Alternative Remedies for Hair Loss: Do they work?

For as long as men and women have lost their hair, there has been weird and wonderful home remedies to sure it. Here we will cover some of those that have some credibility as well as some that have no scientific backing.

Onion Juice

Onions are full of nutrients that have the potential to be beneficial to hair growth by increasing volume, shine and hair strength. The extra nutrition from the onion juice may also help to prevent breakage and thinning. The theory on how Onion Juice works is the high levels of sulfur found naturally in onions. Sulfur is a key component of Keratin production, the protein that your hair is made of. Studies are very limited so just how successful Onion Juice can be be is unknown. While some people may find success with it, we can’t imagine it’s the most pleasant treatment for hair loss available.

Saw Palmetto

Saw Palmetto is an extract from the fruit of a small palm tree, which has been shown in clinical studies to be a DHT inhibitor. DHT is the underlying cause of male and female pattern baldness and so inhibiting the production of DHT can lead to preventing further hair loss. Saw Palmetto is typically taken as an oral tablet, but can be found as a topical lotion as well.

However studies of Saw Palmetto being used as a Hair Loss remedy have so far proven inconclusive on how effective it can be.

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

This medical procedure involves injected platelet-rich plasma into the scalp. This plasma comes from your own blood, and is thought to help rejuvenate your hair follicles. An amount of your blood is taken and then spun in a centrifuge. This process separates the plasma in your blood from the red blood cells, which can then be re-injected into the scalp. Your Plasma contains many of the growth factors contained in your blood. Increasing the growth factors in the scalp will mean your cells are able to produce a thicker and healthier hair follicle. As well as the plasma, the trauma caused by the injections into the scalp will also increase the blood flow to the area so that the body can heal correctly. This will bring with it additional growth factors carried by the red blood cells.

In total there is growing scientific evidence that PRP treatments can be an effective treatment for hair loss. However treatments must be repeated every 4-6 months to continue to see the results, and the treatments can be expensive costing several hundred pounds per session.

Scalp Massage

Scalp massaging works by stimulating an increased blood flow to the scalp. With this greater blood flow, there will be more growth factors brought into the scalp that will encourage better hair growth. A small Japanese study did find that men who massaged their scalps for 4 minutes per day over a 6 month period did see thicker hair growth. This study used a small electronic device to massage the scalp. While this is a promising start, scalp massaging isn’t going to prevent further hair loss as it won’t be treating the underlying cause of the hair loss.