for educational and safety purposes
Topicals and compounds studied for hair; the antiandrogens, growth-factor peptides, and minoxidil-family agents, with where to get them.
15 sourced · 10 reference
SM-04554 is a topical small molecule that activates Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, developed as a novel treatment for androgenetic alopecia. Rather than blocking androgens, it stimulates the pathway that governs the hair cycle, aiming to push follicle stem cells into the growth phase to regenerate follicles and maintain density. It advanced into late-stage clinical testing for pattern hair loss, making it one of the more prominent Wnt-based approaches to hair regrowth.
Topilutamide, better known as fluridil, is a topical antiandrogen purpose-built to fight hair loss at the scalp without the systemic side effects of oral treatments. It blocks the androgen receptor locally in hair follicles, then breaks down before it can enter the bloodstream, sparing libido and hormones. In a placebo-controlled study it meaningfully boosted the proportion of actively growing hairs, making it a compelling, targeted option for androgenetic alopecia.
RU-58841 is a potent non-steroidal topical antiandrogen developed for androgenetic alopecia, acne, and hirsutism. Applied directly to the scalp, it binds androgen receptors in the hair follicle and blocks dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the androgen that drives follicle miniaturization, while its rapid local metabolism limits hormonal effects elsewhere in the body. Decades of animal research show striking regression of androgen-dependent skin structures, making it one of the most studied local antiandrogens for hair loss.
Pyrilutamide (KX-826) is a next-generation topical androgen receptor antagonist developed for androgenetic alopecia, designed to block the hair-loss hormone DHT directly at the scalp while avoiding the systemic hormonal side effects of pills like finasteride [1][2]. Applied locally, it aims to shield hair follicles from androgen-driven miniaturization at the root cause of pattern hair loss [2][4]. One of the most closely watched investigational hair-loss drugs, it targets androgen signaling in the skin without lowering hormones throughout the body [1][2].
Antibalder is a topical hair-loss formulation concept rather than a single molecule, pairing the copper peptide GHK-Cu with the vasodilator minoxidil. The idea is to combine minoxidil, a well-established stimulator of hair follicles, with GHK-Cu, a copper-binding tripeptide used in skin and scalp care for its role in tissue repair. The evidence relates mainly to the two ingredients individually; there is little published data on this specific combination.
Biotin, also known as vitamin B7 (and historically as vitamin H), is a water-soluble B vitamin that the body needs as a coenzyme for several key metabolic enzymes. It acts as an essential cofactor for carboxylase enzymes involved in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids [1]. True deficiency is rare because biotin is widespread in foods and is also made by gut bacteria, but it is a popular dietary supplement, most often marketed for hair, skin, and nail health despite limited supporting evidence in people who are not deficient [2]. High-dose biotin can also interfere with common laboratory blood tests [4].
KY-19382 is an experimental small molecule that activates the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, investigated as a treatment for hair loss. A synthetic analogue of the natural compound indirubin-3'-monoxime, it was developed by researchers at Yonsei University in South Korea, who reported that it promotes hair regrowth and the formation of new hair follicles in laboratory and animal models [1]. It is a preclinical research compound and is not an approved medicine [1].
Ketoconazole is a synthetic antifungal medication of the imidazole class, used to treat fungal infections of the skin and, less commonly, the body. It was the first orally active azole antifungal, and it is widely used in topical form, including as a medicated shampoo for dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis [1]. Besides its antifungal action it interferes with the body's production of steroid hormones, a property exploited in certain hormone-related conditions but also responsible for endocrine side effects; oral use is now restricted because of a risk of liver injury [1][2].
Minoxidil + Aminexil is a combination approach to pattern hair loss that pairs minoxidil, a topical vasodilator and established hair-growth agent, with aminexil, a structurally related molecule developed by the cosmetics industry to counter the fibrosis that can loosen hair at the root. Minoxidil is the better-evidenced of the two, while aminexil (also called kopexil) appears mainly in cosmetic anti-hair-loss formulations. The pairing is used topically for androgenetic alopecia rather than being a single approved drug.
Minoxidil + Finasteride is a combination therapy widely used for male androgenetic alopecia that pairs two agents with complementary actions: minoxidil, a topical vasodilator that stimulates the hair follicle, and finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor that lowers levels of the androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Together they address both the follicle and the hormonal driver of pattern hair loss, and clinical studies generally find the combination more effective than either drug alone. The two are used together as oral finasteride with topical minoxidil, or in combined topical formulations.
AHK (Tripeptide-3) is a copper-binding signal peptide, the alanine-histidine-lysine tripeptide prized in advanced hair and skin formulations. Its histidine and lysine residues grip copper to form the bioactive complex AHK-Cu, which has been shown to lengthen human hair follicles and energize the dermal papilla cells that drive hair growth. A close cousin of the celebrated copper peptide GHK, it is sought out as a next-level cosmetic peptide for hair density, skin renewal, and regeneration.
Finasteride is a medication that blocks the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, lowering the body's production of the potent androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and male pattern hair loss, and is sold under the brand names Proscar and Propecia. By reducing DHT it shrinks the prostate and can slow or partly reverse androgen-driven hair loss.
CB-03-01, known as clascoterone, is a first-in-class topical androgen receptor inhibitor and the first genuinely new mechanism approved for acne in decades. Applied directly to the skin, it blocks androgen signaling in the sebaceous gland without the systemic hormonal effects of oral antiandrogens. For those seeking targeted, well-tolerated hormonal control of acne, clascoterone is a landmark advance.
