TLDR Onion juice is more effective than tap water for hair re-growth in patchy alopecia areata.
The study investigated the effectiveness of topical crude onion juice as a treatment for patchy alopecia areata compared to tap water. It involved 38 patients divided into two groups: 23 patients treated with onion juice and 15 with tap water. The onion juice group showed significant hair re-growth, with 73.9% of patients experiencing re-growth at 4 weeks and 86.9% at 6 weeks, particularly among males. In contrast, the tap water group showed minimal improvement, with only 13% experiencing re-growth at 8 weeks. The study concluded that crude onion juice was significantly more effective than tap water for treating patchy alopecia areata.
391 citations
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January 2010 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Half of people with Alopecia Areata may see hair regrowth within a year without treatment, but recovery is unpredictable.
132 citations
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November 1998 in “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology” Topical sensitizers have mixed success in treating alopecia areata.
148 citations
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December 2018 in “Journal of autoimmunity” Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease causing patchy hair loss, often with other autoimmune disorders, but its exact causes are unknown.
4 citations
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November 2018 in “JAAD case reports” Alopecia areata can sometimes appear as a straight line of hair loss instead of round patches.
May 2018 in “Journal of cosmetology & trichology” Combining platelet-rich plasma therapy with prostaglandin-F eye drops can significantly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.
370 citations
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September 1999 in “The New England Journal of Medicine” Finasteride and minoxidil are effective for hair loss, but continued research is needed for better treatments.