This Sweet Trick Could Make Hair Loss Treatments More Potent

The best medicines can come from unexpected places. Case in point: A new study published today finds that stevia — a natural sugar substitute — can boost the power of popular hair loss treatments.

Scientists in China and Australia have developed a melt-in patch that combines a sweetener derived from the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) with topical minoxidil, the active ingredient in popular over-the-counter hair loss medications such as Rogaine. In tests involving steel rats, the sweetened patch appeared to enhance the absorption of Minoxidil into the skin and boosted its ability to restore hair.

“This work opens up exciting possibilities for more effective and easy-to-use treatments for hair loss,” study author Lifeng Kang, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney School of Pharmacy, told Gizmodo.

The need for better hair loss treatment

Minoxidil is most commonly used to treat androgenetic alopecia, which is more commonly known as male or female pattern alopecia. The condition is primarily caused by the presence of genes that make a person’s hair follicles extremely sensitive to androgens (sex hormones associated with males). Regular use of minoxidil can slow or prevent further progression of androgenic alopecia, but it has its drawbacks.

The medicine does not dissolve easily in liquid and is not well absorbed into the body when applied topically, which means it must be applied a lot To be effective (usually at least once or twice a day). Other commonly added compounds such as ethanol and propylene glycol can improve the skin absorption of the medication, but they can also cause side effects, including itching, rashes, and dandruff buildup on your scalp.

A handful of studies suggest that invasive microdermabrasion — preceded by a small prick in the skin — can improve the absorption of minoxidil and even promote hair growth on its own as a result of increased blood flow to the hair follicles. For the new study, the researchers wondered whether it would be possible to develop a dissolvable patch that essentially performed microneedling and delivered minoxidil to a person’s scalp at the same time.

According to Kang, other studies have also indicated that natural compounds similar to stevia, including the main sweetener in monk fruit, have specific properties they can use to develop the patch. They hypothesized that stevioside, the primary sweetener in Stevia, could act as a base for both microneedles as well as help minoxidil dissolve better in water.

Early success

The researchers tested their patch on mice given doses of testosterone to simulate androgenic alopecia (the hormone does not directly cause pattern baldness in people, but it is split into another hormone that does, dihydrotestosterone). They then compared these mice to animals that were given nothing, and mice that were given a standard formulation of minoxidil.

The researchers found that mice that received the stevia patch saw clear improvements in hair growth. By day 35, the hair-dose mice saw hair return in about 67% of the treated area, compared to about 25% of the treated area in mice given standard minoxidil. As hoped, the researchers also found that the patch significantly improved drug absorption into the skin.

The results, published Wednesday in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, are still very preliminary, and more studies will be needed before the patch makes its way to humans, the researchers said.

“While the results of the mouse model are promising, human hair growth cycles vary, and androgenic alopecia is affected by multiple factors,” Kang said. “Therefore, clinical trials are necessary to confirm efficacy and safety in humans.”

But given these findings, and the fact that stevia is already widely used as a food additive, Kang is hopeful that stevia may prove a safe and easy increase in the effectiveness of minoxidil. He and his team are now looking to explain why stevia enhances the drug’s potency and whether similar compounds could work, too. They also hope to conduct clinical trials in people with pattern baldness.

“The MicroNeedle patch can simplify treatment regimens, reduce dosing frequency, and improve patient adherence,” Kang said.