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.
Hair Loss
Posted by Mary (Nevada City)
★★★★★
Evening Primrose Oil cured Hair loss (eyebrows due to low thyroid. I first started taking this (two capsules a day of NOW Super Primrose) because it is anti-inflammatory, so I thought it would help control asthma, and it is reputed to be helpful for that. Within a few days I felt warmer -so I did a search to see if it also helped thyroid. It did - and it can help restore hair loss due to low thyroid. About a month later I saw that my eyebrows were starting to come in again! My hair is also thin at my temples. The left side seems improved - the right not so much. I am also trying to reduce stress in my life, and I've recently started taking kelp. SO this plus primrose might help. I have a sense of well being when I take the kelp - so I know it will begin to heal me on a deeper level.
Severe Menstrual Cramping
Posted by Sunny (Ca) on 12/18/2013
★★★★★
Hello, my beautiful strong women. I have been one of those women with horrible periods since the beginning of my fist period. My whole day stops and get in the fetal position, feeling like the weakest female on earth and thinking that why do they not help us. If someone has some other horrible pain every single month they could call it a disease and treat it. But because its considered natural, men specially do not care much of it. The period is natural not this "new period" the way it has evolved to become worst. Not that I have looked at statistics, but it should be interesting to compare the periods "back in the days "and now's. With all this malnourishment and drugs.
Any way, thru many different trial and errors and trying things I finally found something that truly works!!
Evening primrose oil. Thank my lord, for putting this in my path. I use the one that comes in soft gels 1000 mgs. Any brand should be fine, but the best are stronger mgs and cold pressed. But if your broke like me than you can find some at Walmart. I take it as soon as I get the pain and keep taking them as needed. Approximately 3 per meal and snacks or as you need. I've been doing it for 2 months now and seen an improvement in pain of 80%. I took no pain killers!!!!!!!!! ( this is huge for me!!!! ) and with all my tying things I always gave into them because I could just not take the pain. I do not know about taking too many so you have to do that research, but truthfully I kind of do not care. Because of the pain in my prior periods I would take pain killers like candy. I figure, I rather take many of this natural remedy than many pain killers.
And beautiful ladies, it also helps with regular headaches, migraines, and menstrual headaches. You can try taking3 at start of headache, then more as needed.
Let me know your result beautifuls. This oil if a blessing from God, thank you father.
Pass the love forward if this helps, remember to pass on kindness. Love, Sunny
Psoriasis
Posted by Aimagain (Austin, Tx) on 11/25/2013
★★★★★
Evening Primrose Oil for Psoriasis:
Please try Evening Primrose Oil 6 - 9 grams (6-9 capsules, each containing 1,000-1,200 mg) of evening primrose oil (EPO) daily. It'll take months before you see a drastic improvement, but the improvement will occur and once it starts, you'll see rapid changes like I did.
I am clear except for a couple of pencil eraser-sized spots. Before, I was anywhere from 50-75% covered and my case was very, very, VERY resistant to treatment. I had been on: topical steroids, PUVA, Enbrel, Humira, Raptiva, Remicade, and Stelara. I failed them ALL. My dermatologist even ran tests to make sure I had psoriasis!! (Which, tests showed, I definitely had. In spades.)
So, please give this a try. This $20/month supplement I bought at the grocery store has been truly a miracle and a life-changer. Three other things I recommend, too:
a) Apply a moisturizer immediately after your shower or bath. "Immediately" as in before you've even stepped out of the shower.
b) Use a gentle soap. I use geranium-scented.
c) When I use oil in cooking, I almost always use safflower oil.
I know that EPO is the main helper -- if I leave off of it for a few days, the spots return.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Posted by In (Miami, Fl) on 10/21/2009
★★★★★
Evening Primrose Oil cured Seborreich Dermatitis
I suffered Seborreich Dermatitis on my scalp for the last 7 months and I thought I had to live with this disease for the rest of my life. I had huge, itchy, tight scales on my scalp and I was loosing my hair... I went to 3 different dermatologist and they just prescribed me shampoos and lotions. Completely unsuccessful. Then I decided to have a holistic approach to fight this. First, I read that most of the times SD it's cause due to a "leaky gut", which means the gut is so toxic, that leak the toxins to the bloodstream causing skin problem.So, I decided to have a colon cleanse (2 days) and I stop eating dairies, wheat, coffee, sugars and meats. I did this for one week. At the same time I was taking Evening Primrose oil in caps (1,000 mg), one at breakfast, another at dinner. Almost intermediately my scalp stop itching. That was the first sign I was in the path to recovery. I continued washing my hair with special shampoos, but this time the scales were very soft and were loosing without hair attached. Today I'm cured. Free of this disease. I'm also taking a cocktail of necessary supplements to keep myself healthy (Oil, fish, B-Complex, Multivitamin, Probiotics, and of course, Evening Primrose Oil). Make sure your supplements are high quality and the oils, cold pressed. Hope this helps.
