Can Yeast Infection Cream Really Help Your Hair Grow?

The active ingredients in yeast infection medications are usually miconazol nitrate (MN), trioconosol, or clotrimazole. Now, most people are using creams that contain miconazol nitrate (MN) as the active ingredient. I did find some cases on different forums of people using clotrimazole cream for growth, but didn’t find much about the use of trioconosol creams for hair growth. Those that have used the creams are calling it a miracle hair cream. Many have noticed their hair is growing faster. Some people experience an additional 1-2 inches per month as well as thicker hair. There are some cons however. Some people have mentioned that they notice increased shedding of the hair, have experienced headaches, and some scalp irritation.

Why yeast infection creams may work

Now for those of you who have done extensive research on hair loss… using an anti-fungal for hair growth won’t sound all that groundbreaking. As a matter of fact it is often recommended that an anti-fungal shampoo be added to your hair care regimen. Some of the popular recommendations include: Nizoral, Head & Shoulders, Selsun Blue, and T-Gel. Some dermatologists are even prescribing anti-fungal creams to those experiencing hair loss.

There are two reasons why an anti-fungal cream may help those suffering from hair loss. These creams have anti-fungal properties as well as anti-androgen properties. Let’s start with the anti-fungal properties. Hair loss can be caused by a number of different factors. One of them being fungal infections. One of the most well known fungal infection to cause hair loss is ringworm. Though, some health care practitioners believe that hair loss can also be caused by a chronic yeast (fungus) on the body and scalp also commonly called candida. If you browse through some different candida sites and forums and you’ll see countless people stating that they have noticed a link between their candida infections and hair loss.

Now, when most candida sufferers talk about their yeast problem, they are talking about an overgrowth of the yeast that is normally found in the intestines. It would be hard to imagine that using yeast infection cream on the scalp could somehow help the overgrowth of candida in the gut. No, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that if systemic (an all-over chronic infection) candida can cause hair loss, some yeast present on the scalp could certainly contribute to thinning over time. I won’t go into the mechanism of how candida can cause hair loss in this article but I will simply state that candida can infect the hair follicle, cause folliculitis which can contribute to thinning hair.

Some anti-fungals are known to also have anti-androgenic properties. Ketoconazole is one such anti-fungal. It is the active ingredient in a popular anti-dandruff shampoo, Nizoral, which has also gained some popularity in the hair loss world. There is an even a study that suggest that Nizoral might be as effective as minoxidil, the active ingredient in Rogaine, at increasing the thickness of an individual strand of hair.

For now, we can’t be sure whether yeast infection creams also have some anti-androgenic properties. What we do know is that many women (and men) have been using the creams to successfully thicken their hair and speed up growth. Now, keep in mind the side effects that were mentioned earlier.

If you’re intrigued but still not keen on applying yeast infection cream on your scalp, you may be happy to know that some hair loss sufferers are using dandruff shampoos with similar results. Dandruff has been shown to be caused, in part, to Malassezia yeast- a type of fungus. Dandruff shampoos contain different anti-fungal medications that target yeast, decrease dandruff, and as a side effect may also help your hair grow. Before you run out and grab just any dandruff shampoo, read through the below list of dandruff shampoos that may promote growth; some have a better reputation than others.

Head & Shoulders: A study has shown that the active ingredient, zinc pyrithione, in Head & Shoulders can modestly increase hair growth. In the study, the anti-fungal was compared to ketoconazole and piroctone olamine. Those who used the zinc pyrithione shampoo saw a decrease in hair shedding and an increase in the amount of hairs in the growth phase; but the other users in the study had more of an improvement with the ketoconazole and piroctone olamine shampoos. Additionally, many have commented on forums that they’ve had negative reaction to Head & Shoulders. This may or may not be from an allergic reaction to the zinc pyrithione. In any case, there are better options out there and Head & Shoulders would not be my first choice among this list of shampoos.

Nizoral: The active ingredient in Nizoral is ketoconazole. It is probably the most popular of shampoos in this list to be used specifically to help grow hair. Not many people complain of allergic reactions to the shampoo. In the study mentioned above, the ketoconazole shampoo outperformed the zinc pyrithione shampoo in decreasing the amount of shedding hair. If you have experienced hair loss, I would recommend adding Nizoral to your regimen to help slow any further shedding.

Selsun Blue: The active ingredient in this shampoo is zinc pyrithione, which we’ve already covered, and selenium sulfide. Selenium sulfide has been documented to cause hair loss. Obviously, this shampoo is not one that I would recommend trying if you are experiencing hair loss.

T-Gel Shampoo “Greasy Hair: This particular version of the shampoo contains piroctone olamine which has been shown to be even more effective than ketoconazole in increasing hair shaft diameter and about as effective in reducing hair shedding. Many users have also said that this shampoo is less drying than Nizoral. I would also recommend trying T-Gel, but only the version with piroctone olamine as the active ingredient. Other versions of the T-Gel shampoo have different active ingredients.

A Natural Alternative

Some of you may be more interested in a “natural” product. There are many herbs and oils that have anti-fungal properties. One natural alternative would be to apply emu oil to the scalp 2 to 3 times per week. Emu oil is a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antibacterial.

So yes, you can use yeast infection and jock itch cream to help grow your hair. If you are hesitant, try Nizoral or T-Gel, they both can work. If you are looking for something natural, emu oil is a good option.

Can Yeast Infection Cream Really Help Your Hair Grow? by Donna L. Palmer