Hair Growth

For an overview of gray hair and a few works on the mitochondria requirement to grow hair, visit the gray hair post. The starting point of this post is Women’s World 8 essential oils for hair growth. The strategy is to do a PubMed search on each and then figure out which phytochemicals are in each and what their receptors are.

Rosemary oil

It took six months to see a difference in androgen associated hair loss. [1]

1. Panahi Y, Taghizadeh M, Marzony ET, Sahebkar A. Rosemary oil vs minoxidil 2% for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: a randomized comparative trial. Skinmed. 2015 Jan-Feb;13(1):15-21. PMID: 25842469. PubMed

pumpkin seed oil

In a 3 month clinical trial PSO showed promise in treating female pattern hair loss. In this 24 week clinical trial with men with androgen alopecia Mean hair count increases of 40% were observed in PSO-treated men at 24 weeks, whereas increases of 10% were observed in placebo-treated men (P < 0.001). Adverse effects were not different in the two groups.

1. Ibrahim IM, Hasan MS, Elsabaa KI, Elsaie ML. Pumpkin seed oil vs. minoxidil 5% topical foam for the treatment of female pattern hair loss: A randomized comparative trial. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Sep;20(9):2867-2873 PubMed
2. Cho YH, Lee SY, Jeong DW, Choi EJ, Kim YJ, Lee JG, Yi YH, Cha HS. Effect of pumpkin seed oil on hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:549721. PMC free article
3. Teeranachaideekul V, Parichatikanond W, Junyaprasert VB, Morakul B. Pumpkin Seed Oil-Loaded Niosomes for Topical Application: 5α-Reductase Inhibitory, Anti-Inflammatory, and In Vivo Anti-Hair Loss Effects. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2022 Jul 27;15(8):930. PMC free article

peppermint oil

Only one abstract was found on PubMed which focused on a type of hair loss specific to African American women which stated that there was not great evidence that this substance was effective.

Ezekwe N, King M, Hollinger JC. The Use of Natural Ingredients in the Treatment of Alopecias with an Emphasis on Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia: A Systematic Review. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2020 Aug;13(8):23-27. Epub 2020 Aug 1. PubMed

lavender oil

Also see the thyme oil section for the Turkish combination study.

clary sage oil

I could find nothing on PubMed concerning clary sage oil and hair loss. Titles indicate it is calming.

cedarwood oil

Also see the thyme oil section for the Turkish combination study.

tea tree oil

A study out of Saudi Arabia tested the hypothesis that adding tea tree oil would improve hair growth in male androgenic alopecia. These authors used a multimodal microemulsion of minoxidil (a dihydrotestosterone antagonist), diclofenac (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent), and tea tree oil which they viewed as an anti-infective agent. This publication reports stability factors that might be of interest to Mito. The good news is that significant hair growth was recorded after 32 weeks of use compared to the placebo and traditional medication.

Farouk Sakr F, Gado A, Mohammed H, Ismail AAN. Preparation and evaluation of a multimodal minoxidil microemulsion versus minoxidil alone in the treatment of androgenic alopecia of mixed etiology: a pilot study. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2013;7:413. [PMC free article]

thyme oil

The Ezekwe review is the only thing that showed up on PubMed {1] This is not to say the research has not been performed. The Ezekwe review lead to a Turkish study of a combination of essential oils that are to be rubbed into the scalp. [2] The active group in this clinical trial received a compound available in Turkey: Revigen® Areata solution (Mikro-Gen Co, Istanbul, Turkey) which has essential oils, Thyme vulgaris, Lavandula agustifolia, Rosmainus officialis and Cedrus atlantica and mixed in carrier oil which was a combination of jojoba and grape seed oils.

1. Ezekwe N, King M, Hollinger JC. The Use of Natural Ingredients in the Treatment of Alopecias with an Emphasis on Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia: A Systematic Review. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2020 Aug;13(8):23-27. Epub 2020 Aug 1. PMC free article
2. Özmen I, Çalişkan E, Arca E et al. Efficacy of aromatherapy in the treatment of localized alopecia areata: a double-blind placebo controlled study. Gulhane Med J. 2015;57:3. free article

If the particular source of thyme oil contains the terpene thymol it might be effective as a skin permeability enhancer to get active ingredients past the stratum corneum.

Holistic approach: biotin, niacin,more

A very recent review mentioned popular use of biotin in products for hair regrowth but seemed to be much more optimistic about niacin. [1] The corresponding author of this paper is Raja Sivamani MD, who usually publishes with four or five institutes as his home base. These include a medical school and several research centers. Raja Sivamani has been part of numerous clinical trials.

College of Medicine, California Northstate University, 9700 W Taron Dr, Elk Grove, CA 957
Integrative Skin Science and Research, 1495 River Park Drive, Sacramento, CA
Pacific Skin Institute, 1495 River Park Dr Suite 200, Sacramento, CA
Department of Dermatology, University of California-Davis, Sacramento, CA

Here is what the review [1] has to say about B vitamins:

B Vitamins

B vitamins, including niacin (vitamin B3), biotin (vitamin B7), and folic acid (vitamin B9) have been implicated in hair loss. For example, in addition to the well-documented pellagra characteristic of niacin deficiency, alopecia is an additional common clinical finding associated with deficient niacin [43]. However, no studies have directly assessed niacin levels among patients presenting solely with hair loss, and studies have found no significant difference in folate levels between alopecia patients and control subjects [57,58].

“Biotin, a cofactor for carboxylation enzymes with dietary sources including protein, has been more extensively assessed for effects on hair parameters, and it is included in a variety of supplements or serums intended for hair health [44]. Genetic biotin deficiency is associated with severe dermatitis and alopecia (infantile) and sparse or absent scalp, eyebrows, and eyelash hair (infantile). Similarly, acquired biotin deficiency is characterized by alopecia and brittle nails [43]. A 2016 study assessed serum biotin levels in women with self-reported hair loss and found 38% of patients reported a biotin deficiency [59]. However, this study did not include matched controls.

Despite many misconceptions, biotin functions to increase hair strength, rather than hair growth. Furthermore, biotin can interfere with troponin and thyroid testing. For example, excess serum biotin can result in a falsely low TSH level [60], and unnecessary supplementation can lead to missed cardiac events [61]. Yet, biotin supplement use has depicted increasing trends from 1999 to 2016; a cross-sectional survey study found self-reported use of biotin at 1 mg/d or greater to increase from 0.1% (95% CI 0.0–0.05%) in 1999 to 2.8% (95% CI 1.9–3.9%) in 2015–2016 [61].

Despite biotin’s popular inclusion in marketed hair supplements, there is no indication that biotin supplementation should be used among healthy individuals [43]. While biotin supplementation has shown benefit specifically among cases in which acquired or inherited causes of biotin deficiency are identified, there is insufficient evidence supporting supplementation among healthy individuals who are not deficient [62]. Thus, vitamin B testing may only be clinically useful in cases of suspected biotin deficiency, where biotin supplementation may improve the clinical condition.”

3.2.3. Light-Based Approaches “Low level light therapy refers to therapeutic exposure to low levels of red and near infrared light [118]. Studies have demonstrated increased hair growth in mice with chemotherapy-induced alopecia and AA, in addition to both men and women human subjects. Proposed mechanisms of efficacy include stimulation of epidermal stem cells residing in the hair follicle bulge and promoting increased telogen to anagen phase transition [119].” Note: this is near infrared light that I’ve written about in another post several years ago because I thought there’s be synergy with cuprous niacin. Red Light Post.

Section 3.3 on platelet rich plasma might be a good thing to discuss with Charlie Barker’s neighbor at the Flagstaff incubator.

1. Natarelli N, Gahoonia N, Sivamani RK. Integrative and Mechanistic Approach to the Hair Growth Cycle and Hair Loss. J Clin Med. 2023 Jan 23;12(3):893. PMC free article