How bad for your scalp/hair are topicals with alcohol?

[Fat-Elvis]

I'm thinking of trying a couple topicals that I think have alcohol in them, one being the ApplePoly spray (if anyone can confirm whether or not that has alcohol and how much, I'd appreciate it), and I've heard that putting alcohol on your scalp on a daily basis can be kinda bad. Is it bad at all? How safe is using something with alcohol in it once or twice a day?

 

[The Gardener]

Oh yeah, most people who start alcohol-based topicals will see some flaking in the early weeks. I did when I started minoxidil, serious chunks of skin.

It goes away on its own over time, I suppose the scalp acclimates and adjusts. Nizoral helps with this as well.

I don't know of any other sides from the alcohol, and definitely nothing harmed any deeper than the dead skin layer.

 

[Fat-Elvis]

Flaking? Is that basically dandruff?

 

[The Gardener]

Yes, it is... and dandruff is a common side effect, even mentioned as such on the warning label of minoxidil.

But, this is a short term dandruff caused during acclimation to the alcohol and usually subsides in the vast majority of people. This is NOT chronic dandruff, which is caused by underlying issues in the scalp.

 

[powersam]

bryan posted a study ages back where all they used was an alcohol topical and it showed improvement. ie/ a topical whos only active ingredient was alcohol. at least thats how i read it, if im wrong im sure he'll be in here to slap me round a bit in the not too distant future.

 

[CCS]

I just squirt a little borage seed oil in my alcohol topicals. i think that will counter any negative effects of the alcohol.

 

[Bryan]

bryan posted a study ages back where all they used was an alcohol topical and it showed improvement. ie/ a topical whos only active ingredient was alcohol. at least thats how i read it, if im wrong im sure he'll be in here to slap me round a bit in the not too distant future.

God, I just love slapping people around. In any event, what I probably was referring to is this famous set of graphs from Vera Price's 1999 study:

http://www.geocities.com/bryan50001/quitting-minoxidil.htm

The tremendous utility of that study is not only that it shows with good precision what happens when you stop using topical minoxidil (you take a big hit immediately afterwards, but it eventually "rebounds" back to normal after a while), it also indirectly addresses the issue of whether or not applying alcohol to your scalp for long periods of time is harmful to haircounts and hairweights.

If you look at the two special treatments groups that were included in the graphs (one used only a placebo topical solution that included alcohol, but no active drug; the other one didn't use any treatment at all, and certainly no alcohol), you'll see that there was no difference between the alcohol group and the no-treatment group. Clearly, topical alcohol doesn't have any noticeable negative effect on haircounts or hairweights.

Bryan

 

[The Gardener]

Cheers for that, Bryan. As one on a minoxidil programme with twice-daily applications, it is reassuring to know.

 

[Bryan]

Cheers for that, Bryan. As one on a minoxidil programme with twice-daily applications

You just HAD to say that, didn't you?

rotest:

Bryan