Topically used herbal products for the treatment of hair loss: preclinical and clinical studies.

Currently available conventional therapies of hair loss using synthetic drugs are still imperfect and have a number of limitations. Their effectiveness as well as the safety of their use is often questioned. It has led to an increased interest in alternative treatments with fewer side-effects such as formulations containing herbs and/or their active constituents. For this purpose several electronic databases and hand-searched references were used to summarize current knowledge regarding topically used herbal products for the treatment of hair loss acquired on the basis of preclinical and clinical studies. Moreover, mechanism of their action, follicular penetration and possible adverse effect of herbal products will be also described.