Green tea is a popular beverage commonly touted for its numerous health benefits. Feeling like you are getting sick -- try some green tea. Want a skin boost -- green tea. Trying to get a one-up on your brain health -- yes, also green tea.
But, can green tea also deliver benefits when it comes to your hair? Many studies contain promising results when it comes to hair health and growth from green tea.
Below, we will outline just a few of the main potential benefits of green tea when it comes to your hair.
“High levels of antioxidants.” We see this mentioned often. But, what does this actually mean when thinking about your hair health? Antioxidants are chemicals that have the ability to help mop up free radicals in your body.
Free radicals a produced from all kinds of things ranging from just being alive and metabolizing, to UV light, pollution, and various toxins. If these free radicals are not neutralized by antioxidants, they have the ability to damage cells. Luckily, green tea contains lots of antioxidants, namely EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) is one of the most commonly studied.
When it comes to your hair follicles, this may mean that these strong antioxidants may aid in protecting the cells supporting and growing your hair.
DHT is a naturally occurring hormonal by-product of testosterone. And, it is also a known culprit in hair follicle damage and miniaturization with androgenetic alopecia (male pattern and female pattern hair loss).
Some androgenetic alopecia medications like Finasteride aim to help reduce the amount of DHT in the body in order to help slow hereditary hair loss.
It has also been found that green tea may provide some level of a natural, mild DHT-blocking effect.
Green tea may also help improve blood flow throughout the whole body, including to the scalp and hair follicles.
Adequate blood flow to the scalp is necessary to help supply oxygen and nutrients to support strong and healthy hair follicles.
The polyphenol and antioxidant EGCG has also been found to help stimulate hair growth in both in vivo and in vitro studies.
The researchers suggested that this may be occurring by both increasing the cell proliferation of the dermal papilla cells in the scalp, while also helping to inhibit the cell death of these hair growth-supporting cells.
Green tea is a well-researched healthy beverage, that can be safely used and consumed in normal amounts for most people.
When it comes to your hair, green tea may help defend against free radical damage, act as a natural DHT-blocking agent to some extent, improve blood flow to the follicles, and may even boost growth to some extent.
If you want to give green tea a try for your hair, you can safely consume a few cups of the beverage a day, use a (cooled) green tea hair rinse, or purchase hair products that contain green tea.
Some people also use green tea extract or EGCG supplements. However, only use supplements as directed and if it has been approved by your doctor. It is possible to go overboard with supplementation since they are very concentrated. Negative effects of consuming too much concentrated green tea in supplement form may include gastric upset or liver toxicity.
Drinking more green tea, using a green tea rinse, or selecting hair care products that contain green tea extract may be a good addition to a well-rounded healthy hair care routine. But, if you are dealing with male pattern or female pattern hair loss, it is unlikely to be enough to handle the problem single-handedly.
For genetic hair loss like male pattern and female pattern hair loss, you may be able to utilize prescription medications to help target and slow the progression. In some situations, people may even notice regrowth from hair loss medications, although maintenance and slowed hair loss is the main goal.
At Strut, we offer a variety of oral and topical hair loss medications that can contain ingredients like Minoxidil, Finasteride, Dutasteride, Spironolactone, Tretinoin, and Biotin. Many of our formulations can be customized to suit your needs and may be able to include multiple active ingredients in one simple formula.
If you are interested in seeing if a Strut hair loss medication can help you with your hair concerns, simply complete a free online questionnaire and image-based telemedicine consultation in under 15 minutes. One of our doctors will review your information and determine if you are a good fit for treatment. If appropriate, a prescription will be put together at a U.S. compounding pharmacy and shipped to your front door with our free shipping.
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