November 26, 2024

I have added a few new updates in regards to Minoxidil Sulfotransferase booster news. The Rida Hair Research Institute (US) product was removed from Amazon, but is back again on Wal Mart’s site. I am suspicious about its average 5 star review rating. I added the ingredient list for both the Rida and Cosmofix (India) products further below in an image.

A lot of readers are interested in this subject, and perhaps one of them can compare the ingredients. Note that the original manufacturer of the Cosmofix Minoxidil booster is Applied Biology (US), which was since acquired by Jupiter Wellness (Safety Shot — US), which was since sold to Elite Health Partners (US). Also of note, Daniel Alain will soon release a supplement based on natural botanicals that will increases SULT1A1 enzyme levels in hair follicles.

September 24, 2023

MinoxiBoost Minoxidil Booster Released

MinoxiBoost solution (60 ml) finally got released in India via Cosmofix. It is currently sold in India via Cutiscart. The official July 25, 2023 launch announcement from Jupiter Wellness (US) mentioned its Indian partners Sanpellegrino Cosmetics and Cosmofix Technovation. The two of them have exclusive distribution rights to this product in 31 countries in Asia and the Middle East.

Note that this product was originally developed by Applied Biology (US). See the bottom part of this post for more details.

Also of interest, a company named Rida Hair Research Institute (US) is selling its own Minoxidil booster spray product on Amazon (Edit: Now removed, but still available on Wal Mart). The call it Mino Boost and it currently has an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars based on 62 reviews (Edit: It has a perfect 5 out of 5 star rating on Wal Mart based on 169 reviews, but its hard to believe that these are all legit). They claim that it will make your topical Minoxidil treatment 7X more effective. The sale of this product began in February 2023 per Rida’s Instagram.

An oral Minoxidil sulfotransferase enzyme hair supplement is going to soon be sold in the US by Daniel Alain. They used to sell a topical one in the past, but I do not see it on their website anymore. The oral version is based on natural botanicals and will increases SULT1A1 enzyme levels in hair follicles.

Note that compounded Minoxidil Sulfate (MXS) based topical formulations are readily available for medical use in some parts of the world, such as Brazil.

Minoxidil Booster Ingredients

Below is a comparison image that lists the key ingredients in the above two (Rida Hair and Cosmofix) Minoxidil booster products.

• The top image is the Rida product.
• The bottom image is the Cosmofix (developed by Applied Biology) product.
• A third product’s ingredient comparison comes via a comment from “Pinotq”. The topical Minoxidil booster than used to be sold by Daniel Alain had the following ingredients:

“Water, Sodium Bicarbonate, Phosphatidylcholine, Glycerin, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glyceride, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexyglycerin, Polysorbate 80, Tetrasodium EDTA, Fragrance”.

The company is now switching to an oral version devised from natural botanicals as I mentioned earlier.

January 19, 2023

The Minoxidil Sulfotransferase Enzyme

With oral Minoxidil becoming the most discussed hair loss treatment over the past year, now is a good time to discuss the Minoxidil Sulfotransferase (SULT1A1) enzyme.

The below diagram is from a Polish study published in 2022 covering Sulfotransferase activity in hair follicles and the response to Minoxidil treatment. Sulfotransferase 1A1 is encoded by the SULT1A1 gene.

When Minoxidil is used topically on the scalp, it is converted into its active form (Minoxidil sulfate) by SULT1A1 enzymes, which are located in the follicular outer root sheath. However, many people’s hair follicles lack high levels of sulfotransferase. So these men (and women) are unable to convert even extra strength Minoxidil into its active form that stimulates hair growth.

Note that Retin-A (Tretinoin) enhances the response to Minoxidil in androgenetic alopecia patients by upregulating follicular sulfotransferase enzymes. No wonder so many blog readers have recommended the use of both products together.

Benefits for Oral Minoxidil too?

When it comes to oral Minoxidil, the body’s liver does the job of converting Minoxidil into Minoxidil sulfate (also spelled sulphate). Several articles that I read seem to suggest that the hair follicle does not need to do the conversion anymore. However, Dr. John Cole said the following to me:

“If you can’t sulfate it, Minoxidil will not work. Peripherally sulfated Minoxidil cannot enter the cell.”

Also, in this 2020 letter from Ramos et al (full version here), a key quote:

“Increasing the activity of SULT1A1 can improve the efficacy of topical and low dose oral minoxidil for the treatment of AGA.”

Moreover, the following quote in last year’s important article from the AAD in regards to LDOM suggests some uncertainty via the use of the word “may”:

“It has been suggested that oral minoxidil may also be converted by liver and platelet sulfotransferase, thereby reaching a higher follicular accumulation.”

It would be interesting to know if beard growth with topical Minoxidil is also impacted by SULT1A1.

Boosting SULT1A1

In recent years, there have been some significant efforts made to develop products to boost the Sulfotransferase enzyme in order to improve the efficacy of Minoxidil. Leading the way is Dr. Andy Goren, who started a company called Applied Biology that created a Minoxidil booster product.

However, in June 2021, Applied Biology was acquired by Jupiter Wellness (part of US-based Safety Shot). Update: In February 2024, Safety Shot sold its Jupiter Wellness legacy assets to Elite Health Partners (US).

Luckily, while researching for this post, I came across Jupiter’s hair loss product page. Lo and behold, some interesting news on their Minoxidil booster topical product:

• It has been clinically shown to increase the sulfotransferase enzymes needed for minoxidil to work by up to 7x over a two-week period. I assume this 2021 study pertains to those findings. Co-authors include the well known hair researchers Dr. Rodney Sinclair and Dr. Rachita Dhurat.
• The product has already been licensed to Taisho for the Japanese market. Taisho is Japan’s leading seller of Minoxidil products. They expect to launch the product commercially in 2023.
• It is also licensed to Cosmofix Technovation and Sanpellegrino Cosmetics, both from India.

Note that in the study that I listed in the first bullet point above, 75% of patients in the SULT1A1 group demonstrated a positive increase in hair growth; compared with only 33% of patients in the placebo group. However, the study limitations include its small sample and limited duration of follow up.