- Reaction score
- 3,025
Since I've recently learned about Equol, I have been blown away that more people have not already tried to use it in their hair or in commercial formulations for hair. It really seems like a very promising compound.
What is Equol?
Equol is a natural compound which is made by bacteria in your gut after you eat soy products. It's generally considered to be good for health, and may be part of the reason Japanese people have lower rates of prostate cancer (as they eat much more soy and have more of the bacteria that can make equol from soy). (ref)
Equol is known as a "chiral" compound, meaning that it has a specific 3D structure which can present itself in one of two ways that are mirror images of each other. When a structure is chiral like this, the two mirror images are called enantiometers, and we call one "R" or "+" and the other "S" or "-".
The structures of the two versions are shown here:
In R-equol, that one chemical bond that is bolded can be thought of as coming "out of the page" as you go from left to right. In S-equol, that same bond that is dotted can be thought of going "into the page".
So there are actually three types of equol that can exist:
1) R-equol
2) S-equol
3) Racemic equol ("racemic" means it contains a roughly equal mix of the R and S enantiomers)
In nature, when we consume soy, bacteria in our intestines will only create S-equol. Brotzu plans to use S-equol only. But on the chemical market (ie. Alibaba), all the equol I have encountered is sold as a racemic mixture. As we will see, this may not actually be a bad thing, as R-equol has some very unique properties which may be positive as well. In some ways it appears much stronger than S-equol.
Mechanisms of Action
Equol has several mechanisms of action that are known which are very relevant to the interests of hair loss, and some that may be relevant to maintaining general good health.
1) DHT binder
Equol binds directly to DHT. Once DHT is bound to equol, it can no longer bind to the androgen receptor. This means Equol essentially renders DHT inert. (ref)
This has obvious applicability to hair. Finasteride is used to reduce DHT by blocking its production, but finasteride is a messy drug which affects numerous other hormonal pathways in the process. Usually finasteride can reduce scalp DHT by ~60%.
Soaking your scalp in equol could accomplish a similar goal. Rather than stopping DHT from being made, it will just stop DHT from binding to your hair follicles, which accomplishes the same outcome but in a much simpler way. In theory, adding equol could increase the success rate of almost any anti-androgenic approach, or it could be a very good approach to use all by itself.
Very helpfully, both S-equol and R-equol bind equally to DHT, so it does not matter what formulation or type of equol is used to get this effect. R-equol, S-equol, or racemic equol should all do equally well. (ref)
2) ER-beta agonism
There are two estrogen receptors - ER-alpha & ER-beta. You can read more about these here. In short, from current knowledge, it appears ER-beta is likely the estrogen receptor we would ideally like to stimulate for both hair and prostate benefits.
R-equol can bind to both ER-alpha and ER-beta but only very weakly for both. S-equol has pretty good binding capacity for ER-beta and almost none for ER-alpha.
ER-beta agonism is desirable in part because it can actually work to reduce androgen receptor expression. (ref). This again accomplishes a major goal we want. With fewer androgen receptors on our scalp, our hair could theoretically become less sensitive to any testosterone or DHT that is circulating in the area.
The ER-beta agonism benefit is only significantly provided by S-equol though, not R-equol. Racemic equol will provide the ER-beta agonism benefit but at a reduced amount (since only the S-equol in the mixture will do what we want here).
Since pure S-equol is hard to get, if you are looking for cheap and readily available pure ER-beta agonism, it is much easier to accomplish with genistein, which is cheaply available here and discussed more in the estrogen thread.
3) Other effects
Equol has also exerted many other positive effects in studies. These effects can be differential between R-equol & S-equol, suggesting they may both have useful properties for the body.
In one rat study:
- R-equol reduced prostate size dramatically better than S-equol. This was surprising as both types of equol bind DHT equally, and S-equol is the one with better ER-beta agonism, which is known to help prostates. The researchers did not seems to know why R-equol was so much more effective in reducing prostate size, but it might be due to the fact that R-equol is known to be much more anti-oxidative and cytoprotective.
- R-equol also dramatically reduced white (undesirable) body fat compared to S-equol. R-equol is therefore thought to have positive metabolic effects for the general body.
- R-equol reduced anxiety of the rats when they had to run mazes.
