The Top 6 Shampoos For Alopecia: An Honest Review
March 6, 2019
41 Comments
I get questions about this all the time. Readers comment under posts, they email me, plus I see it in plenty of hair loss forums. People wanna know: Do natural remedies for hair loss exist? What are the best natural treatments for alopecia? And can homemade remedies be as effective as topical creams like Minoxidil or supplements like Finasteride…without the dodgy side effects?
Good news:
The downside? Many natural remedies for hair loss are anecdotal rather than science-based. The ones that have undergone clinical trials need wider studies to really prove they can help hair growth. Still, I’m happy to share what’s worked for me – the raw ingredients plus the top products that contain them.
Coming up:
LA Says: Each of the natural remedies below are best taken raw – you probably have most of them at home already! But if you don’t fancy the mess, hassle (or weird smells!) of the pure ingredients, check out my favourite over-the-counter products below. 🙂
Great natural hair loss remedies need great natural ingredients. So let’s take a close look at the fresh items that can reduce shedding, volumize thinning hair and even stimulate hair growth.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: aloe vera is a green goddess of plants! Drink the juice for a strong immune system and a healthy gut. Or rub the fresh stuff on your scalp, and your hair, to benefit from its anti-inflammatory agents – like choline salicylate, which treats androgenetic alopecia (aka male pattern baldness).
Aloe vera also includes proteolytic enzymes, which stimulate hair follicles and repair damaged cells in your scalp. And a healthy scalp = healthy hair!
How to use:
LA Says: I love aloe gel and use it whenever my head feels hot, or my scalp irritated. But the fresh gel can stain, so be careful of your clothes! If you can’t find the plant, Green Leaf Naturals do an amazing version that’s cold-pressed, organic and almost 100% pure aloe gel.
One of the reasons I love managing Lady Alopecia is how much I can learn from my readers. And using apple cider vinegar for hair growth only crossed my radar as a result of a Facebook message I got – if the same girl reads this, you know who you are…thank you! 🙂
I now use it regularly and love how shiny and soft it leaves my remaining hair. The best feature of ACV is that it fights bacteria, gently exfoliates excess sebum/oil and keeps a balanced pH level in your scalp – which in turn, stimulates hair growth.
How to use:
LA Says: This is another liquid that’s great for gut health – so keep a bottle in your kitchen AND in your shower! I always use this one from Bragg Organics, and I love that it’s in a glass bottle, too.
Can caffeine help hair loss and growth? Yep, it helps both! Clinical studies show caffeine to be a natural DHT blocker, which can be just as effective as topical minoxidil at the 6-month mark. DHT is a byproduct of testosterone, which is linked to hair loss and specifically, male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia, or AA). That’s why dermatologists include it in this popular thinning hair shampoo and why you shouldn’t let the residue from that morning brew go to waste.
Caffeine also increases blood circulation to the scalp – to deliver nutrients that nourish hair follicles and stimulate growth. Have you ever used coffee grounds in a homemade body scrub? I have, and it’s amazing! Now you can bring the same nourishing qualities to your noggin with this simple coffee rinse…
How to use:
LA Says: Although caffeine can boost hair growth, that doesn’t mean you should drink a gallon of coffee a day! In fact, drinking too much caffeine can affect your adrenal glands and trigger stress – potentially hair loss, too. Better to try it as a caffeine rinse, or in a ready-made shampoo. This one from Ultrax Labs gets great reviews in terms of thickening and moisturizing hair.
This is one natural remedy for bald patches I wish I used more often! Ginger is pretty amazing – and you can read my full post about it here.
When you eat it, it brings down inflammation in the gut and keeps your immune system strong. If you’ve ever got rid of a cold with hot water, ginger and lemon, you’ll know what I mean!
But this humble root can help your hair grow, too! Its anti-inflammatory compounds are great for addressing scalp conditions (like seborrheic dermatitis or dandruff). It also contains essential fatty acids to prevent thinning hair. Plus, it has powerful circulatory agents to boost blood flow (and therefore, nutrients) to the scalp. I noticed a tingling sensation, even a little redness, after rubbing fresh ginger onto my bald patches – but in a good way!
How to use:
LA Says: You really need to apply this natural remedy consistently for best results. I’d start seeing progress but I never remembered to buy enough ginger, or to rub it on my head every night! So if it seems like too much effort to rub the fresh stuff in daily, you can take it as a supplement, or try a ginger-based shampoo like the one below.
This one has probably given me the fastest results for hair growth – again, when I remember to use it daily! Just like the hair protein keratin, onions are high in sulphur, which gives hair strength and elasticity. Without enough sulphur, you get brittle hair that breaks easily.
One study showed that 74% of participants saw growth after using onion juice twice a day for two weeks. By 6 weeks it was up to 87%, and was “significantly higher among males (93.7%) compared to females (71.4%)”.
