New Dermaroller Study; Thoughts, comments?

[BeliefISKEY]

I'm pretty sure minoxidil boosts NO production as well. Lol blood to the follicles is not bad? It's the KEY to all of this....

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It's common sense bro... You're trying to create new vascularity via trauma. You need to bleed... Doesn't have to be A LOT but, you NEED TO BLEED.

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@Bushbush I think you just need to delete your account & lurk. I'm sorry guys but squeege is one of the only guys on here that knows what the f*** he's talking about. There are several studies now that prove you need an adequate amount of blood flow to the follicle or they will NOT be able to function properly. Even if you have less than enough blood flow to your legs you will not grow hair.

All test subjects from the infamous Botox study that achieved a loose scalp (loose Galea) arrested hair loss.... ALL OF THEM. Most of them got good regrowth & some didn't... The guys not getting regrowth also ties in with what me and squeege know to be true (they have follicles that need to be stimulated and awakened.) And all of these positive results stemmed from a LOOSE GALEA=>BETTER BLOOD FLOW & OXYGEN=>REGULATED DHT & ESTRADIOL LEVELS AROUND THE SCALP (GALEA AREA)(in male pattern baldness, estradiol levels are decreased because there is not enough oxygen for estradiol levels to flourish thus then DHT is overproduced and over accumulated ONLY IN THE GALEA AREA THOUGH) so DHT basically overpowers estradiol levels and that's possibly why most of us notice "thinner scalps" Estradiol is a very important factor in hair loss/growth.

Generally you don't want to decrease DHT... You're a fuc**** man why would you want to dI that? There's nothing wrong with your hormones unless you have a thyroid problem. What squeege believes in is the same thing as me but a much different format... At the end of tje day we're doing the same sh** and we're both curing our hair loss problem. That's that. You guys should be glad this forum isn't like HLH or BT forums where they push pills and pharmaceutical topicals all day long & ban people for speaking their minds.

@Dana How long have you been doing this? If your problem seems to be "getting worse" then it's working. That's simply a good sign that the hair growth cycles are being regulated... Hang in there most of us go through that.

 

[danawhite1]

I'm pretty sure minoxidil boosts NO production as well. Lol blood to the follicles is not bad? It's the KEY to all of this....

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It's common sense bro... You're trying to create new vascularity via trauma. You need to bleed... Doesn't have to be A LOT but, you NEED TO BLEED.

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@Bushbush I think you just need to delete your account & lurk. I'm sorry guys but squeege is one of the only guys on here that knows what the f*** he's talking about. There are several studies now that prove you need an adequate amount of blood flow to the follicle or they will NOT be able to function properly. Even if you have less than enough blood flow to your legs you will not grow hair.

All test subjects from the infamous Botox study that achieved a loose scalp (loose Galea) arrested hair loss.... ALL OF THEM. Most of them got good regrowth & some didn't... The guys not getting regrowth also ties in with what me and squeege know to be true (they have follicles that need to be stimulated and awakened.) And all of these positive results stemmed from a LOOSE GALEA=>BETTER BLOOD FLOW & OXYGEN=>REGULATED DHT & ESTRADIOL LEVELS AROUND THE SCALP (GALEA AREA)(in male pattern baldness, estradiol levels are decreased because there is not enough oxygen for estradiol levels to flourish thus then DHT is overproduced and over accumulated ONLY IN THE GALEA AREA THOUGH) so DHT basically overpowers estradiol levels and that's possibly why most of us notice "thinner scalps" Estradiol is a very important factor in hair loss/growth.

Generally you don't want to decrease DHT... You're a fuc**** man why would you want to dI that? There's nothing wrong with your hormones unless you have a thyroid problem. What squeege believes in is the same thing as me but a much different format... At the end of tje day we're doing the same sh** and we're both curing our hair loss problem. That's that. You guys should be glad this forum isn't like HLH or BT forums where they push pills and pharmaceutical topicals all day long & ban people for speaking their minds.

