Study Suggests Supplement for Hair Loss in Women

by | Apr 18, 2016 | 2015, Antioxidants, Fish Oil Supplements, Hair and Nails, Omega - 3, Women's Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. After 6 months of supplementation with fish oil, black current oil, lycopene and vitamins C and E, 62% of  the 79 supplemented subjects had an “increase in hair density” compared to 28% of the 39 subjects in the control group.

Female pattern hair loss is often observed after puberty in females (1) and mainly affects the crown and the frontal scalp. Although female pattern hair loss has no serious health consequences, those affected often find it “distressing”. The condition can affect up to 50% of women over the age of 50 (2, 3). The cause of female pattern hair loss is poorly understood, but is thought to be affected by heredity, inflammation, hormone changes, or decreased blood vessel health (4, 5, 6).

Now a new study (7) suggests a certain combination of nutrients may benefit hair growth in women. The study involved 118 females aged 18 to 65 with a body mass index between 18 and 27 kg/m2 and stage I hair loss according to the Ludwig scale. They received either a placebo (control group = 39 subjects) or a nutritional supplement providing a daily dose of 460 milligrams fish oil, 460 mg black currant seed oil, 5 mg Vitamin E, 30 mg Vitamin C, and 1 mg Lycopene (79 subjects) for 6 months. These nutrients were chosen with the hope of affecting inflammation levels and blood vessel health that is thought to contribute to hair loss.

Photographs were taken of each subject before and after the study. The photos were evaluated by an expert using previous methods in research (8) to grade the change in hair density. This involved using a 7-point scale, with a “3” designated as “greatly increased” to “-3” designated as “greatly decreased”. In addition, the characteristics of the subjects’ hair was examined using the trichogram technique (9).

After 6 months, photographic evaluation showed “a superior improvement in the supplemented group” regarding overall hair growth, with 62% of supplemented subjects showing “an increased hair density” compared to only 28.2% of subjects in the control group (p < 0.001). In addition, the presence of “thinning” hair (hair thinner than 40 micrometers in diameter) in the supplemented group decreased from 20% to 10% compared to a 2% drop (21% to 19%) in the control group (p < 0.001). Finally, using the trichogram technique, those in the supplemented group saw a 5.9% increase in supplement group (75.71 to 80.21) compared to a 2.8% decrease in the placebo group (78.01 to 75.88) (p < 0.001).

For the researchers, “this study demonstrated that supplementation with a combination of specific omega 3&6 and antioxidants improves the overall scalp coverage and hair condition” and that “The nutritional supplement provides a new alternative in the treatment of female pattern hair loss.”

Source: Floc’h, Le, et al. “Effect of a nutritional supplement on hair loss in women.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology 14.1 (2015): 76-82.

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Posted March 24, 2015.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

  1. Olsen EA. Female pattern hair loss. In: U Blume-Peytavi, A Tosti, D Whiting et al., eds. Hair Growth and Disorders. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2008: pp. 171– 86
  2. Cash TF, Price VH, Savin RC. Psychological effects of androgenetic alopecia on women: comparisons with balding men and with female control subjects. J Am Acad Dermatol 1993; 29: 568–75
  3. Birch MP, Lalla SC, Messenger AG. Female pattern hair loss. Clin Exp Dermatol 2002; 27: 383–8
  4. Deloche C, de Lacharriere O, Misciali C et al. Histological features of peripilar signs associated with androgenetic alopecia. Arch Dermatol Res 2004; 295: 422–8
  5. Hernandez BA. Is androgenic alopecia a result of endocrine effects on the vasculature? Med Hypotheses 2004; 62: 438–41.
  6. Reygagne P, de Lacharriere O. Alopecia. In: C Bouillon, J Wilkinson, eds. The Science of Hair Care, 2nd edn. New York: Taylor & Francis; 2005: pp. 559–82
  7. Le Floc’h C. Effect of a nutritional supplement on hair loss in women. J Cosmet Dermatol 2015 Mar;14(1):76-82. doi: 10.1111/jocd.12127. Epub 2015 Jan 8
  8. Kaufman K, Binkowitz B, Savin R et al. Reproducibility of global photographic assessments of patients with male pattern baldness in a clinical trial with finasteride. J Invest Dermatol 1995; 104: 659.
  9. Blume-Peytavi U, Hillmann K, Guarrera M. Hair growth assessment techniques. In: U Blume-Peytavi, A Tosti, D Whiting et al. eds. Hair Growth and Disorders. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, 2008: 125–57