You should try 2 formulations, one with one without the minoxidil for each side of your face.
I’m trying out tacrolimus ointment on one side and waiting for my minoxidil which I will take orally…
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The point about Grey hair and baldness is that it links in to the body’s systems of aging. Some people are more likely to go bald, but within anyone’s particular systems if the balding and depigmentation is reversed in a manner which affects all the cells then one should consider that many problems of aging are being resolved such as reversing senescence.
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@RapAdmin in your convo with Dr. Weinstein did he mention how long it took to start seeing repigmentation results?
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Sorry - I did not think to ask him that, and we didn’t cover it at all. It seems like a 6 month trial would be reasonable to see results, but I have no data to back that up.
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Makes sense.
I do plan on trying this but I’m absolutely clueless on how to mix these concoctions as I’ve never done anything of the sort.
If it could reduce my greys to what they were 3 or 4 years ago I’d be a happy camper
I hear you. I’ve never been much of a compounding pharmacist myself… .so it was all new to me. But its actually pretty easy. The instructions in the DIY Rapamycin Skin Cream is a good overall guide, but replace the Olay / Cetaphil, etc. with some other head/hair/scalp friendly compound. If your head is not too sensitive, then just the regular minoxidil liquid would work as a base, or if you’re like me with a more sensitive scalp, perhaps higher levels of transcutol, and some other scalp friendly topical liquid - like the Yerba Santa (eriodictyon angustifolium) mentioned above. I’ll get to this in a few months and will fully document it if nobody else has by then.
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Thank you for this. I do get the occasional scalp sensitivity so I’ll probably do that.
I will take a look and touch base with any questions.
Would hate to have it not work only because I didn’t mix it the right way.
Has anyone tried this formulation ? What were the results ?
@RapAdmin what is your plan about the dosage and frequency of usage ?
Thanks.
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To piggyback off the last question, how will you be applying it? Rubbing in it? Spraying it via spray bottle?
Also, as someone who’s never used anything like this, any idea how it might affect the hair? Will it mat it down? Or will you just spray it in and it’ll look normal?
Asking because if you need to do it twice a day, you don’t wanna walk around with your hair looking strange during the day.
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Hi @Aman_Arora , welcome to the forums. People are just starting to order and get the required drugs for their personal experiments, so we’ll see as people post their results.
My plan is to apply it at least nightly before bed. I’m going to do my scalp and head. My plan is to use a dropper like the liquid minoxidil formulations that are on the market. I also wonder how this will spread and feel (and look) on the head and hair.
I also want to try this on half my face - so that I can test the gray hair reversal effect in a semi-controlled experiment on half my face (wiskers) and compare it to the other side.
If the residue from the topical formulation is not too visible or impactful on the look and feel of my head hair, I may apply it twice - in the evening and then again in the morning. We’ll see how it goes, and I’ll report back. I am going to order the medications soon and it will likely start in 2 months or so.
If anyone else has started using the formulation, please post details and results.
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Hi @RapAdmin and others,
I am planning to procure the products and try this formulation:
Following is the plan:
As base, I am planning to use 60-ml of aqueous base 5% Minoxidil solution
Based on the dosage used in original paper, for 60 ml carrier, I would need:
- 72 mg cyclosporine (1.2 mg per ml)
- 1.44 mg tacrolimus (0.24 micrograms per ml)
For cyclosporine, I am going for PSORID 25MG
For Tacrolimus, I am buying TACROGRAF 0.5MG
I will crush 3 tablets of Cyclosporine-25mg and 3 tablets of Tacrolimus-0.5 mg to get the approx percentages of each per 60 ml.
I have few questions:
- Will i be able to dissolve powdered tabs in Aqueous Minoxidil solution?
- If the answer is No, I am planning to buy Transcutol. I found one online (link here) which has the same CAS number but different chemical formula. Please advise me if it’s the real deal or not ?
- How much of Transcutol would be enough to dissolve approx 75 mg of cyclosporine and 1.5 mg of Tacrolimus ?
Thanks.
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In response to your questions:
-
Yes - I think so. That is what @Agetron is doing in his hair formulation (focused more on growth) - which he has outlined in this thread (search on “agetron and hair” in the forums and I think you will find it). See this thread: Rapamycin for Hair Growth, Hair Pigmentation, Skin Anti-aging
-
On Transcutol - yes, that looks like what you are looking for.
Transcutol has a number of different chemical names/identifiers. Here is a list:
- 2-(2-Ethoxyethoxy)ethanol: Ethoxydiglycol, 3,6-dioxa-1-octanol,
- DEGEE, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether,
- Carbitol,
- Carbitol Cellosolve,
- Transcutol,
- Dioxitol,
- Polysolv DE,
- Dowanal DE
Chemical Identifier: CAS Number 111-90-0
Examples of Where you can order / buy Transcutol from in the USA:
LotionCrafters: Transcutol / Ethoxydiglycol
Laballey.com: Transcutol / Diethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether
- I typically use about 5% of the total solution as Transcutol; that is the percent I see in numerous papers documenting use of transcutol in formulations. But - I may try higher percentages as I have had problems in the past with the impact of the minoxidil topical liquid on my scalp - causing sores and skin irritation.
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Another approach that may help delay or reverse gray hair, research out of Japan:
Dietary Eriodictyon angustifolium Tea Supports Prevention of Hair Graying by Reducing DNA Damage in CD34+ Hair Follicular Keratinocyte Stem Cells
Hair follicular keratinocyte stem cells (HFKSC) which provide a functional niche for melanocyte stem cells (MSC) are the primary target of hair graying. However, little research has been done on anti-hair graying medicines targeting HFKSC. We focused on Eriodictyon angustifolium (Ea), which reduces human hair graying when applied topically. To investigate the protective effect of dietary Ea tea (EaT) on hair pigmentation, we used an acute mouse model of hair graying that mimics X-ray-induced DNA damage associated with age-related hair graying. Our results suggest that dietary EaT maintained the niche HFKSC function against X-ray-induced DNA damage and hair graying. These results indicate that dietary EaT may prevent age-related hair graying and serve as an anti-hair graying herbal medicine.
Full Paper Here:
Tea Example:
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- Will i be able to dissolve powdered tabs in Aqueous Minoxidil solution?
Yes… works great… hair thick… color natural… scalp and hair super healthy.
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Do you have the same problem with aqueous Minoxidil also or only with the ones having propylene glycol. PG is known to irritate skin.
Which Minoxidil brand are you using ? Could you ahare the exact name ?
The one which i am planning to use is Minichek 5% solution by Abbot.
I use the Walmart equate 5% minoxidil.
I think they are all equal.
I checked it’s ingredients and it does contain propylene glycol and alcohol as base. That’s the reason you are able to easily dissolve crushed rapamycin in it I guess.
The one i am planning to use doesn’t have both. It is water based solution and is less irritating on scalp.
Since it doesn’t have alcohol or propylene glycol, i was wondering whether the powdered pills will dissolve or not.
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If it doesn’t have alcohol or propylene glycol, then I would dissolve it first in transcutol, then mix it with the rest of your formulation. The transcutol is a better solvent/exipient for the rapamycin and would help it penetrate the skin.
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I’m not sure - I think it was the alcohol, or maybe the propylene glycol. It was many years ago I tried it. I just want to avoid both of those, so I’m going to make my own formulation based on tablets of minoxidil and the other compounds.
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