@Dana How long have you been doing this? If your problem seems to be "getting worse" then it's working. That's simply a good sign that the hair growth cycles are being regulated... Hang in there most of us go through that.

thank you, i appreciate the comment, thats all i wanted, was an answer of whether anyone's hairline worsened before it came back thicker. you telling me this is way more convenient than me finding it on page 194 or whatever. ive done 6 rolls, so about a month and change.

 

[squeegee]

You are avoiding the question. Where is the evidence for what you are saying? PGD2 effects are mediated by the GPR44 receptor on the hair follicle, this has nothing to do with microvasculature or fibrosis. The PGD2/PGE2 theory alone is enough to explain androgenetic alopecia (which dermarolling may indeed influence).

What the **** are you talking about? There is a physical impairment to baldness. Hypoxia, Fibrosis, hardened collagen.. Numerous studies and biopsies proved it. What is the evidence of what I am saying? Read the ****ing thread for ****sakes..I posted many studies etc..Why do you think that minoxidil or finasteride is ineffective on a full blown Norwood? Why do you think that PGD2 is overexpressed in the balding scalp? Because Topical Cetrizine reverse a full blown norwood to scale 1? lol

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i believe bleeding helps it become more effective. blood to the follicles is not a bad thing. look at how minoxidil works. "Minoxidil is also a vasodilator.[SUP][5][/SUP] Hypothetically, by widening blood vessels and opening potassium channels, it allows more oxygen, blood, and nutrients to the follicle. This may cause follicles in the telogen phase to shed, which are then replaced by thicker hairs in a new anagen phase."

Danawhite, before answering some random questions with assumptions.. If you are really serious about derma roller and baldness, why don't you read the ****ing thread. 300 pages.. big ****ing deal. No, we have to repeat ourselves because it is more convenient for your lazy ****ing ***. Go back, learn something so you are in the ****ing loop.

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Pretty sure you have to wait 4 hours before washing/wetting your hair after a minoxidil application

Where did you get the 4 hours timeframe? I really want to know?

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3 first pics 44th day almost 50% of the study completed/ and forth pic is pre pic

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one more pic it is 25 days after first roll and 4 rolls ago. :woot::woot::woot::woot::woot::woot::salut: :wub:roller:wub:

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aint the differense scale obvious?
View attachment 22623

or i am dreaming?

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squeegeeeeeeeeeee where aree y holmes?

Keep on rolling! Good ****ing work!:salut:

[video=youtube;cjp1xjOzJqY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjp1xjOzJqY[/video]

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http://epvpimg.com/BDV6g

my hairline after rolling session.presses hard and was painfull so i didnt roll for a long time(need to ged some numbcreme )

Opti! good stuff!

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yes it is, thanks. And respect to squeege? wow this is really a cult now. FOR WHAT! signing up on a hairloss forum 6 years before i did? to a certain extent, yes...he is more experienced in this area than i am and i did respect him to a point where i even private messaged him for advice on my regimen but seeing him act like an *** to people here just asking questions made me talk ****.

squeege its funny how you said earlier to people that if anyone has nothing positive to add then dont say anything at all, yet you choose to write big fonts cussing people out when all it takes is one sentence to answer questions or just not saying anything at all and let someone else answer. 300 pages not a big deal? u were a constant poster since the beginning of this thread so u didnt have to read all of it. the new people here arent gonna read 300 pages cause we have **** to do in our lives to waste time reading 300 pages when we can just get an answer from people who arent assholes. so how bout this, if u dont want to answer someone's questions then just dont reply to it instead of taking the time to write out a big essay ****ting on them. i still cant even believe im still arguing with u on this, lets just kill the beef and help each other grow/keep some ****ing hair

and for the record i am a fan of gsp. real nice guy

If your are serious about baldness.. take a pen and paper and takes notes. read the ****ing thread.. you're not oblige to read the whole thread one shot.. common sense.. then you would have a better idea and general knowledge so we're all on the same channel . I hate laziness.. We need proactive people on here that bring something to the thread. If you are looking for a ****ing mommy on here telling you all the answers you can **** off and lurk the thread. Most of your questions could be answered by simply reading the ****ing thread. It is not a cult.. it is an Army, your are a Private and yeah life is not that good as a Private isn't? Learn something if you wanna get promoted! LOL No mommy here.

