Plant-based serum boosts hair growth in weeks
A new topical serum containing plant extracts and growth proteins has shown promising results in increasing hair density and thickness within 56 days. Developed by researchers in Taiwan, the treatment outperformed a placebo in a small clinical trial involving 60 adults. While encouraging, experts call for larger studies to confirm its efficacy.
Pattern baldness affects up to half of men and 40 per cent of women by the age of 50. Existing treatments like finasteride and minoxidil can help, but their success varies based on genetics and hair loss extent. Researchers at Schweitzer Biotech Company in Taiwan explored a novel approach with a serum combining caffeine, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), fibroblast growth factor-7 (FGF-7), and extracts from the tropical plant Centella asiatica.
The trial recruited 60 adults aged 18 to 60, not all with significant hair loss. Participants were split into five groups: the first received a placebo serum; the second a base of 0.1 per cent caffeine and vitamin B5; the third added IGF-1 and FGF-7; the fourth added C. asiatica extracts; and the fifth included all components. Each applied 1 millilitre to their scalp nightly for 56 days.
Results showed progressive improvements across groups in hair density, strand thickness, and reduced hair loss. The fifth group saw hair density rise by nearly 25 per cent, almost double the placebo's change. The team suggests C. asiatica may strengthen hair roots or enhance blood flow to follicles.
"This plant has been used for anti-ageing and restorative, anti-inflammatory uses," says Christos Tziotzios at King’s College London. "So it’s a bit of a miracle plant, supposedly. A few other things in the study have more evidence base, for example the long-acting IGF-1 and the FGF-7; they are known to have an impact on hair cycle."
Both researchers and Tziotzios stress the study's small scale, urging larger, longer trials before commercialization. The findings appear in a medRxiv preprint (DOI: 10.1101/2025.09.10.25335404).