15% Minoxidil Solutions (All Information Here)

[smitysmity]

A popular topic is the 15% Minoxidil threads which seem to get started every other day so I figured I'd combine them into one big thread breaking down all the 15% Minoxidil Solutions (Feel free to add more).

Perfect Image Solution
Price: $34.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil, 5% Azelaic Acid, Retinol, Propylene Glycol

Horizon Cosmeceuticals
Price: $29.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil, 5% Azelaic Acid, Ethanol, Glycerin

Dualge(n) 15
Price: $34.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil (150 mg/ml), 5% Azelaic Acid (50 mg/ml), Ethanol, Glycerin

Essengen 15
Price: $34.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil (150 mg/ml), Propylene Glycol, Ethanol, Purified Water

MOPC LABS
Price: $29.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil, 5% Azelaic Acid (Ethanol, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Mixture of Mild Acids)

Ideal Image Solutions LLC
Price: $24.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil, 5% Azelaic Acid, Propylene Glycol

Professional Hair Products LLC
Price: $24.95
Ingredients: 15% Minoxidil, 5% Azelaic Acid, Ethanol, Glycerin

Most of these products can be found on Amazon.

MOPC Labs was very up front about their product so if I could recommend any of these, I'd recommend MOPC Labs. Meanwhile Essengen 15/Dualge(n) 15/Perfect Image Solutions seem to good to be true and were defensive when I contacted them.

 

[ajax]

I'm wondering how much more effective 15% is over 5%?

Say you are a good responder to 5%, does that mean you'd have crazy sucess on 15%?

Or is it really just for those who dont get much benefit from 5%?

 

[smitysmity]

I'm wondering how much more effective 15% is over 5%?

Say you are a good responder to 5%, does that mean you'd have crazy sucess on 15%?

Or is it really just for those who dont get much benefit from 5%?

These companies claim that 15% is the highest concentration possible that can help increase your chances of strengthening your hair. Others on this board claim 15% won't work and some of the minoxidil will not stay on your head.

 

[hairhoper]

I really wish there was one of these we could rely on.

I remember Dr. Lee making some comments in his 'shutdown' emails to be wary of some of these companies and that they may not be properly compounding their ingredients, leaving residual minoxidil at the bottom of the bottle etc.

That kinda rings out in my head when I think about ordering from these places. I'd love to have a decent 15%, cos 5% works for me and I simply don't believe 5% is the limit to efficacy for everyone.

Hopefully someday soon there'll be a success stories thread based on one of these. Until then I'm sticking with Rogaine/Regaine :/

Btw. 2 of those you listed Perfect Image Solutions and Ideal Image Solutions LLC are the same company. It's really obvious if you click around on Amazon a bit. This makes me suspicious that they're a legit company tbh, I seem to remember they had a 3rd name too at one point. :dunno:

 

[Bryan]

These companies claim that 15% is the highest concentration possible that can help increase your chances of strengthening your hair. Others on this board claim 15% won't work and some of the minoxidil will not stay on your head.

I think these ultra-high concentration topical minoxidil products are basically just a lot of fancy marketing, and are intended just to WOW people into buying them!

There's a huge amount of published research in medical journals showing the beneficial effect of minoxidil in standard kinds of vehicles (alcohol, propylene glycol, and water) in concentrations of 5% and below, but none at all in any higher concentrations than that. To get much higher than a 5% solution, you have to start fiddling with the chemistry of the vehicle quite a bit, and there's no guarantee that such a monumental percentage as 12.5% or 15% is actually any better than a thoroughly time-tested product with 5%! But if guys are really impressed by those numbers and have the money to spend on them, they can certainly feel free to take a chance, and spend it all on 15% topical minoxidil products!

One final rhetorical question: after being disappointed for a long time with the sales of Rogaine and being criticized for "over-selling" its effectiveness, don't you think that Upjohn themselves would have tested and approved these 15% solutions a long time ago, if they were safe and really did work? :laugh:

 

[smitysmity]

These companies claim that 15% is the highest concentration possible that can help increase your chances of strengthening your hair. Others on this board claim 15% won't work and some of the minoxidil will not stay on your head.

I think these ultra-high concentration topical minoxidil products are basically just a lot of fancy marketing, and are intended just to WOW people into buying them!

There's a huge amount of published research in medical journals showing the beneficial effect of minoxidil in standard kinds of vehicles (alcohol, propylene glycol, and water) in concentrations of 5% and below, but none at all in any higher concentrations than that. To get much higher than a 5% solution, you have to start fiddling with the chemistry of the vehicle quite a bit, and there's no guarantee that such a monumental percentage as 12.5% or 15% is actually any better than a thoroughly time-tested product with 5%! But if guys are really impressed by those numbers and have the money to spend on them, they can certainly feel free to take a chance, and spend it all on 15% topical minoxidil products!

One final rhetorical question: after being disappointed for a long time with the sales of Rogaine and being criticized for "over-selling" its effectiveness, don't you think that Upjohn themselves would have tested and approved these 15% solutions a long time ago, if they were safe and really did work? :laugh:

I'm more interested to hear if 7.5% or 10.0% actually work.

 

[Patrick54]

I can vouch for the MOPC 15%, it's way better than the walmart 5% minoxidil.

 

[smitysmity]

I can vouch for the MOPC 15%, it's way better than the walmart 5% minoxidil.

