Role Of Propylene Glycol (pg) In Topical Solutions

[Losingmyhair1234]

Hello,

I'm wondering how much PG (propylene glycol) has an affect on the efficacy of topicals.

For most of this year (January - September) I was using lipogaine (with PG) and maintaining pretty well and overall I had pretty positive results. However, I was getting pretty bad dandruff/scalp flaking the entire time. Basically once a month it seemed like my entire scalp would flake off. So I was constantly combing flakes out of my hair ( I'm a diffuse thinner).

So almost exactly 3 months ago, I switched to lipogaine for men with senstive skin (basically the exact same as the regular lipogaine except with no PG) with the hopes that the dandruff would stop. At this time I also decided to add RU to my regimen. I got the premixed RU in the kane solution as that one also does not have PG (5%).

Since I switched and added RU my results have been unencouraging. The flaking/dandruff I was getting has stopped, which is really nice, but that's about the only positive thus far. My hair fall has increased like 6x, before i basically had it down to 5-10 hairs in the shower daily ( this is how i measure since i shower daily). Whereas this morning I counted roughly 50. Also my hair looks, IMO, worse than when I switched, it feels thinner/more brittle. Also the fact that I added RU and my hair fall increased? From everything I've read RU should help with hair fall, like basically immediately, not make it worse. Everything's making me think that PG while irritating to the skin/scalp for me, plays a crucial role in the efficacy of these topicals.

Just wanted to see what others opinions/experiences/thoughts are with this? I'm wondering is there maybe a substitute for it?

 

[Roberto_72]

PG is necessary to dissolve minoxidil in your lotion. If it is not used, the lotion is less even.
Unfortunately PG is also the component of the lotion that makes your hair dirty and can even cause allergy.

 

[biddybomb]

I don't apply minoxidil topically anymore, I mix it in with my ejuice because they both contain high amounts of PG so they tend to blend very well so it vapes just fine. Took a while to get used to but the taste aint too bad tbh.

 

[Losingmyhair1234]

Wait your telling me you've been smoking minoxidil lol? or vaping i guess... I'm honestly intrigued, my best friend owns a vape shop so I'd be willing to pick up a pen.. Have you been seeing results? I know taking minoxidil orally is pretty sketchy cus it can mess with your heart and your blood pressure and stuff, I'm wondering if those risks would be present if you're vaping it?

 

[biddybomb]

Wait your telling me you've been smoking minoxidil lol? or vaping i guess... I'm honestly intrigued, my best friend owns a vape shop so I'd be willing to pick up a pen.. Have you been seeing results? I know taking minoxidil orally is pretty sketchy cus it can mess with your heart and your blood pressure and stuff, I'm wondering if those risks would be present if you're vaping it?

hahah nah I was just trolling, thought I better own up before someone actually goes out and tries it lol. Anything to battle hairloss.

 

[Roberto_72]

Wait your telling me you've been smoking minoxidil lol? or vaping i guess... I'm honestly intrigued, my best friend owns a vape shop so I'd be willing to pick up a pen.. Have you been seeing results? I know taking minoxidil orally is pretty sketchy cus it can mess with your heart and your blood pressure and stuff, I'm wondering if those risks would be present if you're vaping it?

Really?

 

[Massive]

PG is necessary to dissolve minoxidil in your lotion. If it is not used, the lotion is less even.
Unfortunately PG is also the component of the lotion that makes your hair dirty and can even cause allergy.

Kirkland's liquid minoxidil literally destroyed my scalp with excessive itching/irritation/burning/frying feeling and I shed copious amounts of hair, I thought it was end game for me that time. I then switched to the foam by Kirkland and I get just about as much itching as the time before I used minoxidil. I always had a bit of a itching, probably cause of the hair fibers concealer, and since using the foam the itching is at bay.

I forgot to mention, that while using the liquid solution I would get a ton of flakes that I couldn't get rid of, even if I used nizoral there would always be some left. After switching to the foam I don't see any flakes, and if there are any flakes they're not noticeable.

