Oil For Hair Loss Prevention and Regrowth: What Natural Treatment Works Best?
Are there natural treatments that really work for hair loss?
Hair loss is a frustrating predicament, one that can easily leave you discouraged with reduced confidence. But at GroMD, we believe that losing your hair isn’t an option. Feeling great about the way you look matters a lot, and we are here to help you get a head of hair that you love.
One of the most important aspects of preventing hair loss and promoting hair regrowth is putting together a strong hair care regimen, including your daily hair care routine with the combination of products that you use topically (shampoo, conditioner, hair loss treatments, sprays and more), as well as the growth-promoting components in your diet and lifestyle. Taking good care of your hair and knowing which ingredients to include in your daily regimen can make a major difference in the way your hair looks, feels and grows.
This post serves as your go-to guide to natural hair loss treatments. These oils, extracts and other ingredients are the best out there, offering your hair the nutrients and moisture it needs to grow well and work against the negative effects of DHT, the primary hormone behind pattern hair loss in men and women.
Natural DHT Blockers: What Are They, and What Do They Do?
DHT is an easy-to-remember acronym for dihydrotestosterone, which is part of a class of hormones found in the male and female body known as androgens. Androgens are male sex hormones – they are responsible for masculine physical characteristics like facial hair, voice depth, and more. This is the group of hormones that contains testosterone, which is converted into DHT in the bodies of both men and women.
DHT helps your body undergo the physical changes that occur in puberty. However, as you get older, you don’t want your body to be converting as much of its testosterone into DHT. Too much dihydrotestosterone in your system can have a negative effect on your hair, causing it to thin out in certain places, leading to a condition called androgenic alopecia (ADA).
ADA is the leading cause of hair loss in men and women over the age of 50, affecting a quarter of women and half of men past that age.
For men, ADA causes male pattern hair loss, typically thinning out the top of a man’s head and causing his hairline to recede, exposing more of his scalp above his forehead.
For women, ADA causes female pattern hair loss. ADA in females most often shows up as visible thinning in any parts or divides in a woman with ADA’s head.
Although the condition is less common for women, it affects millions of individuals, both male and female, especially as they age.
So, what can you do to prevent DHT from impacting your hair’s ability to grow? One of the best practices to maintain is using topical DHT-blocking ingredients on your hair. Some naturally-derived oils, extracts, herbs and compounds have been found to inhibit the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, allowing your hair to grow faster, longer and fuller.
What natural ingredients should you be including in your hair care routine?
Now that you know the importance of using DHT-blocking ingredients to boost your hair’s growth rate and help prevent it from thinning out, it’s time to cover some of the key naturally-derived, DHT-blocking powerhouses to include in your hair care routine.
Caffeine
First off, one of the growth-promoting, DHT-blocking ingredients that you might not have expected to see on this list is caffeine. Caffeine is more than just the chemical compound that allows coffee and tea to wake you up in the morning – it also can have numerous benefits for your hair.
In addition to acting as a natural DHT blocker, caffeine can boost your hair’s cellular metabolism, allowing for a faster growth rate and stimulating new growth. DHT slows down your hair’s transition from the telegen (rest) stage to the anagen (growth) stage, creating a longer gap between growth phases. Caffeine can help to stimulate hair growth while naturally blocking testosterone’s conversion into DHT.
Argan Oil
Derived from the fruit of the Moroccan argan tree, argan oil is one of the best ingredients you can add to your hair care routine to keep your hair healthy and hydrated while boosting its growth. Argan oil is a conditioning agent that can work to counteract any dryness or irritation that might be caused by the other topical treatments in your hair loss prevention regimen.
Using a hair growth shampoo and conditioner that contains argan oil can help to prevent negative effects from an over-dried or irritated scalp. Scalp inflammation can hinder your hair’s ability to grow, and it is well worth it to include ingredients like argan oil in your hair care routine to treat your scalp as well as your hair.
Saw Palmetto
Saw palmetto is another natural ingredient with numerous benefits for your hair. It has an evidence-backed ability to reduce DHT production, which can help increase your hair’s ability to grow faster, fuller and thicker.
One of saw palmetto’s unique benefits for your hair is its ability to work against DHT’s shrinking effect on your hair follicles. DHT can cause follicle shrinkage that leads to a slower growth rate and thinner, shorter hair. Using a shampoo and conditioner that contains saw palmetto can help to reverse the effects, giving your hair a chance to grow faster and start looking thicker.
Pumpkin Seed Extract
Another growth-promoting, DHT-blocking ingredient that might surprise you is pumpkin seed extract. This natural derivative of the seeds of the pumpkin fruit (yes, you read that right – pumpkins are fruits!) helps to prevent the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. The hair-thinning effects of DHT can be balanced out by using a shampoo and conditioner that includes pumpkin seed extract alongside other natural DHT blockers.
Stay consistent with your hair care routine and be patient with your results.
When it comes to preventing and reversing hair loss, there is always a bit of anxious anticipation in waiting to see results. However, whenever you introduce a new ingredient to your hair, no matter how powerful and effective it is, your scalp and follicles need time to adjust. Patience and consistency are the keys to success!
When your goals are reducing hair loss and wanting your hair to start to grow thicker and fuller, naturally-derived ingredients with DHT-blocking properties can be a huge help in getting you the results you are looking for.
Allow new ingredients time to work and don’t give up on an ingredient or product if it does not yield immediate results. Fighting hair loss can sometimes feel like an uphill battle, but there is hope, and there are numerous ingredients that can yield great results.
To learn more about how to take care of your hair, visit the groMD blog for more helpful articles that get in-depth about the high-quality ingredients that we use in our hair growth products.
Our shampoo and conditioner combo and follicle activator spray are packed with natural ingredients that can have a major positive impact on your hair. All of the ingredients covered in this post are included in our products, which are specially formulated to block DHT, boost hair growth and reverse hair loss.
Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.
Sources:
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/dht