Fresh onions have worked for my alopecia areata, too! Right after using it, I noticed tingling and redness within my bald patches (like I did with ginger, but more intense). Then, after just two weeks, I had white vellus hairs (like a downy fuzz) creeping back in! Unfortunately, I didn’t keep it up long enough because I was sick of the smell, and the effort – I should try again, though. 😉
How to use:
LA Says: Try this treatment for 2 weeks (NOT if you have an onion allergy!) Stick with it and tell me if it works! You can add a little lemon or 2 drops of your favourite essential oil to cover the smell. 😉 There aren’t many commercial onion juice shampoos out there but I’ve just found this 100% natural hair oil that contains onion juice PLUS 9 other natural hair growth oils. I’m dying to try it!
As I’ve said before, peppermint essential oil for hair growth can be even more effective than minoxidil. But for now, I just wanna talk about the raw stuff – mint leaves – and how you can use it, right from the plant (or the packet!)
With its high carotene and antioxidant content, mint comes with natural antifungal properties that helps eliminate the damage of free radicals and balance your natural oils. Which is great for treating dandruff and other scalp conditions. Plus, when massaged into the scalp, menthol widens blood vessels to increase the flow of essential nutrients. Which can stimulate hair growth.
There’s a reason why the best hair loss shampoos include mint extract. Because it works!
How to use:
LA Says: I actually haven’t used fresh mint as a topical treatment before. (I do drink it daily though, with hot water, ginger and turmeric. Yum.) My favourite way to apply it is a few drops of peppermint essential oil (PEO), mixed with 2 tbs castor oil. I’ve seen vellus hairs grow as a result of using PEO regularly, too…so if you don’t fancy making a mess with the leaves, try the oil instead!
I’m a little in awe of turmeric’s many health benefits. I’ve written about these, and specifically how it can help hair growth, in this post. But to summarise, the curcumin that gives turmeric its yellow colour also brings it a bunch of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
Turmeric boosts collagen production, clears excess scalp oil/sebum and helps your skin to glow and hair to shine! But although there are topical treatments (like this turmeric oil) I’d actually recommend you ingest it instead.
What makes it different to the other ingredients on this list?
You shouldn’t rub fresh turmeric root on your scalp, unless you’re diluting it with a fair quantity of carrier oil. Even then, I’d be reluctant…because turmeric stains. A lot. And we want to fill in those bald spots with hair, not what looks like yellow paint!
LA Says: My recommendation? Drink the fresh stuff (powdered or root) in hot water with ginger, lemon and mint each morning. Or enjoy the full immune-boosting benefits of curcumin by taking it as a supplement.
You probably don’t have these in your kitchen – they’re less easy to source. But keep an eye out for the following natural ingredients in your hair care products! I’ll recommend some of my favourites, too. 🙂
The daddy of natural DHT blockers, with awesome antioxidant action, saw palmetto is in any hair loss treatment worth its salt. Like this one from Shapiro MD.
You may see this listed as Epigallocatechin Gallate: this green/white tea extract kickstarts the anagen (growth phase) of the hair-growth cycle. It’s present in Shapiro MD and in Nioxin, too.
A nutrient that works with proteins in the body for healthier skin, hair and nails, also known as Vitamin H or Vitamin B7. If you have dry, brittle hair (or nails) you could have a biotin deficiency. So look for hair products with biotin or make sure you’re getting enough by taking some biotin-rich supplements like Folexin – which, FYI, also has saw palmetto and other great natural ingredients for your hair.
I’m a massive fan of using natural oils to nourish the scalp, moisturize the scalp and encourage hair growth, too. So if you want to add another prong to your strategy of rubbing some of the above household remedies on your scalp, and eating others, I’d definitely stock up on at least one of the following oils.
I won’t go into the benefits of each individual oil here – because I talk about them in detail here. But here’s a quick look at my best oils for hair growth, plus one brand I’d recommend for each one.
Yes, in most cases there’s no bad side effects at all. Just avoid them if you have an allergy. 😉
Every day, if possible.
Because they’re all-natural, results may take a little longer than with a more chemical-heavy approach. Although I did see faster results with peppermint oil and onion so you never know…
I’ve included plenty of household ingredients you can use to treat your thinning hair or hair loss. And I’d say, out of all these remedies, I’d say onion juice is my favourite – simply because I saw such fast results and because it’s so cheap!
Peppermint is an amazing natural remedy too, but I’ve only used it as an oil – so it’s not technically something you’d have in your kitchen already! 😉
My advice? Try them all and see what’s best for you. You could work your way down this list, giving each ingredient 2-3 weeks to find the most effective – or dedicate a day a week to each one. (With one day as a “rest day” but obviously if you’re taking turmeric supplements, you’ll take them every day.)
