Welcome to the definitive guide on the most effective natural DHT blockers you can find on the market today.
We’ve been following the science of hair loss treatments for years now wading through countless studies published in journals from all corners of the world to find the latest research on what can slow or even reverse the process of male pattern baldness.
We created this guide because there is simply too much misinformation out there.
All our reviews are evidence based. We aren’t promoting anything that isn’t backed by science.
Our process is simple and direct.
First, we’ll describe everything you need to know about DHT and specifically how it effects hair loss in men. Then we’ll go through the different types of DHT blockers one by one citing any research or clinical trials demonstrating their efficacy. Finally, we’ll talk about how you can improve your body’s sensitivity to DHT, why that matters, and a few other things you can do to help regrow healthy hair.
Feel free to use the table of contents below to jump to a specific section if you’d like.
Does DHT Cause Male Pattern Baldness?
Male pattern baldness is a condition that affects approximately 66% of men by the age of 35 and 85% of men by the age of 50. Is DHT to blame? You may have heard from your doctor or through online research that DHT is primarily responsible for male pattern baldness. Before we dissect that claim let’s begin with some background information so we’re all on the same page here.
DHT is short for dihydrotestosterone, an androgenic sex hormone that is produced when testosterone combines with an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase. This enzyme is produced by many different organs including your prostate, adrenal glands, and even your nervous system and it plays an important role in the metabolic pathways of different hormones in your body.
Approximately 5% of the testosterone your body produces undergoes this conversion with the 5ar enzyme into DHT. A DHT blocker is therefore anything that inhibits this process whether it be a plant extract, a herb, an essential oil, or even commonly eaten food items or beverages as you’ll soon learn.
After testosterone and 5-alpha-reductase combine to form DHT, the hormone can now bind to androgenic receptors found throughout your body. Your scalp (surprise!) has a high concentration of these androgenic receptors. In fact, DHT is actually considered a more potent androgen than testosterone having up to three times greater androgen receptor affinity than testosterone according to one study.
When DHT connects to the receptors found at the roots of your hair follicles it causes miniaturization meaning the hair follicle gradually shrinks and becomes weaker until it eventually falls out.
This brings us to three possible solutions (realistically two):
- We can lower testosterone production.
- We can inhibit the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme.
- We can reduce the hair follicle’s sensitivity to DHT.
We say there are realistically two solutions because we want to avoid lowering your testosterone level as much as possible. Lower T means less muscle mass, more fat, more estrogen, and less energy along with a host of other negative symptoms especially for men.
For this reason, the commonly proposed solution is to attack DHT and the enzyme responsible for its conversion, 5-alpha-reductase.
A lot of the supplements we’ll be talking about below are touted as DHT blockers but they work primarily by inhibiting the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme which still leads to the same result regarding hair loss.
Now let’s talk about why the solution isn’t that simple.
Male pattern baldness is a condition that has many factors working in tandem alongside DHT.
For example, balding scalps have been found to have reduced blood flow compared to non-balding scalps. Temporal scalp blood flow (meaning the blood going to the hair at the sides of your head) was significantly higher than frontal scalp blood flow.
And isn’t it interesting hair loss usually starts with a receding hairline…
PGD2 which is a prostaglandin (a lipid compound found in body tissue with hormone like effects) was also found to be nearly 3x higher in men with balding hair.
So while DHT certainly plays an important role in hair loss, it’s not the only factor.
DHT Blocker Side Effects
DHT has important functions beyond the unfortunate fact of making you more susceptible to hair loss. This is something many other guides and people trying to sell their natural dht products will avoid telling you. Less DHT isn’t necessarily better than more DHT.
We see it so often, people take medications like finasteride that are capable of blasting their DHT levels to chronically low levels and they experience a host of unwanted side effects, some of which include:
- Impotence
- Decreased sex drive
- Depression
- Dizzyness
- Cold Sweats
Among others (check out the full list here).
Again, we want you to know all the facts. This isn’t meant to scare you off but to show you why a moderate reduction in DHT is preferable to a complete loss. Reducing DHT should really only be one part of a multi-part hair loss treatment routine.
And even better than reducing the levels of DHT is reducing your body’s sensitivity to the effects of DHT.
There is an important distinction in that sentence.
We’ll discuss why it might be the most important factor in the “Why DHT Sensitivity Matters” section further below.
Disclaimer: As always, we recommend you consult a doctor before taking any medications. We do not know your unique situation or how your body will react to DHT blockers. Use this guide for informational purposes only and not as medical advice.
