Itchy and irritated

Hi all. I've been using 2% minoxidil solution on my mildly thinning hair for 6 months. For the first month I used it once per day, just to ease into it. No problems, so then I added a second dose. Again, no major problems other than a bit of itching and dandruff. I was very pleased with the early results; no longer losing gobs of hair in the shower, and new hairs were filling in. However, at the end of the third month, my scalp became inflamed and horribly itchy. I mean, REALLY itchy. I got itchy bumps on the backs of my ears and neck. I was using Nizoral all along, but it didn't seem to help. I stopped all use of Minoxidil for about a week, until my scalp calmed down. I then began using it again once per day. It's now been about 2 months, and while the severe symptoms are gone, my scalp is still very, very itchy. I don't want to stop using minoxidil, because I am thrilled with the results in terms of regrowth and retarded hair loss.

I have been reading that it may be a reaction to this ingredient propylene glycol, which is apparently not in the foam version. However, the foam is only available in a 5% concentration. I'm wondering if the 5% foam once per day may continue the success of the treatment but without the irritation. Has anyone else gone this route? Also wondering how does one apply foam to the scalp when there is hair in the way. It seems to me that all of the foam would be on my hair and not on the scalp.

If you are using only 2% of minoxidil solution then how would you get proper result for hair thinning and hair loss. If you feel that your scalp is itchy and irritated then its better to get a opinion of a expert rather than trying other things.