Does Rosemary, Lavender or Peppermint Oil Stop Hair Loss?

These oils may be a game-changer for hair loss in women

Written by: Jill Team
Reviewed by: Registered Pharmacist & Doctor of Pharmacy Sarah Bento-De Sousa

Essential oils have been used for millennia to help with a variety of ailments, but have recently resurfaced as a way to replace or augment ‘Western’ based medical solutions. Hair loss, particularly for women, is a condition with some huge affects on mental health. For many of us, the thinning or loss of our hair is a big blow to our confidence, feelings of attractiveness and even our femininity. It’s no wonder women who are experiencing hair loss are looking for solutions.

While there are a few clinically proven and highly effective medications (such as minoxidil and biotin), many women want to supplement those medicines with natural-based solutions. We’ll walk you through the three most promising options to help reduce hair loss, and even regrow your locks: rosemary, lavender and peppermint.

Essential oils are always safe, right?
Essential oils often are very highly concentrated, and the active ingredients in them can have significant effects on your health, as well as potentially interacting with other medications you may be on. Just because they come from plants, doesn’t mean they’re always safe. Always check in with your medical team before starting any new treatment, essential oils or medications.

Rosemary oil: option 1 for tackling hair loss
Rosemary, also known as Rosmarinus officinalis, is a herb native to the Mediterranean. You’re likely familiar with it being used as a cooking spice. This herb has antioxidant, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties.1,2 Also: delicious on roasted potatoes.

Historically, it’s been used for a variety of medicinal purposes such as:1,3

  • Alopecia
  • Anxiety
  • Eczema
  • Headache
  • Insect repellent
  • Muscle and joint pain

How does it work?
Due to limited studies, scientists aren’t 100% sure about how rosemary works to stimulate hair growth. However, they have made some educated guesses:

1. Theorised to increase blood circulation4: this means hair follicles get more nutrients and therefore are more likely to grow and be healthy.
2. Decreased dihydrotestosterone (DHT) action5 : this means that it may reduce a hormone, created from testosterone, that encourages hair loss.

Rosemary is known to increase microcapillary perfusion which is a fancy way of saying it can increase nutrient-rich blood circulation to your hair follicles and thus, facilitate hair growth.6
Rosemary has also been shown to decrease dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a more potent version of testosterone. The body creates DHT in your scalp, which should facilitate hair growth. However if there is too much DHT, it can increase scalp pressure which can result in short hair follicles over time, and less growth. If the follicles are feeling squished, then they won’t grow hair.

Rosemary oil can also improve the appearance of your hair by making it silkier and shinier2 as well as helping with greasy hair and dandruff.8

What does the evidence say?
One 2015 study compared rosemary oil with minoxidil 2% as treatment for one of the most common types of hair loss, androgenic alopecia or genetic balding and thinning of hair due to aging.2 The study group of 100 patients was randomly split between the rosemary oil or minoxidil treatments. The study found that 1 mL of rosemary oil applied twice a day was just as effective as minoxidil 2% in significantly increasing hair count by the six month mark.

What did the patients say?
Based on a patient questionnaire, all patients who tried rosemary oil experienced at least a mild decrease in hair loss at the three and six month mark. However, not all patients experienced an increase in hair growth by the six month mark. The lack of hair growth was common to both the rosemary and minoxidil 2% patient groups, so this finding didn’t signify that rosemary oil was any less effective than minoxidil 2%.

