Have you drank a cup of green tea? If you're similar to many people on earth, your answer is yes. Next question, have you ever used green tea to improve your well being? If you said no, think about this: scientists continue to find multiple reasons why green tea should be used for elevating health and not just satisfying your mouth. If you've been near a television or radio during the past decade, you've probably heard about the anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties contained in green tea. A team of researchers from Korea have found a new medicinal use for green tea – baldness prevention. Yes, according Dr. Kwon of the Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, green tea prevents hair shedding. For men and women who don't desire to use drugs like minoxidil, finasteride or dutasteride to fight balding, green tea can be the answer they have been looking to find.

In 2006, Dr. Kwon and his colleagues aimed to test a unique hypothesis – can the anti-oxidants in green tea prevent hair loss by fighting androgens in the scalp. Androgens are the hormones responsible for most types of thinning hair for women and men. The research team in the Labaratory of Cutaneous Aging and Hair Research lead by Dr. Kwon recruited study subjects to contribute their hair follicles. The research team selected hair follicles that were currently in the anagen phase or growth phase and they incubated the hair follicles in well dishes. The research team discovered was amazing. Hair follicles exposed to green tea, specifically epigallocatechin-3-gallate, an ingredient in green tea, exhibited a greater ability to encourage growth and resist hair follicle death.

To understand why these findings are so remarkable consider the following: (1) Few studies have been conducted by scientists, objectively testing natural elements, like green tea, may curb thinning hair. (2) Investigations that have occurred, frequently have biased methods, which makes the reliability of the results difficult to substantiate. (3) More natural treatments in the battle to prevent thinning hair, and re-grow a woman or man's own hair are in need.

Can I use Green Tea to Stop My Hair Loss?

Yes and No. Yes, the scientists discovered that green tea displays the ability to promote hair re-growth through a two-step process of hair proliferation and reduction of hair follicle apoptosis (shrinking). The scientists didn't brew a cup of tea and splash it on the scalp of the subjects. Instead, the researchers identified the epigallocatechin-3-gallate in the green tea and mixed this formula with ethanol. This mixture was then applied to the heads of the research subjects.

It is believed that ethanol acts as a transporter, which helps with absorption. This means the benefits of green tea can be more readily realized by applying the green tea to the scalp within a mixture of ethanol. This does not indicate that you cannot apply green tea on your scalp. It just suggests your results may not be the same as the impressive findings of the research – unless you can create an identical mixture. Short of being a chemist or good at mixing ingredients, a better answer is to learn about all natural thinning hair products that include green tea.