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I never imagined using onion juice for hair growth, but after reading the great results of a recent study, I decided to give it a try!
Onions are more than just a healthy vegetable. They have been shown to help increase hair growth and reverse grey hair when applied to the scalp. That’s why every night you’ll find me applying onion juice for hair growth.
Onion juice has been used for hundreds of years to treat thin and greying hair.
Onion juice helps by providing nourishment and circulation to the hair follicles. It also kills germs, parasites, and is helpful in treating some fungi infections, all of which can aid in prevention of hair loss.
How Onion Juice for Hair Growth Works:
Onions are high in sulfur, which helps in regenerating the hair follicles. They are also beneficial in decreasing inflammation.
A few weeks ago, a breakthrough study for thin and grey hair was published and showed great results for the effectiveness of a topical compound called pseudocatalase (PC-KUS). The reason this topical cream was found effective was that it targeted the cause of grey and thinning hair.
Research from Bradford University in the UK and several other universities have shown that grey and thinning hair is caused by a buildup of hydrogen peroxide and a decrease in the natural antioxidant, catalase. When a buildup of hydrogen peroxide occurs at the hair follicles, it causes oxidative stress resulting in greying and thinning hair.
Catalase can not only be found in the topical cream, but it can also be produced from the application of onion juice! Onion juice reacts similarly when it is applied. It increases the level of catalase on the skins surface, reducing the buildup of hydrogen peroxide.
Onion Juice for Hair Loss and Greying Hair
The results from the topical application of onion juice can be observed within just a few weeks.
One study from the Journal of Dermatology found that just after four weeks of using onion juice, 74% of individuals with alopecia areata experienced significant hair regrowth. Within six weeks of using onion juice, 84% of the individuals were reported to have hair regrowth.
How to Make Onion Juice
When I first started researching using onion juice for hair growth, I immediately did a search for where I could buy some. Even though you can buy it online, it is better to use the juice of a fresh onion. Any onion juice you purchase from a store has most likely been sitting on a shelf for months. Fresh onion juice will be more potent. It is best to make the juice in small amounts so it is does not have to be stored for a long period of time.
There are 3 Ways You Can Make Onion Juice:
1) Juicer- If you have a juicer, this is the easiest way to make onion juice. Just peel the onion, cut it in half and put it in the juicer. I decided to buy a juicer just for the purpose of juicing onions because it is the fastest and easiest way to get the most juice. You can get an inexpensive juicer and they work great. I bought this one because of the very low price and absolutely love it!
2) Blender/Food Processor- Peel the onion and cut it into about 4 sections. Then put them into your blender or food processor and start blending. Lastly, strain the mixture so that only the juice is remaining.
3) Grater – Peel the onion and cut it in half. Grate both halves of the onion over a dish. Then strain the mixture to get just the juice.
How to Use Onion Juice for Hair Growth and Grey Hair
For the first application of onion juice, you may want to test it on a small area (in case you may be allergic to it) or water down the mixture. Even though it’s natural, pure onion juice is strong.
Steps:
- Apply the onion juice daily to your scalp and lightly massage it in. This helps stimulate the hair follicles and allows for maximum absorption.
- Leave the onion juice on for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
The smell is powerful, but the results may be worth it! To avoid smelling like onion all day, you can apply it at night and then wash it out before you go to bed.
If you’re allergic to onions or are looking for another option, there are many more ways you can increase hair growth with natural ingredients.
Rizwan Khan
I read all of your comments and based ur results so im starting by today will update you after six weeks 🙂
Lori
Hope it works for you!
Arsh
Hi lori,
Can i apply on my white beard ? Will it help in restoring natural color again in my beard?? Plz reply because i read all comments above but no one used this fr beard. I want frank opinion from you.
Thankx
Lori
It’s possible! I haven’t had anyone comment on using it for their beard. Let us know if you give it a try.
Maja
Thank you very much, I am also using the onion juice trick. Now for 2 weeks but can`t say I see big results. I need to wait a bit more time. On the start the smell was really awful, but now I mix some lemon juice and it`s ok. I also have bleached hair, so if the lemon juice lightens up them a bit, I have no problem.
