in with ECGC supplement to 2000mg CBD isolate bottle here which is anti-microbial and a great base (MCT oil from organic coconut). Will report back!
There is conclusive clinical (along with a LOT of antidotal on hair loss forums) evidence that microneedling on it’s own promotes hair growth and that microneedling greatly increases the efficacy of minoxidil when they are combined.
They could have done this trial with a microneedling-only control and regular microneedling probably- but then what would they sell!
Anyone serious about hair growth should incorporate microneedling into their regiment. That said… easier said than done. It’s no fun (painful) at 1.5mm optimal depth. You’re also bloodied and red and not supposed to wash it off for 8 hours or so. The redness and trauma is visible for 1 1/2-3 days after, depending on how much bleeding there was. You also have to be careful about sun exposure. And… ideal frequency, at least to start, is weekly. So, yeah… quite a commitment. After 6 months or so, seems you can cut back to once every 3-4 weeks (this “maintenance” area doesn’t have much data).
Of course, microneedling is very good for the skin on your face, so, if you’re doing that anyways (usually once/month), including your scalp is a no-brainer imo. FYI: Scalp, forehead, nose and around the eyes hurts, the rest of the face is no big deal ime.
As I said in the other hair thread, I’m going to add a version of Agetron’s concoction when I get more Rapa, and put it on after microneedling to approximate this trial.
I’m a typical guy in that I know absolutely nothing about microneedle technology… I see there are some products on Amazon like “Dr. Pen” that have replaceable needle cartridges. Is the general concept here that you use one of these cartridges every time you microneedle? Would people use this single cartridge be used over a person’s entire head (where you are doing this process?).
And I guess there are probably professional service / dermatologists that provide this service too.
And How long do these microneedle sessions take, in terms of time commitment - is 30 minutes a reasonable time?
Also - from a practical standpoint - would you apply the rapamycin / minoxidil / finasteride… topically before or after the micro needling?
Yeah, I use Dr. Pen M8 with 16 pin cartridges. I use 1 cartridge per session. For me, a session is my entire face and neck plus the MPB (male pattern baldness) zone, which all takes ~1.25 hours. If I was only doing my scalp, it’d be 25 minutes. I increase needle depth to 2mm for my face and neck, .5mm around eyes 1x/month. The other 3 weeks I only use .5mm for my forehead, face and neck (painless and easy)
My hair is pretty long, so it’s a lot more difficult for me than for a guy with a “normal” guy’s haircut. Because I’ve used minoxidil and finasteride for 20+ years, I’ve kept a lot of hair- Norwood 2a, but deeper like Norwood 3 at worst spot on each side. I’m doing my entire forehead up tp my hairline for the skin/collagen benefits, then about an additional 2 inches into my hairline and also the crown area. Again, though, pretty much all guys do more area than me, as it’s quick and easy (pain aside) when you have short hair. They do the entire potential MPB hair loss area. A lot of them are younger, so many are just doing their scalp and aren’t worried about microneedling benefits for their face.
I use 5% lidocaine on my forehead, temples, nose the once/month I use the deeper 1.5mm depth in those areas. I only have it at the start of my hairline because, again, my hair’s too long and it’s a mess- so I just deal with the tolerable pain which, for me, isn’t bad in my hair- it’s the forehead/hairline that’s uncomfortable. FYI: all the women who microneedle their faces buy stronger (I think 15%) lidocaine from South Korea where that’s OTC, vs 5% here. I’ve never bothered. IF I wasn’t doing my forehead, I wouldn’t even bother with it, and sometimes skip the lidocaine entirely to save time (you put it on, wait 30 minutes, wash it off).
I’m going to do rapamycin with green tea extract powder DMSO mix- maybe a little before and a little after because idk (women put their copper peptides, etc on after). Minoxidil makes my heart race when I combine it with 1.5mm microneedling. The protocol is to skip minoxidil the day you microneedle, or just apply it in the morning, microneedle at night. skipping minoxidil.
He’s conservative as you’d expect. The consensus on the forums is the 1-1.5mm depth once per week. Combined with minoxidil and finasteride, countless have seen good result with this regiment. There are hyper-responders and (few) poor responders. An alternative thought some advocate is .3mm daily (and immediately apply minoxidil), combined with anywhere from weekly to monthly 1-1.5mm deeper microneedling. I wouldn’t go less than once every 2 weeks on the 1.5mm during the first 6 months. They may be onto something with the daily .3mm combined with immediate topical minoxidil- I’m just too lazy to do this daily.
For a rabbit hole of hair loss treatment, there’s /tressless. Lots of progress photos. Here’s a hyper-responder who used dutasteride (shuts down DHT much more than finasteride) and minoxidil only. Incredible- and had he used Loniten and microneedling, he’d have done even better!
Bought on Amazon… 2 pack… on second bottle… half gone.
I just reordered… hahaha. I am liking the rich brown tint on my grey and natural hair… very natural and really knocks off the age… grey hair less noticeable. And seems very healthy for the scalp. I didn’t realize how dry my hair and scalp was before adding ECGC and Resveratrol.
My name is Daniel Tawfik and I am the founder of Healthspan. We prescribe rapamycin as an online telemedicine service. We will have a topical Rapamycin + EGCG solution delivered through microneedles product starting in October.
