Had the worst shed of my life while taking oral cetirizine (zyrtec). Wasn't 100% sure if the ceti was the cause so I was considering trying it topically. I guess I'll be passing on that idea. I appreciate your response.
New Study: Topical Cetirizine For Androgenetic Alopecia Shows Promise
- Thread starter dr75
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- aga baldness cetirizine hair loss
Had the worst shed of my life while taking oral cetirizine (zyrtec). Wasn't 100% sure if the ceti was the cause so I was considering trying it topically. I guess I'll be passing on that idea. I appreciate your response.
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Do you have any idea as to why taking zyrtec would’ve caused a shed ?
To answer it for him- i have, but that would be my own hypothesis instead of being based off indicative studies
1st plausible reason could be:
http://www.jbc.org/content/278/52/52491.full
Activation of the Canonical β-Catenin Pathway by Histamine*
to cut things short, Histamine activates Wnt signalling via the H1 receptor- the receptor that cetrizine blocks
2nd plausible reason:
there are 4 Histamine receptors- H1, H2, H3 and H4. of these, only H1, H2 and H4 are expressed in the skin(H3 is expressed only in the brain)
when any of its receptors is inhibited, histamine will just upregulate the other receptors at the expense of the receptor being blocked(Cetrizine doesnt block the synthesis of Histamine in the body- it blocks the receptor H1 receptor)
The H4 receptor has a similar function as the H1 receptor- as can be inferred from its description:
Therapeutic potential[edit]
By inhibiting the H4 receptor, asthma and allergy may be treated.[18]
The highly selective histamine H4 antagonist VUF-6002 is orally active and inhibits the activity of both mast cells and eosinophils in vivo,[19] and has antiinflammatory and antihyperalgesic effects.[20]
These means by using cetrizine, the H4 receptor might actually and ironically, be upregulated due to the histamine going into it that should have been going into H1(once again, anti-histamines dont block the synthesis of Histamine itself- they selectively block the receptors for it)
At this point of time, we still do not know whether and how Histamine causes Androgenetic Alopecia(or not). the reason why Cetrizine was trialed in the first place was because it stops PGD2. The H4 receptor can also induce PGD2.
So everything is inconclusive.
What i do know is it caused a major shed for me, did not stop the itch and pain- and i was simply too afraid to continue with it(i still have 2 slabs of it left - from the GP)
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Not really, it could have just been a coincidence. I would assume for the majority of people cetirizine does more good than harm for their hair. Unfortunately I'm one of those very rare cases where not only has nothing worked for me, but most of the things I've tried seemed to increase shedding. I'd be willing to bet that my condition would baffle the world's top doctors and scientists.
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I’m too early into treatment to tell but I hope I’m not in the same boat !! I’m assuming you tried finasteride and/or duta but did you get your dht checked while on them ?
Tried finasteride for 11 months but never got dht levels checked while on. I did experience heavier than normal shedding throughout the 11 months which is why I quit.
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Haha appreciate the support.
Just got glassware, need to rig up a magnetic stirrer and I'll be set up to produce cetirizine in a nanoemulsion!
Now working on designing a ghetto rotovap so I can make niosomes easily to play around with different formulations. Would also like to evaporate the ethanol/pg in minoxidil to reformulate that into ethosomes as well, check out this study I've attached...
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That would be very interesting to obtain, especially if they have stability testing done on the formulation and it does contain ethanol. This will make everything much much easier.
Completely agree. Did you see the study i posted earlier though where a cet solution was stability tested with ethanol and results were that it was very stable.
LawOfThelema
Experienced Member
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Honestly, I think people who said it didn't work was bc they used a vehicle like plain old water which just doesn't penetrate the skin to any appreciable extent.
what is your mixture ingredients ?
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@Spice_Lord , any updates on your experiment?
Well, just tried to reorder the oral liquid cetirizine from PillsForAll.com. They no longer carry it. @jamesbooker1975 what are your plans now? Have we figured out how to properly make this as a topical yet?
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I think that the oral drops are great for absorption in the gut but probably not that great for topical absorption.
PMID: 23867423
" Cetirizine has also been shown to be absorbed extensively and rapidly from the gut [23], leading to high bio-availability and rapid onset of action of the drug [24], and unlike many other Second Generation Antihistamines cetirizine does not undergo hepatic metabolism to any appreciable extent, "
Zyrtec® oral drops contain glycerol, propylene glycol, saccharin sodium, methyl hydroxybenzoate and propyl hydroxybenzoate, sodium acetate, acetic acid and purified water.
The Rossi study mentioned 96º alcohol as vehicle (and "cyclo-siliconepentamer", which is probably just a hair conditioner) and I think this is very relevant to overcome the skin corneal layer resistance.
In all cases, I suggest using the coffee grinder method and tablets in alcohol, wait 6 months and then conclude something.
I've been using this method for 3 weeks and shedding has stopped and itching has been reduced by 80%. Itching gradually returns aprox 12 hours after application, for which I'm considering twice per day application.
I hate the fact that you end up looking like a disheveled hamster after application, though.
PMID: 23867423
" Cetirizine has also been shown to be absorbed extensively and rapidly from the gut [23], leading to high bio-availability and rapid onset of action of the drug [24], and unlike many other Second Generation Antihistamines cetirizine does not undergo hepatic metabolism to any appreciable extent, "
Zyrtec® oral drops contain glycerol, propylene glycol, saccharin sodium, methyl hydroxybenzoate and propyl hydroxybenzoate, sodium acetate, acetic acid and purified water.
The Rossi study mentioned 96º alcohol as vehicle (and "cyclo-siliconepentamer", which is probably just a hair conditioner) and I think this is very relevant to overcome the skin corneal layer resistance.
In all cases, I suggest using the coffee grinder method and tablets in alcohol, wait 6 months and then conclude something.
I've been using this method for 3 weeks and shedding has stopped and itching has been reduced by 80%. Itching gradually returns aprox 12 hours after application, for which I'm considering twice per day application.
I hate the fact that you end up looking like a disheveled hamster after application, though.
Man its so weird how many men with male pattern baldness complain about the itch, yet there is no formal connection between the too. It just seems to happen too often to be a coincidence am I right?
I have it too, and I am thinking more and more I should try propecia and see if it helps. I dont want to do these underground basement chemist treatments, even if some might work.
I have it too, and I am thinking more and more I should try propecia and see if it helps. I dont want to do these underground basement chemist treatments, even if some might work.
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In 20 days you will not notice any difference. You have to give it, at least, 4 months.