What are the best topical 5-alpha reductase inhibitors?

[Hoppi]

Because I've been looking a lot into Crinagen/Revivogen and their ingredients, topical finasteride, stuff like that, and still have limited idea what works best.

Also of course some inhibit primarily type 1 or primarily type 2, and unless you are on a strong finasteride dose you probably want to be focusing more attention on type 2.

According to the Crinagen website things like azelaic acid seem to have more effect on type 1..

Thanks, and ofc bear in mind things like spironolactone, flut, RU and that are (as far as I know) not 5ar inhibitors, they block the androgen receptor.

Take care peeps,

Hoppi!

 

[Jacob]

WD-40

 

[OverMachoGrande]

WD-40

LOL!!! :woot:

 

[CCS]

Revivigen. Only dumb thing about revivogen is they put zinc and saw palmetto in there to make some customers happy.

The rest of the ingredients are good.

 

[Hoppi]

Revivigen. Only dumb thing about revivogen is they put zinc and saw palmetto in there to make some customers happy.

The rest of the ingredients are good.

What do you think of Crinagen vs Revivogen? Is it close? Revivogen actually works out cheaper month for month but just requires shelling out more at once. I was thinking of just using them interchangeably depending on finances at the time lol

The ingredients for both seem fairly similar (the Crin ingredients have only fairly recently received a rather large revamp I think:

"The current version of Crinagen contains the following: Distilled water, Polysorbate 20, Gamma linolenic acid, Proanthocyanidins (procyanidin oligomers from grape seed extract), Azelaic acid, Zinc acetate hydrate, Niacin, Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxal-5-phosphate), Saw palmetto extract, Ginkgo biloba, Alpha linolenic acid, Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, Arachidonic acid, Palmitoleic acid, Tea tree oil, Witch hazel extract, Epilobium augustifolium, Epilobium parviflorum, Riboflavin, Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopherol)."

 

[Jacob]

Both products have been around for eons..but...nevermind...

I've come across other products with similar ingreds as those two btw.

 

[Belmondo]

[...]
Thanks, and ofc bear in mind things like spironolactone, flut, RU and that are (as far as I know) not 5ar inhibitors, they block the androgen receptor.

[...]

Are there any oral drugs that can do this - block the androgen receptors? That would be the ideal solution, I guess.

 

[Hoppi]

Both products have been around for eons..but...nevermind...

I've come across other products with similar ingreds as those two btw.

hehe Jacob you have to bear in mind that although I can't speak for CCS I am certainly very new to this and if you said the word "Crinagen" to me like a month or so ago I wouldn't have had a clue what it was lol

So which of those kind of products do you recommend? What do you think of Crinagen, does it function well as a sometimes more affordable equivalent to Revivogen?

And yeah I know what you mean Belmondo although bear in mind I can't see the advantage of doing this systemically as you would end up blocking the receptors on like EVERYTHING lol If you're doing that then you may as well just inhibit the 5-alpha reductase because I would imagine the effect on serum DHT would be fairly similar.

However, if there was some way to distinguish between a scalp follicle AR and a different location of AR (which is doubtful ._. ) then THAT would be awesome

 

[CCS]

Isn't Crinagen just saw palmetto? If so, I'd vote for the revivogen. But look at the ingredients first.

We don't know what the strongest 5ar inhibitor is.

We know GLA is the strongest fatty acid, but the study abstract I saw did not say how much 5ar was inhibited. You'd have to read the study. And sebum glands use 5ar1. So for all we know, GLA just does 5ar1. That could help, but who knows how much.

EGCG may inhibit 5ar1 too. But only one study, and it may have just been its androgen receptor blocking going on.

Finasteride really depends on the vehicle.

Sprio and beta sitosterol work on the androgen receptor, not on 5ar. Beta sitosterol might even just be an estrogen, and might be synergistic with spironolactone.

 

[Jacob]

Hoppi...it's hard to compare the two..they've both been around for a long time..I don't see anything out there that says one is better than the other. But that could be said of a lot of things.

Maybe get your hands on this:

Indeed, further to its well known scavenger activity for oxygen and nitrogen free radicals, it also chelates transition metals and inhibits many pro-inflammatory processes. These include the activity of the COX-2 enzyme in macrophagic cells, the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expression, and the nitric oxide production in endothelial cell lines; it suppresses the release of arachidonic acid and eicosanoid synthesis and inhibits NF-kB activation.16,17,18,19,20,21 A recent result has also shown that verbascoside can also reduce the enzymatic activity of 5-alpha-reductase, the key enzyme involved in the biotransformation of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

http://www.personalcaremagazine.com/Story.aspx?Story=6026

 

[Bryan]

Are there any oral drugs that can do this - block the androgen receptors?

Sure. spironolactone, flutamide, and casodex, just to name three.

That would be the ideal solution, I guess.

Not by the hair on your chinny-chin chin! Systemic antiandrogens can't be used by men. Too many side effects.

 

[JWM]

Used Revivogen for a full year back in 2001 (when it was clear!) and it did not even help to maintain. Not to mention I ruined several pillow cases and had to shampoo a zillion times to get the grease out the next day.

I would opt for topical spironolactone; it seems like the most road-tested, safe, and easily attainable choice.

 

[JWM]

Whoops, just re-read the title. spironolactone isn't a topical 5ar inhibitor.

 

[Hoppi]

Whoops, just re-read the title. spironolactone isn't a topical 5ar inhibitor.

yeah that's the thing

The reason I am looking at 5ar inhibitors, is because I agree with El Duterino that a really good approach is to go for a 5ar inhibitor, androgen receptor blocker and receptor degrader working together.

At the moment it seems like the best is Revivogen probably followed by Crinagen, as far as topical treatments go anyway. It's odd isn't it though that more potent alternatives don't exist at the moment, perhaps inhibiting 5ar is just better done systemically as then you're reducing serum DHT as well.

I take it the serum DHT binds anyway regardless of whether 5ar is present in the receptors or not? So I suppose that's why binding and degrading them is a good option!

And CCS, the new Crinagen ingredients list is pretty impressive as far as I can tell, it seems to have all of the Revivogen ingredients, so that must count for something

 

[Jacob]

Here's a couple similar products..not even the ones I was thinking of:

With minoxidil: http://www.minoxidilmax.com/product_html/better_than_topical_finasteride_dutasteride.html


W/out: http://www.proanagen.com/custompage.asp?PageID=6

I just remembered another thing about Revivogen that smelled. I had asked them about improving the product somehow(I forget what was suggested)..the response was that it couldn't be improved. Half a year later...what happens? They "improve" it. :shakehead:

 

[Jacob]

I know Nioxin has some products with these ingreds.

Here's another: http://www.hlcconline.com/001HLMGT02.html

 

[KeepTheHair]

I think a good idea is to use dutasteride weekly or so. Since it is so good at blocking DHT synthesis etc etc.

My plan right now is just finasteride, topical spironolactone...and keto shampoo. My minoxidil has azelaic acid and finasteride which might do something also.

Future plans:

Dutasteride
Fluridil

I will add those if I get more greedy!