Thanks I will be following your blog.
ram
I have been applying onion juice juice from last 3 weeks continuously 1 time /day and noticed that my hair became more thicker than earlier. Even the hair fall is very less and am applying this to cure gray hair
Lori
That’s great!
shreekant mehta
i am using onion juice just from tow weaks snd i have seen significant variation in the hair they have been reganerated
Anonymous
Will the onion juice work for me? I am 32 years old with 90% white hair and I color my hair regularly. Do I have to stop coloring my hair to see the results? Also, how long does it take to show results?
Lori
I’m not sure if onion would affect color treated hair. The participants saw results in about 6 to 8 weeks. Hope this helps!
Gabriel
Good but onion juice on the scalp is too strong for some people so here is a milder way to obtain the same thing:1- Take a yellow onion cut out de bottom root ,make two incisions on the side ,fill a quart pot with spring or filtered water put the whole onion ( do not take the skin off) in and boil with mild heat cca 1/2 hour till liquid become brown reddish-take the onion out ,discard only the first skin and save the onion. The liquid is an old excellent remedy for coughing and any lung problem 3 x per day 1/2 cup. 2- For hair: In a stainless st.pot put some of the cooled brown liquid ,,takel another whole onion cut it in two and with a knife chop the onion immersed in that liquid save de liquid and the chopped onion. Take a large neck plastic container with top ( like the apple juice container) with a large funnel transfer all the liquid and chopped onion in that bottle,add more liquid tight the top and put in the frigi min. 12 hour or more. 3. Clean your hair,massage your scalp with parts of the boiled onion,you can eat the boiled onion also( try it is sweet and still contain good nutrients for your body),than massage your scalp and hair with the liquid in the bottle,save the rest in the frigi.Keep it on your hair over night -clean it with shampoo it does not smell like the fresh onion juice. Repeat as many time per day as you choose . This way the onion will not make you cry,the fresh onion in the liquid captures the active ingredients and does not burn your hair,by drinking the brown liquid and eating the boiled onion you treat your body also. Later you can have fresh onion juice, and put more in that brown liquid and make it more concentrate if you want. People willing to use garlick do not rush to do it know-it must be aged garlick which requires an aging process,not fresh garlick which is very powerful. The One who made humans also made the onion and garlick,long befor our generation. Sincerely Gabriel.
sagar
hey am 22 yr onld
my qus. is
can onion juice convert to grey hair into black hair…
if yes than how many week the grey haiir convert again black hairs
Kashif Aziz Khan
Hi there ,
The smell wont go even after you wash you hairs !
Any suggestion to get rid of smell after wash ?
R,
Kashif
Lori
I use castile soap with essential oils to wash it out.
Nienke
Hi!
Is there anyone who can tell me if this also works for greying hair? I don’t see any comments about those results?
Please let me know!
muhammad
I m using onion juice for past 10 days. My hair stop falling. And i m noticing tiny hair are emerging. So its definetly working for me.
Saba
I have been using Onion juice daily 2 times since 2 days, I will continue it for 2 months. Lets see what happens
Lori
Hope it works for you!
Nalin Shrestha
Hello Lori . Yes I have read all the comments .. I can see majority of positive results ….. Its been 3-4 weeks since I m applying onion juice .. But I have asked you more question . Please if u know about that do answer me .. .
still I have about 1 cm of hairs on head .. as I told you I had shaved my head … On the crown of head I can clearly see my scalp ….But receding hairline had stopped… BT I have less hairs … Still my hair falls which I don’t know from where . As I told you I have 1 cm of hairs on head …. instead of those hairs I can feel very tiny hairs on my head when I touch my scalp with fingers … Are those new hairs or weak ones who are not growing?? because only those tiny hairs fall which maybe of 1-3mm in length. 5-10 tiny hairs stick to my hands while applying onion or while massaging or while shampoo … Bt yeah 1 cm of hairs don’t fall …. are they new hairs .. because if they will grow normally I would have again happy good hairs on head . BT If they continue to fall I would be bald soon ..
So my questions are :-
1. Will this onion mask work for me?
2. Is that method okay of applying onion which I mentioned in my previous comment?
3. are that tiny hairs new ones or old ones who are not growing and thus weak I.e they will fall?
4. Am I using good shampoo? panteen pro v
5. Had you seen any case that onions stop hairfall caused by heridity? I.e DHT prblm .
I am in real pain .. I look quite cute guy ,Girls do like me nd my fellow peoples also says me I look cute nd smart .. But u can understand what if your bf / husband who’s cute but has no hairs on head . :'(
Reply me and tryna help ……. Thank you mam !
