Does anyone sell topical liquid spironolactone and not cream?

pogue

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I like the cream version of spironolactone, but I would much prefer it in a liquid form that can be applied topically and rubbed in, instead of a cream that sort of acts lie product where it makes my hair look greasy and that's not really what I want. I don't know how many of you remember Dr. Lee, but he used to run minoxidil(dot)com before the FDA shut it down, but he had a compounding pharmacy with all sorts of great products.

If I can't find a liquid version, I could make my own. I have a few sources in China that sell the pure spironolactone powder, I just need to figure out what kind of carrier it will go in (alcohol, some kind of oil, etc). I'd also like to add a few drops of cologne or something to get rid of the horrible smell spironolactone has.

If any has any suggestions, it would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
pogue
 

mooreu

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Dr. Lee sold a 2% solution as well as a 5% cream. Your best bet is to make your own (ethanol + PG). Otherwise you will need to contact a compounding pharmacy and see if they can make it for you.
 

pogue

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Dr. Lee sold a 2% solution as well as a 5% cream. Your best bet is to make your own (ethanol + PG). Otherwise you will need to contact a compounding pharmacy and see if they can make it for you.

Do you happen to know the ratios? How much PG/VG + ethanol + spironolactone?

Thanks
 

mooreu

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The only topical solution I've made is bimatoprost and latanoprost. I generally used ~75% ethanol and ~25% PG. I'm unsure as to how much spironolactone will dissolve in solution. Every 5% spironolactone product I've encountered has been in cream form so perhaps 2% is the highest you can use in solution.
 

pogue

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The only topical solution I've made is bimatoprost and latanoprost. I generally used ~75% ethanol and ~25% PG. I'm unsure as to how much spironolactone will dissolve in solution. Every 5% spironolactone product I've encountered has been in cream form so perhaps 2% is the highest you can use in solution.

I could really use an exact recipe if anyone has made their own topical spironolactone
 

mooreu

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FYI I've used the spironolactone cream from Dr. Lee , S5 and MAA. I had success with Dr. Lee's and S5 cream but never with MAA. I also didn't benefit from MAA minoxidil cream. I don't know what base they use for their creams and lotions but penetration seems to be an issue.

Btw I used their minoxidil solution and it was fine. The only problem is they can't make a minoxidil solution over 5%.
 

pogue

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Hi @pogue and @jazz1 . Do you know what the difference is between the lotion and the cream on their site? Is the lotion thinner and easier to apply? Any preference?

In my experience, the lotion is more like product - like gel or pomade or something. If you're trying to style your hair it might work good. Otherwise it just looks like a greasy stinky mess. The pharm above has scented spironolactone, so that's a nice touch.
 

doggfather

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FYI I've used the spironolactone cream from Dr. Lee , S5 and MAA. I had success with Dr. Lee's and S5 cream but never with MAA. I also didn't benefit from MAA minoxidil cream. I don't know what base they use for their creams and lotions but penetration seems to be an issue.

Btw I used their minoxidil solution and it was fine. The only problem is they can't make a minoxidil solution over 5%.
Have you tried MinoxidilMax's spironolactone cream? MAA is about 4x the price of what Dr. Lee's and Wholesalehair's spironolactone cream was.
 

mooreu

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Have you tried MinoxidilMax's spironolactone cream? MAA is about 4x the price of what Dr. Lee's and Wholesalehair's spironolactone cream was.

I'm in the US so MinoxidilMax won't ship spironolactone cream to me. I've begun using topical CB anyway.
 

Jim lahey

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Iirc spironolactone has to be metabolized systematically to become active so it's not very useful topically.
 

pogue

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Iirc spironolactone has to be metabolized systematically to become active so it's not very useful topically.

That's not necessarily true. You have androgen receptors in your scalp that get attached upon directly by the spironolactone. The androgen receptors are what take up the DHT in the scalp to cause male pattern baldness, so spironolactone does get into the body systematically eventually, but because it's topical and bypasses first pass metabolism before it gets to the liver. So, hopefully by then, you have less spironolactone in your system by then.

