Smooth skin?

[jay2K6]

Been on minoxidil for about a week now and I noticed my face skin is very smooth and less oily. Anyone else experienced this?

 

[Felk]

Well that'd be nice

Im not sure why this would happen, though. I remember someone posting a hypothesis that minoxidil caused the sebaceous glands to become more active, which is the opposite thing. However it was only a hypothesis, and i'd never heard it before, so i don't know how valid it was.

If people are unlucky enough to get side effects from minoxidil, certainly people complain about their skin getting worse, due to the water retention.

If it continues to improve, let us know, however, as it'd be great to know of one positive side effect from these drugs. Everyone tends to blame every negative change on minoxidil and finasteride.

 

[jay2K6]

I think it has something to do on where you apply this stuff. I been applying about 1.5ml on the hairline and sometimes it drips on my forehead...

 

[jay2K6]

Any tips on how to apply minoxidil on long hair? In my case I think only about .5ml actually reaches the scalp.

 

[CCS]

yeah. take a comb and part it. add 2-4 drops down the part. keeping the hair from moving, use a free finger to spread id down the part, or even let a few drops roll around up there. just catch them before they do down the side. then take the comb and part it again, moving the part 1/2 inch or so over. repeat until you work from one side of your head to the other.

if you have an affro, i don't know what you should do, except stab it with the drop and let a drop roll around on your head one at a time, starting in different places. but I don't know how effective that would be. It would take a long time.

 

[Felk]

Hmmm are you using Lee's 5%? That has vitamin E in it, i think, maybe that has helped. Hmm seems a bit unlikely i guess.

Im looking for the same advice... i have 3-4 inch curly hair. However i applied lee's minoxidil recently to try it out, and found it spread pretty well.

To test what it would be like for balder people, i put a drop on my arm, and one drop spread well over nearly my entire forearm. I simply can't believe people with buzzed hair who need to use more than 1ml...

 

[CCS]

you must have plastic arms. i can't spread a drop of oil or water that far.

i added some drops of vit E in my minoxidil. much cheaper than lee's.

my spironolactone was supposed to ship monday and it still is not here. I wonder what country it is shipping from.

 

[jay2K6]

No Im using kirkland minoxidil 5%

 

[powersam]

collegechem where do you get vitamin e in a form you can add to minoxidil? (i'm assuming its in some liquid form). Do vitamin/supplement stores ever offer liquid vitamin e?

 

[kalbo]

I'm experiencing similar yet worse side effects to minoxidil. My skin is also less oily but to the point of not being oily enough. My skin gets extremely dry when I don't use lotion and as a result, my skin feels very rough and has a more redish pigment to it.

 

[CCS]

New Life Vitamins

Solaray
Dietary Suppliment
Liquid
Vitamine E
400 IU per mL
60 mL
d-apha tocopheny acetate, unesterified mixed toctopherols (including d-gama, d-delta, and d-beta tocopherol, and mixed tocotrienol complex (d-gamma, d-apha, and d-delta)
About $15 each, if i remember.

i got them as an oral anti-oxidant. But now i add a bit to my topicals and apply them on scars. Maybe I should try a drop a day on my nose pores.

 

[Felk]

I remember Bryan posting once that oral Vitamin E tablers cannot work topically, because it's converted into vitamin e in the body (or something...do a search and you'll find it)

 

[powersam]

yeah i managed to find a vitamin e oil. says each drop contains 25iu of vitamin e. can i just add some to the minoxidil bottle or would it not mix together? i guess a few drops per application of minoxidil would be about right.

i read a french study a while back that found the vast majority of balding men had prematurely aged scalp skin, which made the skin thinner. a good topical antioxidant could really help.

 

[CCS]

yes, and so would GLA. i read that older people don't synthesize it as well and have dry skin as a result, though health sites recommend oral supplements.

i think my face is aging much faster than my peers' faces. does anyone else here under 25 feel they have the face of a 35-40 year old?

 

[powersam]

nah my face is pretty good, just the receded hair line that lets me down. having less hair draws attention to flaws in your face i've been told, so maybe your just looking a bit closer at yourself than others.