Haritaki for Hair Loss? Scientists Just Found Something Surprising About DHT

Losing Your Hair? Haritaki Just Entered the Conversation

When Americans think about hair loss, two names usually dominate the conversation:

Minoxidil. Finasteride.

But in 2025, researchers published a study involving something far older:

Haritaki (Terminalia chebula).

And what they found involved one of the biggest names in male-pattern hair loss:

DHT. PubMed

Why Does DHT Matter for Hair?

Dihydrotestosterone—or DHT—plays an important role in androgenetic alopecia, the common form of pattern hair loss affecting men and women.

Testosterone can be converted into DHT by an enzyme called 5α-reductase. In genetically susceptible hair follicles, androgen signaling contributes to progressive follicle miniaturization.

That's also why finasteride targets 5α-reductase.

So researchers asked a fascinating question:

What would Haritaki extract do to this pathway?

Haritaki Inhibited 5α-Reductase in the Experiment

Researchers tested Terminalia chebula fruit extract using several experimental systems.

They reported that Haritaki extract inhibited type II 5α-reductase activity and reduced DHT-associated damage to dermal papilla cells—the specialized cells at the base of hair follicles that help regulate hair growth. PubMed

But that wasn't all.

The researchers also reported increased expression of genes including AKR1C1 and AKR1C3, which are involved in DHT metabolism. PubMed Central (PMC)

In other words, they weren't simply looking at whether “more hair appeared.”

They were investigating what Haritaki was doing around the biology of DHT itself.

Then They Tested Hair Growth

In a mouse model of androgenetic alopecia, researchers reported that the Haritaki extract reversed the experimental hair-loss phenotype, with efficacy described as comparable to finasteride under those particular experimental conditions. PubMed

And then things became even more interesting.

Researchers also used ex vivo human hair follicles and scalp tissue.

They reported reduced hair-follicle cell apoptosis, increased proliferation and stimulation of hair growth in these laboratory cultures. PubMed

Wait—Does Haritaki Regrow Hair in Humans?

That has NOT been established.

This wasn't a clinical trial where balding men swallowed Haritaki capsules and researchers photographed their hairlines six months later.

The research combined cellular experiments, an animal model and human hair follicles/scalp tissue studied outside the body. MDPI

That's a major distinction.

It also means we cannot assume that taking an oral Haritaki supplement produces the same concentrations or effects at the human scalp.

But This Research Is Hard to Ignore

Because now we're talking about:

Haritaki.

DHT.

5α-reductase.

Dermal papilla cells.

Human hair follicles.

Hair growth.

Those aren't ancient Ayurvedic theories.

They're things researchers actually measured in a modern laboratory.

An earlier 2022 study had already included Terminalia chebula among medicinal-plant extracts examined in human dermal papilla cells while researchers searched for potential anti-hair-loss applications. PubMed

Now the 2025 research has taken the question considerably further.

An Ancient Fruit Meets the Modern Hair-Loss Battle

Haritaki is usually discussed in connection with Ayurveda, digestion, longevity and the “Third Eye.”

Hair loss could become another chapter in the story.

Does Haritaki replace finasteride or minoxidil?

No clinical evidence currently establishes that.

Does taking Haritaki capsules regrow a receding hairline?

We don't know.

But scientists have now directly investigated Terminalia chebula against biological mechanisms involved in androgenetic hair loss.

And for anyone interested in Haritaki—or keeping their hair—that's a study worth watching.

Curious about the ancient fruit behind the research? Discover Harlowi Haritaki Third Eye Capsules below.