Retin-A

[Bryan]

Don't use minoxidil and Retin-A mixed together. That would be exceedingly dumb. Use them separately.

Bryan

Could you elaborate?

Out of all the substances we use in our fight against hairloss, Retin-A is probably the one with the greatest potential for severe irritation if misused. It often requires careful adjustment of the dose to find a level which is beneficial, without causing undue problems. Years ago there was a fellow named George Miu who used to post on alt.baldspot, and he got himself into some SERIOUS trouble by overdoing the Retin-A, and ended up with a really nasty-looking inflammed scalp which looked like a hunk of bleeding meat (I saw his photos).

I think it's stupid to combine a drug which could very well require careful titration (Retin-A) with a relatively innocuous drug like topical minoxidil. If you mix them together and then run into a problem down the road where you need to reduce the amount of Retin-A that you're getting, you can't do that without simultaneously reducing the amount of minoxidil! Better to use them SEPARATELY, so that they can be adjusted separately.

And there is also the claim of Shapiro & Price, which I mentioned above. But I'm not really sure what to make of that.

Bryan

 

[TortoiseAndHair]

Years ago there was a fellow named George Miu who used to post on alt.baldspot, and he got himself into some SERIOUS trouble by overdoing the Retin-A, and ended up with a really nasty-looking inflammed scalp which looked like a hunk of bleeding meat (I saw his photos).

What if "hunk of bleeding meat" is the look you're going for? :lol:

 

[1derphull]

BTW, just as a little side-bar: Drs. Vera Price and Jerry Shapiro once published a review article in one of the medical journals which claimed that minoxidil and Retin-A are not stable when mixed into the same solution!

Bryan

Dr Proctor says this as well, he took Retin-A out of his Proxiphen.
Glad to know that when I purchased the Retin-A/minoxidil combo from Dr Lee I was getting my "money's" worth.... :-x

 

[Cornholio]

It is convenient to use a retin-a / minoxidil combo... You just have to be willing to adjust the frequency of the retin-a containing med so you dont irritate your scalp. And, its recommended at bedtime rather than in the morning to avoid sunburn.

Just try the regular minoxidil in the morning, and use the retin-a/minoxidil at night or even alternating nights (alternating with regular minoxidil) depending on what your scalp will handle. I have done this without problem.

 

[Guest]

Old Miu must've gone crazy with the retin-a to make his scalp look like bleeding meat. I bet splashed it all over his egg and went outside on a hot summer's day.

 

[Guest]

how about using 0.05% retin-A...? to strong?

 

[dead]

....If you mix them together and then run into a problem down the road where you need to reduce the amount of Retin-A that you're getting, you can't do that without simultaneously reducing the amount of minoxidil!

??

You simply need to add more minoxidil solution to your mix, this will in effect reduce the concentration of Retinoic Acid, am I missing something here ?

 

[Guest]

when are you supposed to put on the retin-a if it's NOT mixed with the minoxidil.... before or after ???

 

[Bryan]

It is convenient to use a retin-a / minoxidil combo... You just have to be willing to adjust the frequency of the retin-a containing med so you dont irritate your scalp.

Which means you're also adjusting the frequency of the MINOXIDIL, too, if you're using them mixed together! :wink:

Just try the regular minoxidil in the morning, and use the retin-a/minoxidil at night or even alternating nights (alternating with regular minoxidil) depending on what your scalp will handle.

Oh, I see: so now you have to keep around at least TWO DIFFERENT FREAKING BOTTLES OF MINOXIDIL, one with Retin-A, the other without. For the love of god, folks, just use Retin-A SEPARATELY from topical minoxidil. Sheesh.

Bryan

 

[Guest]

Bryan, ok.... but then when should one apply the retin-A??? how long before or after minoxidil??

 

[dead]

Oh, I see: so now you have to keep around at least TWO DIFFERENT FREAKING BOTTLES OF MINOXIDIL, one with Retin-A, the other without. For the love of god, folks, just use Retin-A SEPARATELY from topical minoxidil. Sheesh.

Bryan

...Retin-A SEPARATELY from topical minoxidil... now let me see....hhmmmm...that would also be two bottles, sorry two 'freaking' bottles.

