To test the effects of CBD on hair growth, the group enrolled 28 males and 7 females (all Caucasian) with a diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia (AGA). This is more commonly known as male pattern baldness, but it affects women as well as men.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is the main non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis and hemp plants, and has been identified as a good potential candidate to regulate hair growth because it binds to endocannabinoid receptors that are particularly abundant in hair follicle cells.
For the purposes of this study, each person with AGA was given a topical extract of hemp in a 2oz (around 60ml) jar once a month, and advised to apply a thin layer once each morning to the areas of hair loss. The ointment was made up of powdered hemp extract infused into a lanolin base paste and natural emu oil carrier. Each 2oz jar contained 1000mg of the powder, with a CBD content of 108mg.
After 6 months of use, hair counts had, on average, increased considerably — around the temples by 74.1% in men, and 55.2% in women. In the crown area hair counts increased 120.1% for men, and 64.9% for women.
However for around one-third of patients, these improvements were preceded by a slight worsening of their condition — for these participants there was somewhat increased hair loss during the first month of treatment. However, this had eased off at the two-month visit and no further side effects were reported.
More tightly controlled studies are clearly needed, but the researchers say the results are encouraging, particularly because CBD could be used alongside conventional treatments.
“Since the CBD works through novel mechanisms entirely different from both finasteride and minoxidil it can be used in conjunction with these current drugs and would be expected to have synergistic effects,” they wrote.
