I now kind of doubt it was the minoxidil that gave me problems. I followed the paper quantities based on mg/ml, and I never verified the minoxidil content in terms of % solution, and just assumed it was 5%. In truth, it was 10x lower at 0.5%. When I mixed the solution I tried, I cut this down to a further 0.2% (again thinking it was 2% without ever verifying), so the minoxidil amount was way lower than what is typically sold.
The cyclosporine content in terms of % solution was 0.12%. I can’t find much on it being applied to the head/hair (it’s often used at lower concentrations in as an opthalmic solution), but blurred vision/vision changes seem to be a side effect, so it could have been that.
I was applying it to maybe 1/3 of my head (temples and back of head) once per day in the evening hoping to avoid the vision side effects. But it still seemed to crop up after as much as 18-24 hours later. It’s possible I was applying too much or too frequently–maybe every other day or every third day and applying to a smaller area would have worked better. I would probably describe it now as more of a vision change with worse/blurred vision with a strong desire to have my eyes closed rather than true drowsiness.
Anyone start using Yerba Santa Eriodictyon angustifolium for for grey hair? I’m about to start it topically. Read a lot of studies on this and also in flavonoids in general for melanin production I will share those and love to hear your opinion. Very interesting stuff
Yeah should have mentioned that. I did stop using it because I couldn’t tolerate the side effects and how it affected my activity level. I also tried cutting the paper dose in half and still applying it once per day and had side effects.
It’s possible that daily dosing frequency is too often, and we need to be applying it once every few days or something, but I don’t know how to determine that timing or if it would be effective. The mice got it twice per day, so I don’t know.
I have not yet gotten around to trying this out… but I still want to. Just been busy, and this isn’t the highest priority for me. Maybe in a few months… I would use Transcutol in my formulation, as I’ve had bad rashes on my scalp from the regular minoxidil formulation (which I believe is alcohol-based).
Believe on another thread in this website someone has but hasn’t provided any updates. May I ask where your sourcing it from? All I seem to find online, Amazon etc. is Eriodictyon Californicum. RevivHair, a cosmetic company, has an anti-grey hair serum with the option of ading a concentration containing sterubin. But that seems to be all I can find. They may sell it on its own. For anyone thats interested: RevivHair™ Max Stimulating Serum with 5% Redensyl & RCP for thinning hair – RevivSerums.com
I am a little skeptical about the use of minoxidil in this formulation because it is not possible to conclude which compound would be effective. We already know that minoxidil stimulates hair regrowth and repigments hair. And the effectiveness of this formula may rely solely on minoxidil.
I am going to test cyclosporine alone topically as I am not looking to reduce the number of white hairs but to stimulate hair regrowth. However, the only studies on topical cyclosporine in humans were done in the 1980s. They did not give the formulation used, but there were positive results at a concentration between 1 and 5% (but ineffective at 0.1 and 0.25%). Recent studies on mice show efficacy on hair regrowth at a concentration of 0.25%, however.
The main problem would be the solution used, and therefore, I do not have too many ideas on which product to use for topical application. There was a study on cats using transdermal application of cyclosporine with PLO gel. The median concentration of cyclosporine found in the blood was 2.5% compared to oral administration, which means that the systemic effect remains limited. However, the study does not allow concluding whether the application is effective at the local level. I will probably practice microneedling once a week to increase the chances of absorption, and use transcutol as a carrier.
I have seen that some people use rapamycin with Aquaphor. Are there any data on the effectiveness of Aquaphor compared to transcutol in topical application with rapamycin?
I prepared my cyclosporine cream and will use it once weekly after microneedling, it is as follow :
500mg cyclosporine
7g transcutol
50gr codexial obase
I’m well aware of the studies that they applied applied it daily, but it’s impossible to do it daily when microneedling. I will give you more updates later.
Came across this paper, thought of this thread and figured I’d add to it in case anyone was interested. While it seems to support its efficacy, I’m still not that convinced it would translate to greying at a later stage per @RapAdmin’s reply.
Minoxidil should have no effect on gynecomastia. Finasteride yes. I actually accellerated my own gynecomastia with finasteride and eventually had surgery to remove it. Can’t use any of the dht inhibitors, the side effects are too strong.
Little update : I applied cyclosporine on monday (after microneedling) and yesterday (no microneedling). I felt some systemic effects in both cases, mostly fatigue and headache and hoarse throat this morning. Those symptoms are slight but still unpleasant, I think I don’t need to make microneedling before applying cyclosporine cream, but I won’t use it everyday, I’ll stick to once a week for now.
