The truth about ... - The new thread series, AMA
The truth about ... - Part 0 This thread series will cover compounds/concepts that are discussed daily on here. It's a crossover between @chadisbeingmade and me. Potentially other users too, lmk. The purpose is to shed light on the reality behind these compounds/concepts. The first...looksmax.org
Growing your eyelashes and eyebrows is one of the best and only true softmaxxes.
Because of that, many people choose compounds like Minoxidil to grow hairs in their eye area or even on the scalp.
This thread will reveal why you should be cautious with Minoxidil - And how it could actually harm your looks.
History
Minoxidil was developed for antihypertensive and vasodilative purposes.
View attachment 3682339
Though this use case was later dropped as even the developing scientists figured out that it isn't efficient at what it does.
It's the last resort when it comes to hypertension - Only being used when two agents and/or a diuretic aren't enough.
Minoxidil: An Underused Vasodilator for Resistant or Severe Hypertension - PMC
Minoxidil is a direct vasodilator introduced in the early 1970s for the treatment of hypertension. It is capable of reducing blood pressure in most persons with resistant hypertension where therapy has failed with multidrug regimens. Minoxidil's ...pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
And not even monotherapy is a valid option. It has to be combined with a loop diuretic either way because of the sodium and potassium retention it causes.
Appeal in PSL-Spaces
The other use case beside hypertension is hair growth.
Unfortunately it's not the best option for stopping scalp hair loss as that is a mainly AR-mediated pathway.
That means it won't prevent any miniaturization of the hair follicle, @chadisbeingmade is going to make a thread covering the topic of 5ARIs.
The other use case is like I mentioned previously, growing the hairs in your eye area.
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It's an exaggerated example removing the hair completely obviously, but I hope you can see how important they are.
There are two ways you can grow them via Minoxidil: Topical and Oral.
Topical
Topical Minoxidil is pretty harsh on your eyes, that's why you should only apply it on your eyebrows.
Another thing is that Minoxidil can cause fat loss in your upper eyelid as Minoxidil stimulates factors like PGE2 (The active ingredient in Latisse).
HMGB1 promotes hair growth via the modulation of prostaglandin metabolism - PMC
Unexpected hair growth can occur after tissue injury. The pathogenic mechanism for this phenomenon is unknown but is likely related to inflammatory mediators. One such mediator is high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a ubiquitous nuclear protein that ...
Oral
Oral Minoxidil is very effective in growing your eyelashes, but more of that in the biology section.
[Brutal UEE right there, just look at the lashes duh]
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Biology
The unfortunate truth is, if you are using Minoxidil you are going to retain a ton more water and be bloated.
This is primarely mediated by the activation of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone-System.
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I'll try to keep it short:
- Minoxidil vasodilates blood vessels
- Activation of RAAS
- Aldosterone increase
- Sodium, potassium and water retention
In short, this means your Aldosterone skyrockets making you retain a ton more sodium/potassium and consequently more water.
This means it's a big trade off, hair growth or bloat. What do you choose, no water retention or mogger eyelashes?
View attachment 3682392
Conclusion
The only possible solution to solve the bloat is using an aldosterone-antagonist.
View attachment 3682299
In theory using an aldosterone-antagonist like Eplerenone or Spironolactone should work, but even then there is quite some anecdotal evidence that this doesn't work.
TL;DR: There are only two viable options now:
- Topical Minoxidil on eyebrows, which also affects your lashes.
- Oral Minoxidil only in combination with an aldosterone-antagonist.
I hope you learned something new today.
Feel free to AMA.
@halloweed @menas @Zagro @Drugsmaxxer
