Arhu
#153
Small update after 2 months of using generic tacrolimus ointment on half my face.
I’m not going to say which is which and on which half of my face I used the tacrolimus. Can anyone see a difference. I made 2 collages one unfiltered 1 with a slight enhancing filter
4 Likes
The right side of the image (left side of your face) seems to have a large patch of darker hair.
3 Likes
Arhu
#155
Right side on pic, lower pic is post treatment. I wasn’t very careful applying on my chin as I was more focused on the sideburn area which didn’t show any change (yet)
1 Like
Hair is a real challenge, I think that is because you need such a range of different cells to function and also often the blood supply is not that good. As you may know my thoughts are that Interleukin-10 is the driver for senescence and it would appear that it does not travel far (it is part of SASP) which is probably why minoxidil, JAK inhibitors and Rapa all make some progress on this issue.
That is also why when hair receeds and also when reinstated it tends to progress. I have found it a lot easier to make progress on a range of biomarkers than hair where I am making some progress, but very slowly. Yesterday’s blood test gave me an MCV of 93 which was over 100 earlier in the year. It was a slightly unusual lab, however, and I am never that certain as to comparability.
What I have found, however, is by improving my metabolism which makes hair more likely to grow the areas with better blood supply (eyebrows, beard, moustache) also grow more productively.
4 Likes
Gambi
#157
tacrolimus
What do you say to that?
tacrolimus has a limited cutaneous side effect profile. In one study, 29% of patients taking tacrolimus developed a telogen effluvium, a nonscarring, diffuse alopecia. Telogen effluvium involves a large proportion of hair follicles prematurely shifting into the telogen phase, leading to widespread thinning and shedding of hair
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajt.14337
Hi Gambi - welcome to the site and thanks for posting.
This paper you’ve quoted and linked to is focused on medication use in transplant patients (typically very sick people, who have been sick for a very long time, and who are on many medications) taking ORAL Tacrolimus.
This entire thread on gray hair reversal is focused on low dose TOPICAL (on the surface of the skin) tacrolimus. These are very different use cases and patient populations. The two are not comparable.
In the topical rapamycin skin cream experiment they did (using transcutol as the exipient / base) there was no entry of the drug into the bloodstream. I suspect the same would be true if using a tacrolimus (with Transcutol base) formula for your scalp.
We have seen, however, that if you are using a DSMO base it may penetrate the skin more fully and get into the blood system, as mentioned in this thread here: Side Effects of Rapamycin (part 2) - #283 by RapAdmin
3 Likes
Arhu
#159
I might try oral tacrolimus though if the topical results are good in a few months though I do not know which dose and which schedule yet. My topical schedule for now has been twice per week…
So, you’re only using the topical tacroliomus, and not the other two components of the RiverTown formulation: minoxidil and cyclosporin
Why only the single drug?
Arhu
#161
Because tacrolimus ointment is cheap and easy to get hold of and both tacrolimus and cyclosporin are both calcineurin inhibitors so cyclosporin seemed to be superfluous to me anyway
can’t see any noticeable difference.
1 Like
The right lower side definitely seems darker
1 Like
I suspect (from what I’ve read in the research papers) that you’d get better skin absorption using the powder dissolved in transcutol (or DSMO), but perhaps they use one of these or some similar excipient in the manufacturing of the tacrolimus ointment.
Similar to the rapamycin topical skin cream: Formulation and characterization of a 0.1% rapamycin cream for the treatment of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex-related angiofibromas - PubMed
Arhu
#165
It wouldn’t be allowed on the market if the formulation didn’t work.
Edit I checked the ingredients it contains propylene carbonate which aids in dissolving
1 Like
LeeJohn
#166
Hello RapAdmin, I am curious about transcutol, I made my retinol 2% with ethanol and propylene glycol for a while, but propylene glycol is sticky, I don’t know how to describe that, it’s like oil on the skin surface never dry up, and I really don’t like that feeling.
Is transcutol sticky too? Is it irritating? Can you share your experience with transcutol? I may replace propylene glycol with transcutol later.
Another thing, have you ever made your Tacrolimus + cyclosporine A? The potential of hair re-pigmentation is really interesting, it’s also my primary motivation taking rapamycin, after 1 year rapamycin, the graying process slows down a lot, I didn’t develop new grey hairs during this year, but no grey hair reverses to black hair, so I am glad to have Tacrolimus + cyclosporine A a try.
I am still waiting for the India shipping of Tacrolimus + cyclosporine tablets, however I have cyclosporine eye drops 1mg/mL and tacrolimus ointment 0.03% in hand. 2 weeks ago, I started experiencing cyclosporine eye drops + tacrolimus ointment on the eyebrow of my mother, she always complains the grey hair on her eyebrow.
I will update her result, she applies it daily at the night, now still no re-pigmentation found, I am expecting changes in 8 weeks later, let’s wait and see.
2 Likes
Tacrolimus doesn’t dissolve in transcutol.
I dissolved it in ethanol. Solution will still have some powder and i believe that is the fillers.
2 Likes
Could you share a link to this data? I’ve been using 1.25mg Minoxidil for several months, but after 6 months of topical. So, I’m not sure yet if the 1.25 is maintaining or not.
Thank you. It was that article that led me to believe that 1.25mg was enough for hair regrowth in men. I’m curious to see a quote that says 2.5mg is the effective minimum dose for men and 1.25mg in women, as the poster I was replying to suggested. Is it in this article and I somehow missed it?
Transcutol is not sticky - its fine, and I have not yet made the RiverTown formula for gray hair reversal - but will order the required formula components shortly, but have not yet done it.
As @Aman_Arora and others have pointed out, it seems that we need to first disolve the tacrolimus in ethanol. My plan is to then mix it with transcutol which will be mixed with the minoxidil and cyclosporin (and some other ingredients as I think I’ve mentioned in other posts).
I will post a series of photos and details when I do make it, just as I did with the DIY Rapamycin Toothpaste, and another member posted on DIY Rapamycin Skin Cream.
2 Likes