Those researchers summarized the effects of equol overall as follows:
(ref)
That article noted that in a skin study: "the R-equol and Racemic equol treatments were, in general, significantly more effective in improving human skin gene expression compared to S-equol". (ref)
So R-equol may have many benefits over S-equol (for prostates, skin, mood, anxiety, and body fat), but how exactly R-equol works differently from S-equol to enact all these extra benefits is not known.
Which Formulation is Best?
This then gives some ambiguity about which type of equol is actually the most desirable.
Both will bind equally to DHT. However, R-equol can provoke a much more powerful anti-prostate hypertrophy effect than S-equol for reasons unknown. Without knowing how R-equol does this, it's only speculation. But generally agents that work well for reducing prostate size (eg. finasteride & dutasteride) have also worked well for stopping androgenic hair loss. So maybe the R-equol would be more helpful for hair also.
Brotzu has decided to use only S-equol. This will provide the DHT binding and ER-beta agonism benefits of equol. But it won't provide any of the metabolic benefits, anti-prostate growth, or mood/anxiety benefits of R-equol. That may be irrelevant to some. Or it may be very relevant.
Debating too much about which enantiomer is best may be irrelevant altogether, as every source I have contacted on Alibaba has only had racemic equol, even when they are listing it as S-equol.
For my own part, I debated contacting Luo and asking him perform a chiral separation so I could get some pure S-equol. But the more I debated it, the more I figured why bother? R-equol may be just as good or better than S-equol. I wouldn't complain if my body fat (or anxiety...) went down a bit! Perhaps it is best to just get the racemic mixture, which is commonly available, and take advantage of both enantiomers.
One funny quirk of racemic equol is that when taken orally, it absorbs slower than either enantiomer does by itself. It still absorbs eventually and fully, but not as rapidly. (ref) In topical use, racemic equol was found to absorb well into the skin, work strongly within the skin cells, and create a "skin reservoir" with repeated application, which is very desirable. (ref)
Sources
The only reliable-seeming source I have found on Alibaba willing to do small orders is this one (https://nutrabiotech.en.alibaba.com). They do not manufacture equol but claim to manufacture other chemicals (SARMS). For equol, they state they are a reseller.
They quoted me:
10g $50 + shipping $45
30g $100 + shipping $45
100g $180 + shipping $45
Again this is for racemic equol, as that seems to be the only type which is commonly available without custom lab processing to separate the R's from the S's. I am in the process of finalizing my order for 30 grams, shipped by ePacket (skips nasty private courier brokerage fees and is very fast). I will test the sample upon arrival and post back what I find.
Dosing
We can easily come up with some general ideas for dosing from the many studies in humans that have now been done on equol, primarily for prostates or menopause.
At 2 mL at bed and 1 mL in the morning (my standard topical approach), 1% equol would mean daily administration of 30 mg equol. In the radioactive minoxidil study, only half of the minoxidil applied to the scalp actually absorbed. (ref) If we presume half of equol will similarly absorb, this would be a very moderate dose right within the normal range of doses specified above. Only it should all be focused at least initially at the scalp to provide a more powerful localized effect.
I think this is a reasonable dose to start with, as even if it all goes systemic, there shouldn't be much risk of toxicity. We know S-equol is completely natural and we are all exposed to at least a bit in our diet. But R-equol is completely unnatural (doesn't get made in nature) so who knows what negative effects it might have over time?
As usual, with any experimental therapy, use at your own risk. There is no safety data or dosing data and there is no guarantee any chemical you order on the Internet will even be what its supposed to be.
Bottom Line
For those dying to get the benefits of Brotzu, I would guess equol is going to be likely responsible for 60-70% of any benefit Brotzu provides. Brotzu's formulation has the extra benefit of liposomes. But there should be no actual NEED for liposomes. Liposomes can help to improve the localization of effect to the hair follicles. But equol should absorb easily through the skin and into the scalp and hair even without liposomes, just like minoxidil or estrogen creams, etc.
For my own part, I have always preferred to mix my own chemicals when I can as it gives me absolute flexibility and control. So for my own part, I don't plan to wait. I think equol sounds like a great idea so I'm giving it a try.
What is Equol?