Lori
The results can depend on the person. I’m just sharing my experience with it and the information given in the study. For me, I follow the method mentioned in the study, and sometimes cut back to once a week now. I don’t like using commercial shampoos because they have many added chemicals that can be harsh. So I use either aloe vera or castile soap. Hope this helps!
saurabh singhal
If we use onion juice at night then we should wash hair at night …yes \ no plz tell me…can I wash hair next day…
Lori
I wash my hair a few hours after just because I can’t take sleeping with the smell. But, you can leave it on over night if you don’t mind it.
Bob Greene
SOURCE FOR CATALASE WHICH DOES NOT USE ONION JUICE
Visit eBay for product, priced at $10 for 10g, with free shipping, full instructions are provided for mixing.
Bob Greene recommends storage in a refrigerator– a standard mixture will last weeks, even longer under refrigeration.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10g-Pseudocatalase-PC-KUS-Recently-Reported-to-Treat-Vitiligo-Gray-Hair-/171056895170
Abbas
i have also suffer this problem how can we used onion juice i saw the relative cut the onion 2 piece and blender then take it in hand and push then water of onion apply or onion past apply please give me answering ?
Nalin
I am using Onion juice for about 1-2 weeks .. I am having hairfall since I was 16 but was not that sever that time …. My hair was still great and dense . but now I am 18 and now hair fall had become much sever .. I can see my scalp when I expose my head to sun or while shower … I had shaved my head 5 times in between 2014-15 in a hope for better results . I used many oils like sesa (an ayurvedic oil in India which claims to stop hairfall) but nothing worked .. I am having a male pattern baldness … I can see a U shaped hair line and its receding …. till now I could not be called bald but if hairfall continue on its way I will be bald soon …15 days ago I shaved my head and started using onion juice from 5-6 days .. You know what . I have very tiny hairs on head .when I look into mirror i or touch my head I can feel some of very tiny hairs popping out of my scalp instead of already grown hairs …. But I can’t say they are new ones or they are those who are weak and are not able to grow at fast rates and whenever I massage my head or do shampoo some of that very tiny hairs stick to my hand …. Think of that .. I have very tiny hairs and still 5-6 hairs fall while massaging or shampooing …. 🙁 ….. I am loosing hope …… after how many days of applying onions I can see better results ? Will it work for me ? I apply onion juice on alternate days at night before going to bed and risen it off the next morning with panteen pro v smooth and silk shampoo . I stopped eating oily and fried foods …. But I am using onion juice in a bit different way .. as my head is shaved nd I m a boy too I do not need mmuch onions to apply juice so I take a quarter of a onion ….. chop it in very small pieces and beat it with a hammer to take out that juice in a plate …… Is that fine?? cuz still I juice came out ….. and its enough I think …. for my head …. Hope to see results ….. And yeah one more question .. will onion juice help in DHT control ??? cuz I don’t know the exact reason of my baldness …. my dad also have hairs on his head yeah but in a u shaped but that came when he crossed 40 …… I think my moms father is bald so that’s why I have that gene …. will onions work for me ????
Lori
Hi Nalin, those in the study saw results in several weeks, some took up to 8 weeks. You can also read others’ comments above.
Anonymous
how about garlic onion?
suhail
i have trying this remedy around two months now and it is working slowly but my question is does olive oil can apply together or later while using onion juice or is there any hairfall occur during this time because when i applying a homemade oil i witness most of the thin hair is falling down hence kindly give me a suggestion.
Lori
Glad to hear it’s working! I’m not sure if applying something else with it would hinder the benefits.
Anonymous
Hi,
Has anyone tried onion oil, does it have the same effect as the onion juice? it doesn’t have any bad odour.
Lori
I haven’t tried it, but I think the freshly juiced onions may provide more potent nutrients. Onion oil may be processed, heated, and is typically made to be sitting on a shelf for a very long time.
pardeep vashist
hi i am starting onion juice from today let see what happend with me if there is any progress in my hair regrowth then i will surely reply it
ryan
what kind of onion? green, sweet, red?
Lori
You can use any kind. I typically use yellow or red because they’re easier to find.
Abdul
Hi,
Can I able to apply onion juice to my Beard , because I have many wait hair in my Beard . Please suggest me
Lori
That’s a great question! I haven’t tried using it on any other areas besides my scalp. Hopefully others will be able to share their experiences.
Cesar
Hello.
