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Rosemary oil is derived from the rosemary plant and is often used in perfumes, skincare, and hair care. Rosemary oil has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties that may benefit its use in cosmetics. More recently, studies have been looking at whether rosemary oil can be used as a treatment for pattern hair loss.
Key insights:
- The in vitro evidence suggests that rosemary oil contains anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatory properties that may protect against aspects of hair loss; however, these studies did not look at cells or tissue relating to the hair follicle. Furthermore, rosemary leaf extract has been shown to inhibit 5α-reductase activity.
- The in vivo evidence (in rats and mice) suggests topical rosemary oil or leaf extract may improve hair growth at comparable levels to topical 2% minoxidil. However, the data collection measures for these studies may reduce the reliability of this data as they relied on subjective or non-standardized methods of measuring hair regrowth.
- Clinical studies in humans also show that topical rosemary oil treatment for 6 months was able to increase hair count at a comparable level to 2% minoxidil treatment; however, these increases were not that great compared to the baseline hair counts (mean 122.8 hairs at baseline compared to mean 129.6 hairs at 6 months for rosemary oil treatment).
- Our experience tracking members: Rosemary oil by itself is not enough to improve hair loss outcomes.
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