The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Zinc
Posted by Betty (CA) on 03/25/2022
★★★★★
I experimented with adding liquid zinc to my shampoo due to hair thinning from chemo. It works! Finally regrowing hair. And, had a nevus on my scalp for several years. It is gone. Guessing the zinc got rid of it?
Supplements
Posted by Hisjewel (Usa) on 09/29/2020
Thanks Art.
Mexican Missionary Remedy
Posted by Joyce (South Carolina) on 01/19/2017 5 posts
★★★★★
One of my teenage boys had terrible ACNE. A Mexican missionary told us about this. We used zinc powder (patting it lightly on the face after washing it). This can really dry out the face too much, so we eventually began to get it under control and then keep it back by washing face and a little tea tree oil rubbed on his face before bed.
At age 24, he still has a tendency to bad acne BUT ONLY IF he doesn't keep up this regime. It isn't as bad as when he was 16 but still there. Especially on his back. We have the best healthy diet of anyone I know, so it is not junk food either. Maybe gluten, but haven't noticed a big difference when he gets off it. Anyway, just saying to you all... if you are taking the Acutane for acne..Why? There are natural ways to deal with this that don't involve such an aggressive dangerous drug.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda
Posted by Sal (Fairfax) on 04/20/2016
★★★★★
Change your diet to no meat, gluten free, check thyroid, for iodine deficiency, and stop dying your hair, if you must and only if you must, whole foods has Natural solution for hair dye, and natural HENNA!
Baking soda and ACV is working for me but I'm so not eating foods that may have pesticides and additives!!
I'm eating less because I'm detoxing from pesticides and additiv Es that may be causing the problem, in my opinion hair loss is the body's way of saying its stressed out and the hair follicle can't breath!! Stress comes in many forms, brisk walking, nutrition and letting go of resentments and unhappiness helps!!
Hope this helps!!
B Vitamins
Posted by Natalie (Seattle, Wa) on 02/25/2016
★★★★★
Coenzymated B vitamins (the kind you dissolve under your tongue) works amazingly well for hair loss. I noticed my hair feeling thicker, smoother and fuller within the first 10 week! I think the other kinds of B vitamins are not absorbed very well.
Castor Oil
Posted by Nadine (Trinidad) on 11/12/2015
★★★★★
Hi, I have been using Black castor oil since March of this year but I think the results are good. my hair has gotten fuller, I have mixed in a bit of olive oil into it as it makes the consistency less thick.
Acupressure on Nails
Posted by Margaret (Huntsville, US) on 09/19/2014
★★★★★
I have had hair loss due to fungus. I read a book on hand reflexology about rapidly rubbing the fingernails across one another (face the 4 fingers toward each other, then rapidly buff against one another, hands going in opposite directions--up & down, or back & forth) to prevent hair loss and cause it to grow back. 5 minutes, 3 times a day. Since I have a delicate condition in my neck and can't handle the jarring, I use a hand massager, and set my fingernails, one hand at a time, on it. My hair is now growing back, although I have to keep it up every day, so I am also beginning to try the ACV also. I'm not usually on this site, so I may not respond to questions. The reflexology book is very old--can't remember author's name. Hope this helps.
Wheatgrass
Posted by Audrina (Los Angeles) on 07/21/2014
★★★★★
An incredible benefit of drinking wheatgrass (the juice powder) is that it has made my hair incredibly smooth, silky, and fuller than it ever has been before. I was thinking it may help those who are suffering from hair loss. I noticed a difference in my fine hair right away.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Lisa (Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa) on 10/24/2012
Hi Gloria, I also went through radical hair loss but mine was from hair dye. I would always have the worst reaction but I was too proud to let myself go gray. The reaction was so bad my husband would get upset that I would continue this procedure. Well, I went to Aveda because that was supposed to be "natural" and it worked for a time but then, I began reacting again. So, I changed to "natural" hair dyes from the health food store. Again, they worked for awhile and then I began to react once more! It was bad but the last straw for me was I began to lose hair in clumps. That's when I thought, perhaps gray would be better than bald... I stopped using shampoos with anything other than the mildest herbs and cleaners in them. I massaged my scalp, I used borax when washing my hair. Then I learned about hair oiling here on EC and began that practice about a year and a half ago. I take Chinese herbs and do fresh green juices every morning and follow much of Weston Price's ideas on diet.
I am now quite salt and pepper but my hair is nice and thick and healthy once more. I won't lie though, it took a long time though to restore it! As a matter of fact, just about a month ago I was going to a wedding and my oldest daughter said she wanted to blow dry my hair for it. She couldn't believe how thick it was and healthy and just kept commenting about it! It's probably been a couple of years since she last did that for me and she said it never felt like that before. So friends, take heart, our hair can be restored but you must be steadfast at working at that and be patient! Lisa
Eggs
Posted by Z_girl (Santa Barbara, Ca) on 10/08/2012
I am experiencing greater than usual amounts of falling hair. I've tried adding hair vitamins, good protein in diet, adequate water, using safe shampoos, but the only thing that lessens the amount of falling hair, that ends up in my hands, on my clothes and in the drain, is eating several eggs per day-- they are free range, organic, omega -3 brown eggs. If I miss a day of eating at least 3 eggs my hair starts to fall out again.
Eggs are such a complex food its very hard to isolate what mineral or combination or minerals are helping my hair. I really cant eat 3 eggs every day-- not only because that is a lot of cholesterol, but I don't want to develop an allergy to them from eating them every day.
Additionally my nails and cuticles arent in that great of shape, but eggs sure helped at least the cuticles in short order.
Part of the reason I am so concerned about it, is that if I have a deficiency of some type I'd like to find out before it affects something more serious than my hair.
Any help as to why the eggs are helping would be appreciated.
Eggs
Posted by Lisa (Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa) on 10/08/2012
Hi Z_girl, You don't say much about your diet other than eggs help with your hair and also nails. They're rich in protein, lecithin and sulfur among other things. I'm thinking it may be the protein. I say this because, when I was a vegetarian in my 20's my hair started falling out and my nails would peel. I had always had very thick hair and good nails up to then. When I finally started adding in eggs and meat my hair was eventually restored and my nails got a lot stronger. Anyway, that would be my guess. Since you're concerned about eating too many eggs, get protein through many different sources. Hope this helps, Lisa
Eggs
Posted by Z_girl (Santa Barbara, Ca) on 10/15/2012
Actually my diet is pretty good and I get a sufficinet amount of protein for my size (small). I've tried hair vitamins to no avail. If it helps the texture has changed as well to coarser and brittle-- it's like wire now, before it was soft thread. I'm wondering if its some sort of toxic buildup that my body is getting rid of by dropping the hair that contains it? Maybe its not a deficiency at all but a toxcity?
Fenugreek
Posted by Drsd (Dubai, UAE) on 08/31/2012
★★★★★
as a long time sufferer from hair thinning, I would proudly say that I haven't almost missed a remedy for hair fall. Recently, I came across a remedy on the web, that used methi (fenugreek) to stop hair loss. I added few more ingredients to methi and the remedy was very powerful.
Here is what I have concocted:
- 2 teaspoons of methi soaked in 1/2 a glass of water overnight
- 1 large red onion (actually, I find them purple! )
- 1 table spoon of cayenne powder or 3 jalapenos
- strain the methi seeds on the next day, put them in a coffee bean miller or a food processor, add the peeled onion and the cayenne pepper, make a paste out of all that.
now massage the scalp with the paste, wetting your palms frequently with water to help your finger tips slide around and the pepper to sting alittle bit. Cover with a shower cap. you will feel instant heat on the scalp. In an hour, rinse thoroughly and wash and condition as usual.
I noticed an 80% reduction in the mass of falling hair.
now, this remedy is potent and effective in ceasing hair fall, but will not suffice ALONE in the battle of regaining hair. So adding nutritive foods and taking vitamin supplements is imperative to check hair fall.
hope this is as useful to you as it was to me! regards :)
Edgar Cayce's Hair Loss Remedies
Posted by Mary (Rural, Va) on 01/30/2012
Maria, I use your basic drugstore Potassium Iodides. The colorless kind.
Lugol's Iodine
Posted by Louwrence (Rustenburg, North West South Africa) on 10/16/2011
★★★★★
Hi, Try Lugols iodine it helped me with hair loss, also have thyriod problem. Good luck.
B12
Posted by Connie (Slc, Ut) on 10/15/2011
★★★★★
B12 stopped my unnatural hair loss.
As I recall, it took about a month or so. I was also taking a low dose of B-complex. 1000 mcg of a sublingual lozenge of B12 is a good average amount to try. Many people find that after 6 months of this, they are able to reduce their thyroid meds.
When the proper amount of B's are supplied, they can help balance electrolytes, which in turn may help with blood pressure. It may also help lower BP to increase potassium in diet. This should be done very carefully if the BP med. is a potassium sparing type, though.
Baking Soda, Borax, ACV
Posted by Doddie (Lawrenceville, Georgia, Usa) on 09/16/2011
★★★★★
1) I used baking soda 1:5 ; 1 part baking soda to 5 parts water to wash my hair, left it on 10 minutes and rinsed.
2) I used borax 1/2 Tablespoon to a liter of water pour it in my hair and left it on overnite, I rinsed the following day, then sprayed my hair with 1 part ACV and 5 parts water. I have a sink top water filter and so it probably did have some chlorine and definitely fluoride it in and I am hoping the borax helped some.
The only side effect I had is when I left the baking soda sit on my scalp for 10 minutes. It did burn (sting) in the areas where my hair had thinned out (on top, at temples) and I take that as a good thing (like there was a little fungus or something there that I did not know about, that needed to be removed )
3) I am very pleased with the results and my hair is not falling out.
I think that when a person chemically treat their hair maybe with perms or permanent hair color and use peroxide or vinegar incorrectly you will have a negative reaction. Read everything carefully!
Jamaican Black Castor Oil
Posted by Lady English (Brooklyn, New York, Usa) on 08/14/2011
★★★★★
Speak to anybody from the Caribbean, and almost all of them will tell you about Jamaican Black Castor Oil for growing, thickening and moisturizing the hair. The castor oil beans are boiled, and used as a hair pomade. It has an awful smell, is thick, but it does grow your hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc. For caucasian hair it is best to use Jamaican Black Castor Oil, with Peppermint Oil as the peppermint combats the greasiness, and the presence of the menthol gives a cooling effect to the scalp, binds the hair roots & increases blood circulation. The resulting stimulation of your hair follicles culminates in a renewed and reinvigorated hair growth cycle!
Jamaican Black Castor Oil, infused with Peppermint WILL grow and thicken the most thinning hair, it's worked for thousands.
Biotin
Posted by Brenda (Mt. Dora, Fl) on 03/22/2011
Regarding the previous post,
www.whfoods.com states that a symptom of BIOTIN deficiency is seizures. BIOTIN is readily available in egg yolks, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, carrots, almonds, etc.
Medications Causing Hair Loss
Posted by Lattebreak (Quad Cities, Il) on 09/20/2011
Maryann, I would definitely try iodine therapy. The fact that you have fertility troubles already points to possible, even probable iodine deficiency. I have been able to get decolorized iodine at a local pharmacy (not sure if I'm allowed to say it's CVS?). I have struggled with thinning hair as a result of thyroid and other hormone problems. I have taken iodine orally for over a year which has helped with fertility and greatly improved my thyroid function, but my hair was still falling out by the handful in the shower. I started putting the iodine on my scalp with a q-tip every other night or so and within about three applications I only lost about 1/3 the amount I previously lost in the shower. It takes weeks, even months to see new growth so of course I'm still waiting for that. However, it's so nice to keep what I've already got at least! Blessings!
Cayenne Pepper, Olive Oil
Posted by Bulbultuk (Bangalore, Karnataka, India) on 09/14/2010
★★★★★
It is exactly 30 days since I started using the Cayenne Pepper EV Olive oil treatment for growing hair on my balding patches. (Male Pattern Baldness). Am happy to say that the following formula has given encouraging results. (This is the proportion I have used to make a potent infusion of oil to concentrate it. No side effects have been seen).
You will need:-
1. 50 grams of Powdered Cayenne Pepper of highest scoville units (Buy strongest red chillies and get it powdered in the CHAKKI. Avoid readymade chilly powder like Tikhalal, MTR etc as they may contain preservatives and salt).
2. 100 ml of the best Extra Virgin Olive Oil like Figaro.
3. 1 glass bottle with a tight cap.
4. 20 grams of black Pepper powder (kaali mirch).
METHOD to prepare the OIL. Pour all the above ingredients in the bottle and after shaking the mixture store in a cool dry place. Shake every day for 2 minutes so that the peppers dissolve their potency into the oil. After a week you may start using the oil on your scalp. 1 TEASPOON will be sufficient to cover a bald head.
HOW TO USE. Before applying the oil you have to apply juice of half an Onion 2 pods garlic on the bald areas rubbing vigorously for 2 to 5 minutes. Wait 15 minutes for scalp to dry onits own and apply the OIL infusion evenly. Mildly massage scalp till it absorbs the oil. Cover head with a WARM cap or shower cap or monkey cap. Go to bed with cap ON. Shampoo in the morning. Apply pure coconut or mustard oil on scalp during bath as is usually done in Indian hoseholds.
