Can You Use CBD Oil for Hair Loss?

By the time they reach 50 years old, 85% of men and 40% of women will experience visible hair loss.

We’d all choose to keep our full head of hair if we had the choice, but many hair loss treatments seem to promise more than they deliver.

Along with all the buzz about CBD oil and its many uses, some people claim that you can use CBD oil for hair loss.

Is it true? Let’s take a deeper look.

What is CBD?

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s do a brief recap on this trendy phytocannabinoid.

Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, is one of the many naturally occurring cannabinoids that are found in the cannabis plant. The most famous cannabinoid, THC, is the compound responsible for the mind-altering high that is commonly associated with cannabis.

CBD, on the other hand, isn’t psychoactive and won’t get you high. It’s extracted from industrial hemp, which is a form of cannabis that has less than .3% THC and was recently legalized at the federal level.

People are using CBD products for a wide range of reasons, including anxiety, pain relief, the treatment of acne, gut disorders, psoriasis, dermatitis, Alzheimer’s, and cancer-related pain. So far only one CBD product has been approved by the FDA, which is prescribed for the treatment of two very rare and severe forms of epilepsy.

Available in every imaginable form, you can purchase CBD tinctures, salves, vape pens, gummies, shampoos, and even dog treats.

If you’re thinking about trying CBD either orally or topically, it’s a good idea to talk it over with your doctor first. CBD is understood to be non-addictive and beneficial to a lot of people, it can interact with certain medications.

Can You Use CBD For Hair Loss?

The field of cannabis research is still incredibly young, so there is a lot left to learn about exactly what cannabis products can and can’t do.

There isn’t yet explicit evidence that CBD directly encourages hair growth. That being said, many people believe that CBD can contribute to the health of the scalp as well as alleviate other conditions that can lead to hair loss.

It’s also important to note that hair loss can result from a number of different causes. While many people are stricken with hereditary hair loss, other causes include stress, diet, chemotherapy, certain medications, and lifestyle considerations.

CBD Can Encourage Scalp Health

CBD contains the essential vitamins A, D, and E, as well as amino and fatty acids that can all contribute to the health of the skin on your scalp.

These vitamins and proteins repair, nourish, and protect the scalp, and having a healthier scalp can lead to stronger hair and encourage hair growth. When your scalp tissue is stronger, hair follicles expand faster which leads to growing longer hair.

If you’re looking to apply CBD directly to your scalp, it’s important to know the differences between CBD shampoo, hemp shampoo, and hemp oil for hair.

Even though CBD comes from hemp, hemp shampoo doesn’t have CBD in it. That’s because hemp shampoo contains hemp oil rather than CBD oil. Hemp oil is made from the seeds of hemp, rather than the resinous flowers. It also can encourage scalp health because of the presence of fatty acids.

You can either buy hemp oil for hair on its own or hemp shampoo that contains hemp oil. If you’re looking for a CBD infused hair product, however, you’ll want to get a CBD shampoo rather than a hemp shampoo.

CBD Can Help With Stress, a Cause of Hair Loss

It’s known that having high-stress levels can disrupt the growth process of the hairs on your head. While all of your hair goes through a growth process and eventually falls out (it’s normal to lose 50 to 100 hairs a day) stress can encourage up to 10 times more hairs to go into a resting period and fall out.

Many people use CBD because of its calming effects to help them manage anxiety and stress. It’s possible that using CBD could reduce your stress levels and interrupt this process of growth disruption.

CBD is also believed to help regulate cortisol, which is known as the stress chemical. If you think that stress might be leading to your hair loss, you might be interested in looking into CBD for its stress-reducing abilities.

CBD Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Inflammation is also known to cause hair loss, and a study found that CBD has anti-inflammatory properties.

It’s believed that CBD is able to relieve inflammatory pain by interacting with something called the glycine receptor. By decreasing oxidative stress in the body through CBD’s antioxidant properties, inflammation is also reduced.

CBD For Hair Loss: We’ve Got a Lot to Learn

While there is a lot of promising potential in using CBD oil for hair loss, a lot more studies need to be done in order to determine whether CBD oil can directly lead to hair regrowth. In the meantime, CBD does appear to contribute to both the health of your scalp and hair, as well as reducing the prevalence of some of the conditions that are known to cause hair loss.

Want to learn more about the studies behind the benefits of CBD oil? Be sure to check out our articles about CBD research. Thinking about getting some CBD, but aren’t sure where to start? Head over to our handy buyer’s guide.