Update: I stopped using the hair tonic when I had COVID for two weeks. It seems that most of the progress I had made was lost and my hair regressed to its original state. Seems to be something you have to constantly apply.
Yes. Unfortunately it works as long as you religiously use it. Stop and you must start over for the results. Not a remedy for a person who is intermittent.
Oral Minoxidol and finasteride are equally helpful in maintaining one’s hair. I do the combo… and tonic to keep a natural color and no grey.
Hello Wolverine, could you please share where you bought the extract of Eriodictyon angustifolium? I can only find pure 98% sterubin (CAS 51857-11-5), but it’s extremely expensive.
I’m also very curious about the concentration you used. In one study, they used 0.1% w/v sterubin. Could you please share how you prepared your topical extract of Eriodictyon angustifolium? Have you ever noticed any greying of hairs? Thank you.
I think the hair cycle takes roundabout 6 weeks. So if something influences your hair, it will take 6 weeks to show up.
Example: You will see hair loss 6 weeks after being infected with something or having a surgery or stoping/ starting a hair tonic.
I use monthly microneedling with my tonic (I know about the risks here). As I have long hair, I can easily assess how many hairs are falling out. I barely loose any hair since using the monthly microneedling and using up the tonic during the week after and then pause until next microneedling.
Has anyone had any luck finding a reliable source for Eriodictyon angustifolium extract? Most everything I find is Eriodictyon californicum. The main place I see the narrow leaf Yerba Santa advertised is at the Baker Creek Lavender farm:
However, the photo of the plant doesn’t look like any of the pictures of narrow leaf Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon angustifolium):
Here is the californicum variety, and while the leaves are relatively narrow, they feature the same serration as the leaves shown in the Baker Creek photo.
I found a tinctures for sale at “Herban Wellness,” but they list the “glycerite” as being angustifolium, while the tea is listed as californicum. Their tincture doesn’t list a species, so I’m not sure how trustworthy this site is.
While I was initially bullish on this research group’s findings, it seems that the E. angustifolium extract has a relatively weak effect, showing only a 3.4% reduction in gray hair after 24 weeks of applying the extract. They later state that after 9 months of use, some of the white hairs did not regain any color, indicating a plateau effect. It sounds better than it is because since the 3.4% reduction was statistically significant, they state that it had a “significant reduction,” which is somewhat misleading.
Effect of Ea extract on the prevention and improvement of human head hair greying
Next, to test the effects of Ea extract on human head hair greying, we applied the extract to 10 volunteer subjects with grey head hair for 24 weeks. Eight out of ten subjects showed an improvement in the grey head hair ratio. In general, the grey head hair ratio should gradually increase with age, but a as result of the effects of Ea extract application, the grey head hair ratio gradually decreases to 4, 12 and 24 weeks, -0.7%, -1.3% and -3.4%, respectively (Fig. 4A, B). After testing for normality (Shapiro–Wilk test) andvariance equivalency (F-test), statistical analysis was performed by using the paired t-test. A significant decrease in grey head hair ratio was observed after 24 weeks of Ea extract application. Notably, a significant hair thickening effect was also observed in Ea extract-treated head hair during the trial period (Fig. 4C). However, even after a long-term trial period with topical application, no darkening of the scalp was observed (data not shown).
They published another paper last year showing another flavonoid compound, Hydroxygenkwanin (HGK) protected mice from x-ray irradiation induced gray hair compared to sterubin (the active ingredient in E. angustfolium) and others. But, when they used the same topical HGK on the irradiated control mice for two months, they saw no reduction in gray hair.
Ultimately is probably still early days for the flavonoid research; something better might come down the line in the future. I also wonder if the x-ray induced gray hair in mice is a good model for age related gray hair in people. This and other groups seem to think so. Many of the compounds they discuss (sterubin, HGK) are not available to buy. The extracts of E. angustfolium are the closest thing that you can easily get, but they seem to have such a weak effect to be worth it.
Finally got my Red Light Therapy bulb, installed it and did a 10 minute session on the back of my head. Honestly it feels like I got a sunburn on my scalp. I bought the bulb listed above from Amazon and had it 6-12 inches away from my scalp as recommended. Should I have this burning sensation or did I get a bad bulb?