Topical vs. Internal DHT Blockers
You have two choices when it comes to taking DHT blocker supplements: a topical application or an internal one.
We will go over the most popular choices of both categories in the next section and talk about the optimal dosage according to what’s been previously tested.
Topical DHT Blockers
Topical DHT blockers attack the problem at the source. You apply them directly to your scalp and massage the solution usually in the form of a foam or shampoo. The aim is to concentrate the DHT inhibitors on the androgen receptors in your scalp with the hopes of reducing the unwanted side effects we mentioned in the above section.
To prepare for topical treatments, we recommend performing a scalp massage beforehand to rid your hair of excess buildup which can include sebum, dead skin cells, dirt, dust, and dandruff. This will get your scalp in a clean state and increase the chances each topical treatment will be able to work more effectively without external factors getting in the way.
Here is a simple scalp massage exfoliating recipe using apple cider vinegar:
Internal DHT Blockers
Internal DHT blockers are ingested by the body and work from the inside out. These usually come in pill form or capsules that you’d take like any other supplement. For the foods that naturally block DHT, you’d eat or drink them like any other. A lot of relatively common foods that many people consume daily help lower DHT, often unknowingly.
A common misconception is that since internal blockers are digested and enter the body, they must be stronger than topical blockers but this is wrong. Whether a treatment is better taken internally or externally varies on a case by case basis and we’ll make note of that below.
They key with either type of application is to be consistent with your treatment. If you’re going to try a DHT blocker stick with it for a minimum of two months before giving up. As you will learn, some of them will only show results after as much as 24 weeks. Yes, that may seem like a long time and can be discouraging but it is reality and you have to keep your eyes on the prize
We also recommend trying only one treatment at a time to isolate its effects. You won’t know what’s working and what’s not if you’re using multiple treatments at the same time. If you really want to, you can try combining a topical solution with an internal one.
List of Natural DHT Blockers (What Works and What Doesn’t)
It’s important to remember that a lot of these supplements have anecdotal evidence supporting them but not scientific. It’s unfortunate but most of the research on DHT inhibitors goes toward BPH (benign prostate hyperplasia) and comparatively little toward hair loss. We cite these as evidence because DHT is a contributing cause for both and the goal is to lower the amount of DHT in the body.
Knowing this, you must be extra careful because manufacturers have incentive to promote their products as natural remedies especially if they can be linked to reversing hair loss and avoid the scrutiny of clinical trials.
As always, we make no unfounded claims. We only present what the science says. So let’s begin!
Saw Palmetto
Saw Palmetto is an extract of a berry-producing plant native to the southeastern United States called the serenoa repens.
It is the most well-researched supplement on this entire list and is commonly marketed toward both BPH and androgenic alopecia although there have been questions over its efficacy for each condition.
In one study testing it against finasteride (brand name Propecia), 100 men diagnosed with mild to moderate androgenic alopecia received 320 mg every day for two years while another group took 1 mg of finasteride everyday for the same period.
Of the group taking the saw palmetto extract, 38% of the men experienced hair growth (19 out of 50 total), particularly on the vertex which may be of interest if you’re in a later stage of the Hamilton-Norwood scale balding assessment.
38% is okay but not great. It underperformed compared to the group taking finasteride which proved effective for 66% of the men and worked on both the vertex and the frontal area.
Another study had participants use a hair lotion containing saw palmetto alongside 10% trichogen veg complex for four months which resulted in total hair count increasing by 11.9%. By the end of the study, 48% of the participants were rated by observers as having shown increased hair growth at the vertex.
In yet another placebo controlled double blind study they tested saw palmetto in combination with beta sistosterol which is another DHT blocker we’ll cover further below. Here they had 60% of the participants (males aged between 23-64) rated in a staff assessment as having shown improvement by the end of the study. They also concluded “This study establishes the effectiveness of naturally occurring 5AR (5-alpha-reductase) inhibitors against AGA (androgenic alopecia).
We would have liked to see them test both saw palmetto and beta sitosterol individually. While we know they can work in tandem, how much effect each of them had on their own is still unclear.
You can take saw palmetto both topically and as a supplement. It is generally considered safe even at higher doses except for possible gastrointestinal problems but if you choose to take saw palmetto we don’t recommend straying too far away from the 320 mg dosage tested and as always, ask your doctor before taking anything!
Stinging Nettle Root
The stinging nettle root, known by its scientific name as urtica diocia, is a common plant found in most parts of the world that has received much attention from the hair loss community for its potential hair loss benefits.
Most of the hype comes from research performed for BPH: there have been no studies where stinging nettle root has been tested on hair loss. This means we must infer from its effects on BPH research how it will work for male pattern baldness. Remember, the goal for both conditions is to inhibit DHT production.
In one study performed back in 2009, researchers found no negative side effects of stinging nettle on 620 patients treated for BPH. At the end of the trial, 81% experienced improved symptoms and they concluded, “Urtica dioica has beneficial effects in the treatment of symptomatic BPH. Further clinical trials should be conducted to confirm these results before concluding that Urtica dioica is effective.”
In another study performed to test stinging nettle’s 5-alpha-reductase inhibitory effects, researchers came to the same conclusion, “…UD (urtica diocia) can be used as an effective drug for the management of BPH.”
Yet in a third study which tested both stinging nettle and pygeum bark, another natural blocker we’ll talk about further below, a combination of 25 mg of pygeum bark and 300 mg of stinging nettle performed no better than placebo and after six months they observed no significant differences between those taking the treatment and placebo.
A fourth study also cast doubt over its effectiveness, finding no activity at concentrations of up to 500,000 mg/nl! Note that in the study they used ‘Bazotan’ which is a brand name of dried stinging nettle extract.
Make of these studies what you will. The lack of trials performed for the purposes of treating MPB makes us to say that the research on stinging nettle is still inconclusive. If you choose to take stinging nettle, you can use it topically or internally as a supplement.
Pumpkin Seed Oil
Pumpkin Seed Oil (commonly abbreviated PSO) is an extract of, you guessed it, pumpkin seeds packed full of antioxidants and minerals containing high concentrations of Vit x and Y making it an interesting anti-inflammatory agent (more on that in the next section!)
Here are two studies demonstrating some interesting results:
In the first, we had a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study on 76 patients with mild to moderate hair loss which received 400 mg of PSO everyday for 6 months.
The results were promising: self-rated satisfaction scores in the group taking pumpkin seed oil were greater than the placebo group, they had more hair after treatment than the beginning of the study, the average increase in hair count was 40%, and no negative side effects were experienced.
Sounds great right? Well the PSO they used was actually a South Korean supplement with the brand name “Octa-Sabal Plus” which only contains about 100 mg of actual pumpkin seed extract. The standard for PSO supplements is usually 1000 mg per capsule. This means the effect very well could have come from other ingredients in the proprietary blend and not from the PSO.
In another study testing it for BPH it found that pumpkin seed oil “…can inhibit testosterone-induced hyperplasia of the prostate and therefore may be beneficial in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia.” The higher dosage of 4 mg per 100 g of body weight was more effective than the 2 mg per 100 g of body weight.
PSO can be applied topically on the scalp in the form of a gentle cleansing shampoo or you could just eat pumpkin seeds although we would recommend a supplement because you’re going to be eating a lot of pumpkin seeds. There is no recommended dosage although as we said before 1000 mg is the standard.
Ecklonia Cava
Ecklonia Cava is an edible marine alga common in Asia off the coasts of Korea, Japan, and China. It has recently been promoted heavily in hair loss circles thanks to 2 very promising studies performed in 2012 and 2013.
In the 2012 study, Korean researchers used an ecklonia cava extract in vitro for 3 weeks and found that it increased the length of hair fibers. They also tested its topical application on mice and found it increased the proliferation of dermal papilla cells by 113.5%, cells which nourish hair follicles by bringing them much needed nutrients and oxygen by essentially connecting your blood supply to the lower layers of the surface of the skin.
More dermal papilla cells are a good thing! If you remember we mentioned earlier how men with balding scalps had less blood flow to the areas of the head where they were balding at. The researchers credit ecklonia cava for not only increasing the number of dermal papilla cells but also for its 5-alpha reductase inhibitory effects meaning it has two effective mechanisms of action!
In the 2013 study we see similar results: an elongation of the hair shaft and an increased proliferation of dermal papilla cells. Its effectiveness comes from regulating the body’s antioxidative and anti-inflammatory responses, two underrated factors in hair loss that we’ll be talking more about further below. Ecklonia cava has one of the highest concentrations of phloroglucinols, an antioxidant common in sea plants.
Two components, dioxinodehydroeckol and & dieckol, were found to be primarily responsible for ecklonia cava’s effects on hair growth.
In fact when dieckol was isolated and tested at the highest concentration of 100 mg/mL, it was just as effective as finasteride.
