Absorption Data for Rogaine Foam

[mmhce]

While Rogaine foam is much touted as the "better" form of the product because of its less "runny" state, I have not found any data that suggests that the migration/absorption rate of the minoxidil molecules are any higher than that of the normal liquid form.

 

Has anyone found such data and can share it?

 

Thanks.

[Zod]

Here's my experience:

 

I was using foam just a little over a year ago with great results. After a while I changed to the generic minoxidil for budget reasons. I started slowly losing what I gained.

 

Six weeks ago I changed to the foam again and shed a lot almost immediately. Now I'm seeing signs of regrowth. I got a haircut yesterday and it looks fuller than my last haircut.

[mmhce]

THE JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE DERMATOLOGY

ABSTRACTS A1

124:4 APRIL 2005

Uptake of minoxidil from a new foam formulation devoid of propylene glycol to hamster ear

hair follicles

R Stehle,1 G Ewing,1 J Rundegren2 and B Kohut2 1 Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pfizer, Inc,

Kalamazoo, MI and 2 Consumer Healthcare, Pfizer, Inc, Morris Plains, NJ

Post-marketing studies show that the present topical minoxidil formulations are considered oily and

in some cases there are reports of skin irritation. A major cause of the apparent inferior cosmetic

properties and adverse effects of the current formulations on the skin is the rather high content of

propylene glycol. Thus a more cosmetically acceptable minoxidil foam formulation, devoid of propylene

glycol was developed. In order to test the availability of minoxidil to hair follicles hamster ears

were treated with minoxidil 5% foam in comparison to the current minoxidil 5% solution (Rogaine?®

Extra Strength), which served as a positive control. The foam was liquefied by gentle heating to 40C

and then 20 ??l was withdrawn with a positive displacement syringe and spread on the ventral ear

surfaces of a hamster, continuously and lightly anesthetized by controlled inhalation of isoflurane.

After 1 to 2 hours, the animal was sacrificed and the ears removed and carefully dissected to isolate

the sebaceous gland minoxidil content as an aqueous solution. Each sample was analyzed by HPLC

with electrochemical detection against minoxidil as an external standard. After one hour of minoxidil

treatment of the hamster ears the foam showed a sebaceous gland uptake of 5.9% of the total

minoxidil, while the positive control showed an uptake of 2.0% of the total minoxidil. After 2 hours

of treatment the uptake from the foam was 6.5% in one series of experiments and 4.1% in another

series of experiments, while the uptake from the positive control was 1.2% only. Thus the delivered

dose of minoxidil from the foam to the hamster ear sebaceous glands after one hour treatment was

about three times higher than for the minoxidil 5% solution. After two hours of treatment the minoxidil

delivery from the foam formulation increased to 3.4 to 5.4 higher than for the minoxidil 5% solution.

It is concluded that the new minoxidil 5% foam formulation is delivering minoxidil more

effectively to the sebaceous gland of the hamster ear than does the current minoxidil 5% solution.

[Zod]

I'm convinced there's a difference in the effectiveness of foam vs liquid for anyone who responds to minoxidil at all. Maybe it's in the delivery mechanism. I also had an endless supply of dandruff and itchy scalp while on the generic minox. It went away within a couple of weeks after switching to the foam.

[stamos]

I am a new Rogaine foam user. The thread's title concerned me these 2 months.

 

- How long do I have to rub the foam on my scalp, to achieve max absorption?

 

- The greasiness of the hair is the only thing that bothers me and it is cosmetic, I have no itchy scalp or anything else. If I get the rogaine liquid my hair will be less greasy? Now that I use the foam, if I won't wash my hair one day, the next morning they look like a cow licked them.

 

(Sorry for off-topic mmhce)

[mmhce]

stamos,

"How long do I have to rub the foam on my scalp, to achieve max absorption?"

 

The length of time you rub (APPLY MECHANICAL ABRASION TO) minoxidil into your scalp has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with absorption rates.

 

That has to do with the micronization of the minoxidil crystals and the vehicle in which it is suspended, and perhaps how long it remains localised onto the applied spot.

 

"The greasiness of the hair is the only thing that bothers me and it is cosmetic, I have no itchy scalp or anything else. If I get the rogaine liquid my hair will be less greasy?"

 

Just be grateful to God that you don't have to apply an after product to reduce the scalp irritation, after exposure to an alcoholic vehicle.

 

Apparently you read my comments to Latin Lotus and some other poster.

 

Sorry but I'm not a mean person...just a purist and I have a strict intepretation of free speech.

[stamos]

Hi mmhce, thanks for bother replying, although you didn't actually answer my 2 questions, not that you are obliged to properly answer anyway.

[john2008]

Hello stamos,

 

There is not a specific length of time to rub it in. You just want to make sure that you rub it until it dissolves into a liquid and be sure to spread it over the needed area of the vortex. This is better than the original which just ran everywhere.

 

As far as the greasiness, I feel that the foam is much better. the original is much greasier in my opinion, plus it irritates a lot of people's scalp. I know it did mine. Please let me know if this did not answer your question.

 

Thanks,

John

[stamos]

thanks john

[lanthanos]

just so you guys know, if you read the article that showed better absorption of the foam....they liquefied the foam first before applying it.

[mmhce]

Good point lanthanos.

[john2008]

Thanks. That may be a good point as I do not know all of the studies. I was just taking this from Rogaine's Web site which said to spread the 'foam' on the head:

How to apply:

 

* Within the hair-thinning area, part your hair to expose your scalp.

* Hold the can upside down and press the nozzle to dispense the topical foam onto your fingers. The total amount of foam should be about half a capful.

* With your fingers, spread the foam into your scalp and gently massage it throughout the hair loss area. Then wash your hands, and you're done.

 

Remember??”be sure to use ROGAINE?® Foam twice daily. Once in the morning and once at night.

Found at http://www.rogaine.com/men/abo...ne-foam/how-to-apply

[stamos]

If I liquefy the foam before applying it, would it still be different than the liquid rogaine?

[lanthanos]

different in one sense yes. in the sense that the vehicles are different. the foam vehicle is different than the liquid vehicle, even when the foam is liquefied. just look at your bottle of foam and look at the ingredients.

 

pharmacia's own studies show that the liquid grows more hair than the foam, and the % of people who experience irritation on the foam is only about 2% less than the liquid.

 

also, the original liquid studies showed an increase in hairs up until 4 months, then slowly decreasing hairs. My guess is that more old telogen hairs were shedding and going into anagen than new hairs were popping out.

Noting that hair counts peaked at 4 months, the rogaine people specifically stopped their foam study at 4 months (as opposed to 48 weeks for the liquid) to show the maximum possible result, and it was still about 17 hairs/cm2 less than liquid at 4 months.

[stamos]

Thanks very much lanthanos, when my foam supplies finish, I will definitely try the liquid. Where do you get all this info?

[lanthanos]

I posted the entire article on the foam, plus the abstracts showing absorption data, in this very forum.