There are a few published articles circulating here about using methylene blue for skin health and several people have reported trying this. The articles include:
Anti-Aging Potentials of Methylene Blue for Human Skin Longevity - Scientific Reports
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In the nature article, the most effective concentration of methylene blue for dermal thickness was 0.5 micromolar solution. I do not have the full paper for the sunscreen article but they did find UV absorption at 1.0 micromolar solution from one of the graphics. The 0.1 micromolar solution did not have the UV absorption, so I am going to settle on a target concentration of 0.5 micromolar as my concerns are skin wrinkles. This may or may not impart sunscreen like effectiveness.
The molecular weight of methylene blue is 320 grams per mole. and I have a 1% solution that claims to be about 0.4mg or 400 micrograms per drop. Using this calculator
I found that one drop of Oxidol makes 2.5 Liters of skin cream at a 0.5 micromolar solution!!! Anyone here check my math?
It might be that some of the people who have experienced whitening of hairs or other side effects are creating a solution that is too strong to be used on the skin.
I decided to create a less concentration stock solution by putting one drop of Oxidol in 25ml of distilled water, storing this in an eyedropper. This solution can be used to create skin creams by using 1ml of this less concentrated stock solution per 100ml of skin cream. I think this is less likely to stain, although any dilution of methylene blue will dry down and potentially ruin whatever it touches. (If you didn't take a college chemistry class then you might learn this the hard way.)
Because my target skin is around my eyes I am considering just adding this to rosewater. This does not irritate and can be applied to the whole face including around the delicate eye area. it makes mixing simple as well. I already have rosewater which I purchased in 10 ounce bottles (300ml) from Amazon.
There are some other articles of potential interest here:
There are articles that discuss combining red light and methylene blue:
https://academic.oup.com/mutage/article/24/3/253/1074255
www.frontiersin.org
Methylene blue plus light-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes: inhibition by nicotinamide (vitamin B3) and other antioxidants - PubMed
I am concerned about the articles where methylene blue is combined with red light an produces tissue damage, although the concentration of methylene blue was way higher. Something that is used on the face daily will have plenty of light as well as time to react. It seems it might be best to use methylene blue on the skin only at night, although the sunscreen article does indicate it may be safe or even beneficial in the sun. It it tempting to add niacinamide to the rose water.
Anyone hear with experience or thoughts about the potential safety of methylene blue on the skin? Anyone have other articles on this subject to share?
There are threads on using methylene blue for skin, so if this belongs somewhere else that's fine. I thought the calculations themselves were worthy of a new discussion post since people are using concentrations far in excess of this.
Thanks for any input.
Anti-Aging Potentials of Methylene Blue for Human Skin Longevity - Scientific Reports
Ultraviolet radiation protection potentials of Methylene Blue for human skin and coral reef health - PubMed
Methylene blue (MB) is a century-old medicine, a laboratory dye, and recently shown as a premier antioxidant that combats ROS-induced cellular aging in human skins. Given MB's molecular structure and light absorption properties, we hypothesize that MB has the potential to be considered as a...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Potentials of Methylene Blue as an Anti-Aging Drug
Methylene blue (MB), as the first fully man-made medicine, has a wide range of clinical applications. Apart from its well-known applications in surgical staining, malaria, and methemoglobinemia, the anti-oxidative properties of MB recently brought new ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
In the nature article, the most effective concentration of methylene blue for dermal thickness was 0.5 micromolar solution. I do not have the full paper for the sunscreen article but they did find UV absorption at 1.0 micromolar solution from one of the graphics. The 0.1 micromolar solution did not have the UV absorption, so I am going to settle on a target concentration of 0.5 micromolar as my concerns are skin wrinkles. This may or may not impart sunscreen like effectiveness.
The molecular weight of methylene blue is 320 grams per mole. and I have a 1% solution that claims to be about 0.4mg or 400 micrograms per drop. Using this calculator
I found that one drop of Oxidol makes 2.5 Liters of skin cream at a 0.5 micromolar solution!!! Anyone here check my math?
It might be that some of the people who have experienced whitening of hairs or other side effects are creating a solution that is too strong to be used on the skin.
I decided to create a less concentration stock solution by putting one drop of Oxidol in 25ml of distilled water, storing this in an eyedropper. This solution can be used to create skin creams by using 1ml of this less concentrated stock solution per 100ml of skin cream. I think this is less likely to stain, although any dilution of methylene blue will dry down and potentially ruin whatever it touches. (If you didn't take a college chemistry class then you might learn this the hard way.)
Because my target skin is around my eyes I am considering just adding this to rosewater. This does not irritate and can be applied to the whole face including around the delicate eye area. it makes mixing simple as well. I already have rosewater which I purchased in 10 ounce bottles (300ml) from Amazon.
There are some other articles of potential interest here:
There are articles that discuss combining red light and methylene blue:
https://academic.oup.com/mutage/article/24/3/253/1074255
Protection against neurodegeneration with low-dose methylene blue and near-infrared light
Neurons are metabolically protected against degeneration using low-level methylene blue and near-infrared light interventions. Both of these novel interventions act by a cellular mechanism involving enhancement of the electron transport chain in mitochondria, which promotes energy metabolism and...
I am concerned about the articles where methylene blue is combined with red light an produces tissue damage, although the concentration of methylene blue was way higher. Something that is used on the face daily will have plenty of light as well as time to react. It seems it might be best to use methylene blue on the skin only at night, although the sunscreen article does indicate it may be safe or even beneficial in the sun. It it tempting to add niacinamide to the rose water.
Anyone hear with experience or thoughts about the potential safety of methylene blue on the skin? Anyone have other articles on this subject to share?
There are threads on using methylene blue for skin, so if this belongs somewhere else that's fine. I thought the calculations themselves were worthy of a new discussion post since people are using concentrations far in excess of this.
Thanks for any input.
