I'm using both Rogaine foam and topical 5% S5 spironolactone purchased from the gourmetstylewellness.com store. The spironolactone does take some time to dry or set or whatever you want to call it...after 5-15 minutes it no longer appears white on the scalp but the scalp and hair still feel a bit greasy for up to an hour. It dries a little stiff too but the hair can easily be ruffled back to a more natural look - this problem is worse when applying it after minoxidil which tends to dry stiff on my hair too. All-in-all it's not that bad though, not any worse than using minoxidil alone except for the white lotion-y color on the scalp for the first 10 minutes after application. I use it only at night now because I don't think spironolactone'd hair would fly very well at work. (I take my finasteride first thing in the morning and apply spironolactone at night, so at least it makes me feel like 24 hour DHT protection).
Regarding the application time with minoxidil, I've read Dr. Lee recommended applying the minoxidil first, then the spironolactone about 10 minutes later. I was thinking about switching the order back-and-forth daily to average out the effect, but have stuck to Dr. Lee's recommendation of minoxidil, then spironolactone 10-20 minutes later.
You should also note that the S5 spironolactone cream sold on this website also contains .025% Tretinoin (Retin-A) which is known to increase skin cell turnover and has been said to improve the effectiveness of minoxidil. I've read that the order of Retin-A and minoxidil application is unimportant, as Retin-A's action on the skin takes place over a long period of time when used daily, so you're looking for long-term effects and not an acute impact on minoxidil's absorption or anything.
The spironolactone has been gentle to me, and that's about all I can say. I've been using it once daily for about two months now alongside finasteride and minoxidil with no noticeable results from anything but it's still very early. It's a simple thing to integrate into a regimen to fight DHT from another angle and I'd say a natural next-step once you're comfortable with the big 3 and looking for something more. It is pretty well understood compared to some of the experimental substances out there and seems to be generally tolerated well by those who use it topically for male pattern baldness. Hope that info helps, good luck!
