Compounding minoxidil

[DoubleL14]

Good day everyone,

I'm a newbie here but definitely not a new to hair loss. Been fighting hair loss since late teen and it's on going. I just wondering if anyone heard about 'compounding' 5% minoxidil lotion retinoic acid (vitamin A derivitive). I did some research and apparently you can get it done in any pharmacy/drug store if you have a prescription. I'm not sure about the cost but it would be around $20-40 dollars/ or more per 100mL.

I was previously in a hair regrowth program and lotion provided was 5% minoxidil +0.05% retinoic acid. It is very effective and stop my hair loss within a few weeks. Unfortunately it's not widely available and you would have to enrol in the program to get it.

Retinoic acid works by enhancing the minoxidil absorption and might have a skin 'thinning' effect (based on concept of acne treatment with retin-A, eventhough they are not entirely the same)

I'm from Australia btw...

CHeers

 

[Bryan]

I don't think it's a very good idea to mix Retin-A with topical minoxidil solutions. Use them separately.

By the way, Retin-A has been found to stimulate the growth of hair follicles even when used alone (see the Bazzano study on PubMed), so its beneficial effect on hair isn't simply through increasing the absorption of minoxidil.

Also, according to the best scientific evidence, topical minoxidil doesn't really appear to interfere with the fundamental process balding. Balding seems to continue, even when you use minoxidil (any improvement that you see after first beginning topical minoxidil won't last). I strongly recommend that you use other things in addition to the minoxidil, if you want the beneficial effects on your hair to last a really long time. Keep reading this site for suggestions of what to use along with the minoxidil.

 

[DoubleL14]

I don't think it's a very good idea to mix Retin-A with topical minoxidil solutions. Use them separately.

By the way, Retin-A has been found to stimulate the growth of hair follicles even when used alone (see the Bazzano study on PubMed), so its beneficial effect on hair isn't simply through increasing the absorption of minoxidil.

Also, according to the best scientific evidence, topical minoxidil doesn't really appear to interfere with the fundamental process balding. Balding seems to continue, even when you use minoxidil (any improvement that you see after first beginning topical minoxidil won't last). I strongly recommend that you use other things in addition to the minoxidil, if you want the beneficial effects on your hair to last a really long time. Keep reading this site for suggestions of what to use along with the minoxidil.

Thanks for the advice and perhaps I should do some extra reading on the topic. Some of the topical products out there have pretty good formulation e.g Spectral DNC and Polaris....I'll keep working on finding the best formulation at a cheaper cost.