 

[bushbush]

The guys not getting regrowth also ties in with what me and squeege know to be true (they have follicles that need to be stimulated and awakened.) And all of these positive results stemmed from a LOOSE GALEA=>BETTER BLOOD FLOW & OXYGEN=>REGULATED DHT & ESTRADIOL LEVELS AROUND THE SCALP (GALEA AREA)(in male pattern baldness, estradiol levels are decreased because there is not enough oxygen for estradiol levels to flourish thus then DHT is overproduced and over accumulated ONLY IN THE GALEA AREA THOUGH) so DHT basically overpowers estradiol levels and that's possibly why most of us notice "thinner scalps" Estradiol is a very important factor in hair loss/growth.

Do you have any studies to back up this bro science?

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There is a physical impairment to baldness. Hypoxia, Fibrosis, hardened collagen.. Numerous studies and biopsies proved it.

Correlative observations do not equal cause and effect.

Read the ****ing thread for ****sakes..I posted many studies etc..Why do you think that minoxidil or finasteride is ineffective on a full blown Norwood? Why do you think that PGD2 is overexpressed in the balding scalp?

If you can definitively answer these questions --- you know more than Dr. Cotsarelis himself. PGD2 levels are thought to be elevated as the transcription (and presumably translation) of the enzyme (Ptgds) that produces the prostaglandin is androgen responsive.

 

[squeegee]

BushBush, Fibrosis and hardenen collagen is a byproduct of local chronic inflammation. Overexpressed PGD2 and lack of local glutathione confirmed this. There is more than the prostaglandins in male pattern baldness. DHT trigger everything that is for sure.. but DKK-1 ,WNT signals are also not negligible as well..There are several factors. It is really tough to point the finger at one thing. All I know so far is derma roller is a genuine weapon to reverse baldness when done right. Some people on here got awesome results early in the experimental treatment already. All we need is time for now and proper maintenance when fully grown back. We can argue about the cause of male pattern baldness for forever just like the existence of God. lol

 

[bushbush]

It is really tough to point the finger at one thing. All I know so far is derma roller a a genuine weapon to reverse baldness when done right. Some people on here got awesome results early in the experimental treatment already. All we need is time for now and proper maintenance when fully grown back. We can argue about the cause of male pattern baldness forever just like the existence of God. lol

Agreed . Some of the early results from people here do look very promising.

 

[danawhite1]

What the **** are you talking about? There is a physical impairment to baldness. Hypoxia, Fibrosis, hardened collagen.. Numerous studies and biopsies proved it. What is the evidence of what I am saying? Read the ****ing thread for ****sakes..I posted many studies etc..Why do you think that minoxidil or finasteride is ineffective on a full blown Norwood? Why do you think that PGD2 is overexpressed in the balding scalp? Because Topical Cetrizine reverse a full blown norwood to scale 1? lol

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Danawhite, before answering some random questions with assumptions.. If you are really serious about derma roller and baldness, why don't you read the ****ing thread. 300 pages.. big ****ing deal. No, we have to repeat ourselves because it is more convenient for your lazy ****ing ***. Go back, learn something so you are in the ****ing loop.

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Where did you get the 4 hours timeframe? I really want to know?

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Keep on rolling! Good ****ing work!:salut:

[video=youtube;cjp1xjOzJqY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjp1xjOzJqY[/video]

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Opti! good stuff!

