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
. 2024 Apr 16;10(9):e29539.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29539. eCollection 2024 May 15.

Efficacy of probiotics in hair growth and dandruff control: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Chang-Shik Yin  1 , Trang Thi Minh Nguyen  2 , Eun-Ji Yi  2   3 , Shengdao Zheng  2   3 , Arce Defeo Bellere  2 , Qiwen Zheng  2 , Xiangji Jin  4 , Myeongju Kim  2 , Sejic Park  2 , Sarang Oh  2   3 , Tae-Hoo Yi  2
Affiliations
Review

Efficacy of probiotics in hair growth and dandruff control: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Chang-Shik Yin et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: Probiotics are intellectually rewarding for the discovery of their potential as a source of functional food. Investigating the economic and beauty sector dynamics, this study conducted a comprehensive review of scholarly articles to evaluate the capacity of probiotics to promote hair growth and manage dandruff.

Methods: We used the PRISMA 2020 with Embase, Pubmed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Scopus, and ICTRP databases to investigate studies till May 2023. Meta-analyses utilizing the random effects model were used with odds ratios (OR) and standardized mean differences (SMD).

Result: Meta-analysis comprised eight randomized clinical trials and preclinical studies. Hair growth analysis found a non-significant improvement in hair count (SMD = 0.32, 95 % CI -0.10 to 0.75) and a significant effect on thickness (SMD = 0.92, 95 % CI 0.47 to 1.36). In preclinical studies, probiotics significantly induced hair follicle count (SMD = 3.24, 95 % CI 0.65 to 5.82) and skin thickness (SMD = 2.32, 95 % CI 0.47 to 4.17). VEGF levels increased significantly (SMD = 2.97, 95 % CI 0.80 to 5.13), while IGF-1 showed a non-significant inducement (SMD = 0.53, 95 % CI -4.40 to 5.45). For dandruff control, two studies demonstrated non-significant improvement in adherent dandruff (OR = 1.31, 95 % CI 0.13-13.65) and a significant increase in free dandruff (OR = 5.39, 95 % CI 1.50-19.43). Hair follicle count, VEGF, IGF-1, and adherent dandruff parameters were recorded with high heterogeneity. For the systematic review, probiotics have shown potential in improving hair growth and controlling dandruff through modulation of the immune pathway and gut-hair axis. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway, IGF-1 pathway, and VEGF are key molecular pathways in regulating hair follicle growth and maintenance.

Conclusions: This review found significant aspects exemplified by the properties of probiotics related to promoting hair growth and anti-dandruff effect, which serve as a roadmap for further in-depth studies to make it into pilot scales.

Keywords: Alopecia; Dandruff; Hair growth; Hair loss; Probiotic; Scalp.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA 2020 study selection flowchart for the systematic review and meta-analysis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Summary of data result. A. Number of included papers being conducted in different countries; B. Number of included papers being conducted on each probiotic strain; C. Gender contributions in RCTs.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Risk of bias graph: review authors' judgments about each risk of bias item presented as percentages across all included studies.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Risk of bias summary: review authors' judgments about each risk of bias item for each included study.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Forest plot of hair growth in RCT studies.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Forest plot of hair growth in preclinical studies.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Forest plot of hair dandruff perception RCTs studies.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Molecular diagram of hair growth pathways induced by Probiotics.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Dandruff control pathways through probiotics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Mauldin E.A., Peters-Kennedy J. In: Jubb Kennedy., editor. vol. 1. Elsevier; 2016. Integumentary system; pp. 509–736.e1. (Palmer's Pathology of Domestic Animals). - DOI
    1. Schneider M.R., Schmidt-Ullrich R., Paus R. The hair follicle as a dynamic miniorgan. Curr. Biol. 2009;19 doi: 10.1111/j.1467-2494.2006.00326.x. R132–R142. [1] C. Piérard-Franchimont, E. Xhauflaire-Uhoda, G.E. Piérard, Revisiting dandruff, Int J Cosmet Sci 28 (2006) 311–318. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mauldin E.A., Peters-Kennedy J. In: Jubb Kennedy., editor. vol. 1. Elsevier; 2016. Integumentary system; pp. 509–736.e1. (Palmer's Pathology of Domestic Animals). - DOI
    1. Schneider M.R., Schmidt-Ullrich R., Paus R. The hair follicle as a dynamic miniorgan. Curr. Biol. 2009;19:R132–R142. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.12.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Redler S., Messenger A.G., Betz R.C. Genetics and other factors in the aetiology of female pattern hair loss. Exp. Dermatol. 2017;26:510–517. doi: 10.1111/exd.13373. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources