Does castor oil improve hair growth?

According to world statistics, 60-70% of men and 30-50% of women suffer from alopecia. What does a person who first encounters a problem do? Turns to the folk method of treatment – castor oil. How effective is it? Let's get the opinion of the experts.

Regardless of the cause, hair loss can be a psychologically painful topic for many of us. Their thinning greatly affects self-esteem and self-confidence. It is for this reason that people who want to quickly regain lost hair volume can try any remedy that promises “wonderful" results.

And although alopecia treatments have made huge strides in recent years, most people still believe in the inexpensive remedies that our grandparents used to treat them. One of them is castor oil. The most popular folk "medicine" to improve hair growth and quality.

By doing a Google search, you can find thousands of articles on how castor oil helps hair grow. Although no clinical study confirms this, unlike, for example, rosemary oil and vitamin B5.

For example, a study published in Skinmed Dermatology For The Clinician found that regular use of rosemary oil twice a day for six months was as effective in treating androgenetic alopecia as minoxidil (the active ingredient in FDA-approved Rogaine). But YouTube for some reason is replete with videos specifically about the benefits of castor oil for alopecia. Let's hear what the experts have to say.

“Castor oil does not affect hair growth,” says Perry Romanowsky, an American chemical technologist and cosmetics developer. – There is no evidence and no scientific theory to support that castor oil helps with alopecia. It is a myth". According to Romanowsky, at best, castor oil can slightly improve the flexibility of the hair fiber.

Adam Friedman, program director at the George Washington University School of Medicine, agrees with Perry Romanowsky. “Despite the fact that castor oil has antimicrobial properties that can be useful in fighting a bacterial or fungal infection on the scalp (which, by the way, can be one of the causes of alopecia), there is no evidence that it affects hair growth specifically. " says Adam Friedman. In addition, according to the specialist, some people can be allergic to castor oil and get inflammation, ending up doing more harm to the scalp than good.

In general, without confirmed clinical data, it makes no sense to talk about the benefits of castor oil for strengthening hair. If your parting has thinned noticeably, it is still worth contacting a specialist, finding out the cause and choosing an individual treatment plan with proven drugs and methods. The facts so far are not in favor of castor oil.