There’s a new treatment on the shelves (for both men and women) that works to prevent further hair loss, and allow your other treatments to stimulate new growth. And it’s better than any we’ve added in years. It’s Topical Spironolactone Cream (aka S5 Cream) and though HairLossTalk will not be handling any portion of the sale, billing, manufacturing of the product, another company overseas has decided to start manufacturing it, so we are hooking you up.
We encourage you to check out this informative discussion with Dr. Richard Lee about topical spironolactone, and why its beneficial for the treatment of hair loss:
New Odorless Topical Spironolactone Lotion
Both the S5 and S5 Plus are in the class of topical antiandrogens. Antiandrogens are known for their ability to block the causes of hair loss, which typically stops further loss over long periods of time (years). For reference, Propecia is an oral antiandrogen that you take in the form of a tablet, and which can have undesirable side effects. Likewise, it is not for use in women. Topical Spironolactone technically is an “androgen blocker”.
This means that while Finasteride / Propecia is treating hair loss by inhibiting your DHT, the receptors which DHT attaches to and does its most damage, are blocked by Spironolactone. Its a receptor blocker. Because of this, S5 Cream is completely complementary to a Finasteride regimen.
S5 and S5 Plus are topical lotions which only need to be applied in a very thin layer to the affected areas of your scalp. And that’s it. From there it does its job at performing some incredible feats in hair loss prevention.
Glad you asked. We’ve written a full article with tips and tricks for applying S5 Cream to a hair-bearing scalp, as well as some important information on storage, application frequency, and styling tips.
The answer to this is the same as other antiandrogens like Finasteride: Possibly. Propecia is well known to stop hair loss from progressing. So guys who want to maintain with a slight chance of regrowth use it. The same would be said about the S5 Creams. They are antiandrogens, and as such, they are working to inhibit further loss.
And don’t take that lightly – I know guys who have been on a regimen of antiandrogens alone for 20 years and still have all their hair. Obviously you can add a growth stimulant like Minoxidil or Tricomin to take advantage of your hairs newfound freedom to grow healthy again.
The science behind Topical Spironolactone 5% cream is well known, and both men and women have been using it for years as a mandatory adjunct to their regimen. Some equate it to a “Topical Propecia” but its a little different than that.
Since it’s an androgen blocker, it does something completely different, but with the same goal in mind. Androgen blockers are synergistic to what Finasteride does internally, but without side effects, and its topical formula allows women to take advantage of it as well.
But that’s exactly there is another product known as S5 Plus Cream. Ingredients are added to this enhanced formula which enable it to be both an androgen blocker and a “topical finasteride” (in effect) at the same time.
The hard science on what these things do can be found in the two links immediately below. But simply put, in a world of hair loss treatments that “might” work? This one does. And it does so without any side effects. Having S5 Cream in your regimen is almost mandatory, and the owner of this site has used it for more than 10 years to stop his hair loss, and maintain.
Please see the following product review pages for more information on both.
S5 Cream | S5 Plus Cream
S5 Cream is one product. But now there’s also S5 Plus Cream. This is Topical Spiro with some muscles added. It has Alfatradiol and Tempol in it as well. If I were to try and explain to you why this is such a big freaking deal, you would pass out from the boring hair-nerd-ness of the science behind it all.
Let’s just say that really smart people have been discussing Alfatradiol and Tempol for literally years on our forums, and trying to source it as a topical for their hair loss. One forum user referred to it as equivalent to Propecia, but topical and therefore no side effects.
Its interesting to note that Topical Spironolactone is an Androgen Blocker. This means it competes for receptor sites where the scary DHT stuff attaches and harms your follicles. Then you’ve got Propecia which actually reduces quantity of DHT in your bloodstream and tissues. So the two of them really work synergistically and are 100% complementary to eachother.
At the risk of simplifying things too much, you can consider it akin to “Topical Finasteride”. It has been shown to directly reduce the tissue-DHT in the scalp, with none of the side effects of Propecia.
For guys who are sensitive to Finasteride side effects, S5 Plus Cream could be a way for you to reproduce the Propecia+Spiro Regimen all in one topical. For guys who are on Propecia and doing just fine, well, this gives you a “localized” boost for DHT inhibition. Meanwhile the Spironolactone will do its job blocking the receptors.
As for the Tempol? Well that’s even more complex to explain. Just take our word for it: Its yet another incredibly interesting angle to hit the whole “Androgenetic Alopecia” problem from. If you want to know more of the detailed science on both of these, we will be building out the following page with all the data and information we can find on the topic here: S5 Plus Cream – Experts Review.
Kevin Rands is the Founder of HairLossTalk.com and President of Online Health Networks, Inc. a Miami based corporation providing consumer health education on the web. He is also the Founder and Principal Writer for DisrupterDaily.com, an online publication on disruption of health and tech sectors.
Genuine question… Why is this product not the biggest thing in mens hair loss? What’s holding it back if all of what you’re saying is true?
Finasteride like effects without the sides is basically the holy grail of male pattern baldness, surely Kirkland or Rogaine or somebody like that would have been all over this stuff years ago? Imagine a minoxidil/s5 mix topical would fly off the shelves if they could formulate it, even just their own s5 would do well.
At one point you literally say ‘just take our word for it’ – I really want to believe all of this but right now you haven’t really got me sold. Why not just provide a couple of links to the data on this article for those of us who want to check it out?
I said “just trust us” because delving into the data often causes people to tune out. It wasn’t intended as a deceptive phrase or a sign of shadiness.
Oral and Topical Spironolactone Therapies in Skin Androgenization
“The most important clinical studies using spironolactone as an antiandrogen drug either per os or topically are referred. Menstrual disturbances very often occur during SP treatments thus limiting its systemic use. As far as the topical use is concerned SP seems to be highly effective with absence of systemic effects. Local mild side effects were present in a small number of patients.”
Spironolactone has been used topically by acne sufferers for decades for the exact same reason it would be beneficial for hair loss. Local inhibition of androgen activity in the skin.
From wikipedia: “Spironolactone is an antagonist of the androgen receptor (AR) as well as an inhibitor of androgen production. Due to the antiandrogenic effects that result from these actions, it is frequently used off-label to treat a variety of dermatological conditions in which androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), play a role. Some of these uses include androgenic alopecia in men (either at low doses or as a topical formulation) and women, and hirsutism, acne, and seborrhea in women.[16] Spironolactone is the most commonly used drug in the treatment of hirsutism in the United States.[17]”
Just like people who entertain the idea of a topical finasteride to “act locally”, people have used topical spironolactone to try and attain some localized benefit without the systemic absorption seen in oral tablets. It’s really as simple as that. This isn’t a random new ingredient that HLT just decided to rant and rave about one day.
Everyone knows about Spironolactone and women with androgenetic alopecia thinning hair are routinely prescribed it by doctors. Men would be too, but its too strong of an antiandrogen to be taken orally by a male. So topical is used instead with guys. I personally used it for 10 years and had no side effects that I was aware of.
In this hair loss world we don’t really have a lot of options for viable antiandrogen treatments. There are also plenty of experimental topical (and oral) treatments that guys are using on the Forums which the “established medical community” hasn’t formulated into a “best seller”.
Azelaic Acid, RU58841, Topical Finasteride, Dutasteride, Copper Peptides, Herbal concoctions that have solid science backing them, Dermarolling, and more recently, JAK3 inhibitors (a topical version of an established autoimmune drug) are being entertained for AGA. Getting a medication approved by the FDA takes hundreds of millions and takes 10+ years. As a result, guys constantly are hunting for solutions in the myriads of antiandrogen chemicals out there and trying them out.