I'll say this about MOPC. They were very open about their product when I e-mailed them. The rest of them were defensive. So if I could recommend any of these products, I'd recommend MOPC because they seem honest and up front.

 

[Patrick54]

I just checked and they raised their prices, I was getting 3 bottles for around 60.00 with S&H now it's 74.95. :freaked2: I also noticed minoxidil max raised theirs to 100.00. I hope this trend doesn't continue.

 

[smitysmity]

I just checked and they raised their prices, I was getting 3 bottles for around 60.00 with S&H now it's 74.95. :freaked2: I also noticed minoxidil max raised theirs to 100.00. I hope this trend doesn't continue.

I think they are cheaper on Amazon.

Honestly, I would like to hear from someone who tried 6% to 10.0% minoxidil. 15% minoxidil is kinda overkill and most of it won't work. I have a feeling a slightly higher % than 5% maybe beneficial though.

 

[Patrick54]

I'll look on Amazon. I know the 15% MOPC is a lot more potent than the 5%, just how much of that 15% is wasted I don't know, I may try mixing the 15% with the 5% in equal parts getting a 10% solution and see how that does.

 

[Bryan]

15% minoxidil is kinda overkill and most of it won't work. I have a feeling a slightly higher % than 5% maybe beneficial though.

Ordinary 5% Rogaine _does_ turn into a slightly higher % than 5%, after you apply it to your scalp. About 7.5% or so, possibly a bit higher. The same goes for 2% Rogaine.

 

[Shift]

I use a Dualge(n) 15 and so far I'm pleased with it.

 

[smitysmity]

15% minoxidil is kinda overkill and most of it won't work. I have a feeling a slightly higher % than 5% maybe beneficial though.

Ordinary 5% Rogaine _does_ turn into a slightly higher % than 5%, after you apply it to your scalp. About 7.5% or so, possibly a bit higher. The same goes for 2% Rogaine.

Can you explain this further? Link or anything?

 

[Ted Stryker]

I'm in the same boat as many others in that Dr. Lee shutting down forced me to look elsewhere for similar products. I use a 5% and 10% minoxidil from one of the companies listed in an earlier post. I've had my doubts about the products though.

Bryan do you remember many moons ago when Community Drug was making Dr. Lee's products? Since they've closed, one of their pharmacists (not Aaron btw) has opened her own company. Have you bought anything from her?

 

[Bryan]

Bryan do you remember many moons ago when Community Drug was making Dr. Lee's products? Since they've closed, one of their pharmacists (not Aaron btw) has opened her own company. Have you bought anything from her?

I don't have any recollection of that, sorry. I've never bought any products from them.

 

[Bryan]

Ordinary 5% Rogaine _does_ turn into a slightly higher % than 5%, after you apply it to your scalp. About 7.5% or so, possibly a bit higher. The same goes for 2% Rogaine.

Can you explain this further? Link or anything?

When you apply topical minoxidil solutions to your scalp, the volatile components (alcohol and water) evaporate after a short while, leaving the minoxidil behind, dissolved in propylene glycol. Propylene glycol normally dissolves minoxidil to a maximum of about 7.5%, although I saw some Upjohn scientists say in a study that it might dissolve it to as much as 10%. I doubt the accuracy of that claim, and I believe the better figure to be 7.5%.

 

[Rabid]

When you apply topical minoxidil solutions to your scalp, the volatile components (alcohol and water) evaporate after a short while, leaving the minoxidil behind, dissolved in propylene glycol. Propylene glycol normally dissolves minoxidil to a maximum of about 7.5%, although I saw some Upjohn scientists say in a study that it might dissolve it to as much as 10%. I doubt the accuracy of that claim, and I believe the better figure to be 7.5%.

To decrease alcohol on scalp (due to excessive skin drying), would it make sense to evaporate/heat off the alcohol/water and apply the remaining PG solution directly, since that's what's left anyway?

 

[Bryan]

To decrease alcohol on scalp (due to excessive skin drying), would it make sense to evaporate/heat off the alcohol/water and apply the remaining PG solution directly, since that's what's left anyway?

I suppose you could try that, although the alcohol content of 5% Rogaine is only 30%, if I remember correctly (don't recall how much water there is in it). Probably wouldn't make much difference if you evaporated all the alcohol.

Interestingly, I remember getting a few small plastic bottles of 7.5% topical minoxidil from Dr. Proctor several years ago, who was experimenting at the time to see how high a percentage he could get of minoxidil. It's pretty obvious that he was dissolving as much pure minoxidil as he could in pure propylene glycol!

 

[Rabid]

I suppose you could try that, although the alcohol content of 5% Rogaine is only 30%, if I remember correctly (don't recall how much water there is in it). Probably wouldn't make much difference if you evaporated all the alcohol.

Interestingly, I remember getting a few small plastic bottles of 7.5% topical minoxidil from Dr. Proctor several years ago, who was experimenting at the time to see how high a percentage he could get of minoxidil. It's pretty obvious that he was dissolving as much pure minoxidil as he could in pure propylene glycol!

Here's one for Dr. Proctor. A minoxidil solution that does not have side effects in people who get them from regular minoxidil! unk:


Is the target area of the follicle physically closer to the surface than the systemic portion, so that a solution capable of penetrating only far enough to reach that spot and no further would be the answer? Is it that simple of a problem?