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If your are serious about baldness.. take a pen and paper and takes notes. read the ****ing thread.. you're not oblige to read the whole thread one shot.. common sense.. then you would have a better idea and general knowledge so we're all on the same channel . I hate laziness.. We need proactive people on here that bring something to the thread. If you are looking for a ****ing mommy on here telling you all the answers you can **** off and lurk the thread. Most of your questions could be answered by simply reading the ****ing thread. It is not a cult.. it is an Army, your are a Private and yeah life is not that good as a Private isn't? Learn something if you wanna get promoted! LOL No mommy here.

dude just drop it. u realize u spent more time and energy ****ting on my one simple question than what it wouldve taken to already answer it. beliefiskey already answered my question for me, and i DIDNT have to read 300 pages so my point is proven. my point that there are people here that dont mind helping new dermarollers, and for u to sit back and let them answer if u dont want to answer it yourself. common sense right? if u dont want to answer a question just dont answer it. u said most of my questions could be answered by reading the thread? u got me confused with someone else bro, the only questions i asked was if numb cream will have negative impact on the growth of follicles and the hairline one. look at my post history, i only asked those two questions. so just ****ing drop it and let it go. like i said before, we are all on the same team here

 

[BeliefISKEY]

@BushBush The German study (forgot the name) & the Botox Study by Brian J Freund. Go search them up, I have no time for imbeciles like you... You can find them on the immortal hair forum posted by a guy named Slowmoe, which by the way is regrowing ALL of his hair slowly but surely (including the temples & hairline) via doing some of the same things in doing and he has pics to prove it.

PS: 1) There are like 2 more studies but I can't really remember,... Do your own research for those after seeing these 2.

 

[BeliefISKEY]

@Dana No problem man, keep at it!

 

[saintsfan92344]

@BushBush The German study (forgot the name) & the Botox Study by Brian J Freund. Go search then up, I have no time for imbeciles like you... You can find them on the immortal hair forum posted by a guy named Slowmoe, which is regrowing his complete frontal area doing some of the same things in doing and he has pics to prove it.

PS: 1) There are like 2 more studies but I can't really remember,... Do your own research for those after seeing these 2.

So beliefiskey what are you doing different from squeegee, you don't have your regimen listed, I know squeegee isn't afraid to try anything so I doubt if anyone has the same regimen

 

[closetmetrosexual]

I believe I can answer that. There was one study that found that after an hour, 50% of the drug is absorbed and after 4 hours 75% of the drug is absorbed. This is a bad study because they didn't observe absorption after 2 hours, which I believe is the time at which the solution is fully dried on your scalp. I think we can safely assume that 75% is the max that will be absorbed and is the percentage absorbed after 2 hours which is the time at which the solution has fully dried on the scalp according to my observation.

Thanks for this.
So, you think I can wash my hair after two hours, without losing too much of the minoxidil effect?

 

[BeliefISKEY]

Nah I didn't mean that... NO stands for Nitrous Oxide. But I'll tell you one thing though, I completely loosened my scalp & recovered most if not all of my hair without minoxidil... I just did it by 1) Loosening the scalp via maliniak massage & Detumescence therapy which reverses hypoxia, restores proper blood flow, regulatesDHT/estradiol levels, etc. 2) Inversion therapy once in a while (flushes blood to the entire scalp) 3) reducing Stress 4) Violet Ray (VERY IMPORTANT for guys that have been bald for many years) Violet 5) Emu Oil/Castor oil once in a while. 6) SMACKING THE FUC**** SH** OUT OF MY HEAD!!!! (just kidding lol) But yea just those 5.

NOTE: When you wake up, check how much looser your scalp is compared to later that day after standing up for so much. Also, monitor your scalp tightness if you want.... If you do you will notice that the scalp gets tighter when you stress out.

There are some minoxidil alternatives (check the immortal hair forum for this info) that you can use if you like but minoxidil, to me, isn't necessary although it can speed up the process by A LOT most of the time. I'm still very young and I just started balding like 2 years ago before I fixed my problem so I didn't really need any boost. Once I loosened my scalp my hair loss stopped completely (shedding like 10 hairs a week now) and I started to grow new hair.. There were some resistant areas that didn't respond to loosening my scalp that I got to respond greatly with the violet ray.

