Wut. Hahaha. I have no idea what you're doing.
Here's how it works for me:
1) Measure my daro and other powders using my mini scale.
2) Pour them one by one into a 50 mL amber bottle (
source) using a mini funnel with the neck cut shorter so it doesn't clog (can use a paperclip to push things down if it gets stuck) (
source)
3) Pour in ~20 mL of Kirkland Minoxidil to wash down any residue in the funnel.
4) Cap it, shake it a bit, put it in the microwave for 5-7 seconds at a time and shake between each heating. Try to keep it cool enough to hold but still warm (too hot might damage the chemicals though I don't know how exactly high for everything). Do this for 20 minutes (tedious) and done.
How could the vehicle be evaporating? Are you leaving it open for hours/days at a time?
I don't quite get it. Hopefully my explanation of what I'm doing makes sense though.
Also while I'm posting - an update: Still zero shedding since I cut out the RU. It's surreal how little hair falls out when you're not actively balding. For reference, shedding stopped dead after 2 months of aggressive treatment (one month cypro/spironolactone, one month daro). I've never seen this little hair shedding/falling in my adult life. My left corner is now starting to look like a NW1. It's not a perfectly true NW1. There's no scalp visible there anymore except under the brightest lighting it looks a bit thin still. Continuing to thicken. The hairs are now about an inch or two long (my hair grows fast) so it's filling in nicely. I can do a hard part on that side and it looks great. Right corner's not so hot. It's still like a NW1.5-2 range, but that whole area was slick bald before so it's probably natural it's lagging a bit. Still improving too of course.
Since I dropped the RU and stopped using the probably daro-contaminated face serum I had made, my eye dryness is entirely tolerable. I'll still have to reduce the daro dose long term a bit more. Maybe next batch I'll go down to 0.15%. I'm trying to manage the strongest I can as long as I can as these results are great. Only way I could be happier is if I didn't have dry eyes at all, although on the other hand, it's a good warning flag for me that I've still got systemic androgen blockade happening, so will need a lower dose long term for safety. Otherwise I'd have no way of knowing.
I don't miss RU at all! I appreciate RU, because it slowed my loss and helped me for a few years. It also gave me hope and realized topical antiandrogens have promise, as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors don't work on me at all, so without topical AA I'd be lost. But for all the reasons previously discussed, I am glad to be rid of it. Feels good to simplify.
If I can get down to the tiniest dose of topical daro, like 2-4 mg a day (currently 6 mg per day), that will probably be as safe as any strong regimen potentially can be and should guarantee me a full head as long as I can take it.
Current projection: Should be a rock solid NW1 on the left in the next 1-2 months max. NW1 on the right probably within 3-4 months. Aiming for final forehead reduction surgery in 4 months.