Side effects of rosemary oil
Common side effects to both rosemary oil and minoxidil 2% which were experienced by patients in the study include dry or greasy hair, scalp itch, and dandruff.2

Who should and shouldn’t use rosemary oil
Rosemary is not safe for everyone.
It’s best to avoid rosemary as a medicine if any of the following apply to you:1,3,8

  • Aspirin Allergy
  • Asthma
  • Bleeding Disorder
  • Breastfeeding
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Pregnant (potential abortive effects)
  • Seizure Disorder (high camphor content leads to neurotoxic effects)
  • Ulcers
  • Ulcerative Colitis

Rosemary can decrease iron absorption and potentially decrease blood sugar as well. If you have an iron deficiency or diabetes, you may be affected and should definitely check with your medical team before starting this treatment.1

Rosemary oil should never be ingested since it can be highly toxic – this is specific to prepared and marketed rosemary oil for hair loss, not the spices you have in your cupboard.3

Drug interactions with rosemary
Rosemary can have multiple drug interactions with other medications or natural health products. Common interactions include, but are not limited to:1

  • Aspirin
  • Anticoagulants or antiplatelets
  • Diabetes medications
  • Medications broken down by specific liver enzymes (ie. CYP1A1 and CYP1A2)

Talk to your healthcare provider to ensure rosemary doesn’t interact with your current medications or treatments.

Formulations
With natural health products, it can be difficult to standardise exactly what is inside each product due to less strict regulations in comparison to prescription products. What part of the rosemary plant is being used? The roots, bark, leaves, or flowers? How much is used per dose? When checking labels of rosemary oil, check for minimal ingredient lists, and if it says what percentage of the product is the active ingredient.

Common available products include dried powdered extracts, alcohol tinctures, teas, liquid extract, and volatile oil (for external use only).3

Our key takeaways for rosemary oil for hair loss:

  1. Rosemary oil may be effective for hair loss based on evidence from one 2015 study.
  2. Rosemary is not completely safe. With multiple drug and disease interactions, it’s important to consult a healthcare provider before using this herb medicinally.
  3. Hair care products take time! Study participants didn’t see a significant difference until six months after they started using their product. Remember to have patience when trying hair care products.

Option #2: what about Lavender oil?
Also native to the Mediterranean, the lavender plant has been used for multiple medicinal and non-medicinal purposes. Notably, lavender has been deemed “possibly effective” for improving anxiety, depression, period cramps, and post-operative pain.10

What does the evidence say?
One 1998 study enrolled 86 patients with alopecia areata, a type of hair loss caused by the body’s own immune system attacking hair follicles.12,13 The study compared the once daily use of thyme, rosemary, lavender, and cedarwood essential oils mixed with carrier oils compared to carrier oils alone. While the group using the essential oil combination product showed improvement, it’s difficult to pinpoint the specific oil which was beneficial. How do we know which oil or if all oils helped, if a combination product was applied?

One 2016 study specifically tested for the hair-growth promoting effects of lavender oil in mice. The study found that mice using lavender oil had significantly increased hair follicles and hair follicle depth by the four week mark, which supports the use of lavender as a hair growth promoting agent.14

Lavender oil for hair loss side effects:
When applied topically (i.e. to your scalp), lavender oil may cause some skin irritation. However, it is generally well-tolerated by most people. And you smell incredible when you use it.

Who should and shouldn’t use lavender oil
Lavender should be avoided in the following situations:10

  • pregnancy and breastfeeding (due to lack of safety data)
  • sedation (before surgery or if taking other sedatives since it can potentially increase sedation)

Our key takeaways for lavender oil for hair loss:
We don’t have a lot of data to support lavender oil use in humans for hair loss. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t work. Ask your healthcare provider if lavender is safe for you to use, especially in conjunction with other prescription hair loss treatments like minoxidil.

Peppermint Oil as hair loss option #3
Peppermint is a hybrid herb of the spearmint and wild mint plant species. It’s grown in the Mediterranean, North America, and Europe and has has antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects.15

What does the evidence say?
In one study, researchers compared 3% peppermint oil to saline, jojoba oil, and 3% minoxidil in mice for hair growth. Peppermint oil resulted in similar hair thickness and length by the 4 week mark in comparison to 3 % minoxidil, which is a common drug used for hair loss. Researchers found that the peppermint oil also resulted in faster hair growth in comparison to 3% minodoxil.16

