For the Doctors: Topical Treatments / Options

jt

Doctors,

Over the last several months I've started to feel like propecia is losing its effectiveness and started looking into further treatments to help bridge the gap.

There's been some talk recently of a treatment known as "Double A", which stands for Aloe/Avodart. In this treatment, one .5mg dutasteride pill is mixed with pure aloe and applied for 5-10 minutes to the scalp and then washed off. This treatment was recently popularized by a book published by a consumer about his hair loss trails and tribulations, and what ultimately seemed to work for him.

Another option that I've been researching is topical flutamide. Apparently flutamide is an effective anti-androgen. In the past, concerns have been raised about the potential side-effects stemming from systemic absorbtion of flutamide, but given a topical application and the typically utilized (and tolerated) oral dosage which is much higher, it seems that any systemic absorbtion would be negligible. Both lipoxidil and genhair have a version of this for sale.

Interestingly enough, both lipoxidil and genhair have two products which combine multiple treatments into a single solution.

In the case of the lipoxidil version, it contains 17-a-Estradiol 0.05 %, Flutamide 1.5 %, Finasteride 0.15%, Lipoxidil 4.5 %, L-Arginine 2 % and extr. Panax Ginseng 10 % (with the option of switching finasteride for dutasteride for extra cost).

Genhair offers a version containing Minoxidil 5% , Green Tea extract 2% (Poliphenols:98, Catechins:80, EGCG:70, Caffein:1.0), Azelaic Acid 5% , Finasteride 0.25% , Flutamide 2%

People also seem to put a lot of stock into Copper Peptide treatments for fighting inflammation, specifically Tricomin or Folligen. In fact, I recall being provided with Tricomin by IHTI after my first op (but not the second). People seem to recommend utilizing a CP treatment in conjunction with the other topicals as it tends to work well in concert.

At the present time I'm using finasteride 1mg/day and Spectral DNC Minox 2x/day and would continue this in addition to whatever else I add from what I listed out. I also use Nizoral 2-3x/week, and Haircycle shampoo/conditioner 2x/day.

What are your opinions on these options listed above? Are the products scientifically viable and most of all, safe? Have you had any experience with patients that have had success or issues with any of these? Thanks ahead of time.

-jt