n this second article that Kevin Davis posted a few months after the previous one, he described how he learned to make his own capsaicin shampoo:
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"matt g" wrote in message
> kevin, can you tell us about your capsaicin shampoo?
> how do you make it? do you put polysorbate 80 in it?
To make a capsaicin shampoo, you obviously have to have the capsaicin. So, that's the first step. You have a couple of choices here:
1) Get pure capsaicin. It's sold as a white powder by chemical companies, and is not terribly expensive (though it's not dirt cheap, either). You'll have do some searching on the web to find a good company that will sell it to you (which may not be easy). A note of caution here: pure capsaicin is *extremely* hot, and you need to use proper gear when handling it (mask, goggles, gloves). If you accidentally get this in your eyes, mouth, nose, or inhale it, it will be devastatingly painful, and you will get blisters and such.
2) Look for a liquid capsaicin product. The best one I have been able to find is a product called Pure Cap. It's sold as a hot sauce and food additive, but in contrast to other hot sauces, it contains only two ingredients: capsaicin and vegetable oil. Costs about $10-13 for a 2 ounce bottle, which, if used in a shampoo, will last you at least 6 months, if not a year. The Scoville rating of Pure Cap is 500,000, which makes it hotter than any pepper on the planet (as an aside, there a few hot sauces that are a bit hotter, but they contain a lot of other junk in them). Lastly, a lot of the retailers who sell Pure Cap make you sign a waiver first, saying that you recognize how hot it is, and you won't use it against people, etc. But this is mostly for show I believe; just find a place on the web that doesn't make you sign anything.
Capsaicin is not water soluble, so you need a fat to mix it with (this is why Pure Cap comes in a base of vegetable oil). My choice is corn oil, as it's very cheap, and available in any grocery store. Emu oil is an alternative.
Once you have the capsaicin and the corn oil, buy a cheap shampoo as a base, or use one of your current shampoos. Mix 5ml Pure Cap with 55 ml of corn oil (for a total of one ounce), and stir well. For every 7 ounces of shampoo, add one ounce of your capsaicin-corn oil mixture. Shake the shampoo well. Wash your hands *thoroughly* after you get done mixing the shampoo. You now have a capsaicin shampoo.
A couple of notes: the recipe above will yield a shampoo that is pretty damn hot. You will likely need to experiment on your own to find out how much Pure Cap to add to your shampoo, as well as how much corn oil to add.
Because of this, you should use a really cheap shampoo until you have figured out the correct percentages of capsaicin and corn oil to use. As a rule of thumb, you want a shampoo that makes your scalp warm, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. Make sure to rinse with cool water, too.
Despite the fact that you are putting oil in your shampoo, your shampoo won't be greasy (which was surprising to me). It will definitely make your shampoo more watery, but other than that, it's not unlike most other shampoos.
Side-effects: your nails will grow very fast. You may get hair growth on your ears, neck, and body (don't worry, this is mostly very fine hair that is nearly invisible). Your ears, face, neck, lips, and genitals may get burned a little as you shampoo (this is painful). I have experienced all of these side-effects, but they are bearable.
What to expect in terms of results? Noticably faster hair growth (this becomes obvious quickly). Less fall out. Overall, it should help stabilize male pattern baldness. As far as actual regrowth, I haven't gotten any at my 18-year-old hairline, which is the only place where I currently have any loss. Since I have a full head of hair, I can't really predict a response in terms of hair regrowth. I would consider it a bonus, though (i.e., have realistic expectations).
Kevin Davis