PMS
Posted by Robin (Walhalla, SC) on 07/11/2008
★★★★★
Evening primrose works like magic for PMS symptoms, especially tender breasts. This was a big problem for me each month and was a disruption in my life. Two weeks before my period my breasts would begin hurting and gradually became worse as my period neared. I began taking evening primrose capsules and now have no pain at all. I begin the capsules as soon as I ovulate. I take one in the morning the first week after ovulation. The second week I take one in the morning and one at night. As soon as I start my period, I stop taking them until next month. It really works and has no side effects as far as I can tell.
Menstrual Cramps
Posted by Erika (Brattleboro, Vt) on 11/24/2014
★★★★★
This stuff is a gift. I have had horribly painful cramps every month since the very first period I ever had and Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) makes them bearable enough that I might have to take a single Advil, if that. I used to have no alternative to popping a bunch of IB Profen for three days straight.
I have one question for those in the know: does it delay your period? I've heard it said that it can delay ovulation. Does this mean I'm taking too much? I don't want to get pregnant or anything, I just want to know if this is potentially bad.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Posted by Darcy (Columbia, Md) on 03/13/2012
★★★★★
I also suffered from Seborrheic Dermatitis on my scalp for 15 years. I tried the typical dermatologist's topical remedies and many of the topical, diet and internal remedies mentioned on this site and others with no improvement. Eventually I tried Evening Primrose Oil. I started with 3 capsules (the symptoms totally disappeared within 3 weeks) and quickly decreased to one. It does come back in the winter months so I up the dose back to 2 to 3 capsules until spring.
Acne
Posted by Jessica (Edwardsburg, MI) on 09/11/2006
★★★★★
We learned in school (for alternative medicine) that for women, evening primrose oil capsules clear acne and for men, borage oil caps. I was in my late 20's still breaking out like a teenager and it cleared me right up! Now whenever I see the little bumps coming I start the primrose and they disappear! **Sometimes it will make you break out for a week first as your skin releases the toxins!** It will be beautiful after tho!
Hair Loss
Posted by Constance (Los Angeles, Ca) on 07/08/2010
★★★★★
Your suggestion, Anonoymous, made sense to me. The combination of menopause and lab work which revealed slightly lower thyroid values caused me to think part of the hair loss problem was hormonal/endocrine in nature. I did add kelp, and other seaweeds to my diet. My hair loss did stop after supplementing my diet with evening primrose oil, and further, since adding sea vegetables to my diet, I have not had any falling hair problem at all in many months. I believe my hair, so to speak, has completely stabilized. Thank you for your intelligent suggestion. Much appreciated.
Psoriasis
Posted by Nbc (Phoenix, Az) on 10/02/2014
I had bad psoriasis when I was taking meds for depression and for tremors. I stopped taking the meds and my body is clear. Amazing! You might check any meds you are taking.
Neuropathy
Posted by Bob A (Mcdonough, Ga, Usa) on 02/24/2013
★★★★★
For 6+ years I took EVENING PRIMROSE OIL in higher dosages as my ONLY neuropathy treatment. I took 4 to 8 1,300mg capsules daily, with NO adverse effects except an occasional oily "burp". Recent doctor visits assured me that Neurontin (gabapentin) would work better. In fact, it improved the neuropathy only slightly, but it caused me inner-ear dizziness that made me fall constantly. I now take very little neurotin (600mg daily) and take 4 1,300mg capsules of EPO.
When first starting EPO, it takes a week before the EPO starts soothing the nerves. It acts somewhat like fish oil without the stink.
EPO was once considered to be the Royal Herb in Elizabethan times, and was used for many ailments. EPO will make one feel better in general.