Equol is a natural compound which is made by bacteria in your gut after you eat soy products. It's generally considered to be good for health, and may be part of the reason Japanese people have lower rates of prostate cancer (as they eat much more soy and have more of the bacteria that can make equol from soy). (ref)
Equol is known as a "chiral" compound, meaning that it has a specific 3D structure which can present itself in one of two ways that are mirror images of each other. When a structure is chiral like this, the two mirror images are called enantiometers, and we call one "R" or "+" and the other "S" or "-".
The structures of the two versions are shown here:
In R-equol, that one chemical bond that is bolded can be thought of as coming "out of the page" as you go from left to right. In S-equol, that same bond that is dotted can be thought of going "into the page".
So there are actually three types of equol that can exist:
1) R-equol
2) S-equol
3) Racemic equol ("racemic" means it contains a roughly equal mix of the R and S enantiomers)
In nature, when we consume soy, bacteria in our intestines will only create S-equol. Brotzu plans to use S-equol only. But on the chemical market (ie. Alibaba), all the equol I have encountered is sold as a racemic mixture. As we will see, this may not actually be a bad thing, as R-equol has some very unique properties which may be positive as well. In some ways it appears much stronger than S-equol.
Mechanisms of Action
Equol has several mechanisms of action that are known which are very relevant to the interests of hair loss, and some that may be relevant to maintaining general good health.
1) DHT binder
Equol binds directly to DHT. Once DHT is bound to equol, it can no longer bind to the androgen receptor. This means Equol essentially renders DHT inert. (ref)
This has obvious applicability to hair. Finasteride is used to reduce DHT by blocking its production, but finasteride is a messy drug which affects numerous other hormonal pathways in the process. Usually finasteride can reduce scalp DHT by ~60%.
Soaking your scalp in equol could accomplish a similar goal. Rather than stopping DHT from being made, it will just stop DHT from binding to your hair follicles, which accomplishes the same outcome but in a much simpler way. In theory, adding equol could increase the success rate of almost any anti-androgenic approach, or it could be a very good approach to use all by itself.
Very helpfully, both S-equol and R-equol bind equally to DHT, so it does not matter what formulation or type of equol is used to get this effect. R-equol, S-equol, or racemic equol should all do equally well. (ref)
2) ER-beta agonism
There are two estrogen receptors - ER-alpha & ER-beta. You can read more about these here. In short, from current knowledge, it appears ER-beta is likely the estrogen receptor we would ideally like to stimulate for both hair and prostate benefits.
R-equol can bind to both ER-alpha and ER-beta but only very weakly for both. S-equol has pretty good binding capacity for ER-beta and almost none for ER-alpha.
ER-beta agonism is desirable in part because it can actually work to reduce androgen receptor expression. (ref). This again accomplishes a major goal we want. With fewer androgen receptors on our scalp, our hair could theoretically become less sensitive to any testosterone or DHT that is circulating in the area.
The ER-beta agonism benefit is only significantly provided by S-equol though, not R-equol. Racemic equol will provide the ER-beta agonism benefit but at a reduced amount (since only the S-equol in the mixture will do what we want here).
Since pure S-equol is hard to get, if you are looking for cheap and readily available pure ER-beta agonism, it is much easier to accomplish with genistein, which is cheaply available here and discussed more in the estrogen thread.
3) Other effects
Equol has also exerted many other positive effects in studies. These effects can be differential between R-equol & S-equol, suggesting they may both have useful properties for the body.
In one rat study:
- R-equol reduced prostate size dramatically better than S-equol. This was surprising as both types of equol bind DHT equally, and S-equol is the one with better ER-beta agonism, which is known to help prostates. The researchers did not seems to know why R-equol was so much more effective in reducing prostate size, but it might be due to the fact that R-equol is known to be much more anti-oxidative and cytoprotective.
- R-equol also dramatically reduced white (undesirable) body fat compared to S-equol. R-equol is therefore thought to have positive metabolic effects for the general body.
- R-equol reduced anxiety of the rats when they had to run mazes.
Those researchers summarized the effects of equol overall as follows:
That article noted that in a skin study: "the R-equol and Racemic equol treatments were, in general, significantly more effective in improving human skin gene expression compared to S-equol". (ref)
So R-equol may have many benefits over S-equol (for prostates, skin, mood, anxiety, and body fat), but how exactly R-equol works differently from S-equol to enact all these extra benefits is not known.