 

[Jlyncher]

Here's a link to the minoxidil absorption timeline; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2395092
If you've absorbed 50% in an hour and greater than 75% in 4hrs as the study shows, then yes you could probably shower at 2hrs without losing much, if any.

Here's another interesting study concerning application frequency and systemic absorption. I believe someone was asking about applying 3 times daily a while back?
"Subjects received 1 ml 3% minoxidil solution applied four, six, or eight times daily to the scalp or two, four, six, or eight times daily to the chest for 14 days. Serum and urine were collected and analyzed for minoxidil. No systemic minoxidil accumulation occurred from increasing application frequency to the scalp."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2702797

 

[BeliefISKEY]

@saints I just posted it above.... At the end of the day me and squeege are targeting the sane thing. Like he said, the cause of hair loss is complete under debate and will be forever (although I firmly believe in my theory and others, like squeege, believe in theirs) the important thing here is to stick with what works. There is evidence always behind everything I do (Both scientific evidence & convincible anecdotal evidence.) For me the studies backing up the Galea Theory & the overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence out there that also supports it suits my belief system very well and this is why I follow my regimen.

As for the exact aspects and mechanisms included in male pattern baldness you will go CRAZY trying to find out what goes on inside of your fuc**** scalp.... Leave it to the "pros" (if their fundings don't get cut like they usually do) Just stick with what works....

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Hypoxia is an extremely important aspect in male pattern baldness... I heard many times that follicles transplanted onto the forearm (borderline hypoxic area) did not grow.... Ironically I also heard that the forearm has the most DHT in the body. This fits perfectly well with what I go by as well.

 

[squeegee]

dude just drop it. u realize u spent more time and energy ****ting on my one simple question than what it wouldve taken to already answer it. beliefiskey already answered my question for me, and i DIDNT have to read 300 pages so my point is proven. my point that there are people here that dont mind helping new dermarollers, and for u to sit back and let them answer if u dont want to answer it yourself. common sense right? if u dont want to answer a question just dont answer it. u said most of my questions could be answered by reading the thread? u got me confused with someone else bro, the only questions i asked was if numb cream will have negative impact on the growth of follicles and the hairline one. look at my post history, i only asked those two questions. so just ****ing drop it and let it go. like i said before, we are all on the same team here

Enough is enough! We need a fighting card with you and GSP..

[video=youtube;r_gH5_5Vfeg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_gH5_5Vfeg[/video]

 

[bornthisway]

http://epvpimg.com/BDV6g

my hairline after rolling session.presses hard and was painfull so i didnt roll for a long time(need to ged some numbcreme )

What size dermaroller are you using? I haven't followed threads lately but that seems like a lot of blood to me. Which is fine just didn't expect that (that might be the normal amount w/ 1.5mm for all I know).

 

[danawhite1]

Enough is enough! We need a fighting card with you and GSP..

[video=youtube;r_gH5_5Vfeg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_gH5_5Vfeg[/video]

gsp is one of my heros, gets the women while rocking the bald look.

 

[squeegee]

Dihydrotestosterone-inducible dickkopf 1 from balding dermal papilla cells causes apoptosis in follicular keratinocytes.

