Literature Review on Korean Medicine Treatment for Alopecia

This literature review analyzed 22 studies involving 1,464 patients to assess the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatments for alopecia. The treatments included herbal medicine, acupuncture, external medicine or products, pharmacopuncture, and phototherapy. The most common type of alopecia treated was alopecia areata (87.8% of cases). Herbal medicine was the most frequently used treatment (83.3% of cases), with Gagam Cheongyoung-tang and Gagam Hwajung-hwan being primarily used. The most commonly used acupuncture point was GV20. The treatments were found to be effective in promoting hair growth and reducing hair loss, but side effects such as pruritus, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, and pain were reported in seven studies. The review concluded that Korean medicine could be a potential alternative treatment for alopecia, but more high-quality, large-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings.