RCTPending medical review

The question: Does a scalp serum made with ashwagandha root extract reduce hair fall and improve hair growth in adults with mild to moderate hair loss?
Who was studied: 68 healthy adults aged 18 to 45 with mild to moderate hair loss, 34 in each group. 61 were included in the final analysis.
What they took: A serum containing ashwagandha root extract, or a placebo serum, applied to the scalp once a day for 75 days. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew which they had.
What happened: Hair density rose by 7.3 hairs per square centimetre with the ashwagandha serum and by 2.8 with placebo (P<0.001). From a starting density of about 160, the rise with the serum is about 4.5%. Hair growth rate and thickness also improved more than with placebo, and fewer hairs came out in a 60-second comb test.[1]
How strong is this: Randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled, but a single short trial with the extract's maker as registered sponsor. Some of its numbers are hard to reconcile, which lowers confidence further.

The limits

The difference between the groups, 4.49 hairs per square centimetre, is smaller than the 10.16 the study was designed to detect.
The reported effect size (Cohen's d of 3.06) is implausibly large for a change this small.
Units do not match: the methods give hair growth in mm a day, and the results table gives it in micrometres a day.
Seventy-five days in healthy adults, with 61 of 68 analysed. It says nothing about scarring hair loss or other types of baldness.
The registry describes the amount of serum applied inconsistently, so we do not report it.

Who paid for it

The paper reports no specific grant, but says Ixoreal Biomed supplied the extract and lists this as a possible competing interest. The trial registry names Ixoreal Biomed as the primary sponsor and a source of monetary or material support.

Questions people ask

Does this apply to the hair oil or serum I use?

The registry names the product tested as KSM-66 ashwagandha hair serum. Other ashwagandha oils, shampoos or serums were not tested, and the result does not carry over to them.[2][1]

Does taking ashwagandha by mouth help hair fall?

This trial cannot say. It tested a serum on the scalp, not ashwagandha capsules or churna taken by mouth.[1]

Condition

Hair loss and hair fall: what Ayurveda offers

One industry-sponsored trial found an ashwagandha scalp serum added a few hairs over 75 days. We found no trial of Ayurvedic hair oils.

Evidence

Does ashwagandha reduce stress?

One small placebo-controlled trial found ashwagandha root extract lowered stress scores and cortisol over 60 days. Promising, not settled.

Sources

Awaiting review by The Good Vaidya Medical Board. Prepared from the sources below and checked against each one.

Published 4 November 2026 · Last updated 4 November 2026

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Does ashwagandha hair serum help hair loss?