The Efficacy of 3% Minoxidil vs. Combined 3% Minoxidil and Korean Red Ginseng in Treating Female Pattern Alopecia
January 2014
in “
International Journal of Dermatology
”
TLDR Minoxidil with Korean red ginseng improves hair density and thickness more than minoxidil alone.
The study compared the efficacy of 3% minoxidil alone versus 3% minoxidil combined with Korean red ginseng (KRG) in treating female pattern alopecia. The study involved 41 patients split into two groups, with one group using only topical 3% minoxidil and the other using both topical 3% minoxidil and oral KRG. The two groups were evaluated before treatment, after 12 weeks, and after 24 weeks. The study found that hair density and thickness were significantly increased in the combination treatment group after 24 weeks compared to before treatment. The combination treatment group showed an improvement in hair density and hair thickness over the single treatment group, although not statistically significant. Based on the results of the study, combination treatment with topical minoxidil and oral KRG may be a more effective treatment than topical minoxidil treatment alone.