Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Mar;6(2):88-96.
doi: 10.1159/000504786. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

The Role of Diet as an Adjuvant Treatment in Scarring and Nonscarring Alopecia

Christine T Pham  1 , Karina Romero  2 , Hind M Almohanna  3 , Jacob Griggs  4 , Azhar Ahmed  4 , Antonella Tosti  4
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Diet as an Adjuvant Treatment in Scarring and Nonscarring Alopecia

Christine T Pham et al. Skin Appendage Disord. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Diet is known to affect a wide range of health disorders. Many patients with hair and scalp diseases often inquire about special diets that may improve their symptoms.

Objective: To evaluate nutrition and diet as adjunct treatments in nonscarring and scarring alopecia.

Methods: A primary literature search using PRISMA guidelines was conducted using the PubMed database in October 2019.

Results: Twenty-four articles with 1,787 patients were included. The Mediterranean diet, which is rich in raw vegetables and fresh herbs, and isoflavone-rich soy contain anti-inflammatory nutrients that may promote hair health and growth in androgenetic alopecia (AGA). The gluten-free diet was shown to stimulate hair growth in alopecia areata (AA) patients with concomitant celiac disease, though no effect was seen with a lactose-free diet. Sufficient protein was found to be necessary for hair health. The human chorionic gonadotropin diet, hypocaloric diet, and increased fish, buckwheat, and millet groats consumption were possible triggers of alopecias such as AGA, AA, telogen effluvium, or frontal fibrosing alopecia.

Limitations: This review was limited by the lack of studies and controls.

Conclusion: The Mediterranean diet as well as diets rich in protein and soy may be potential adjunct therapeutics for the treatment of nonscarring alopecias. The use of diets in alopecia treatment regimens warrants further exploration.

Keywords: Alopecia; Diet; Hair loss; Nutrition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest for Dr. Antonella Tosti: Consultant P&G, DS Laboratories, Monat, Thirty Madison. Principal investigator: Incyte, Lilly, Aclaris, Nutrafol.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart depicting the PRISMA search algorithm used for this systematic review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Calder PC, Albers R, Antoine JM, Blum S, Bourdet-Sicard R, Ferns GA, et al. Inflammatory disease processes and interactions with nutrition. Br J Nutr. 2009 May;101((S1 Suppl 1)):S1–45. - PubMed
    1. Sears B. Anti-inflammatory Diets. J Am Coll Nutr. 2015;34((sup1 Suppl 1)):14–21. - PubMed
    1. Nair L DZ, Christiano AM. Gut microbiota plays a role in the development of alopecia areata. JID. 2017;137((5)):112.
    1. Rebello D, Wang E, Yen E, Lio PA, Kelly CR. Hair Growth in Two Alopecia Patients after Fecal Microbiota Transplant. ACG Case Rep J. 2017 Sep;4((1)):e107. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eun HC, Woo SM. The involvement of ROS on androgen inducible TGF beta 1 regulation derived from dermal papilla cells; a suggestive implication of ROS on androgenetic alopecia. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 Feb;58((2)):Ab84–84.