5% minoxidil VS 5% minoxidil/Retin A

[Private Ryan]

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/pr ... =92842.pdf

The Efficacy of 5% Minoxidil vs. Combined Topical Agent of 5% Minoxidil and 0.01% Tretinoin on Male Pattern Hair Loss:
A Randomised Comparative Clinical Trial
H.-S. Shin Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Topical minoxidil 5% solution has been widely used to stimulate new hair growth and to help stop the hair loss successfully in men
with male pattern hair loss (MPHL). Nevertheless, it is not easy for the patients to keep applying the solution twice a day regularly.

The purpose of this 18-week, double-blind, randomised study was to compare the efficacy and safety of the treatment of combined solution
of 5% minoxidil and 0.01% tretinoin once a day with conventional topical 5% minoxidil therapy applied twice a day in the treatment of
MPHL.

A total of 29 male patients (25–50 years old) with MPHL (Hamilton type III–V) were randomly assigned to apply 5% minoxidil
twice daily or the combined agent once a day at night using vehicle placebo in the morning. The efficacy parameters were (1) changes
in total hair count, mean hair thickness and linear growth rate measured by phototrichogram and (2) the patient and investigator subjective
assessment of change in scalp coverage.

After 18-weeks of therapy, significant increases in the all macrophotographic variables of total hair count, mean hair diameter and linear growth rate were shown in both treatment groups. Moreover, the 5% minoxidil and the combined agent groups also demonstrated similar improvement in the subjective global assessment by patient and investigator

There was no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups. The occurrence of side effects like pruritus or local irritation was similar in 5% minoxidil group (5 of 14 subjects) and the combined agent group (5 of 15 subjects).

In conclusion, the efficacy and safety of combined 5% minoxidil and 0.01% tretinoin once-daily treatment would be equivalent to the conventional 5% minoxidil twice-a-day therapy for treatment of MPHL.

 

[Old Baldy]

Thanks for the info. PR!!

 

[Felk]

Wow, interesting stuff - minoxidil 5% with retin-a once a day was pretty much equivalent to minoxidil 5% twice a day.

 

[Fallout Boy]

anyone that disagrees with this? I find it hard to believe

 

[Private Ryan]

i always supect that 5% minoxidil once per day might perform close to twice per day. Retin A alone is proven to grow hair so using it give the extra push... i find it totally possible...

why hard to believe?

 

[Old Baldy]

i always supect that 5% minoxidil once per day might perform close to twice per day. Retin A alone is proven to grow hair so using it give the extra push... i find it totally possible...

Me too.

 

[Fallout Boy]

Well i guess I havent done any research on Retin A so do you guys have any links to studies I can check out? I remember using Retin A for acne?? or atleats i think it was Retin A.

Also where can you buy minoxidil 5% witih Retin A the cheapest? I might give it a try since Propecia alone doesnt seem to be holding up.

 

[jay2K6]

Does it dry faster compared to regular minoxidil?

 

[Private Ryan]

Well i guess I havent done any research on Retin A so do you guys have any links to studies I can check out? I remember using Retin A for acne?? or atleats i think it was Retin A.

Also where can you buy minoxidil 5% witih Retin A the cheapest? I might give it a try since Propecia alone doesnt seem to be holding up.

http://www.regrowth.com/hair_loss_treat ... in_a_1.cfm

try not to get those minoxidil and retin A pre-mix solution. there are some evident that adding both ingredient together will destroy the retin A in it. just use regular minoxidil and get a tude of retin A and use it separately.

retin A have been discussed many time... try to use the search function to find out more...

 

[Felk]

Useful too - http://www.minoxidil.com/min_with_retin.htm

However the second study you posted Private Ryan is interesting - they used only 0.5% minoxidil with the retin-a, and look at the results. At first i thought this was a misprint, but it stated later that experimenting with "low concentrations of minoxidil" was intended, so it can't be.

Im just wondering - why would Dr Lee sell his minoxidil with retin-a if it degraded? He sells retin-a alone as well, so he obviously has nothing to lose from selling it separately if he believes this is best.

I'd like to use retin-a if I go the minoxidil route, but two more topicals would be such a pain, would I have to wait a long time between minoxidil and retin-a applications?

 

[JWM]

I along with others, have had no problems using Dr. Lee's pre-mixed formulas. I wouldn't worry about the two being canceled out when mixed together.