Here's a study with a very small sample size, but it illustrates the point.

Topical Finasteride versus Topical Spironolactone in the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia
AYMAN E. YOUSEF, M.D.*; AHMED S. ABDELSHAFY, M.D.* and MOUSA A.S. ALMABROUK, M.Sc.**The Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt* andTripoli University, Libya**Abstract Background: Androgenetic Alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia) is a non-scarring alopecia that affects both males and females. It is characterized by a progressive miniaturization of hair follicles with a characteristic pattern distribution in genetically predis-posed men and women. Topical finasteride is being investigated as a new treatment for Androgenetic Alopecia with fewer side effects than oral finasteride. Topical Spironolactone is the most commonlyused off-label anti-androgen for the treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia. In the treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia, it acts by decreasing the production andcompetitively blocking the androgen receptor in the target issue. Aim of Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate therole and compare the effect of topical finasteride and topical spironolactone in the treatment of (Androgenetic Alopecia).Patients and Methods: After meeting inclusion and ex-clusion criteria and diagnosis of Androgenetic Alopecia was clinically established by the characteristic distribution of frontal and vertex hair inmales and the Christmas tree pattern of diffuse hair loss at middle hairline in females. It was dermosopically established by the characteristic hair shaft thickness heterogeneity, peripilar brown depressions (peripilar signs) and focal atrichia and alsofolliscope established for hair density. Cases included in thisstudy had Norwad-Hamilton Scale types I to VII for men and Ebling Scale types I to IV for women. Result: Our study shows that a topical spironolactone isbetter than topical finasteride in male and female group.Conclusion: In this study, topical finasteride and topicalspironolactone are good options for management of androgenicalopecia but topical spironolactone is better than topicalfinasteride with few side effects when compared to oraladministration.

Here's a full text of the study (from Google Cache because the site was down).

I had to shorten the link because the forum was messing up the URL, but it's on v.gd, so you'll see what you're clicking on before you go there.

 

pogue

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I was browsing through some more studies, when I came across this:

Melatonin’s strong anti-oxidant properties may counter the oxidative stressors associated with hair loss. Six months of daily topical Melatonin (0.1%) use generated more anagen (growth phase) hairs in the crown/vertex of the scalp in a 40-women clinical trial compared with a control group. While plasma melatonin levels were slightly elevated, they did not exceed the physiologic night peak


Anyone ever tried topical melatonin for hair loss? :D

Unfortunately, a vast majority of the studies I found were for female pattern baldness.
 

jazz1

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Hi @pogue and @jazz1 . Do you know what the difference is between the lotion and the cream on their site? Is the lotion thinner and easier to apply? Any preference?
I use the lotion it is thinner compared to the cream.
 

mooreu

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Hi @pogue and @jazz1 . Do you know what the difference is between the lotion and the cream on their site? Is the lotion thinner and easier to apply? Any preference?
I've used both and the lotion is thinner than the cream. I didn't have success with either though. The spironolactone cream from Dr. Lee and S5 cream worked really well.
 

jazz1

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I've used both and the lotion is thinner than the cream. I didn't have success with either though. The spironolactone cream from Dr. Lee and S5 cream worked really well.
S5 cream was good I use to buy from Hairlosstalk shop, shame they closed as the price was awesome.
 

pogue

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I've used both and the lotion is thinner than the cream. I didn't have success with either though. The spironolactone cream from Dr. Lee and S5 cream worked really well.

I'm using Nizoral, and I'm planning on start the spironolactone soon. I'm also getting PRP treatments from my dermatologist. I'm on TRT so they've worked really well so far to help against the extra testosterone converting to DHT.
S5 cream was good I use to buy from Hairlosstalk shop, shame they closed as the price was awesome.

They still sell it right here:
 

jazz1

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I'm using Nizoral, and I'm planning on start the spironolactone soon. I'm also getting PRP treatments from my dermatologist. I'm on TRT so they've worked really well so far to help against the extra testosterone converting to DHT.


They still sell it right here:
No not anymore as this has to be prescribed, alternative option see below:

 
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