Rogain, Proscar & Retin-A

[brando1]

Hello everyone,

I have been using Rogain 5% for about three months now and started to noticed my scalp is starting to itch, maybe it has something to do with the Retin-A which is applied once at nice daily. But even before I used anything my scalp has always itched and I always get acne on my scalp or something so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it. I also started to use proscar 5MG cut into 4 pieces and I noticed sensativity in my nipples but before I panic I will wait to see if this is a side effect that will go away within a month and if not I will stop. The last thing I need is to be bald with man boobs:D
I have a couple of pictures to show you and I was wondering if you can tell me if I am to late in trying to grow some hair with the listed above meds and what scale am I on the Norwood scale? My hair is short on here but it shows some details.
Any comments would be highly appreciated and thanks in advance.

Pict1
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/boricuaitaliano/joe2.jpg
Pict2
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/boricuaitaliano/joe1.jpg
Pict3
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/boricuaitaliano/IMG_0298.jpg
pict4
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g113/boricuaitaliano/IMG_0724.jpg

[Paul McAndrews, MD]

Hello everyone,

I have been using Rogain 5% for about three months now and started to noticed my scalp is starting to itch, maybe it has something to do with the Retin-A which is applied once at nice daily. But even before I used anything my scalp has always itched and I always get acne on my scalp or something so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it. I also started to use proscar 5MG cut into 4 pieces and I noticed sensativity in my nipples but before I panic I will wait to see if this is a side effect that will go away within a month and if not I will stop. The last thing I need is to be bald with man boobs:D
I have a couple of pictures to show you and I was wondering if you can tell me if I am to late in trying to grow some hair with the listed above meds and what scale am I on the Norwood scale? My hair is short on here but it shows some details.
Any comments would be highly appreciated and thanks in advance.


First of all the scalp is like the rest of your skin. As we age our skin loses its ability to hold on to as much water secondary to the loss of collagen, elastin, and hylauronic acid in the dermis. The number one cause for “itchy skin” as we age is “dryness”. However, there are other causes of itchy skin, such as seborrheic dermatatitis (i.e.- dandruff). Both minoxidil and retin-A are irritating to the scalp; both commonly cause itching of the scalp. You can try to counteract this with topical corticosteroids and nizoral shampoo.

The acne/folliculitis on the scalp has nothing to do with the itchiness; however occasional minoxidil can cause this. As far as the nipple sensitivity and proscar—I don’t think it is related. There was no statistically significant increase in “nipple sensitivity” in studies comparing the Proscar/Propecia patients to the placebo patients (taking a sugar tablet even though they thought they were taking finasteride).

[the B spot]

Brando, I would say your a 5a right now. Depending on your age/donor density-- you have a couple of options.

If you would like to discuss your options, please email me or respond on this thread and we can talk about how to proceed.

Take Care,
Jason