Minoxidil is a vasodilator that opens ATP-sensitive potassium channels, originally developed and approved in 1979 as an oral treatment for severe high blood pressure. It is a prodrug: it is inactive until the sulfotransferase enzyme SULT1A1 in the hair follicle converts it to minoxidil sulfate, so a person's follicular enzyme activity helps predict whether they respond to it. Its tendency to promote hair growth, first noticed during blood-pressure trials, led to topical formulations approved for pattern hair loss and, more recently, to a resurgence of low-dose oral minoxidil, used off-label for hair loss with attention to fluid-retention and cardiovascular safety.
PP405 is an investigational topical small-molecule compound being developed for pattern hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia. It is designed to inhibit the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, a strategy that grew out of research showing that blocking this carrier raises lactate inside hair follicle stem cells and reawakens dormant follicles. It remains experimental and has not been approved for medical use.
A 17alpha-allyl derivative of testosterone first synthesized in 1936. Extending testosterone's 17alpha side chain to an allyl group abolishes its androgenic activity and converts the molecule into an antiandrogen; it was later patented as a topical antiandrogen and hair-growth inhibitor but was never marketed.
Alpha-estradiol is 17alpha-estradiol, the C17 epimer of the ordinary human estrogen 17beta-estradiol. Flipping that one hydroxyl group leaves a molecule that still binds estrogen receptor alpha but only weakly, which is why it turns up in two settings that look unrelated: as one of the most reproducible lifespan-extending drugs in the National Institute on Aging Interventions Testing Program, and as a topical scalp solution licensed in Germany for female pattern hair loss under the name alfatradiol. The two settings share a fact that runs through everything below. Its effects are sex-specific to an unusual degree. The lifespan extension happens in male mice and not female ones [1], it disappears when males are castrated [3], and every controlled human trial of the topical form was run in women. A compound that improves one sex and does nothing measurable in the other is not a compound where a general recommendation is possible.
AS-601811 is a type 1 5-alpha reductase inhibitor that was investigated by Merck Serono for conditions related to androgen metabolism, such as acne, hirsutism, and male-pattern hair loss, but it was discontinued after Phase 1 trials.
Biotinoyl GHK, sold as Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, is the copper peptide GHK with a biotin group attached to its N-terminus. It reaches consumers almost entirely inside Procapil, a three-part hair blend. ⚠️ Two things make it much weaker than its reputation. The biotin caps the exact chemical site GHK uses to carry copper, so it cannot work the way GHK-Cu is supposed to. And the whole of PubMed holds three papers on biotinylated GHK, none of which measures a single target.
He Shou Wu, also known as fo-ti or tuber fleeceflower, is the processed root of Reynoutria multiflora (formerly Polygonum multiflorum), a climbing plant of the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, native to China. It is one of the most widely used tonic herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, historically taken for hair color, vitality, and longevity. Modern attention has focused both on its bioactive stilbenes and anthraquinones and on well-documented cases of liver injury linked to its use.
JXL082 is an experimental small-molecule inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) investigated as a topical candidate for hair loss. It belongs to a family of MPC-blocking compounds related to the prototype UK-5099 and the clinical candidate PP405, which are studied for their ability to reawaken dormant hair-follicle stem cells [1][4]. JXL082 has not been the subject of any published peer-reviewed human trial and exists as a preclinical research chemical; it has also been offered informally through online sellers outside approved medical channels.
Keraxidil is an experimental compound described as a tyrosinase-cleavable prodrug of minoxidil, a design intended to release the established hair-growth drug minoxidil selectively within active hair follicles. The concept combines minoxidil's known ability to stimulate hair growth with an enzyme-triggered delivery strategy meant to concentrate the drug at the follicle and limit exposure elsewhere [1][3]. It is an emerging, early-stage agent with little peer-reviewed data of its own, and it is not an approved medicine.
Saw palmetto is a lipidosterolic extract of the berries of Serenoa repens, a fan palm of the southeastern United States, and ranks among the most widely used herbal supplements for prostate health. Its proposed mechanism is genuinely pharmacological: in vitro the extract inhibits both isoenzymes of 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to the more potent dihydrotestosterone, and interferes with androgen binding in prostate cells, alongside anti-inflammatory effects. Despite this rationale, rigorous placebo-controlled trials, including the NEJM STEP study and the dose-escalation CAMUS trial, and successive Cochrane reviews have generally found the standardized extract no more effective than placebo for lower urinary tract symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Evidence for certain proprietary hexanic preparations remains debated, and the extract is consistently well tolerated with minimal impact on sexual function.
TDM-105795 is a topical thyroid hormone receptor agonist developed by Technoderma Medicines for pattern hair loss, and licensed to Cutia Therapeutics for Asia. ⚠️ It has no peer-reviewed publications of its own data; everything verifiable about it comes from a patent, a stock-exchange prospectus and a trial registry. The one animal study usually cited for it studies a different Technoderma compound, and no test of receptor selectivity has ever been run, which makes the common description of it as a beta-selective agonist unsupported.
WAY-316606 is a research compound best known in the hair-loss world for switching on Wnt signaling, a growth pathway important for the hair follicle. It does this by blocking SFRP1, a natural brake on Wnt. In lab studies on human scalp follicles it encouraged hair growth, which is why it gets attention as a possible topical hair treatment. It is a research chemical, not an approved or marketed hair-loss drug.
