5 Herbs to Fight Hair Loss

Your ‘crowning glory’, or your hair, plays a huge role in your well-being. Aside from having health benefits such as protecting your scalp from the heat in warm weather and controlling heat loss in cold weather, it carries social functions.

Society gives great importance on appearance, and hair is one of the first aspects of an individual that are noticed. Thus, having hair loss problems can result in a feeling of being unattractive and a low self-esteem.

However, most have not yet tried alternative medicine as a solution to their problem. They have not realized that herbal remedies have several advantages over commercial ones. Herbal hair loss remedies are easy to procure, inexpensive, and safe since they are natural and cause no side effects.

Here are 5 few herbs that are believed to help reduce hair loss and aid in encouraging hair re-growth:


1. Aloe Vera

This has been used for centuries by Indian tribes in South America. They claim that aloe vera makes their hair thick and healthy. Rub some aloe vera gel onto your hair and scalp every night.

Aloe vera has an enzyme called superoxide dismutase. That, plus its ability to trigger the formation of nitric oxide, will stimulate hair growth in people who have male or female pattern baldness.


2. Green Tea

It is believed that drinking several cups of green tea a day or ingesting it in capsule form will reduce the risk of having pattern baldness. The antioxidants called catechins that are found in green tea inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha reductase.


3. Red Pepper

Apply red pepper flesh directly to the scalp. This will serve as a skin irritant that will promote the release of histamine, which is a protein involved in allergic reactions.


4. Nettle Root

The root extracts of nettle is very helpful in combating hair loss. If none can be found, you can buy it in pill or capsule form. Nettle root contains lipids and minerals that will stimulate your hair follicles and thus encourage the re-growth of hair.

You can take it alone, but it is more effective when used with saw palmetto. Get a few saw palmetto gel capsules and pierce them. Combine five drops of it with an equal amount of nettle root extracts. Combine them well and rub the mixture gently onto your scalp. Leave this on for an hour to let it absorb.

Similar to stinging nettle, saw palmetto blocks the formation of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a form of testosterone that induces hair loss and prostate growth.

Note that this treatment is not recommended for pregnant and nursing women.


5. Dong Quai

This herb is also known as Angelica. It can be found in traditional Chinese drug stores. This herb contains phytoestrogens that decrease the production of DHT. Dong Quai can also be used by women. If you combine Dong Quai with nettle root, then you will probably have a regimen that’s stronger than most natural hair loss treatments on the market.