Nizoral 1% vs. 2%

[asolof]

I have been trying to research this, but I have only been able to find a limited amount of information.

J Dermatol 2002 Aug;29(8):489-98 (ISSN: 0385-2407)
Khandpur S; Suman M; Reddy BS
Department of Dermatology and S.T.D., Maulana Azad Meical College and Associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, India.

In this study they compared treatment for one year:
Group 2: finasteride 1mg daily + 2% minoxidil (Rogaine) 2X/day
Best Results
Group 4: 1mg finasteride (propecia/proscar) + 2% ketoconazole
(nizoral) 2nd Best
Group 1: finasteride 1mg daily alone
3rd Best
Group 3: 2% minoxidil (Rogaine) 2X/day alone
Worst results

So, assuming this is true, adding 2% ketoconazole to finasteride improved the outcome.

I couldn't find direct comparisons of 1% and 2% ketoconazole with regards to treatment of male pattern baldness. I did find one study that showed 1% ketoconazole to be 10X more effective than another antifungal drug at killing a fungus that cause tinea capitus (ringworm of the scalp). This same study found that 2% ketoconazole is 10X more effective at killing the same fungus compared with 1% ketoconazole and 100X more effective than the other antifungal they were comparing it to.

Nizoral (ketoconazole) shampoo is primarily used to kill Pityrosporum ovale (P. ovale), a yeast-like fungus that is part of the normal skin flora. In abundance it causes dandruff. However, ketoconazole also kills the fungi that cause tinea capitus. Both dandruff and tinea capitus may appear as scaling of the scalp. Tinea capitus is also a common cause of alopecia. Normally when the tinea capitus is cured or controlled, the hair lost from this cause grows back.

Anyway, I can't help but wander what percent of the population of men with male pattern baldness also have subclinical fungus infections +/- overabundance of p.ovale and I wander how much of the superiority of Nizoral may be due to its' antifungal/antiyeast activity, rather than its' antiandrogenic activity.

It would be nice to have some more studies done on this.

However, based on the limited info available, I'm going to switch from the 1% to the 2% nizoral shampoo. If I have to wait a year to see results from treatment of male pattern baldness, I don't want to find out 1 year from now I was doing something suboptimal and wandering how it would have been had had I made the change early on.

 

[blue]

There have been many on here including bruce lee that say 1% is just as good as 2% plus you dont need a prescription.i use 1% and works fine for me when combined with tgel.

 

[socks]

You can pick up Nizoral 2% without a prescription from:

hair2go.com

or

canadapharmacy.com

I could care less what Bruce Lee or other say. Unless there is some hard evidence showing the 1% as effective as the 2% I'm going to opt for the latter.

 

[Matgallis]

I could care less what Bruce Lee or other say. Unless there is some hard evidence showing the 1% as effective as the 2% I'm going to opt for the latter.

very true.

 

[avri]

Unless there is some hard evidence showing the 1% as effective as the 2% I'm going to opt for the latter.

I agree. There may be some evidence that it's just as effective for treating dandruff, but there's no evidence to suggest it's as effective for treating hair loss.


avri

 

[Petchsky]

Asolof says

Anyway, I can't help but wander what percent of the population of men with male pattern baldness also have subclinical fungus infections +/- overabundance of p.ovale

Good post. This is something i have wondered about too. Before i started doing something about my hair loss i use to notice a weird residue that built up and felt like it was blocking my follicles. Even after i had just washed my hair, with normal shampoo, i could scrape my nail down my scalp and have all this stuff? under my nails.

I feel this contributed to my hair loss and speeded it up. Nizoral cleared this up no problem. Personally i would go for the stronger one everytime when its in terms of one or two percent....You know it makes sense.