Does spironolactone 2% have any side effects?

[Nizzle]

Hi, I'm slightly thinning along the hairline and crown and i'm thinking of applying spironolactone 2% before i go to bed each night. Do you thihnk this will stop further thinning and thicken what has just started to thin? Are there any bad side effects from spironolactone 2%? Thanks guys for all your help, you are really educating me!

 

[NilesTilden]

If you haven't tried minoxidil yet, that's really the place to start. spironolactone is nowhere near as proven, if it's even proven at all.

I used spironolactone 2% from about last feb-aug. I also started minoxidil at the same time and have had great results, but I don't think spironolactone added anything to my success. I dropped it over summer, but have had continued thickening with the minoxidil since.

Having said them words, topical spironolactone shouldn't cause you any side effects systemically, I did read of one board member who started getting acne where he'd applied it though.

But I'd give one daily dose of minoxidil far better odds for thickening up the hair than the spironolactone.

 

[Redbone]

Side Effects? Yes it smells like *** when mixed with minoxidil-

 

[Bryan]

Hi, I'm slightly thinning along the hairline and crown and i'm thinking of applying spironolactone 2% before i go to bed each night. Do you thihnk this will stop further thinning and thicken what has just started to thin? Are there any bad side effects from spironolactone 2%?

To enlarge just a tad on what else has been said in this thread:

If your intention is to interfere with the fundamental balding process, then yes, an antiandrogenic or 5a-reductase-inhibiting treatment of some sort is probably what you'd want. spironolactone is one of the few such treatments easily and commercially available. Topical spironolactone is pretty darn safe, although there will inevitably be the occasional person who may be sensitive to it (possibly from something in the vehicle, like propylene glycol).

Topical minoxidil would also help thicken up your hair, but it probably doesn't really interfere with the balding process itself. It just provides an offset of extra growth, and balding probably continues at approximately the same rate, although with a little more hair at each point than you would have otherwise.

Bryan

 

[The Gardener]

Hi, I'm slightly thinning along the hairline and crown and i'm thinking of applying spironolactone 2% before i go to bed each night. Do you thihnk this will stop further thinning and thicken what has just started to thin? Are there any bad side effects from spironolactone 2%?

To enlarge just a tad on what else has been said in this thread:

If your intention is to interfere with the fundamental balding process, then yes, an antiandrogenic or 5a-reductase-inhibiting treatment of some sort is probably what you'd want. spironolactone is one of the few such treatments easily and commercially available. Topical spironolactone is pretty darn safe, although there will inevitably be the occasional person who may be sensitive to it (possibly from something in the vehicle, like propylene glycol).

Topical minoxidil would also help thicken up your hair, but it probably doesn't really interfere with the balding process itself. It just provides an offset of extra growth, and balding probably continues at approximately the same rate, although with a little more hair at each point than you would have otherwise.

Bryan

Nizzle, we chatted about this in the chatroom. I agree with what Bryan says. Given that you have, relatively speaking, minimal loss and just minimal thinning in the temples.. and you are hesitant about taking propecia, then I would at least TRY using spironolactone only in the temple areas and on the hairline just to see if you react positively to it. Keep in mind that with DHT-blocking treatments such as spironolactone, and with Finasteride as well if you ever decide to take that route, it takes a LOT of time for them to work. DHT blocking is an inside-out approach, and given the very slow hair growth/shed/regrowth cycle, it will take a year before you should make any judgements about whether or not the treatment is working for you as these chemicals first need to take root in your follicles, then start influencing their growth, then it takes even more time for the hairs to cycle through and start showing what they can do in terms of strengthening and regrowth. Be patient, try it, and keep contributing to this forum. We are glad to have you here and want to help you sort through the snake oils and find a real solution to your hairloss problem. Cheers, Gardener.

 

[Nizzle]

Thanks Gardener

I ordered some spironolactone 2% from Dr lee and I'm going to go into this with a positive attitude! I appreciate all your help and i iwll keep in touch with you! Thanks again!