Mane justice.
For sufferers of hair loss, patience for the two most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals — and their well-documented side effects — is wearing thin.
But new research points to old wisdom for how to treat a thinning a hairline, offering a gentler and more natural alternative to the pills and foams stocked in the medicine cabinets of the 50 million men and 30 million women who experience androgenic alopecia (AGA) in the US.
The study sheds light on the efficacy of polygoni multiflori radix (PMT), also known as the “tuber fleeceflower,” a dried root tuber that has been used to treat hair loss and early graying for thousands of years.
The promotion of hair growth is just one of its many purported benefits, which also include antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, brain and heart health benefits and even “anti-cancer effects,” according to the study’s authors.
They combed through medical diaries dating back to the year 813, during the Tang Dynasty, to understand how PMT has been administered throughout the ages, and to better inform a modern approach to harnessing the healing properties of the herb.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) relies on the balancing principles of yin-yang and qi, and attributes different ailments to specific imbalances in the body.
Hair health, according to TCM, is “closely linked to the liver and kidneys, with common etiological patterns for hair loss including blood heat with wind-dryness, damp-heat in the spleen and stomach, and liver-kidney yin deficiency,” the authors wrote.
PMT is thought to “tonify” the liver and kidneys, “nourish” blood and “dispel” wind, which explain its long history of being prescribed to fortify the roots of hair, stop premature graying and halt hair loss.
“These applications align most closely with the TCM pattern of ‘liver-kidney deficiency,’ which shares phenotypic similarities with AGA,” they wrote. “Moreover, by improving blood circulation and scalp condition, PMT may also benefit cases associated with blood heat and wind-dryness.”
The most common type of hair loss worldwide, AGA today is most frequently treated with one or both of two pharmaceuticals: Finasteride (also known as Propecia) and minoxidil.
Finasteride pills block a specific enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, the hormone that causes hair follicles to shrink and stop producing hair.
Minoxidil, which comes in oral and topical form, was designed to increase blood flow to the follicles and eventually promote thicker, stronger hair growth.
While plenty of online blogs and social posts claim Gen Z is losing its hair faster than previous generations — citing culprits in everything from poor mental health and stress to prolonged screen time — the data doesn’t explicitly appear to bear that out.
However, market reports show that Minoxidil sales are projected to keep climbing thanks to direct-to-consumer drug platforms like Hims and Hers, as well as “the rising prevalence of stress-induced hair loss and lifestyle changes, such as exposure to pollution and unhealthy diets,” further amplifying the demand, per Yahoo! Finance.
Gen Z is stressed about its hair and looking for answers. But the existing medical interventions come with some less-than-desirable side effects, like sexual dysfunction, mood changes, scalp irritation and unwanted hair growth elsewhere on the body, among other things.
PMT — which takes a more holistic approach, regulating hormones and improving circulation — offers something different: A “more favorable safety profile” that also supports hair regeneration, not just delayed hair loss.
One of the study’s lead authors, Bixian Han, said the team’s analysis “bridges ancient wisdom and modern science.”
“What surprised us was how consistently historical texts — from the Tang Dynasty onward — described effects that align perfectly with today’s understanding of hair biology,” Han added. “Modern studies now confirm that this isn’t folklore; it’s pharmacology.”
