A new study has found that bee propolis can help prevent or reverse hair loss.
The research, published in the December 2014 edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that topical application of bee propolis reversed the balding effect,
Bee propolis is a natural resin substance made by bees to patch up holes and damage in their hive walls.
Bee propolis has strong anti-inflammatory effects when applied to the skin and research shows that most hair loss is due to underlying inflammation in the skin cells below the scalp.
Skin conditions such as scalp eczema or dermatitis, scalp psoriasis, scalp acne and even dandruff as well as some hormonal imbalances and medications can cause inflammation of the scalp skin cells, leading to weakened and damaged hair that eventually falls out.
The research showed that the application of bee propolis to the scalp in areas where hair thinning or loss had taken place helped increase the number of hair growth cells, halting hair damage to the hair follicle and increasing the strength of the hair root. The bee propolis scalp application also stimulated hair re-growth in areas of baldness.