What’s our criteria? The item needs to be a potent antiandrogen. At that point the question is whether it can be properly absorbed. Again – there are literally hundreds of flashy, highly marketed snake oils on the market we should be focusing skepticism on. Topical Spironolactone is absolutely not one of them.
“Just like people who entertain the idea of a topical finasteride to “act locally”, people have used topical spironolactone to try and attain some localized benefit without the systemic absorption seen in oral tablets. It’s really as simple as that. This isn’t a random new ingredient that HLT just decided to rant and rave about one day. Everyone knows about Spironolactone and women with androgenetic alopecia thinning hair are routinely prescribed it by doctors. Men would be too, but its too strong of an antiandrogen to be taken orally by a male. So topical is used instead with guys. I personally used it for 10 years and had no side effects that I was aware of.” ^ ten years of topical spiro gave you your hair back or nah? im willing to give it a try if it works. im 28 an a nw5 – and i had a FUE transpant who went to shit for some reason.
Hey its me HairLossTalk – this Discus plugin has me logged in as all kinds of weird names. I’ve got a personal account on Discus too – so anyways – I have always been in prevention mode. I went on finasteride literally within 2 months of my hair starting to fall out all over my pillow. I did not wait. So I did 3.5 years of Finasteride and then did Spironolactone / Nizoral / Revivogen on and off in the years after. So did it give me my hair “back” ? Not technically, because I wasn’t trying to regrow. But I am now 42 and have a full head of hair. And all I have done for the last 17 years is use antiandrogens in some form to keep the hair on my scalp.
I shaved my head a couple of weeks ago and have been putting a dab of Nizoral on my head and working it into a lather and let it sit for 5-7 min while I shave. Plan on trying this for 6 months to see if any improvements in my thinning. Funny thing is that I’m getting way better vibes from the ladies now with my shaved head and don’t plan on going back to hair anytime soon. No more grey hair!!!! Look 10 years younger 🙂
“Imagine a minoxidil/s5 mix topical would fly off the shelves if they could formulate it”
It’s in the works by the same manufacturer and we will be linking people to it soon-ish (several weeks)
The ultimate combo would be a mix of minoxidil/S5 Plus cream components/Finasteride in a single topical. Would buy it for sure
You can mix the two of them together before you apply it
so what is better,topical finasteride or topical spiro? im using the first, would give a try to the latter if it would work. id really like to avoid taking pills tho
Both. Believe it or not. One is a DHT inhibitor (the Finasteride). The other is an androgen receptor blocker (the Spironolactone). So this is the one time it can honestly be stated that you have a “synergistic” effect going on. Stopping hair loss is a process of both stopping the formation of DHT, and blocking the ability for existing DHT to attach to the follicle. The Spironolactone stops the attaching. The Finasteride stops the formation of the hormone locally. So they are a great combination.
hey. i’ll give the same answer,then – thanks. i’ll check it out with my doc if i can do both finasteride gel and spiro gel : id like to avoid taking both in pills and see where it goes. (2)
I remember Dr. Lee’s Topical Spironolactone years back. So glad this is back on the market!
Good morning, I use rogaine foam 5%. I would add spironolactone cream. How can I use both? Can I apply them one after the other? Thank you
I apply S5 cream a couple of minutes after I apply Rogaine
Hi I live in Spain, and id like to buy this stuff. In tve s5 website it says it should be ordered here. Can please you please send me the instructions? Thanks
37 yr old Female taking oral Spiro for acne. However, my testosterone levels are now pretty much non-existent. Causing other issues with libido, hard to build muscle, fatigue, etc. I believe the oral Spiro is a major contributor to this and would like to come off of it, but really don’t want to be dealing with the acne. I had horrible acne and now have be free of it for the 2 years since being on Spiro. Could I use this S5 lotion on my face/neck/chest/back or is it strictly for hairloss? Would love to get off the oral if I can. Thanks
Comment:*
Nickname*
E-mail*
Website
Δ