Kwack MH, Sung YK, Chung EJ, Im SU, Ahn JS, Kim MK, Kim JC.
Source

Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that androgen-driven alteration to the autocrine and paracrine factors produced by scalp dermal papilla (DP) cells may be a key to androgen-potentiated balding. Here, we screened dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-regulated genes in balding DP cells and found that dickkopf 1 (DKK-1) is one of the most upregulated genes. DKK-1 messenger RNA is upregulated in 3-6 hours after 50-100 nM DHT treatment and ELISA showed that DKK-1 is secreted from DP cells in response to DHT. A co-culture system using outer root sheath (ORS) keratinocytes and DP cells showed that DHT inhibits the growth of ORS cells, and neutralizing antibody against DKK-1 significantly reversed the growth inhibition of ORS cells. Analysis of co-cultured ORS cells showed a significant increment of sub-G1 apoptotic cells in response to DHT. Also, recombinant human DKK-1 inhibited the growth of ORS cells and triggered apoptotic cell death. In addition, DHT-induced epithelial cell death in cultured hair follicles was reversed by neutralizing DKK-1 antibody. Moreover, immunoblotting showed that the DKK-1 level is up in the bald scalp compared with the haired scalp of patients with androgenetic alopecia. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that DHT-inducible DKK-1 is involved in DHT-driven balding.




Dickkopf 1 promotes regression of hair follicles.

Kwack MH, Kim MK, Kim JC, Sung YK.
Source

Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.

Abstract

Recently, we suggested that Dickkopf 1 (DKK-1) is a pathogenic mediator involved in male pattern baldness. As premature catagen onset is a key characteristic of male pattern baldness, in this study, we evaluated whether DKK-1 has a role as a catagen inducer in hair cycling. Herein, we report that recombinant human DKK-1 (rhDKK-1) injection into the hypodermis of mice during anagen caused premature onset of catagen, whereas neutralizing DKK-1 antibody delayed anagen-to-catagen transition in mice. Moreover, treatment with rhDKK-1 led to a decrease in final hair follicle length, whereas DKK-1 antibody led to an increase compared with control animals. In addition, DKK-1 and DKK-1 messenger RNA expression is most upregulated in follicular keratinocytes of late anagen in depilation-induced hair cycle progression. Moreover, we observed that rhDKK-1 blocks canonical Wnt-mediated activation of β-catenin signaling and induces the proapoptotic protein Bax, resulting in apoptosis in outer root sheath keratinocytes. Taken together, our data strongly suggest that DKK-1 is involved in anagen-to-catagen transition in the hair cycle by regulating the activity of follicular keratinocytes.

http://dopingjournal.org/content/5/3/

[SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1][SIZE=+1]FIGURE 1[/SIZE]
Slice of the plucked hair with the hair shaft (1) and outer root sheath cells (2) which are clearly outlined by perifollicular sheath cells (3), stained in blue.[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]



Follicular microinflammation plays an integral role in the pathogenesis of Androgenetic Alopecia in early cases. Over time, thickening of perifollicular sheath takes place due to increased deposition of collagen, resulting in marked perifollicular fibrosis, and sometimes ends by complete destruction of the affected follicles in advanced cases.

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interac...w-Dermaroller-Study-Thoughts-comments/page294

 

[theRA]

Nah I didn't mean that... NO stands for Nitrous Oxide. But I'll tell you one thing though, I completely loosened my scalp & recovered most if not all of my hair without minoxidil... I just did it by 1) Loosening the scalp via maliniak massage & Detumescence therapy which reverses hypoxia, restores proper blood flow, regulatesDHT/estradiol levels, etc. 2) Inversion therapy once in a while (flushes blood to the entire scalp) 3) reducing Stress 4) Violet Ray (VERY IMPORTANT for guys that have been bald for many years) Violet 5) Emu Oil/Castor oil once in a while. 6) SMACKING THE FUC**** SH** OUT OF MY HEAD!!!! (just kidding lol) But yea just those 5.

Hey BeliefISKEY, could you share where do you have that Violet ray from and how u use it? thx

 

[squeegee]

[h=1]Biphasic effects of minoxidil on the proliferation and differentiation of normal human keratinocytes.[/h]Boyera N, Galey I, Bernard BA.
[h=3]Source[/h]L'Oréal, Hair Biology Research Group, Clichy, France.