Which Formulation is Best?
This then gives some ambiguity about which type of equol is actually the most desirable.
Both will bind equally to DHT. However, R-equol can provoke a much more powerful anti-prostate hypertrophy effect than S-equol for reasons unknown. Without knowing how R-equol does this, it's only speculation. But generally agents that work well for reducing prostate size (eg. finasteride & dutasteride) have also worked well for stopping androgenic hair loss. So maybe the R-equol would be more helpful for hair also.
Brotzu has decided to use only S-equol. This will provide the DHT binding and ER-beta agonism benefits of equol. But it won't provide any of the metabolic benefits, anti-prostate growth, or mood/anxiety benefits of R-equol. That may be irrelevant to some. Or it may be very relevant.
Debating too much about which enantiomer is best may be irrelevant altogether, as every source I have contacted on Alibaba has only had racemic equol, even when they are listing it as S-equol.
For my own part, I debated contacting Luo and asking him perform a chiral separation so I could get some pure S-equol. But the more I debated it, the more I figured why bother? R-equol may be just as good or better than S-equol. I wouldn't complain if my body fat (or anxiety...) went down a bit! Perhaps it is best to just get the racemic mixture, which is commonly available, and take advantage of both enantiomers.
One funny quirk of racemic equol is that when taken orally, it absorbs slower than either enantiomer does by itself. It still absorbs eventually and fully, but not as rapidly. (ref) In topical use, racemic equol was found to absorb well into the skin, work strongly within the skin cells, and create a "skin reservoir" with repeated application, which is very desirable. (ref)
Sources
The only reliable-seeming source I have found on Alibaba willing to do small orders is this one (https://nutrabiotech.en.alibaba.com). They do not manufacture equol but claim to manufacture other chemicals (SARMS). For equol, they state they are a reseller.
They quoted me:
10g $50 + shipping $45
30g $100 + shipping $45
100g $180 + shipping $45
Again this is for racemic equol, as that seems to be the only type which is commonly available without custom lab processing to separate the R's from the S's. I am in the process of finalizing my order for 30 grams, shipped by ePacket (skips nasty private courier brokerage fees and is very fast). I will test the sample upon arrival and post back what I find.
Dosing
We can easily come up with some general ideas for dosing from the many studies in humans that have now been done on equol, primarily for prostates or menopause.
- In 70-80 kg men a daily dose of 12 mg per day was sufficient to significantly decrease symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. (ref)
- In one study of postmenopausal Japanese women, s-equol was tested at a dose of 10–30 mg/d. (ref)
- Typical average intake of total soy isoflavones is ≈25–50 mg, of which ≈50% usually represents daidzin or daidzein—the precursors to equol. (ref)
At 2 mL at bed and 1 mL in the morning (my standard topical approach), 1% equol would mean daily administration of 30 mg equol. In the radioactive minoxidil study, only half of the minoxidil applied to the scalp actually absorbed. (ref) If we presume half of equol will similarly absorb, this would be a very moderate dose right within the normal range of doses specified above. Only it should all be focused at least initially at the scalp to provide a more powerful localized effect.
I think this is a reasonable dose to start with, as even if it all goes systemic, there shouldn't be much risk of toxicity. We know S-equol is completely natural and we are all exposed to at least a bit in our diet. But R-equol is completely unnatural (doesn't get made in nature) so who knows what negative effects it might have over time?
As usual, with any experimental therapy, use at your own risk. There is no safety data or dosing data and there is no guarantee any chemical you order on the Internet will even be what its supposed to be.
Bottom Line
For those dying to get the benefits of Brotzu, I would guess equol is going to be likely responsible for 60-70% of any benefit Brotzu provides. Brotzu's formulation has the extra benefit of liposomes. But there should be no actual NEED for liposomes. Liposomes can help to improve the localization of effect to the hair follicles. But equol should absorb easily through the skin and into the scalp and hair even without liposomes, just like minoxidil or estrogen creams, etc.
For my own part, I have always preferred to mix my own chemicals when I can as it gives me absolute flexibility and control. So for my own part, I don't plan to wait. I think equol sounds like a great idea so I'm giving it a try.
Last edited:
