Noticing that your hair is thinning or balding may feel uncomfortable or knock your confidence. At first you’ll probably search for quick fixes, like a fresh new haircut or a volumizing styling product, to make your hair look fuller. But for hair that is actually thicker after hair loss, you need to boost your hair regrowth.

While the proven way to regrow hair is to use a minoxidil product like ROGAINE®, you may have heard of many other home remedies for hair growth. From hair growth supplements to rosemary oil for hair, there are a range of at home hacks that anecdotally can help on your regrowth journey. But do they work?

Home Hair Loss Remedies

We’ve taken a look at some of the most popular home remedies for hair growth to see how they hold up. It’s worth noting that these at home solutions likely won’t be able to address hair loss caused by a more serious underlying cause, so if you’re concerned about sudden shedding or bald patches it’s worth chatting with a doctor about alopecia treatments. But in the meantime, here are some favorite home remedies for hair growth:

Does Biotin Help Hair Growth?

Biotin, also known as vitamin B7, is a supplement that is commonly sold with claims to benefit healthy nail and hair growth. But despite its popularity, studies1 suggest that it is actually only likely to be helpful in cases of biotin deficiency, which are uncommon. In fact, taking biotin supplements may even be considered a safety risk, as it can lead to incorrect results for various common laboratory tests2.

The good news, however, is that a balanced diet usually contains enough dietary biotin to maintain healthy hair growth without the risks that come with excessive supplementation. Biotin-rich foods such as eggs, wheat germ and mushrooms, when eaten as part of a balanced diet, can help prevent biotin deficiency and support healthy hair growth.

Does Rosemary Oil Grow Hair?

Rosemary essential oil is an ingredient that has been used as a home remedy for hair growth for generations, so it’s no wonder that it’s still popular today. Rosemary oil has anti-inflammatory properties and an antioxidant effect on the scalp, which may help support scalp health. Studies3 have even suggested some promising results when using rosemary oil for hair growth. However, at this stage rosemary oil is not an FDA-approved treatment for hair regrowth, so cannot be confirmed as a hair loss remedy.

Saw Palmetto for Hair Loss

Saw palmetto is a popular herbal remedy that is derived from the dwarf palm tree. It is thought to help by reducing the breakdown of testosterone into DHT, the male hormone thought to cause male pattern baldness.

DHT blockers are known to be effective for androgenic alopecia and studies suggest that the efficacy of saw palmetto looks promising4. However, for now it hasn’t been proven as an effective treatment for hair loss, especially alongside other medications and DHT blockers such as finasteride.

Diet for Hair Growth

There may be a link between diet and hair loss, as proper nutrition is crucial to supply your scalp with the necessary vitamins and minerals for healthy hair growth, and deficiencies may contribute to hair loss7. The best diet for hair growth is one that contains micronutrients including iron, zinc, fatty acids, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin B, amino acids, proteins and antioxidants.

Most of these important nutrients can be found in a balanced diet. Try to include nutrient-dense foods such as eggs, berries, spinach, fatty fish, sweet potatoes, avocados and legumes in your diet to support healthy hair growth. However, it’s important to note that a balanced diet won’t reverse hair loss, rather it can help support other proven hair regrowth treatments.

Scalp Massage

Scalp massage is a popular home remedy for hair growth, thought to boost regrowth by increasing blood flow to the hair follicles on the scalp. In fact, studies5 suggest that regular massage may lead to hair growth over time. However, scalp massage has not been assessed or cleared by the FDA as an official treatment for hair loss. So while gently massaging your scalp with your fingertips may be a good addition to your at-home hair health routine, it can’t be relied upon as an effective solution for thinning or balding hair.

Yoga, Meditate & Exercise

Stress can impact hair loss, so taking lifestyle steps to reduce feelings of anxiety and worry can indirectly help promote better hair growth. Yoga is a physical practice known to support the mind, body and spirit, so adding a yoga practice6 to your self care routine can be a lifestyle option to support hair growth at home.

A Proven Treatment for Hair Growth

While home hair loss remedies may help support your hair growth and health, the reality is that they aren’t usually enough to stop or reverse hair loss and balding. Experts aren’t likely to suggest these home remedies instead of a targeted treatment, and some of them can actually interfere with existing medications or treatments. Instead, it’s better to opt for a proven effective treatment like minoxidil that can help you to actually grow new hairs and prevent your existing hair from shedding.

Minoxidil, the active ingredient in ROGAINE®, is the first FDA-approved over-the-counter product proven to regrow hair. In clinical studies, 9 out of 10 men and more than 80% of women increased their hair count after using ROGAINE® minoxidil products vs. a placebo, and ROGAINE® minoxidil products has few side effects and no known drug interactions with oral medications.

Using ROGAINE® minoxidil products is just as easy, if not easier, than many of these common home remedies for hair loss, and applying ROGAINE® minoxidil products just once or twice a day will help you to regrow thicker, fuller hair. Try ROGAINE®’s range of minoxidil products for men and women, and take control of your hair every day.

Sources

  1. Patel DP, Swink SM, Castelo-Soccio L. A Review of the Use of Biotin for Hair Loss. Skin Appendage Disord. 2017;3(3):166-169. doi:10.1159/000462981

  2. Gifford JL, Sadrzadeh SMH, Naugler C. Biotin interference: Underrecognized patient safety risk in laboratory testing. Can Fam Physician. 2018;64(5):370.

  3. 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;13(1):15-21.

  4. Prager N, Bickett K, French N, Marcovici G. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of botanically derived inhibitors of 5-alpha-reductase in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia [published correction appears in J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Mar;12(2):199]. J Altern Complement Med. 2002;8(2):143-152. doi:10.1089/acm.2002.8.143

  5. Koyama T, Kobayashi K, Hama T, Murakami K, Ogawa R. Standardized Scalp Massage Results in Increased Hair Thickness by Inducing Stretching Forces to Dermal Papilla Cells in the Subcutaneous Tissue. Eplasty. 2016;16:e8. Published 2016 Jan 25.

  6. Amandeep & Kaur, Gurneet. (2019). A MANAGEMENT MODEL TO PROMOTE HAIR GROWTH FOR ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA CASES THROUGH YOGA & AYURVEDA. 10.30876/JOHR.6.4.2018.301-306.

  7. Almohanna HM, Ahmed AA, Tsatalis JP, Tosti A. The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Hair Loss: A Review. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2019;9(1):51-70. doi:10.1007/s13555-018-0278-6
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