They start by talking to a cardiologist (so I immediately question it since this isn’t a heart-related topic). But then they reference an animal study (from 2013!), which appears to be a proper journal.
Not sure why there isn’t anything more recent.
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/probiotics-hair-growt…
By itself, I would take it for a grain of salt. But given all we’re learning about the gut microbiome, maybe this can spur useful discussion.
then they reference an animal study (from 2013!), which appears to be a proper journal.
It’s an excellent journal, but there’s a huge caveat when it comes to extrapolating these results from mice to humans. The regulation of hair growth in mice and humans has some major differences. Dermatologists who study the hair follicle are well aware of this, but there were no dermatologists involved in this study. It was done at MIT, but the corresponding authors are in the departments of Comparative Medicine, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. And the cardiologist quoted at the start of the lay article was pushing a product involving a specific commensal bacteria. I would not be ready yet to take this particular claim seriously. But maintaining a healthy gut microbiome has such a wealth of benefits that we should all be doing it anyway, whether or not it will promote hair growth.
=sheila