DR LEE Minoxidil : Good?

[tuco80]

Hie,

Compare to other liquid minoxidil, (kirkland, rogaine)

is Dr Lee minoxidil good?

I would like to switch from kirkland (too greasy ) to Dr Lee but there is less ppg in dr Lee so i wondering if it was as efficient as the others

I have good result with kirkland (except irritations and dandruffs) but good regrowths
and I had a bad experience with the foam. (no stop shedding no regrowth)
So now i'm afraid of switching products...
Do anyone switch from kirkland to dr lee minoxidil and encounter a big shedd or no pb?

Thanks for the infos

 

[CCS]

good but expensive. and I heard the xandrox leaves a thick, sticky mess on your hair when it dries.

 

[tuco80]

Yes it is expensive so i was wondering if it worth it or not…but if it fast drying and as efficient as the other it’s ok.

I found these two articles:


Paula asked: "You have said that the vehicle alone in minoxidil might be responsible for hair growth. If that is the case is it unwise to use different vehicles during the course of the day or could this be more effective? i.e minoxidil with propylene glycol in the am, than minoxidil with retin a, than minoxidil with alezic acid in the pm. Thank you"

Dr Peter H. Proctor, PhD MD answered: "The vehicle in 2% minoxidil is responsible for (arguably) roughly half of the growth. The respnsible ingredient is likely propylene glycol. This is in most vehicles, so your question may be moot. Peter H. Proctor, PhD, MD


And this one:

Tim asked: "As a Rogaine Extra strength user I was experiencing severe flaking on my scalp. On your web site you suggested that side effects was a result of the propylene glycol in the formulation and therefore sell a formulation without it. I have bought this formulation and happily no longer experience any side effects. However, I was wondering what the downside of not having propylene glycol in the solution was, as I assume it must have been there for a reason."

Dr Richard Lee, MD answered: "There are several reasons why propylene glycol is incorporated into the base of minoxidil solutions. (1). Propylene glycol is an humectant and helps to offset the drying effect of the alcohol in the base. (2). Minoxidil is more soluble in propylene glycol than it is in alcohol. Pure ethyl alcohol will not support 50mg minoxidil per milliliter. So, adding propylene glycol simplifies making a 5% minoxidil solution in an alcohol base. And (3) the addition of propylene glycol allows for a longer shelf life for a 5% minoxidil solution. Propylene glycol has nothing to do with the effectiveness of topical minoxidil for the treatment of male pattern baldness. Rogaine Extra Strength uses 50% propylene glycol in its base, which explains why the solution feels 'oily' and takes a long time to dry. I prefer to use only 20% propylene glycol in our standard minoxidil solutions. Unfortunately, there are many patients who have untoward reactions to the propylene glycol on the scalp, which can manifest as skin irritation with flaking, redness, itchiness and soreness. For these patients, I substitute glycerin for the propylene glycol."




So Who’s true?
In DR LEE minoxidil there is more alcohol and less ppg,…what is the impact of ppg? Is it more or less efficient this way? According to dr lee ..it should be more effectiv, according to Dr proctor, it seems that ppg play a role in efficiency of minox…(at least for minoxidil 2%)

 

[kisstopherp]

I was just going to post this question myslef..... I have been using Kirland for about 3 months and my hair looks and feels thicker but I can't tell if it's because my hair has grown longer or it's because of hair re-growth. My thinking is that Dr. Lee's is better than Kirkland and I'm thinking of switching because Kirkland is causing itchiness, dandruff and it leaves all this 'gunk' on your head.

 

[aurel]

up:

 

[jrg]

what the hell is "up:"

 

[aurel]

what the hell is "up:"

dr lee's minoxidil, is it as efficient as rogaine or kirkland,or is it better?

 

[BoilerRoom]

I really can not fathom at all why Propylene Glycol, which is a common skin irritant, would be responsible for growth. Some people who aren't even mildly allergic to it initially tend to develop an allergy to it later.

I'm actually ordering Dr. Lee's #540 w/ glycerin and ethyl alcohol right now.

Ethyl Alcohol will allow it penetrate fine and glycerin actually has moisturizing properties.

 

[pproctor]

In the early topical minoxidil trials, researchers found that roughly half the growth was secondary to the vehicle. This was later shown to be a real effect. The assumption is that it was the propylene glycol and not the ethanol (not known for growing hair). But nobody knows for sure.

Propylene glycol is used in a lot of topical formulations because many agents are more soluble in it than anything else you can use on skin. Minoxidil (e.g.) is less soluble in glycerol and water solutions.

E.g., you can only get up to about 2.5% minoxidil in water. BTW, all else being equal, both propylene glycol and glycerol probably enhance skin penetration a bit over plain water.

As you note, many persons do get allergic to propylene glycol, maybe as much as 1-2% or so. And it can be a little irritating.

For this reason, Dr. Lee offers glycerol-containing formulations of minoxidil. About half of topical "minoxidil allergies" are really to propylene glycol. So this formulation is a good thing to try if you get an allergy to topical minoxidil. Although higher concentrations can also be irritating, as a practical matter, nobody gets allergic to glycerol, which is a natural product of metabolism.

We split the baby, using propylene glycol in Prox-N, assuming it stimulates hair growth. It may not be a big effect, but every little bit helps. However, we do use glycerol in Spintrap-C.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

 

[BoilerRoom]

Dr. Proctor:


With prox-n, is it normal to get some initial redness upon application that gradually fades away?

Are any of the ingredients, such as the CU/ZN sulfates, NANO, etc.., known irritants besides propylene glycol?