Transfollicular Route Of Topical Drugs

[Kevand]

I guess this route should play a major part in the effectivness of topical hair loss drugs as more concentration can be accumulated in the follicle site, which means the more hair that miniaturize the harder for drugs to absorp from this route. This should mean minoxidil and topical anti-androgen to work synergistically from this route alone. Larger hair diameter->larger follicle pore. Also I believe that anti-androgens work better if the hair is in anagen state.
For those that just use topical anti-androgen to maintain and not minoxidil, this could give reason to use minoxidil not only for cosmetic reason but also for long-term maintenance.
Just some theories of mine, what you think? I'm planning to add minoxidil after finding an effective topical anti-androgen.

 

[Armando Jose]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Lademann J[Author]&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=18070215

Lademann is a good research in it, acording to his studies follicles are open in anagen phase and "closed" in telogen

 

[Trichosan]

Link doesn't seem to work Armando. (?)

 

[Armando Jose]

http://www.jidsponline.org/article/S0022-202X(15)52616-X/pdf

 

[Kevand]

Interesting reading Armando, thanks for link!
"The follicular penetration processes are significantly influenced by the state of the follicular infundibulum; recent experimental investigations could demonstrate that it is essential to distinguish between open and closed hair follicles. Topically applied substances can only penetrate into open hair follicle."

 

[Kevand]

Found this:
Drug delivery to hair follicles was clearly shown to be dependent on the physicochemical properties of the applied substances and vehicles as well as on the activity status, size and density of the hair follicles.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23530745

 

[Armando Jose]

Very interesting,...., no sebum flow no hair growth. In the study you cited:

whereas inactive hair follicles showed neither sebum flow nor hair growth (ref). A cover consisting of dry sebum, desquamated corneocytes and other cell detritus was detected on inactive follicles blocking the penetration.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...characterization_of_open_and_closed_follicles

Previous studies have shown that the penetration of substances into the follicle depends on its activity. Telogen follicles that were not producing sebum were closed for follicular penetration.

 

[hairblues]

I dont really understand...

Are you guys saying if a follicle miniaturized its harder for topical meds (anti Androgen, 5 a reducste inhibitors and/ or growth stimulants such as minoxidil) to penetrate into the follicle and there for reverse the miniaturization?

what about with Derma rolling 1x a week? makes no difference if its not hitting specific miniaturized follicle?

 

[Kevand]

I dont really understand...

Are you guys saying if a follicle miniaturized its harder for topical meds (anti Androgen, 5 a reducste inhibitors and/ or growth stimulants such as minoxidil) to penetrate into the follicle and there for reverse the miniaturization?

what about with Derma rolling 1x a week? makes no difference if its not hitting specific miniaturized follicle?

Yes thats what I mean, just a theory but it seems logical. The transfollicular route is the fastest and easiest route to the deeplayers of the skin and also to the systemic circulation it has less resistance compared to the inter and intracellular routes. The concentration would be highest at the pathway with least resistance which means the transfollicular route deliver maybe several fold the amount of the drug at follicle site by being a less resistance pathway alone. The other huge factor is that the transfollicular pathway is directly connected to hairfollicle site which means this factor also alone could contribute to deliver several folds the amount of the drug at follicle site compared to the other skin routes.

 

[Kevand]

Dermarolling would increase the absorption in general over the skinlayer, but it wont hit the transfollicular pores significantly just my thought.

 

[hairblues]

Dermarolling would increase the absorption in general over the skinlayer, but it wont hit the transfollicular pores significantly just my thought.

I am not a biologist but I think its the size of the molecule that matters not the size of the follicle opening.
these things are microscopic. I find it hard to believe its not penetrating down into miniaturized follicles its a 'pore'.

 

[Trichosan]

it's not the size of the molecule, it's the motion of the lotion that matters. everyone knows this

Forget that motion-lotion jumbo. The pore orifice is directly proportional to the square of the hair and the lube of the tube. Real mathematics!

(on a real note, there is something to intracellular communication involving the different cells within the follicle, but I don't know the dynamics involved)