Ashwagandha

There is a consensus within the fitness industry that ashwagandha is great for stress and lowering cortisol. Anyone have evidence of this translating to hair regrowth?

Weser wrote:There is a consensus within the fitness industry that ashwagandha is great for stress and lowering cortisol. Anyone have evidence of this translating to hair regrowth?

There is some direct and mostly indirect evidence:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5496100/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4543599/

For healthy, lustrous hair, add ashwagandha to your shampoo. It is believed to improve scalp circulation, strengthen the hair, and get rid of dandruff, psoriasis, and eczema on the scalp. It stimulates melanin—the pigment responsible for the color of your hair—so it may reverse greying.

The second study says that ashwagandha increases cortisol... Isn't that a bad thing?

Weser wrote:The second study says that ashwagandha increases cortisol... Isn't that a bad thing?

Ashwagandha is a modulator.

So in the context of non-classical adrenal hyperplasia, increasing cortisol is a good thing.

In normal people, it will decrease it.

In non-classical adrenal hyperplasia, there is a deficiency of cortisol causing androgen excess. In normal people it can be the inverse of this.

Weser wrote:There is a consensus within the fitness industry that ashwagandha is great for stress and lowering cortisol. Anyone have evidence of this translating to hair regrowth?

Ashwaghanda is a testosterone booster. Be careful with it. I am not sure, from a hair loss persective, whether the lowered cortisol that results from taking ashwaghanda counteracts the DHT that results from the testosterone boosting effects of the herb.

I've used Ashwagandha on and off (as needed) for 15 years. It will not cause hair loss. Definitely cuts the coritsol. For me, just used it when stress was really high.

Remember, testosterone that is endogenous (from the body) does not cause hair loss. Exogeneous (from outside) will, because it's unbound, and pharmacologically an over-dose.

CausticSymmetry wrote:I've used Ashwagandha on and off (as needed) for 15 years. It will not cause hair loss. Definitely cuts the coritsol. For me, just used it when stress was really high.

Remember, testosterone that is endogenous (from the body) does not cause hair loss. Exogeneous (from outside) will, because it's unbound, and pharmacologically an over-dose.

Perhaps, but I experience that all-too-common hair stinging/itching the day I take a testosterone-boosting supp like Ash. But perhaps this is just an initial reaction and downregulation of DHT would occur had I continued to take it.

This and Chaga powder in a tincture was finally my solution.

Weser wrote:There is a consensus within the fitness industry that ashwagandha is great for stress and lowering cortisol. Anyone have evidence of this translating to hair regrowth?

I have been taking ashwagandha root powder (1 tablespoon per day) since this February. I would say that fatigue and inflammation are significantly reduced.

To the extent that hair loss is caused by stress, ashwagandha probably does help. But subjectively it does not feel like my scalp feels better because of it.  

In contrast, I can notice an improvement in the way my scalp feels when I take amla (Indian gooseberry) and similar effect with thyme.

Alma and chaga... Never heard of either, I will have to read about these. You guys know of any studies or their mechanisms of working?

Sage2 wrote:This and Chaga powder in a tincture was finally my solution.

Topically or internally?