I'm just wondering, is it the PG in the liquid that is causing the flakes? or it's just the nature of liquid minoxidil ? because with the foam I hardly get any at all where as with the liquid I'm raining flakes.

 

[michel sapin]

in the minoxidil study, they say that pg allow the minoxidil to penetrate better . Basically it should be better than the foam.

 

[Losingmyhair1234]

hahah nah I was just trolling, thought I better own up before someone actually goes out and tries it lol. Anything to battle hairloss.

Hahaha I was gonna say....

Kirkland's liquid minoxidil literally destroyed my scalp with excessive itching/irritation/burning/frying feeling and I shed copious amounts of hair, I thought it was end game for me that time. I then switched to the foam by Kirkland and I get just about as much itching as the time before I used minoxidil. I always had a bit of a itching, probably cause of the hair fibers concealer, and since using the foam the itching is at bay.

I forgot to mention, that while using the liquid solution I would get a ton of flakes that I couldn't get rid of, even if I used nizoral there would always be some left. After switching to the foam I don't see any flakes, and if there are any flakes they're not noticeable.

I'm just wondering, is it the PG in the liquid that is causing the flakes? or it's just the nature of liquid minoxidil ? because with the foam I hardly get any at all where as with the liquid I'm raining flakes.

From all the research I've done and from what you're saying and what I've experienced, I'm like 99% sure it's the PG that causes the irritation. But like Michel sapin said, I do believe it is necessary for better penetration and you'll get better results with formulations that have it. I'm diffuse so I personally can't use the foam otherwise it just ends up all over my hair and not on my scalp, but I've been reading that a lot of guys spray out a bunch of foam and let it melt into liquid and then apply at like that, so I'm considering giving that a shot. I've also decided that I'm gonna start making my own RU formulation with neogenic as opposed to the kane solution. So i guess we'll see how all this goes.

 

[Massive]

Hahaha I was gonna say....



From all the research I've done and from what you're saying and what I've experienced, I'm like 99% sure it's the PG that causes the irritation. But like Michel sapin said, I do believe it is necessary for better penetration and you'll get better results with formulations that have it. I'm diffuse so I personally can't use the foam otherwise it just ends up all over my hair and not on my scalp, but I've been reading that a lot of guys spray out a bunch of foam and let it melt into liquid and then apply at like that, so I'm considering giving that a shot. I've also decided that I'm gonna start making my own RU formulation with neogenic as opposed to the kane solution. So i guess we'll see how all this goes.

I'm also a diffuse thinner and I have to cover my whole entire top scalp in a NW7 pattern. So just a few months ago while it was still summer, the foam would literally melt in seconds after I sprayed it into the bottle cap, I would end up dipping my finger into liquid and then rubbing it onto my scalp. This helped me use a more conservative amount of foam and a full cap's worth (just a bit more) would help me barely cover the top scalp. The downside was that over time this got very tiring so I just started spraying from the bottle straight into my scalp onto my scalp in like 10 areas, I just squeeze some foam into each area, then use my hands to massage the foam onto my scalp. Well this causes me to finish my bottles faster and my entire hair gets covered with foam as well, but I don't mind it since I my hairs are like 1.5" I can actually brush my hair after the foam application and it acts as an holding agent.

Now that it's winter the foam doesn't really melt in the cap, it's stay foamish for much longer. I tried just now melting it in the cap and then using the liquid dropper. That sh*t start freezing in my dropper, I had to blow dry my dropper again after I already sucked up the melted foam. I found out that when dabbing with the foam inside the dropper, more melted foam comes out compared to the liquid. With liquid minoxidil you can dab and cover enough areas and not whole lot of liquid comes out at once, however with the melted foam inside the dropper I felt as if more stuff was coming out with each dab.

I also have a dropper from MinoxidilMax which has a very narrow end and it takes like 3-4 times more effort to dab with it, so I will try it next time with the foam.