This makes E. Cava one of the few known natural compounds that has been tested and proved to increase hair growth through topical application.
Pygeum Bark
Pygeum Bark comes from the Pygeum Africanum tree, a cherry tree found in Africa. It’s another commonly touted natural DHT blocker and you’ll see it getting promoted for men’s hair loss although the research hasn’t been convincing enough for us to draw that conclusion just yet.
First off, there are no studies testing its application specifically for male pattern baldness so we have to base any conclusions off BPH research.
And if you remember the study we linked to above where pygeum bark was tested alongside stinging nettle, a 25mg extract taken for six months did not produce any significant improvement over the placebo group.
Some studies have found it promising for relieving symptoms of prostate cancer and BPH. Like this one which did a meta-analysis of 18 randomized trials involving 1562 men. But they noted, “…the reviewed studies were small in size, were of short duration, used varied doses and preparations and rarely reported outcomes using standardized validated measures of efficacy.”
If you’re interested, there is no recommended dosage, although one study testing pygeum bark extract for BPH at doses of 50 mg taken twice daily and 100 mg taken once daily for 2 months was found to be safe as well as after a year.
Beta-Sitosterol
Beta-Sitosterol is a family of naturally occurring substances called phytosterols found in a variety of plants and foods. They have a similar chemical structure to cholesterol and are known to be able to lower cholesterol levels.
If you remember above we linked to a study which tested beta-sitosterol with saw palmetto and it reported that 60% of the subjects were rated as having shown improvement in hair growth and that it establishes “…the effectiveness of naturally occurring 5AR inhibitors against AGA for the first time.”
Again, whether this can be contributed to saw palmetto or beta-sitosterol is difficult to say.
Studies on BPH patients have found it to improve symptoms. See this one and this. But both concluded that more clinical trials should be conducted before confirming their results and they make no mention of its effects on DHT or the 5-alpha reductase enzyme.
You can supplement beta-sitosterol or find trace amounts in the following foods:
- Avocados
- Nuts of various kinds (pistachios, macadamia, etc.)
- Vegetable oils (especially canola)
- Sesame Seeds
Reishi Mushroom and Other Mushroom Species
A 2005 study testing a variety of mushroom species for their anti-androgenic properties found the ganoderma lucidum species, known by its common name as the reishi mushroom, to be the most effective at inhibiting the 5-alpha reductase enzyme.
The reishi mushroom showed inhibitory activity somewhere between 70% and 80%. The second most effective was the pleurotus ostreatus, also known as the oyster mushroom, which was at about 60%.
Both reishi and oyster mushrooms are edible and can be safely added to your diet. You can also choose to supplement them as a powder or take capsules. Doses range between a couple hundred mg to almost a gram. Alternatively, you can also create a tea out of them or even apply them topically by mixing the ingredient with your shampoo or a hair mask.
Giant Dodder Seed
The giant dodder is a plant species native to India. All references to giant dodder as a DHT blocker point towards a single study performed back in 2008 in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
Thankfully it was studied for its ability to regrow hair and inhibit the 5-alpha reductase enzyme rather than BPH.
They mentioned that cuscuta reflexa (the scientific name for giant dodder) “exhibited promising hair growth-promoting activity as reflected from follicular density…” and that their results suggest “…the extract reversed androgen-induced alopecia by inhibiting conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.”
It’s one study and it was performed on mice and we would have liked to see more research duplicating its results but the fact that it was tested for the purposes of hair growth rather than BPH (and it worked) means we’ll keep our eye on this one.
Rosemary Oil Extract
Rosemary oil is commonly used as an ingredient in homemade hair masks to treat damaged hair thanks to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. This is great for balding because fungal infections and bad bacteria can be contributing factors toward hair loss but rosemary can also stimulate new hair growth by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to DHT.
That’s exactly what one study performed on mice found when rosemary extract was applied daily directly onto the skin. It showed inhibitory activity of 82.4% at 200 µg/mL which suggests it effectively blocks the binding of DHT to androgen receptors.
Another study comparing rosemary oil to a 2% concentration of minoxidil found no increase in hair count for either group after three months but after six months the mean hair count increased significantly and there was no major difference between either treatment.
You can either apply the oil directly onto your scalp and massage it around (remember to do an exfoliating scalp peel beforehand) or you can mix some in with your shampoo and let it sit over your head. Like any other topical treatment, it’s best to be consistent so don’t skip days.
Sesame Seeds and Flaxseeds
Both sesame seeds and flaxseeds have been noted for their anti-androgenic effects. In addition, they are mostly composed of omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for healthy hair development and have a number of other health benefits we won’t get into here.
So how well do they work for hair loss?
In one study performed on rabbits, giving them a feed which contained 2.5% crushed linseed (another name for flax), increased hair length by 26% (from one month in toward the end of the experiment) and hair diameter (meaning the width or thickness of the hair follicle) by 7% (from the second month toward the end of the experiment).
In another study which tested sesame seeds and flax as well as a number of other plant extracts like soybean and safflower, sesame seeds had the largest anti-androgenic effect along with soybean seeds thanks to their high concentration of phenolic compounds which act like phytoestrogens in the body.
Sesame seed also contained the highest concentration of beta-sitosterol which is another DHT blocker we talked about above and helps contribute to its effectiveness.
The only hesitation we have with recommending either sesame seeds or flax is that they inhibit DHT production by lowering your testosterone levels. As a consequence they also raise your estrogen levels. For this reason, we’d say be careful and look elsewhere for a less harmful DHT blocker although they do work.
Why DHT Sensitivity Matters
Now that we’ve gone through some of the most powerful DHT blockers, let’s explain what we meant when we said that your body’s sensitivity to the DHT hormone matters more than the total levels.
Consider this: Do all men who have high DHT levels go bald? Of course not.
Why isn’t their hair affected by the hormone the way it is in balding men? Genetics? Maybe. But what is it about their genetics exactly that protects their hair? Balding men don’t necessarily have higher DHT levels but they are clearly more susceptible to its effects.
Next consider that DHT actually helps grow the hair on the other parts of your body. Yes, DHT is responsible for hair growth on your chest, back, arms, legs, and everywhere else. Why doesn’t it cause those hairs to fall out like the hair on your head?
Why do balding men experience less blood flow to the scalp especially the areas where balding is most prevalent, the vertex and frontal areas of the head?
The secret may involve your diet, the influence it has over the pH balance within your body, and how that affects the 5-alpha reductase enzyme and its activities in the scalp.
Let’s first explain what the pH scale is.
pH is simply a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The scale runs from 0 to 14 with a 0 being extremely acidic, 14 extremely alkaline, and a 7 even balanced.
This is important to know because your body’s optimal pH level is slightly alkaline, around a very narrow range of approximately 7.35 – 7.45 on the scale. 7.4 is considered normal, or optimal.
And we know that if the pH balance of your body is disrupted, especially if it veers toward being too acidic and falls too far below 7.35 on the scale, it can disrupt your hormonal balance and your body diverts resources toward repairing the damage. This is one way of putting your body in a state of chronic inflammation.
Diet plays a key role in maintaining proper pH levels. And the average person following the Standard American Diet (SAD) consumes a large amount of foods that produce an acidic cellular environment.
Why is this important for hair loss? Several studies have found that the 5-alpha reductase enzyme prefers an acidic environment, somewhere between a 5 and 7 on the scale.
Think about what this means.
The food you eat can enable or hurt the activity of the 5-alpha reductase enzyme’s ability to convert testosterone to DHT.
When you are eating acidic foods like sugars your body is devoting resources toward fighting inflammation, meaning decreased blood flow toward your scalp which in turn is now also being targeted by the 5ar enzyme.
Your body is essentially attacking itself as a mistaken byproduct of attempting to relieve the damage it has been caused.
A similar thing happens when you eat foods you’re allergic to – gluten, nuts, dairy, etc. The food we eat changes our microbiome, home to billions of microorganisms and bacteria that help digest food and keep us healthy. If this delicate balance gets disrupted, autoimmune disorders can arise as your body tries to deal with the inflammation.
In fact, the research is clear: balding men exhibit lower levels of antioxidants on their scalps than non-balding men. When patients took 100 mg twice daily of tocotrienol which is a potent form of Vitamin E, after 8 months they found that total hair count increased by 34.5% and they credited the protection from oxidative stress for the benefit.
Overall, we want to reduce inflammatory factors, keep our body’s pH level in an alkaline cellular environment, improve our microbiome with more good gut bacteria and less bad, increase blood flow to the scalp, and feed our bodies with an abundance of the vitamins and minerals needed to regrow healthy hair.
Doing so will help lower the sensitivity of our hair follicles to DHT’s effects!
How To Regrow Healthy Hair
Stopping your body from attacking your hair follicles is the first step. That’s where DHT blockers can help.
The next step is helping your hair regrow healthy and strong.
