|
Green Tea and Hair
Loss and
Testimonials for
Hair Growth
by
Michael Ganzeveld
One of the most popular organic herbal
agents being used these days is green tea. The plant name for
organic green tea is Camellia sinensis which originates in
China, but very popular in Japan and other Asian countries.
Green tea comes from the dried leaves of the tea plant. It
is different from black tea in that black tea is the fermented
leaves from the same tea plant. Organic green tea has been
used in the last few years to combat a wide range of problems
including (but not limited to) skin aging, intestinal ailments,
as well as androgenetic alopecia.
No published studies have been done to demonstrate that green
tea is of worth for hair growth, whether taken orally as a
supplement or topically in a liquid form. Most people conclude
by their own judgment that if organic green tea has all of these
wonderful anti-oxidant effects, it must also be good for aging
and hair loss.
The Active Ingredients Found in Organic Green Tea:
Purine alkaloids are in green tea, which is a big name for
caffeine, not to mention theobromine and theophylline, which are
other ingredients you find in most other teas. The catechins are
the important compounds found in the unfermented tea leaves, and
the primary ingredients thought to be so helpful for green tea.
Catechins are known to have several medicinal properties.
One of which is that catechins cause the relaxation of blood
vessels so that it may help cardiovascular activity through
increased circulation. Catechins are also known to inhibit
and kill certain bacteria so it also has antibacterial benefits
like garlic extract does. Most importantly, it is the
anti-oxidant effects that people seem so enthralled with to help
skin wrinkles, aging, energy and stamina, and yes, also hair
growth. Green tea is also thought to help and be protective
against cancers, such as stomach and colon cancers and other
gastrointestinal cancers.
Green Tea and Hair Loss:
Using green tea to grow hair probably relates to the evidence
for influencing circulating hormones in the body. A high intake
of green tea correlates to higher levels of sex hormone-binding
protein - or globulin, which carries hormones like testosterone
around the body in a bound, unusable form so that tissues cannot
use it directly. Testosterone is usually carried around the body
by this binding protein, therefore, reducing levels of free
testosterone, so that it cannot be converted to
dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the hair follicle, which is thought
to shorten the hair cycle and cause hair loss in men. Green tea
is thought to effect the 5a-reductase type I enzyme, which
converts testosterone to DHT. There are two forms of
5a-reductase, and type I is the enzyme in higher amounts around
the body, but it is the type II enzyme, which is thought to be
responsible for most of the DHT formed in the hair follicle.
Finasteride/Propecia effects or inhibits the type II form found
in hair follicle.
In any case, the 5a-reductase enzymes can be confusing when you
try to figure out what type I does and what type II does and
what the difference is for hair growth. From a hair growth
perspective, both can be important, it is just that Merck makes
a big hype about the fact that their product, finasteride/Propecia
inhibits type II and this is supposed to be the main enzyme form
found in hair follicle, however, research work done in my lab a
few years ago, revealed both forms in hair follicle, and also
sebaceous glands. If anything, the type I enzyme is found mostly
in sebaceous gland, which is just next door to the hair follicle
and can also effect the level of male hormones around the hair
follicle.
Again, no clinical studies have been done to show efficacy of
green tea for hair loss, so it is up to the user to be aware of
the cost, side effects, the fact that no proper dose level is
known to effect hair growth, etc.
Potential Side Effects of Using Green Tea for Hair Loss:
Care should be taken to those with sensitive stomachs, since the
caffeine, tannins, acids, etc, can cause stomach irritation.
Many people do resort to taking high doses of herbals, so that
1.5 g of caffeine per day in green teas can cause restlessness,
irritability, sleeplessness, palpitations, vomiting, headache
and other symptoms. Those who consume more than 300 mg or 5 cups
of tea beverage can lead to the above symptoms, however fatal
doses are most likely not possible.
Other uses for green tea:
Green tea is most widely known in cosmetic preparations for
wrinkles on the face. The price of topical creams, lotions,
potions with green tea is off the wall, and again, I haven’t
seen any real evidence that using these agents, topically or
orally really helps in reversing wrinkles, but ladies will stand
in line at cosmetic counters, not to mention popular shopping
networks to buy the stuff for big bucks.
Interesting comment:
Minoxidil or Rogaine is also thought to work in stimulating hair
growth because of its oxidative-reducing capacity for cofactors
in the metabolic pathway. I would think that if green tea works
to help hair growth, it would be in a similar way to minoxidil,
rather then influencing the 5a-reductase enzymes. Who knows? Not
enough research has been done to really find out if it works and
what mechanisms it may have in skin.
Conclusion:
Try it if you want to, but again with any hair-growing agent, it
is advised to use for a 6 month to 12-month period for hair
growth. I’d be interested to know if it helped with hair
shedding, so if you try it, let me know what you think.
Remember, we usually shed about 100 hairs per day (shower, hair
brush, comb, pillow, floor etc), so if you see reduced shedding,
there may be something to it.
|