 

[Private Ryan]

Dr. Lee believe Azelaic acid work better than finasteride... He believe retin A is no longer useful as he is able to make higher concentration minoxidil solution... so go figure... don't treat his words as the bible...

from what i read, it seem only retin A is been destroy but not the minoxidil so his solution might still work but the effect of retin A might be lost... but who know, it might work too... up to you to take the risk... i rather play it safe... not too difficult to apply the cream after minoxidil after all...

another reason is that solution Retin A seem to be giving more side effect than the cream version... it might be the alcohol is delivering more retin A into the scalp or the PPG etc... so using cream might be better...

also a couple of other reasons that i rather use them separately...

i believe byran have alot more to say about using minoxidil and retin A separately...

 

[Felk]

http://www.newhair.com/info/views-minoxidil-retin-a.asp

This guy seems to be against minoxidil + retin A entirely, though he's also against minoxidil so that's mainly it. Also some of his arguing isn't to my liking.

But he did mention using them separately.

 

[CCS]

minoxidil.com is so over priced. i am considering the 5% spironolactone, later perhaps, though beaner found a cheaper site i'm going to have to dig up. the site is obviously evading the law, but maybe it is legit.

$10 for retin-A is not bad, I guess. i'll think about it. that study should have tested minoxidil once a day as well, with placebo dose, and they should have done a placebo dose twice a day. without those four, i think the study is crap.

 

[Felk]

I can't believe this hasn't occured to you, as you seem to love making your own everything (including cheap tea tree oil shampoo...hehehe) - mix your own spironolactone.

I believe iamnaked makes his own 2.5% topical and he uses 1ml a day, and it costs him under $10 a month including the vehicle. You could easily double that to get 5%.

 

[CCS]

i have thought of it, but I could not find supplies for under $20 total per month, and did not think $10 saved is worth the bother. i'll ask iamnaked where he gets his supplies.

 

[rkim]

If you were on 5% minoxidil (which wasn't working anymore) and wanted to add something to improve your chances, what would it be? spironolactone, retin-a, or up the minoxidil dose to 12%? I'm ready at this point to try something else. However if I were to use retin-a I don't think I could use the cream. How do you apply a cream to your scalp without it getting all over your hair? I also just looked and spironolactone is a lotion??? Are you doing these only b4 bed and washing in the am?

 

[H/B]

Useful too - http://www.minoxidil.com/min_with_retin.htm

However the second study you posted Private Ryan is interesting - they used only 0.5% minoxidil with the retin-a, and look at the results. At first i thought this was a misprint, but it stated later that experimenting with "low concentrations of minoxidil" was intended, so it can't be.

Im just wondering - why would Dr Lee sell his minoxidil with retin-a if it degraded? He sells retin-a alone as well, so he obviously has nothing to lose from selling it separately if he believes this is best.

I'd like to use retin-a if I go the minoxidil route, but two more topicals would be such a pain, would I have to wait a long time between minoxidil and retin-a applications?

If Dr Lees minoxidil with retin A is somehow degraded, someone forgot to tell my hair this. My hair has never beeen thicker since using it... or at least in the last couple years. Adding it to my regime was the best thing I have done for regrowth.

 

[g8trguy]

I think there is a little confusion, if retin A and minoxidil are combined properly there is no destruction of the retin A. This must be done under proper chemical compounding, another words you cant just mix the two together and not expect break down to occur. However Retin A does break down almost immediately if it exposed to sunlight. You can't apply Dr. Lee's, Dr. Lewinbergs, or Dr. Kleins, to name a few, pre mixed products and go outside immediately after. Another thing that was not mentioned it that regular minoxidil is effective on the crown or top of the head alone. Using minoxidil and retin A allows for better absorbsion all over the head. Should you want to apply seperately you need to apply the retin A lotion wait just a few minutes at most and apply the minoxidil, you should wait a while before exposure to the sun.

 

[beaner]

Another thing that was not mentioned it that regular minoxidil is effective on the crown or top of the head alone. Using minoxidil and retin A allows for better absorbsion all over the head. .

Minoxidil is certainly not effective on the crown and top alone. It can work everywhere that it is applied, perhaps just not as well. It was only tested on the crown, therefore the crown is the only place they can claim in works. For me it has actually worked better in the front/temples than on the crown.