Is there a difference in effectiveness of 5% minoxidil over 3%?

ajax

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My order from United Pharmacies finally turned up so I'm ditching my plan to buy Spectral DNC for a while at least now.

The minoxidil + Retin A I bought is 3% minoxidil, compared to the 5% I used to use from Dr Lee.

Am I likely to see less effectiveness from the weaker concentration? Or is there not really that much difference?

And if there is, can I just apply more to get the same affect as 5%? Its pretty cheap so I dont mind a months supply only lasting 2 or 3 weeks.
 

Bryan

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ajax said:
Am I likely to see less effectiveness from the weaker concentration? Or is there not really that much difference?

And if there is, can I just apply more to get the same affect as 5%?

Yes! All the standard solutions of topical minoxidil (ones using vehicles consisting of alcohol, propylene glycol, and water) eventually turn into the same thing when you apply them to your scalp: saturated solutions of minoxidil in propylene glycol. The only difference is how much of that saturated solution is there on your scalp afterwards. You could make up for any difference merely by applying a larger quantity of the weaker solution at the beginning.
 

ajax

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33
Bryan said:
ajax said:
Am I likely to see less effectiveness from the weaker concentration? Or is there not really that much difference?

And if there is, can I just apply more to get the same affect as 5%?

Yes! All the standard solutions of topical minoxidil (ones using vehicles consisting of alcohol, propylene glycol, and water) eventually turn into the same thing when you apply them to your scalp: saturated solutions of minoxidil in propylene glycol. The only difference is how much of that saturated solution is there on your scalp afterwards. You could make up for any difference merely by applying a larger quantity of the weaker solution at the beginning.

Thanks for that Bryan thats great news :)

I'll just add nearly double what I usually use and hoepfully that'll keep me progressing along nicely :)
 
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