If you’re looking for longer, fuller hair…join the club.
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But how do you know what will actually help you achieve that goal? Especially when everyone from celebrities and social media influencers to barbers and stylists has an opinion?
For many of us, that can lead to going down the rabbit hole of the hair care section of your local health and beauty store, or its online equivalent.
That’s where you might come across hair growth solutions like pumpkin seed oil: There are pumpkin seed oil supplements (even gummies!), topical treatments, and even bags of pumpkin seeds, all of which claim to help grow longer, thicker hair.
But what does pumpkin seed oil have to do with hair, and is it right for you?
We asked dermatologist Wilma Bergfeld, MD, about the popularity of pumpkin seed oil products for hair loss to help you make an informed decision.
The benefits of pumpkin seeds for hair
When it comes to hair care, pumpkin seed oil can be of great help.
“Pumpkin seed oil is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and it also contains vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, and linoleic acid,” says Dr. Bergfeld. “These are all potentially beneficial properties, and we know it’s safe to ingest and use as a topical treatment.”
But does all that potential translate into effective treatments for your hair? Probably.
Some researchers have shown promising results with pumpkin seed oil as a topical treatment to promote hair growth, but those studies have only been conducted in non-human models.
Other research suggests that using pumpkin seed oil as a dietary supplement may help people suffering from hair loss.
There are no studies done on whether having more pumpkin seeds in your diet is good for your hair, and there are no significant studies on the effects of pumpkin seed oil as an additive to hair care products (such as topical oils or as an ingredient in shampoos).
Does pumpkin seed oil help with hair loss?
Still, studies on pumpkin seed oil supplements show promise.
“There are many different categories of how effective a particular product is for hair growth,” Dr. Bergfeld explains, “and out of those four categories, pumpkin seed oil supplements are rated as a level two, which is a pretty high rating.”
Category 1 is given to the most thoroughly tested products – those with extensive research funding and double-blind scientific studies. This level of science is usually given to medicines that need to be thoroughly tested (and retested).
Pumpkin seed oil is a step below that, meaning it has been tested in relatively large studies and proven to be useful without causing any harmful effects.
Other hair removal products in category 2 include:
Zinc is a common additive in dandruff shampoos. Tocotrienol is a form of vitamin E. There are several brand-name hair supplements available, including Nutrafol®, Nourkrin®, and Pantogar®.
(For those who don’t know, categories 3 and 4 are for products that have not been proven with scientifically valid studies).
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One of the reasons pumpkin seed oil supplements are effective against hair loss is because they block testosterone, or more specifically, the hormone that testosterone is made from. This hormone is called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
“Excess DHT can lead to hair loss and other issues,” says Dr. Bergfeld. “Taking pumpkin seed oil may help reduce excess DHT, which can lead to hair loss.”
It’s important to note that pumpkin seed oil can help reduce excess DHT in the body. While it’s unlikely to cause major hormone imbalances or lead to low testosterone conditions, it may help remove some of the DHT, and maybe even enough to stimulate hair growth.
This is especially beneficial for those going through menopause, when estrogen levels drop dramatically and testosterone levels rise, which can be very damaging to hair in some people.
“After menopause, it’s common to see hair loss, thinning, or hair growth that begins to slow down,” Dr. Bergfeld points out.
Is pumpkin seed oil effective for hair loss?
Now, this all sounds pretty good: I can take a pumpkin seed oil supplement and my hair will grow longer in no time, right?
“There’s no need to rush,” warns Dr. Bergfeld: Pumpkin seed oil is not a magic pill for your hair, and while it may help in some cases, it won’t work for everyone.
Here are some reasons why:
It will take time
Even in the best of cases, hair grows slowly, so it may take some time for pumpkin seed oil to have any effect.
How long? It could take anywhere from six months to a year.
“You may notice a reduction in hair loss early on, but hair only grows about a quarter of an inch per month, so it may be a long time before you really notice new hair growing,” says Dr. Bergfeld.
That’s a long time to wait, and a long time to continue taking a supplement without knowing if it’s actually working.
Depends on the cause
Yes, pumpkin seed oil is packed with nutrients that are good for your hair, but there are many different causes of hair loss, so it may not be effective for all of them.
“To evaluate the cause of hair loss, you need to look at the whole person,” Dr. Bergfeld explains. “You need to look at a lot of different things: what is the health of their scalp, what is their overall diet, are they taking medications that affect the health of their hair? There are a lot of contributing factors.”
So while pumpkin seed oil supplements may be helpful for some people, it’s important to get to the root cause of your hair loss, because there may be better approaches to combating it, like medication or topical solutions.
Supplements are difficult to manage
When choosing a supplement, there are no guarantees. Supplements are not overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) like foods and drugs. (Hence the disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.)
That means there’s a lot of variability in the effectiveness of supplements. Sure, your bottle of pumpkin seed oil supplement might be fine-tuned to provide your body with a healthy amount of nutrients that encourage hair growth. But it might not. And there’s no way to know for sure.
Rather than picking out a bottle of pumpkin seed oil on your own and drinking it for a year or more in the hopes of it working, Dr. Bergfeld recommends talking to a dermatologist about your alopecia and its treatments. A dermatologist can review your health history, understand what’s causing your alopecia, and recommend the treatments that are most likely to work for you.
“Grass won’t grow if you don’t water it, and hair won’t grow unless you find and stick to the right treatment,” advises Dr. Bergfeld.