Side effects of peppermint oil
Other than smelling like a delicious candy cane, when applied topically peppermint oil may cause skin irritation, redness, or burning.15

Who should and shouldn’t use peppermint oil

  • If you are pregnant or breastfeeding it’s best to check with your healthcare provider to ensure the specific product you are interested in using is safe for you.
  • Peppermint can have multiple drug interactions since it can affect how the liver breaks down medications. It can also interact with cyclosporine, a drug used for suppressing the immune system.
  • Peppermint can also interfere with iron absorption.15

Our key takeaways for peppermint oil for hair loss:
We don’t have a lot of data to support peppermint oil use in humans for hair loss. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t work. Although it is unlikely to reach high blood concentrations if you use it topically, it’s best to confirm safety before you use it. Ask your healthcare provider if lavender is safe for you to use.

Works Cited

1. Rosemary [Internet]. Natural Medicines. Somerville, MA: Therapeutic Research Center; 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 12]. Available from: https://naturalmedicines-therapeuticresearch-com
2. Panahi Y, Taghizadeh M, Marzony ET, Sahebkar A. Rosemary oil vs minoxidil 2% for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: A randomized comparative trial. Skinmed [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2022 Aug 12];13(1):15–21. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25842469/
3. Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis [Internet]. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. New York, NY; 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 12]. Available from: https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/rosemary
4. Sagorchev P, Lukanov J, Beer AM. Investigations into the specific effects of rosemary oil at the receptor level. Phytomedicine [Internet]. 2010 Jul [cited 2022 Aug 12];17(8–9):693–7. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20034774/
5. Murata K, Noguchi K, Kondo M, Onishi M, Watanabe N, Okamura K, et al. Promotion of hair growth by Rosmarinus officinalis leaf extract. Phytother Res [Internet]. 2013 Feb [cited 2022 Aug 12];27(2):212–7. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22517595/
6. Ezekwe N, King M, Hollinger JC. The Use of Natural Ingredients in the Treatment of Alopecias with an Emphasis on Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia: A Systematic Review. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol [Internet]. 2020 Aug [cited 2022 Aug 12];13(8):23. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33178378/
7. Ustuner ET. Cause of Androgenic Alopecia: Crux of the Matter. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open [Internet]. 2013 Oct 28 [cited 2022 Aug 12];1(7). Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25289259/
8. Abelan US, de Oliveira AC, Cacoci ÉSP, Martins TEA, Giacon VM, Velasco MVR, et al. Potential use of essential oils in cosmetic and dermatological hair products: A review. J Cosmet Dermatol [Internet]. 2022 Apr 1 [cited 2022 Aug 12];21(4):1407–18. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34129742/
9. Hamilton JB. Patterned loss of hair in man; types and incidence. Ann N Y Acad Sci [Internet]. 1951 [cited 2022 Aug 12];53(3):708–28. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14819896/
10. Lavender [Internet]. Natural Medicines. Somerville, MA: Therapeutic Research Center; 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 13]. Available from: https://naturalmedicines-therapeuticresearch-com
12. Hay IC, Jamieson M, Ormerod AD. Randomized trial of aromatherapy: Successful treatment for Alopecia areata. Arch Dermatol [Internet]. 1998 Nov 1 [cited 2022 Aug 13];134(11):1349–52. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9828867/
13. Alopecia Areata [Internet]. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Bethesda, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; [cited 2022 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/alopecia-areata
14. Lee BH, Lee JS, Kim YC. Hair Growth-Promoting Effects of Lavender Oil in C57BL/6 Mice. Toxicol Res [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2022 Aug 13];32(2):103–8. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27123160/
15. Peppermint [Internet]. Natural Medicines. Somerville, MA: Therapeutic Research Center; 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 13]. Available from: https://naturalmedicines-therapeuticresearch-com
16. Oh JY, Park MA, Kim YC. Peppermint Oil Promotes Hair Growth without Toxic Signs. Toxicol Res [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2022 Aug 13];30(4):297–304. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25584150/

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