[thenthreesixty]

Hello everyone

I need some help making a lotion and I'm a relative chemistry newbie so would appreciate if some of you learned chemistry enthusiasts would help me out.

Basically, I want to create a topical spironolactone lotion for hair loss. It's expensive online and I think I can make homemade worth it, provided it's a good quality.

I intend to make a 5% solution by weight. So 5mg to 1gram. My issue is what to combine it with and how to go about combining the ingredients once I've decided on them. Again, complete newbie.

Source: J Pharm Sci. 1991 Jun;80(6):551-3.
Preformulation studies of spironolactone: effect of pH, two buffer species, ionic strength, and temperature on stability.
Pramar Y, Gupta VD.
Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Houston, TX 77030.

"Using a stability-indicating HPLC assay method, the effect of pH, two buffer species (citrate and phosphate), ionic strength, and temperature on the stability of spironolactone in 20% solution of ethyl alcohol in water has been studied. The optimum pH of stability appears to be approximately 4.5. On increasing the buffer concentration, both species hastened the decomposition of spironolactone. The ionic strength did not affect the stability of the drug. The energy of activation has been estimated to be approximately 78.8 kJ/mol at pH 4.3. The un-ionized spironolactone is subject to general acid-base catalysis. The Kh and Koh values at 40 degrees C have been estimated to be 1.63 and 2.8 x 10(5) day-1, respectively. The HPO4(-2) ion had approximately 10 times more catalytic effect than the H2PO4(-1) ion. This data will be used to develop a stable oral liquid dosage form of the drug." PMID: 1941547

Here is a study that may help. I have trouble deciphering all the jargon in it's entirety, but I believe the gist is that I need something with that'll take the lotion to a pH of around 4.5 for shelf life?

I'll include the profile of spironolactone here, cos that may help:

 
Spironolactone

Systematic (IUPAC) name
7α-acetylthio-3-oxo-17α-pregn-4-ene-21,17-carbolactone
or
17-hydroxy-7α-mercapto-3-oxo-17α-pregn-4-ene-21-carboxylic acid, γ-lactone acetate
Clinical data
Trade names   Aldactone
AHFS/Drugs.com   monograph
MedlinePlus   a682627
Pregnancy cat.   B3 (AU) C (US)
Legal status   POM (UK) ℞-only (US)
Routes   Oral
Pharmacokinetic data
Protein binding   90%+[1]
Metabolism   Hepatic
Half-life   1.3-2 hours
Excretion   Urine, bile
Identifiers
CAS number   52-01-7
ATC code   C03DA01
PubChem   CID 5833
IUPHAR ligand   2875
DrugBank   DB00421
ChemSpider   5628
UNII   27O7W4T232
KEGG   D00443
ChEBI   CHEBI:9241
ChEMBL   CHEMBL1393
Chemical data
Formula   C24H32O4S
Mol. mass   416.574 g/mol
 

Thoughts on some possiblities of what I'd like to combine it with:

Mainly - Jojoba oil.

Coconut oil.
Retinol.
And then some cream (with an adequate pH).
I'd like to put preservative in it too so it doesn't go bad.
Also some type of essential oil for scent purposes.

And then there is the process. Do I need to do reduce things with alcohol? Or should that be avoided? What else should I be thinking about? I want it to be as high quality as possible.

I understand that I've really plonked a lot of stuff here and I'm not sure which of it is helpful and what's just noise. But as stated, I'm an absolute newbie.

Even if somebody could point me in the right direction I'd be massively appreciative.

Thanks in advance.

[Dan]

For liability reasons, we do not give advice for self medication on these forums.