[h=3]Abstract[/h]Minoxidil is the most used drug with proved effects in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia), but little is known about its pharmacological activity and target cells in hair follicles. As Androgenetic Alopecia is characterized by follicle atrophy, accelerated hair cycles and hair fiber thinning, we postulated that keratinocyte proliferation/differentiation is affected and we tested Minoxidil's effects on those parameters. Normal human keratinocytes (NHK) of follicular or epidermal origin were cultured in the presence of Minoxidil (0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1,000 microM) during 5-8 days in various media (high-/low-calcium content, with or without serum). Proliferation was assessed by mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity (XTT), BrdU incorporation, lysosome numeration (neutral red incorporation) and total protein dosage. Drug-induced cytotoxicity was measured by lactate dehydrogenase release in culture supernatant, and pro-differentiating effects were evaluated by relative involucrin expression (ELISA dosage). On this basis, we showed that Minoxidil had biphasic effects on the proliferation and differentiation of NHK: Minoxidil stimulated NHK proliferation at micromolar doses, while antiproliferative, pro-differentiative and partially cytotoxic effects were observed with millimolar concentrations. We can hypothesize that Minoxidil hypertrichotic activity in vivo is possibly mediated by the maintenance of proliferative potential in follicular keratinocytes precociously committed to differentiation.





Minoxidil stimulates cutaneous blood flow in human balding scalps: pharmacodynamics measured by laser Doppler velocimetry and photopulse plethysmography.

Wester RC, Maibach HI, Guy RH, Novak E.
Abstract

In a double-blind study with randomly assigned topical solutions of 0%, 1%, 3%, or 5% minoxidil, the blood flow in balding scalps of 16 human volunteers was measured by the noninvasive techniques of both laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and photopulse plethysmography (PPG). On two consecutive days, an 0.25-ml volume of the assigned minoxidil formulation was spread uniformly over a 100-cm2 area of each side of the bald scalp and cutaneous blood flow was recorded for the following 4 h. Both measurement techniques showed that the 5% minoxidil solution stimulated the microcirculation of the bald scalp. Increased blood flow was greater with the 5% minoxidil solution than with the other treatments. Measured by LDV on day 1, the increase (p less than 0.0001) in blood flow occurred within 15 min of application of the 5% solution of minoxidil and was maintained at least through hour 1. On day 2, LDV showed blood flow stimulation with the 5% solution was 3-fold (p less than 0.0001) within 15 min of application and was so maintained for about 1 h. Measured by PPG, the only statistically significant (p less than 0.01) response occurred with the day 2 application of the 5% minoxidil solution. PPG is dependent on local blood volume and is only weakly correlated to cutaneous blood flow, which makes it unsuitable for this kind of study. Analysis of vital signs for days 1 and 2 revealed no systemic effect from treatment with minoxidil, suggesting that the blood flow stimulation was directly related to the topical application of minoxidil.

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Minoxidil: mechanisms of action on hair growth.

Messenger AG, Rundegren J.
Source

Department of Dermatology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK. a.g.messenger@sheffield.ac.uk

Abstract

We have known for over 30 years that minoxidil stimulates hair growth, yet our understanding of its mechanism of action on the hair follicle is very limited. In animal studies, topical minoxidil shortens telogen, causing premature entry of resting hair follicles into anagen, and it probably has a similar action in humans. Minoxidil may also cause prolongation of anagen and increases hair follicle size. Orally administered minoxidil lowers blood pressure by relaxing vascular smooth muscle through the action of its sulphated metabolite, minoxidil sulphate, as an opener of sarcolemmal KATP channels. There is some evidence that the stimulatory effect of minoxidil on hair growth is also due to the opening of potassium channels by minoxidil sulphate, but this idea has been difficult to prove and to date there has been no clear demonstration that KATP channels are expressed in the hair follicle. A number of in vitro effects of minoxidil have been described in monocultures of various skin and hair follicle cell types including stimulation of cell proliferation, inhibition of collagen synthesis, and stimulation of vascular endothelial growth factor and prostaglandin synthesis. Some or all of these effects may be relevant to hair growth, but the application of results obtained in cell culture studies to the complex biology of the hair follicle is uncertain. In this article we review the current state of knowledge on the mode of action of minoxidil on hair growth and indicate lines of future research.