There are many vitamins and minerals and essential oils and herbs and other substances that can help boost the rate your hair grows back and we’re going to talk about some of them below.
But instead of trying and buying tons of different products we want to tell you about a single hair healthy supplement that packs a good number of ingredients proven to help regrow hair into a single capsule.
It’s called Ultrax Labs Hair Rush and we want to show you why we believe every man trying to grow healthy hair needs to be taking it.
First off, it contains three of the inhibitors we mentioned earlier (nettle root, pumpkin seed, and saw palmetto) in a single capsule so you don’t have to buy separate products to get their benefits.
It also contains several key nutrients often overlooked when it comes to hair health like zinc, biotin, pantothenic acid (aka Vitamin B5), and Vitamin D. Deficiencies in any of these nutrients can contribute to hair loss or less than optimal growth as we covered in our guide on how to grow hair faster (link at the end of this post).
Here’s a quick rundown of some of its other ingredients:
Vitamin C & Vitamin E
Vitaminc C-Phosphate which gets converted into regular old Vitamin C in cells has been found to help the dermal papilla cells on the scalp to develop more quickly. Remember that these are the cells responsible for providing the nutrients that other cells in the hair follicles can use to make hair. They have androgen receptors and when DHT attaches to them the growth of new hair stops. Vitamin C does this by inhibiting the DKK-1 protein which is activated by DHT and causes these cells to stop working.
For this reason, you want to be consuming large amounts of Vitamin C in addition to its anti-inflammatory and immune system strengthening properties.
Vitamin E is also essential for growing hair as evidenced by the study we linked to above which protected the hair follicles from oxidative stress and inflammation related symptoms. Vitamin E works both topically and internally and like Vitamin C, is a powerful antioxidant.
Gotu Kola
Also known as the centella asiatica, gotu kola is another plant that has been traditionally used as a medicine in places like India and China to help improve blood circulation throughout the body.
Studies have confirmed this effect. Take this one for example, which found that it improved the microcirculation of passengers with edema traveling by plane for more than three hours. Or this one which concluded that gotu kola helped improve the symptoms of patients with venous hypertension by showing “…a combined improvement of the microcirculation and capillary permeability after treatment with TTFCA…” TTFCA refers to the 60 mg tablet capsule of gotu kola given to the studies participants.
This is a great addition to a hair growth supplement because poor circulation will prevent your body from efficiently transporting the vitamins and minerals your cells need to rebuild a full head of thick hair.
To learn more about Hair Rush and see reviews, click here to see it on Amazon.
Other Ingredients To Look Out For
There are two more ingredients we discovered during our research that are NOT featured in the Hair Rush supplement linked to above. Still, we think these are noteworthy enough to mention thanks to the promising results they’ve shown thus far in studies. If you decide Hair Rush is not for you look for these in other supplements.
Fo-Ti Root
Fo-Ti root is a mountain herb with a long history of practice in traditional Chinese medicine dating back centuries. It’s still used in East Asia today as a treatment for men suffering with male-pattern baldness although it isn’t as well known in the West.
One study tested it on mice and found that an extract of the Fo-Ti root promoted hair growth by inducing the anagen phase in resting hair follicles. Each hair follicle has a three part life cycle (anagen > catagen > telogen) and the anagen phase is the active growth stage whereas the catagen is a short transitionary phase that leads to the telogen phase where the hair follicle begins to rest and eventually fall out. The anagen phase is where you want your hair follicles to be in because that means they’re growing!
Note: In the study we linked to above Fo-Ti is referred to by its scientific name, polygonum multiflorum.
Amla Fruit Extract
The amla fruit, also known as the Indian gooseberry or phyllanthus emblica, has been traditionally used as a hair loss treatment in parts of Southeast Asia for hundreds of years but it was only recently when a study performed in 2012 that its ability to successfully regrow thinning hair was confirmed.
Not only did it regrow hair, it outperformed Minoxidil (brand name Rogaine) in the trial, and boasted an impressive increase to the hair follicle count by 91.7%! The researchers credit its ability to reduce the 5-alpha reductase enzyme activity which means the amla extract is also a potent DHT blocker.
If you made it this far we would like to thank you! We hope you find this guide useful. If you want more information on how to grow your hair faster we suggest reading this post next. It covers a variety of techniques beyond the scope of this guide you may find useful.
Also, if you have any interesting links to research, think we should expand on a particular topic, or make something clearer feel free to reach out to us on the contact page. Our goal is to continuously update this guide as more studies come out to make it the ultimate resource for DHT and regrowing your hair.