Bryan do you, or have you ever used retinoic acid ?

 

[Bryan]

....If you mix them together and then run into a problem down the road where you need to reduce the amount of Retin-A that you're getting, you can't do that without simultaneously reducing the amount of minoxidil!

??

You simply need to add more minoxidil solution to your mix, this will in effect reduce the concentration of Retinoic Acid, am I missing something here ?

You want to spend a lot of time fiddling around with different mixtures of minoxidil and Retin-A? At the very beginning when you first start using Retin-A, you don't know how you're going to react to it, so you're well-advised to go slow with it. So do you have to mix-up a bottle with a low concentration at first, to see how you react? Then if all goes well, do you try mixing up a new bottle with a little higher concentration, and try THAT one for a while? Do you repeat that process with newer mixtures until you find the one that's right for you? If sometime much later, you start to experience irritation for some unknown reason(s) and you suspect that MAYBE it's the Retin-A, do you have to mix up another bottle again with a somewhat lower concentrtion, and try THAT one out? Do you see where I'm going with all this??

For god's sake, just use Retin-A SEPARATELY from minoxidil. It's exceedingly DUMB to mix them together.

Bryan

 

[dead]

You want to spend a lot of time fiddling around with different mixtures of minoxidil and Retin-A? At the very beginning when you first start using Retin-A, you don't know how you're going to react to it, so you're well-advised to go slow with it. So do you have to mix-up a bottle with a low concentration at first, to see how you react? Then if all goes well, do you try mixing up a new bottle with a little higher concentration, and try THAT one for a while? Do you repeat that process with newer mixtures until you find the one that's right for you? If sometime much later, you start to experience irritation for some unknown reason(s) and you suspect that MAYBE it's the Retin-A, do you have to mix up another bottle again with a somewhat lower concentrtion, and try THAT one out? Do you see where I'm going with all this??

For god's sake, just use Retin-A SEPARATELY from minoxidil. It's exceedingly DUMB to mix them together.

Bryan

No, that would be inefficient.

Add a little retinoic acid to your minoxidil and use this low dose for a couple of weeks, if you think a stronger solution would be of benefit add a little more retinoic acid to the same solution.

 

[Bryan]

Bryan, ok.... but then when should one apply the retin-A??? how long before or after minoxidil??

I'm not a big fan of applying anything immediately AFTER minoxidil, because minoxidil has to sit there undisturbed for a long time on the scalp being slowly absorbed. There was a study several years ago which found that a lot of topical minoxidil was lost due to external factors like touching your hair, contact with clothing, random air currents, blow-drying your hair, etc. While that _may_ also be true for certain other topicals, that study was quite striking when it comes to minoxidil specifically. I would either apply the Retin-A well BEFORE the minoxidil, or (best of all) apply it at a completely different time of day than the minoxidil.

Bryan

 

[Bryan]

...Retin-A SEPARATELY from topical minoxidil... now let me see....hhmmmm...that would also be two bottles, sorry two 'freaking' bottles.

One BOTTLE, and one small TUBE. And both of those stay the same: you never ever have to re-mix either one! :wink:

Bryan do you, or have you ever used retinoic acid ?

I use it, yes.

Bryan

 

[dead]

One BOTTLE, and one small TUBE. And both of those stay the same: you never ever have to re-mix either one! :wink:

Dr Lee sells his retinoic acid in bottles.

 

[Guest]

thank you bryan... is it this way with all the topicals?? best applying them by themself on a given time a day?? also spironolactone??

 

[1derphull]

I'm not a big fan of applying anything immediately AFTER minoxidil, because minoxidil has to sit there undisturbed for a long time on the scalp being slowly absorbed.

Huh? I thought the majority of minoxidil was absorbed within the first hour...

 

[Guest]

I'm not a big fan of applying anything immediately AFTER minoxidil, because minoxidil has to sit there undisturbed for a long time on the scalp being slowly absorbed.

Huh? I thought the majority of minoxidil was absorbed within the first hour...

yeah and so WHAT??? 'immediately AFTER minoxidil' doesnt mean an hour or two after... it means IMMEDIATELY after..!

 

[Shinyscalp23]

i cant believe someone fighting hair loss isnt using minoxidil! Shame on you!lol