By now, everyone has heard the new claims of cannabis being a natural panacea for all sorts of ailments. One of the less researched claims is that cannabinoids can help hair growth. There are many questions surrounding cannabinoids for hair growth. Questions such as which cannabinoids, how much of them, and how they are administered still lack conclusive answers. However, a recent study titled “A Cannabinoid Hairy‐Tale: Hair loss or hair gain?” provides some much needed insight.
Researchers Gupta and Talukder explain that the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) may support hair growth, but several other cannabinoids could lead to hair loss. This means that the best CBD products for hair growth will be products formulated with CBD isolate. It is also important to have the right amount of CBD in the product because high concentrations of CBD can also cause hair loss instead of preventing it!
The research team explains that CBD concentrations greater than or equal to 10 μM can cause hair loss. To convert that from molarity to milligrams, a little math is needed. After calculating for the molecular weight of CBD, 10 μM is about 3145 milligrams per milliliter (mg/ml). That means CBD hair products that contain 3000 mg/ml or more should definitely be avoided.
This study noted that there was one previous study that found a six-month course of once-daily CBD-rich topical application did increase hair growth in both men and women. In this study, just three to four milligrams of CBD were used in each application. The preparation in this study was an unusual composition of powdered hemp flower with less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) infused into a paste with lanolin and Emu oil.
While it is much more likely for consumers to use a commercial CBD topical for hair growth, this research suggests that consumers should pay attention to product formulation and avoid high potency and full-spectrum products that could have the opposite effect.
References
Gupta, A. K., & Talukder, M. (2022). A Cannabinoid Hairy‐Tale: Hair loss or hair gain? Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36181341/
