I used SDA-40B perfumer's alcohol in my solution. The specifications say It is 99.88% ethanol, .12% t-butyl alcohol, and .0006% Bitrex. SDA-40B is also what they use in minoxidil foam, although it has other alcohols in it as well. I think it should be fine, only time will tell. Where do you get your ethanol from?
Do You Think My Homemade Minoxidil Solution Will Work?
- Thread starter biffcake
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SDA-40B is probably ok. Any other denatured alcohol is a really bad idea and can cause real health problems.
I get from Lab Alley, but I can only buy in 1 pint sizes at a time. Still kinda pricey, about $40 with shipping and taxes. Any larger volumes than a pint incur hefty shipping charges and hazmat taxes.
It seems that simple distilling 100% pure ethanol from 95% denatured shelf ethanol is the most economical route in the long run. But it's a pain in the *** and time consuming.
I think it depends on what it is denatured with. I've bought from Lab Alley before and I question if it is really undenatured 200 proof ethanol. That is technically drinkable alcohol, so wouldn't you need to provide ID to get it? They never asked for ID. I've used 95% ethanol denatured with 5% IPA and Bitrex as well and it seemed to work as well as the SDA 40B and the ethanol from Lab Alley. I would definitely not use anything denatured with anything toxic, but anything that is 200 proof would probably work. It's worth testing to me because SDA 40B and the 95% ethanol/5% IPA are way cheaper than Lab Alley's undenatured 200 proof ethanol. 32 oz of SDA 40B was about $30 and 1 gallon of 95% ethanol/5% IPA was about $30 as well.
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Re: Lab Alley - I thought it was a little strange that they didn't ask for ID either. But the laws around selling food grade ethanol are a little wacky and change frequently. For example, Everclear was illegal in NY state for a long time, but now sold everywhere in the city. Speaking of Everclear, adding 3A molecular sieves to 190 proof might be the cheapest way to get 200 proof. In theory, distillation wouldn't be needed as there are no denaturing agents in Everclear. Here's a good video explaining the process:
Anyways, reproducing Xandrox has been a very interesting but strange rabbit hole, lol. If I end up compounding any additional solutions, I'll be sure to document the process.
I bought some more azelaic acid from a different seller and it also will not dissolve completely. I may have to run it through the grinder. I also added some peppermint oil to the minoxidil solution and due to the high ethanol content, it was able to dissolve. When I tried this with the previous solution, it separated and floated on top. I know studies have shown peppermint oil is good for hair growth, but I wonder if the oil will hinder the absorption of the minoxidil. Another thing I noticed is the pH goes up substantially between when I measure it after I finish mixing the solution (even after letting it completely cool) and letting the solution settle for a few days. This could be unique to the pH adjuster I'm using (85% phosphoric acid solution), but it may be best to add the pH adjuster after letting the solution settle for a bit.
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My solution crystallized today. This could be for a few reasons. 1. I used a coffee grinder instead of the 300 mesh rated grinder for this minoxidil solution. 2. I had no azelaic acid in this solution 3. The peppermint oil could have interfered with the solubility of the minoxidil. I will make a solution following the patent instructions and see how that goes. How is your solution doing @Kirkland13 ?
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@biffcake - no issues on my end. My solution has retained the same consistency and PH as when I first compounded it. Azelaic acid is highly soluble in ethanol. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Azelaic-acid#section=Flash-Point
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@biffcake - does your PH meter have ATC? (automatic temp. compensation) If not, you will see a variance in readings as your solution cools. This is completely normal. As temperatures rise, PH drops. And vice versa. PH meters with ATC account for this, however.
That's great to hear, the solution seems to be pretty stable then. The azelaic acid I was using turned out to be fake. I bought a new batch that I thought wouldn't dissolve either, but I guess I wasn't stirring it long enough because it eventually did dissolve. I ran the azelaic acid through the grinder regardless because I figured it could only help the solubility and penetration of it. I still notice a tiny amount of azelaic acid sitting at the bottom of the solution, but I made that solution by dissolving the azelaic acid into the ethanol and then mixing the ethanol with the glycerin/minoxidil slurry. Next time I will mix the azelaic acid in with the heated glycerin/minoxidil slurry before I add the ethanol and see how that goes.
The specifications say it does, so I don't know why that happened. You only really need to find the right pH once though to figure out how much pH adjuster to add. For me 30 drops, which turns out to be just slightly above .25ml on my particular medicine dropper, of 85% phosphoric acid puts my 100ml solution almost exactly at 5.7 pH, which is the preferred pH according to the patent.
