Why Dermatologists Are Using Green Tea To Cure Hair Loss

Have you drank a mug of green tea? If you are like many people on earth, your response is yes. Next question, have you turned to green tea to improve your health? If you said no, consider this: researchers continue to discover several reasons why green tea should be used for elevating health and not just satisfying your mouth. If you have been near a television or radio over the past decade, you have probably heard about the anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties contained in green tea. A team of researchers from Korea have found a new medical use for green tea – baldness prevention. Yes, according Dr. Kwon , green tea stops thinning hair. For men and women who do not want to use drugs like minoxidil, finasteride or dutasteride to fight balding, green tea may be the solution they are seeking to find.

In 2006, the researchers aimed to test a unique hypothesis – can the anti-oxidants in green tea stop balding by attacking androgens in the scalp. Androgens are the hormones responsible for most forms of thinning hair . The research team in the Labaratory of Cutaneous Aging and Hair Research recruited study subjects to provide hair follicles. The study team selected hair follicles that were in the anagen phase or growth phase and they grew the hairs in well dishes. What the study team discovered was amazing. Hair follicles in contact with green tea, in particular epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a natural element in green tea, exhibited a greater capacity to encourage growth and resist hair follicle shrinking.

To understand why these findings are so momentous consider this:

(1) Few investigations have been conducted by researchers, objectively testing how natural elements, like green tea, may curb thinning hair.

(2) Studies that have occurred, often have biased methods, which makes the validity of the results weak.

(3) Additional natural options in the battle to stop balding, and re-grow a woman or man’s own hair are needed.

Can I apply Green Tea to Prevent My Hair Loss?

Yes and No. Yes, the researchers found that green tea displays the capacity to encourage hair growth through a two-step process of hair growth and reduction of hair follicle apoptosis (death). The researchers did not brew a mug of tea and pour it on the head of the subjects. Instead, the researchers identified the epigallocatechin-3-gallate in the green tea and mixed this solution with ethanol. This new mixture was then administered to the heads of the study subjects.

Ethanol acts as a vehicle, which facilitates absorption. This means the medicinal value of green tea is more easily observed by applying the green tea to the scalp within a solution of ethanol. This does not mean that you cannot pour green tea on your scalp. It just suggests your results may not be consistent with the remarkable findings of the research – unless you know how to develop an identical mixture. Short of being a chemist or great at mixing ingredients, the best answer is to find all natural thinning hair products that contain green tea.

Robert Wade is a business consultant with a focus on research and strategy. His clients come from health care, restaurant, fashion, entertainment and transportation. Mr. Wade reviews Hair Loss, Weight Loss and Acne products for Good Health, A/K/A DamnGoodHealth.com.