I’m really curious to gather some empirical evidence about this – so please feel free to share your experiences in the comments below. What’s worked for you, what hasn’t, what have I missed…let me know!
Enjoy the natural approach to hair loss. And take good care.
Get free, semi-regular alopecia-related news things and musings.
Psst… If no welcome email shows up, check your spam.
Alopecian. Yoga Teacher. Copywriter. Here to share information, offer support and show people the adventures that can lie in hair loss. I’m proud to have alopecia and I want to help others embrace their baldness, too!
Every month, thousands with hair woes visit my site. The more the merrier! But it takes AGES to write posts and reply to emails. Don’t get me wrong, I love it! But running a website isn’t free. So I’m trying something new: I’m asking for your support. If Lady Alopecia has helped you, please consider buying me a (virtual) coffee or even become a patron of the site. Thanks!
I’m Emma. I’ve had alopecia for 24 years and I’m here to inform/hopefully empower people like me! Read my full story here. But I’m not a doctor, so any advice here is based on my own research and experience. I’m also in a few affiliate programs – see my disclaimer page for more. Or contact me here. Also, why not join a thousand fellow alopecians and get my-semi regular hair about life with irregular hair?
Psst… If no welcome email shows up, check your spam.
Small print time: Ladyalopecia.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Copyright © 2023, Lady Alopecia. All rights reserved. Important – By using this website, you promise not to steal stuff. Thank you kindly.
Join the gang and receive semi-regular news and joy from someone with very irregular hair.
6 responses
I am new to this. I am still sad because I lost my curls. Do you know how I can accept this condition? I found it to be so hard. I don’t mind shaving my hair, but people here in Indonesia associate bald women with lesbians (I personally don’t mind to be accused of being lesbians, but it’s dangerous here, the muslims hate LGBTQI+ group). I don’t know what to do. The hair I have left is only the size of a pinky finger.
Hi Rose, thank you so much for sharing your story, for being vulnerable and honest and for giving a voice to, I’m sure, many women feeling the same way. You’re in an incredibly tough situation and even one that sounds dangerous (how awful, to have fear piled ontop of everything else). Could you wear a headscarf, if that is something you’d be comfortable with? I know, it’s not a long-term solution. But maybe just to help you feel a bit more confident, or if you would like to blend in a bit more.
Is there any medical professional you can see about the reason behind your hair loss? As I mention here, alopecia can be triggered by various things so it can be hard to treat without knowing the cause. In saying that, I found Revita, Nioxin and Vegamour to all be really helpful – I talk about them more in this post.
It’s a cliche, but typically time does help with acceptance. I got used to my new look after a while, and even learned to enjoy it (trying out new styles etc, I got my head henna’d for a friend’s wedding recently!) But I don’t have to feel for my safety because of it, just cruel comments. So I appreciate things might be different for you and I wish you all the very best of love and luck with whatever cover-up or treatment you try in the meantime.
Keep in touch. x
Hello
I’m 23 years old and I started noticing my hair thinning near the front of my scalp and the very back in August. I have three largish patches and two very very small ones now and I just want to know more about this. My doctor doesn’t really tell me anything more than what I’ve researched.
Not sure if you reach out to people but I’d love to chat with you. I don’t know anyone personally who’s ever had this other than my dad who also doesn’t really tell me much.
Arianna, thank you for your message. (And I’m sorry, I just got back to your Instagram one!) Thank you for sharing your story with me and I’m really sorry to hear about your recent hair loss – I’m getting more and more messages from people about hair loss this year so clearly, the pandemic and all the stress around it is taking its toll in this way, too. Have you ever had hair loss before, or is this your first time? Did the patches appear quickly, or was shedding more gradual? It sounds like it is probably stress related although if you have a look at this post, there are different factors involved. I am actually halfway through teaching a Yoga for Alopecia course, where I offer stress-reducing tips, guided meditation/breathing exercises and live classes/chats to help people cope with and reduce hair loss. (I’m also a yoga teacher, btw!) It’s the first time I’ve chatted with and advised fellow alopecians face to face (well, through Zoom!) and it’s a wonderful experience. I’ll be doing it again in February if you’re interested! I think it could be of great help. Also, I’ve been learning that our diet plays a huge role and have noticed more hair growth since giving up inflammatory foods like gluten, eggs, soy and dairy. Check out this post for more on that!
I hope that information proves useful for you? Please feel free to join my newsletter if you haven’t already or let me know if you want any more info, on the yoga course or otherwise!!
Some time ago I began losing hair due to autoimmune hyperthyroidism. I used millet supplements, and everything was ok. Stay safe and good luck from Italy!
Hi Luciana,
Thanks so much for your comment, that’s really helpful! Yes, it’s funny, we’re all so different and interesting to hear certain deficiencies that can impact our immune system. It’s wonderful that the millet supplements work for you! Take care and good luck from Vietnam! 🙂