I made some more solutions and the amount of pH adjuster needed seems to vary based on the minoxidil solution strength. 30 drops gave me the correct pH on a 10% solution, but 30 drops in a 5% solution dropped the pH a little too low (but still usable) and 30 drops in a 15% solution left the pH too high.
I think I have some good news, this stuff is definitely absorbing. I found that out the hard way though. I made the mistake of applying 2ml of the 15% solution in one day. Terrible side effects for hours. Palpations, shortness of breath, etc. This stuff is STRONG. The grinding down of the minoxidil and the high ethanol content definitely make a huge difference. I never had anything close to those kinds of side effects with my original solution. DO NOT GO OVER 1ML. Did you ever have any side effects on the original Xandrox @joshua? Also I'm curious how people applied this to their whole head with only 1ml. That seems like too little to cover that much surface area. Is it just so powerful that only the littlest amount of wetness is needed on an area to effective?
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Yep, I agree @biffcake - I've had the same experience intermittently. Minoxidil is no joke; people gotta be careful with this stuff. This is my own personal theory, so take it with a grain of salt, but I think the potential cardiac side-effects of high % solutions is why major drug companies like Upjohn (Rogaine brand) don't even wanna go there. It's not worth it to them. According to Dr. Lee, 1ml of 15% has some margin of safety, but going past that amount is asking for trouble.
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Lol bullshit.
I only added an extra gram of minoxidil to make it 16% because I read that is what Dr.Lee used to do to account for any possible crystallization. I don't think it makes too much difference in regards to side effects. 1ml gave me very little side effects, so it was definitely the 2ml that caused it. I do plan to continue using it, but my original intent for making these solutions was for beard growth. I don't believe I have any hair loss, so I won't be able to speak to it's effectiveness on that. However, if the solutions are effective at growing facial hair, I don't see why they wouldn't also work for your head hair.
You're probably right. I've used Dualgen 15 and the new Xandrox 15, but never had side effects on those. Dualgen 15 does not use micronized minoxidil, so that might explain why. The new Xandrox 15 claim they do, but the bottle I received from them crystallized the first day I got it, so they may be lying. It also uses less ethanol than our solution because the ingredients say it has water in it, so it probably absorbs less.
That definitely looks like it. That is how my minoxidil looked when I ran it though a grinder. You're lucky to have easy access to micronized minoxidil. Be very careful, the higher percentages will be very powerful. You could probably just make a 5% solution and it would work better than typical 5% because the micronized minoxidil will absorb more and the higher ethanol content will also make it absorb better.
When you were using the original Xandrox and had such great results, were you applying just 1ml a day to your whole head?
I have read the patent of Dr.Lee and I am confused about the amount of minoxidil.
It is mentioned that is needed 150 grams of minoxidil to get 100 ml at 15%, but according my calculation should be 15 grams (150 mg / ml).
Which is the correct amount of minoxidil?
Thanks
It is mentioned that is needed 150 grams of minoxidil to get 100 ml at 15%, but according my calculation should be 15 grams (150 mg / ml).
Which is the correct amount of minoxidil?
Thanks
Yes, 15g for 100ml = %15.
Yes, I definitely have some dark hairs coming in that weren't there before. I started out using about a 7% solution for awhile because a 10% solution was giving me side effects.The results were coming in slowly with the 7%. I just recently switched back to the 10% and the side effects aren't noticeable anymore. Maybe my body adjusted. Since I've been using the 10%, the results really seem to be coming in a lot faster. The results probably would be even better without the azelaic acid in the solution because it is a DHT blocker, which is bad for beard growth. I've been meaning to post an update, but I didn't want to do it too early and jump the gun on saying if it works or not. As of now, I feel the solution works.I used a 6 months supply of standard minoxidil on beard about a year ago and only saw slight improvements, I've only been using the homemade solution for about 2 months now and the results are way better. I want to continue to use the solution for a little while before I recommend people go out and buy all the supplies to make it themselves. Maybe @Kirkland13 can give an update as well.
Edit: I should also add that I am only applying once a day.
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I wanted to continue to use it for a little while more before I tell people to go and spend money on all the supplies.I'd hate to prematurely tell people to go buy all the materials to make a solution that may not work. If you want it now, I can PM it to you.