Neuropathy
Posted by Dorothy (Bloomfield, New Mexico) on 02/25/2013
I have schwannomatosis, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis. I go to pain management and was recently given gabapentin. I immediately had severe crying jags and paranoia. It took 1 and half days to detox off of 2 pills. I will try evening primrose oil. Any more information on this remedy would be appreciated.
Hair Loss
Posted by Constance (Los Angeles, Ca) on 04/16/2010
★★★★★
I have always had very thick curly hair, but when I went into menopause, I surely lost half of it. My hair was falling daily by the hundreds. I decided not to freak out because I figured the stress would worsen the problem. I satured my hair with EVCO, Olive oil and West African Shea Butter overnight before washing, and although this softened my hair and made my curls more luscious, it did not entirely stop the falling hair. What seemed to stop the excessive falling hair is when I started taking about 2 grams of Evening Primrose oil daily. I heard you could go up to 4 grams, but I use 2 grams. It's definitely worth a try for those of you who are experiencing alot of falling hair. I also tried mashing a banana, and leaving in my hair for about 30 minutes before washing. I heard it supplied the hair with the necesssary nutrients it needed. I can say it made my hair very soft. Will it also help with falling hair? I can't say for sure, but I do believe the Evening Primrose did, and everything else is icing on the cake.
EC: Conversion: 1 teaspoon = 4.2 grams
Hair Loss
Posted by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 07/08/2010
How do you take the evening primrose oil, Constance?
Severe Menstrual Cramping
Posted by Timh (Ky, Usa) on 12/21/2013 2048 posts
Sunny. EPO helps the body regulate prostaglandins in the body. It's an "out-of-whack" prostaglandins that causes those bad side effects which are primarily inflammatory in nature. I would encourage you to also try supplementing w/ other healthy oils like Fish, Krill, Walnut, and Flax. Whichever of these you can get a best buy will likely reduce your high need of EPO. Lifestyle, along w/ a good diet & supplementation plus reduction techniques for stress & inflammation will also help. Diet must be low in saturated fat. A gallbladder cleanse or supplementing triple strength soy lecithin will likely also help, as women have an exaggerated tendency to produce harmful gallstones (which causes the harmful metabolic and inflammatory processes). Drinking lemon water and/or ACV also helps open up metabolism and reduce inflammation.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Posted by A.m. (Scranton, Pa) on 11/17/2012
It cured my lesions on legs but they came back and I am taking 6000 mg a day. Dont know what else to do. Have a flaky scalp too doesnt itch at all but crust forms in places. Any cures I am so tired of having round lesions like ringworm on my legs and arms, the doctor says it is some kind of keratosis or something and gave me a cream which does no good, it doesnt itch but looks god awful.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
Posted by Louwrence (Rustenburg, North West, South Africa) on 11/18/2012
Hi A. M., Try urine therapy. Look it up on the net & will tell you about its uses & benefits & does not cost you anything. A friend used it on his scalp with great success. Also elimanate all starches, sugars etc. From your diet, it is acid forming & worsens your problems so change your diet & stick to protein & veggies. You can also start taking bicarb to get your body alkaline & you can check with acid/alkaline ph test strips & adjust the bicarb dosage accordingly. Acidity is our big enemy & can cause all kinds of problems. Usualy when your kidneys are overwhelmed your skin suffers.
Hair Loss
Posted by Anon (Anon, USA) on 04/18/2010
You might look into getting more iodine.
Kelp/seaweeds/seafood for starters.
I am learning about the importance of all this just recently and came across a hair-loss connection, among
a lot of other things.
I like seaweeds because they have a lot to them, just the same. Iodine yes, they say kelp is highest in this...but they have a way of centering. Like zen in a cup of tea and seaweed salad.
x
Evening Primrose Oil Side Effects
Posted by David (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 01/02/2024
WARNING!
I have tried EPO several times and the one side effect that has been most prevalent is depression. I take EPO and it feels like my anti-depressant meds aren't working any more. I'm down and feel like I could cry. I stop taking the EPO and my mood levels off and I'm back to my 'normal'. I've only tried it a few times since I thought maybe it was something in the brand. But I have now tried three different brands with the same effect. Other minor issues are bloating, constipation, and heartburn, but these have not been severe.
