Minoxidil recommendations

[powersam]

i'm probably going to add minoxidil to my treatment pretty soon, to get that two year offset of regrowth which should theoretically carry me past the release date of HM (fingers crossed).

So i would appreciate recommendations of what type of minoxidil would be best?

just plain old 5% generic?

or something like spectral dnc, or proxiphen... do any of these contain sufficient additional ingredients in potent enough amounts to make them worth the extra money?

 

[Bryan]

"Two year offset of regrowth"??

 

[powersam]

did i say it wrong?

"Yes. It supports the "offset of growth" theory. You start using minoxidil, it gives you an offset. You stop using minoxidil, the offset goes away. You start using it again later (as "College" has described), the offset comes back again. And so on and so on... "
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... wth#230267

or is it the two year part... i could have sworn you'd said two years before. or would offset of 'growth' have been the right way to say it?

 

[Felk]

It's just an "offset of regrowth." I had this explained to me by Bryan relatively recently, which is one of the reasons i too decided to jump on the minoxidil bandwagon.

All evidence apparently points that minoxidil will continue to provide that 'offset of regrowth' for as long as you continue to use it. Just if it's the only thing you use, and you don't stop your hairloss with other things, it will simply be a temporary "masking" of your male pattern baldness, as your baldness overtakes minoxidil's effect.

If you use minoxidil alone, most studies I've read show haircounts returning to baseline at around year five, not simply two years. But since you've already halted your hairloss with finasteride, fluridil, etc, you can expect minoxidil's effect to last a lot longer, I believe.

 

[Felk]

Oh and as for recommendations, i think if you are simply after minoxidil, Proxiphen is a bit much ($100 US a month) Though I use a fair bit less, so it's cheaper, I only apply it to a smaller area (its tiny vial of cream)

I don't know about spectral DNC, but i think if you can tolerate it, you might use some retin-a. It's apparently harsh on the scalp and can burn if you use it too often or at too high a concentration, so you might want to use it only a few times a week. There are studies showing it's moderate hair growth capabilities alone, and how it helps with the absorption of minoxidil and other topicals, but there is one study showing that minoxidil +retin a once a day is pretty much equivalent to minoxidil twice a day.

You can get a liquid from Dr Lee for $10 for 60 ml. If you apply 1ml a few times a week, it'd last you over 4 months.

 

[powersam]

fark me $100 a month for proxiphen? seems like you could just buy minoxidil, spironolactone and folligen separately for that amount. i guess i'll be crossing proxiphen off the list of possibles.

 

[Felk]

I can't really talk from experience, as I only started it about a week ago, you see. But apart from what i said in my above post about retin-a, I guess I'd recommend Dr Lee's and some generic 5%. Dr Lee's dries fast, and you can wash it off in an hour instead of four hours, and looks fine on my hair anyway.

If you get generic stuff in bulk, Lee's is a bit pricier in comparison. And some people make collerations between the generic versions and success stories as opposed to the quick drying stuff, but i think it's pretty much accepted as being as effective as normal minoxidil. So maybe get some generic stuff to use at night time, like many do. Lee's is about US$16 for a months supply. You could get generic stuff for as little as 6/7 dollars a month. http://www.minoxidil-direct.com

Also you could maybe try College's topical finasteride/dutasteride recipe, and add some proscar/avodart to your minoxidil. I'm going to add some proscar to mine soon, once I decide on the best method.

I don't know anything about Spectral DNC unfortunately.

 

[Bryan]

did i say it wrong?

or is it the two year part... i could have sworn you'd said two years before. or would offset of 'growth' have been the right way to say it?

Yes, the "two year" part is what bothered me.

 

[JWM]

Powersam

Just get the generic. Costco has a 4 month supply of Kirkland's for $20. Same exact thing as Rogaine.

Use 1 ml twice a day, ride out the initial shed, then I think you'll be happy.

Good luck.

 

[powersam]

by 4 month do you mean 2 x 60ml bottles? i'm in aus by the way so costco probably not available for me.

 

[Mer]

Costco has 4 - 60ml bottles for under $20.

You are probably right though, Costco is only in the US I think.

 

[powersam]

damn that is so cheap too.

 

[CCS]

it is 75% the price I pay. I'm not paying $40 a year to get that discount, when most the cheap stuff i buy at the store cost less than i can get at costco. I know because I went shopping with a friend there once. they just have discounts on name brand stuff and sell it in big containers, but don't cary any non-namebrand food. Unless there clothes is as good and less expensive than old navy, I'm not going to shop there ever.

 

[powersam]

couldnt find it on their site anyway...

i assume costco is like a membership kinda place where if you join and pay the membership fee then you get to shop at their stores which have good prices?

 

[powersam]

that was 27euro, what with the US dollar being how it is at the moment this site http://www.onlyhairloss.com/men/minoxidil/ is a bit cheaper.

 

[I_Hate_DHT]

Can someone explain in "english for foreigners" what is exactly the offset?? that goes aways and then comes back..

I can't understand what do you mean.

 

[CCS]

brian did not know what it is and has not said he does yet, and i don't know what it is. so you are not alone.

 

[powersam]

i am quoting bryan from memory so it wont be exact, as i remember he says the offset of growth is the density you gain from minoxidil which you keep while you are on minoxidil. actually i cant think of the right way to explain it...

umm use minoxidil and you get more hair to a certain point, offsetting the hair lost previously?

do a search with offset and bryan, you should find it back there somewhere

 

[beaner]

the "offset of growth' simply means that while minoxidil will provide whatever thickening/regrowth it is able to for as long as you continue to use it, since you are not actually addressing the fundamental reason for your male pattern baldness...the presence of DHT...the balding process will still continue. Using minoxidil may seem to slow it down, or even stop it for a period of time (depends totally on the person as to what this period of time is)and you may think your hair looks the best it has in years, but the fact of the matter is you are still slowly balding and eventually this will "overtake" if you will, the effects you are seeing from the minoxidil, and you will gradually see thinning again. I believe one minoxidil study still showed an improvement in hair counts/weight over baseline after several years, but still not as strong as the first year or two. I personally, used it as the only treatment for four years and I saw continued (but very slow) results the whole time, but saw a tremendous improvement within just a few short months after beginning finasteride...it truly depends on the person. I hope I explained this correctly...I'm sure Brian will jump in if it's wrong.

 

[CCS]

I know what minoxidil does, i just think the word "offset" does not give the correct description.

Minoxidil makes your hair mass 30% more than what it would be without minoxidil. It takes 2 months to a year or more to get there, and you lose it in 1 week to 45 days after you stop, and need 2 months to a year to get back to where you would have been had you stayed on it. Where you would be without it continually drops without finasteride, and 130% of a smaller number is smaller than 130% of a big number, so even on minoxidil your hair counts will drop evenually. However because it can take up to a year to gain 30% mass, and you probably were not shedding 30% per year, you actually gain mass that first year despite hairs dying, but you go completely bald in the same amount of time, plus a small amount of time that comes from the fact that minoxidil does protect blood vessels somewhat.

So i prefer to call minoxidil a baseline multiplier, that multiplies by 1.3, and reaches 0 when 0x1.3 = 0. I don't see why one would use the word "offset". Minoxidil even multiplies the length of your body hairs.