IMPORTANT.... Take care while washing your head as even the water flowing down the face can burn eyes though its harmless. FREQUENCY..... If applied daily results can be seen within 2 weeks. Queries are welcome on my cell no. 09343158575. Between 9AM and 7PM IST.
Grass Oil
Posted by Kelly Colby (Dallas, Tx) on 06/08/2011
I searched for Grass Oil and found that it can be purchased through some India(n) stores. I also came across a recipe that looks like it is pretty straight forward.
Mix 63 ml. of the juice of green grass in 250 ml. of coconut oil, boil it. Let it cool down, strain and use it for massaging the body or scalp.
Aloe Vera
Posted by Truda (P.louis, Mauritius) on 07/30/2010
★★★★★
To Reina and anyone else on this website,
Thanks for trying to help me, I don't feel as desperate as I was a month or two ago. I have been documentating myself a lot on remedies found on this site. In fact, acv is an astringent (cleanser)it cleans the scalp, lemon is also a good astringent which helps cleaning the scalp and helps with greasy hair. My hair is in fact greasy, I had a habit of touching my head this also helps in making hair greasy as it releases sebum.
I have stopped taking acv orally and wash my hair once in a while with acv now. I tried the cayenne pepper and vodka as well and I didn't feel any different.
But something has finally stopped my hair from falling completely and that's aloe vera, I went to an aryuvedic shop and bought aloe vera pills.
It in fact, helps all skin problems and stops hair from falling. I did not find borax to wash my hair but I found a neem and lemon soap as well as its shampoo. The blackstrap molasses mentioned by some kind friends is not recommended as it helps in producing cancer, anyone using this often should stop. I write off here for now.
Aloe Vera
Posted by Msg (Somewhere, Europe) on 08/03/2010
Hm, I wonder about that. I actually take Blackstrap Molasses to up my low iron levels and it has worked very well (iron pills never worked for me).
Medications for Hair Loss
Posted by Ebony (North Hollywood, California) on 03/05/2012
Hello all, It saddens me to read about the problems some of you are having with hair loss. I too have suffered with hair loss (not really sure of the reasons). 12 years ago my hair was barely ear length due to massive breakage, neglect etc. Due to a job layoff and depression, I ceased to comb my hair and kept it under a scarf. 5 months later, to my suprise my hair was healthy and at least 3 inches longer.
Since then, I've kept my hair "UP" in protective styles with very low malipulation.
My diet was balance.
Through research, I've leaned how to take care of my hair. There are sooooo many things one can do to ensure long, healthy, strong, thick hair. My hair is now 28 inches (mid back length) and ultra thick. (I'm 56 years old). The methods below worked for me:
1. Massage scalp with pure aloe vera gel.
2. Co-wash often (clean scalp and hair with conditioner only.)
3. Massage scalp with one or all of the following:
-extra virgin coconut oil
-extra virgin olive oil
-Emu oil
-Argan oil
-Tea tree oil
-Castor oil
-Onion juice topical
-Garlic juice topical
-Jamician Black Castor oil
-Seal ends with shea butter
-Vegetable Glyercine
-Black tea hair rinses
-Weekly hot oil treatments
-Jojoba oil...... And so on. These methonds worked for me to achieve and maintain healthy, strong hair.
They worked for me but may not be for everyone. Do your research and as always.... Consult your M. D. Before beginning any new regimen. Good luck.
Selenium, Coconut Oil
Posted by Jasmine (Lawrenceville, Nj) on 04/15/2010
★★★★★
Selenium has reversed my hair loss. My hair started thinning in college. I'm now 41 years old. I used to have very thick, luxurious hair. But over the years, my part just got wider and wider and my ponytail smaller and smaller. Then in Jan 2009, I started taking selenium (1000 mcg) to reduce skin spots. Over the course of only a few months, I noticed my part filling in.
At first I thought it was my imagination because I didn't dare get my hopes up, but I kept taking the selenium. Now after a little over a year, I have a significant amount of hair so that my scalp doesn't show anymore. I also take B-complex 50 mg x4 and folic acid 800 mcg x 3. I've recently reduced the amount of selenium to 600 mcg since I noticed my nails flaking which is a sign that there may be too much selenium in the system. I also use coconut oil to moisturize my hair. I leave the coconut oil in my hair overnight and wash my hair in the morning. I do this a few times per week on alternating days. The other days, I use ACV as a rinse. I mix half cup of ACV with half cup of water to make the rinse. I pour this in my hair at the start of my shower and then rinse it out when I'm done showering. My hair is now healthy and shiny.
