Whats more important for Minoxidil, coverage or amount?

[Cassin]

I have always wanted to know this and have never come across a solid answer. I have been using Minoxidil 5% for about 18 months and I am pretty good at applying it evenly from mid scalp to hairline, I rarely ever use a whole 1 ml anymore. Sometimes I have to use 1ml to get even, complete coverage, but typically those are on applications where I am rushing it. On those apps I typically get run-off drips and waste the extra anyway.

Any thoughts?

/done rambling

 

[VoRteX]

How bout an answer from an old veteran

I believe coverage is the most important factor. Whether it takes 1 or 3ml to get total scalp coverage, total coverage is paramount. I know Dr. Lee claims that anything put on the scalp will supposedly disperse through the stratum corneum. However, I dont care what topical you are using, dispersal beyond the coverage area is limited.

I'm a slow diffuser. I only use minoxidil 5% and nizoral. I only use minoxidil once/day in the am. So I have to be sure that when I do an application, I am getting total coverage. Obviously, I cant dip my head in a bucket of minoxidil. I have longish hair on top so I comb my hair back while its still damp and make "cornrows" with the minoxidil dropper from front to back. Then I brush it over my scalp with a plastic nobby brush. Anything that drips down the back covers my vertex which is good. I use my finger to smear any minoxidil dripping down my forhead onto my hairline. I think this method gives me total coverage. I have a big head and I'm able to get this coverage by using about 1.5ml

The actual dosage isnt that important. I mean a given area of your scalp can only absorb so much minoxidil at a certain concentration so if you are using slightly less that 1ml, it should matter as long as you are getting coverage on the intended areas.

 

[juststarting]

I thought it was the motion, not the size that mattered!

 

[Cassin]

Agreed VoRteX, this is what I have been thinking.

I think they had to take into account people not being meticulous with applications when they did the FDA trials. So for those of us with very meticulous apps, less can be ok.

By the way, how is the weight loss going? Your last post on that was true inspiration.

 

[drinkrum]

Agreed VoRteX, this is what I have been thinking.

I think they had to take into account people not being meticulous with applications when they did the FDA trials. So for those of us with very meticulous apps, less can be ok.

By the way, how is the weight loss going? Your last post on that was true inspiration.

Cassin,

Ever consider using the spray rather than dropper applicator? With the spray, you might be able to get more coverage.

D.

 

[Cassin]

drinkrum

Yeah I have tried it. Ironically I have too much hair for that. It made a huge mess, as the range of sprayed Minoxidil is to unpredictable spray by spray. Regardless, being a Norwood 2.5 a dropper is best suited for my type of loss and a meticulous application via a dropper is best suited for my coverage. This only takes 5 minutes, but I dearly wish a sprayer was useful for my personal needs. I have tried, Dr Lees, Rogains, and Walgreens sprayers and they all spray to wide a range of coverage for my needs.

 

[The Rock]

wait my hair is like 4 days away from being buzzed all the way down, so its like a .5 setting my fav setting .........i fonly i could find a dam spacer, but a spray would be better for me??? and if so where do i get this i only have the dropper and the 2 pointed thingies for my minoxidil application

 

[Thinning Sucks]

Ever consider using the spray rather than dropper applicator? With the spray, you might be able to get more coverage.


Been spraying for over 20 years now!!!

 

[Bryan]

I believe coverage is the most important factor. Whether it takes 1 or 3ml to get total scalp coverage, total coverage is paramount. I know Dr. Lee claims that anything put on the scalp will supposedly disperse through the stratum corneum. However, I dont care what topical you are using, dispersal beyond the coverage area is limited.

I think it's even a little more complicated than just that. I don't think it's necessarily just the physical "dispersion" through the stratum corneum per se, I think it's also the systemic absorption of a small fraction of the minoxidil into the bloodstream, which is then carried to other parts of the scalp by that route.

There was an interesting study by Vera Price of topical minoxidil for alopecia areata in which it was applied to only one half of the scalp! BOTH halves of the scalp received benefit, but the treated side got a little more benefit than the non-treated side. That seems to suggest that part of the benefit from topical minoxidil is from the direct effect where it's actually applied, and part of it is by way of systemic absorption of the minoxidil.

Bryan

 

[The Gardener]

Agreed, Bryan. I know this to be true from personal experience... after starting minoxidil, the hair on the back of my neck (that stuff the hairstylist normally shaves off when you get your haircut) grows like the Amazon. I have to shave it myself between haircuts to keep from looking like a primate. I'm almost positive that my beard grows a little faster too, and my eyebrows are thicker.

 

[Nuno]

So is the 1ml dosage of minoxidil necessary for systemic absorption or is this just the average amount that was needed during the tests by the users to cover the vertex of the scalp? Should 1ml be used regardless of the size of the area it is being applied to?