ResearchSafe

RU-58841 scalp irritation, is propylene glycol the usual culprit?

Posted by tracker_jade in Safety & Side Effects - 1 points, 6 comments.

Anecdotally RU has worked really well for me for keeping density on my hairline, but around week 3 I started getting noticeable itching and some flaking right where I apply it. It was bad enough that I almost stopped.

I switched the vehicle from straight PG to a PG free mix with ethoxydiglycol and the irritation dropped a lot within a week. Could just be that my scalp is sensitive to PG, or could be a mild contact dermatitis from the compound itself, hard to say.

A couple questions for anyone who has been on it longer term. How long did you give it before deciding it was a real reaction vs just adjustment? And has anyone seen the irritation come back after switching vehicles, or does it usually stay gone once you find a tolerable base? Also curious if bloodwork ever showed anything weird systemically, since the whole appeal is supposed to be local action only.

Comments

  • patient_protocol: Congrats on getting your irritation sorted out, and yeah PG is a really common culprit for the scalp stuff people run into with RU. It can be sneaky though because the concentration and the percent in the mix both matter a lot, and some folks tolerate a low percent but not a high one... For the timeline question, I would say give any switch at least 2 to 3 weeks before calling it, since the skin barrier needs some time to calm down and some of what looks like irritation early on is just adjustm
  • skeptical_cooks: Yeah the 2 to 3 week window sounds about right. To be fair i think i gave my pg free switch maybe 10 days and called it good since the itching was mostly gone, but the flaking hung around a bit longer than i expected. Coulda just been my skin barrier still catching up. How long did yours actually take to fully settle out?
  • humble_dad: Yeah 2 to 3 weeks sounds about right for what I saw too. Switching the base cleared mine up inside a week but I kept an eye on it for another couple weeks just to make sure it wasn't gonna creep back. The concentration point is a good one, I was running 50mg/ml and that probably wasn't helping the PG issue. Dropped to 30 and it was easier on my scalp even before I switched carriers.
  • tracker_jade: Right on, 30 vs 50mg/ml is a solid call, I hadn't really considered that angle. Anecdotally mine was at 50 too so maybe that was adding fuel. I'll drop down before I swap carriers again and see if that alone does it. Did you notice any difference in how well it actually worked at the lower concentration, or did the results hold up?
  • tracker_jade: Honestly my scalp calmed down pretty fast, like 5 to 6 days after switching the itching was mostly gone. The flaking took longer though, prob 2 to 3 weeks before that fully cleared. I kept using a gentle ketoconazole shampoo every few days which i think helped. Did yours ever come back or has it stayed clear since?
  • tracker_jade: Yeah 2 to 3 weeks tracks with what I saw, mine calmed way down by week 2 on the PG free mix and stayed gone. I didn't think about the percent being a factor since I went fully PG free, but that's a, I could probably try a lower PG percent down the road if I want to experiment. Did you keep the same RU concentration when you switched bases or did you adjust? I'm wondering if the absorption changes enough to matter for actual results, not just tolerance.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.