How long does it take to see the results?
Lori
Some saw results in 4 to 8 weeks.
Anonymous
Hey guys. I had alopecia in high school. Tried steroid shots, minoxidil, and many other potential remedies including natural remedies with garlic and herbs etc.. None of them worked and I shaved the remaining hair off my head by senior year of high school. One day my dad came home from work and suggested the possibility of onion juice for hair. He found something online that said it could work so we figured it was worth a shot. Crazy right? Anyway, my mom helped me blend up onion juice and I put it on my scalp every few days. It made my scalp red and itchy. Very itchy. Weeks went by and no hair had grown back but I figured nothing else worked so I might as well keep trying. Slowly but surely, after two or three months, the patches that had been missing hair before had started growing back thick and dark patches of hair. Much darker than my normally brown hair. It filled out enough so that by the time the yearbook picture came around I could take the picture with most of my normal hair. But it didn’t stop there. I kept using the onion juice because it seemed it had been working. Within maybe eight months of starting use, by the time I started freshmen year of college, I had stopped using the onion juice. I had the thickest, darkest, and curliest hair of my life. It was not my normal hair. It lasted for almost a year after I had stopped the onion juice and gradually went back to normal. That was four years ago and now that my hair is receding again (not due to alopecia), I am on the juice again, hoping that it will work again.
For those trying it for a week or maybe a few weeks and stating to everyone ‘definitively’ that it does not work. You are doing everyone a disservice. If you are curious as to whether or not it works, try it for yourself, but give it more than a few weeks. You do not have to apply it every day, it is very strong and stays in your scalp for a while (I could tell when i’d smell it in sweat sometimes over a week later). Just juice it up however you can, put it in an air tight container, and refrigerate it. Make a new batch every week or so, and apply it to your scalp with a dropper so it can get under most of your hair. If you are worrying about the smell, put morrocan oil in your hair and wear cologne. I’ve heard lemon and orange juice works well to cover the smell when mixed but I haven’t tried it. Anyway it worked for me once and I’m confident it will again.
Good luck everyone.
-Wyatt
Bob Greene
Thank you “Anonymous” for detailed comments dated February 14, 2015, about your experience with sustained, long-term application of onion juice.
I was not fully persuaded until your post that onion actually could change hair color, although that is one of the claims elsewhere on this forum. The academic study with Virtiligo also noted some hair color change occurred after use of onion.
You imply that you covered your entire scalp area with onion juice– was that approach successful in all areas, including temples? I ask because most users seem concerned with balding in the vertex area, only.
Ochena
I know how effective is onion juice for reversing grey hair. I do apply onion juice twice a week and it’s already been 2 months. Honestly. I’ve seen some big changes in my gray hair. I will not tell that I’ve reversed my gray hair, but I’ve prevented it from growing more.
monu
Hey, I have been trying out this process , that is , applying onion juice every two days for the last 3 months and my hair has thickened on the scalp and on the front hair has regrown. On the front, hair has regrown by 2-4 mm around the initial boundary. I was suffering from Type 3 Male Pattern Baldness. Though, I am planning to continue this Ayurvedic treatment for atleast 2 more years and I am optimistic that my MPB will be reversed.
Thank you for the tip.
Lori
That is fantastic!!
Borcsa
Hi!
My mom used to clean my hair with onion when I was teenager. Didn’t even use shampoo for more then a year. It was brilliant. She just used to cut the onion in half and rubbed in my hair with it. After half and hour she rubbed in my hair with lemon juice (same way, cut it half etc), it took the smell away. And after 15 minutes I just washed my hair with clean water.
Lori
Wow, I didn’t think you could use it in place of a shampoo, cool!
Lisa
so cool. do you still do it these days? I’d like to try that.
I had tried onion juice before on my scalp. But then it felt itchy cos shampoo can’t really wash it properly. And my whole room smell onion. So I stopped doing it.
But, if there’s a way to really get rid off the itchiness and really can clean the scalp (after rubbing onion juice), then I’d like to try that again. Wouldn’t lemon is too harsh for the scalp? I’m afraid my hair would turn white after rubbing the lemon juice (in case if it’s too harsh).
I need to think where is the right place to do this? Outside my house? Cos the whole room smells onions if I do this (my bathroom is in my bedroom – master bedroom). If I do it outside my house, it would look weird as other people can see it lols (I live in an apartment).
Jason
Hi i was wondering wheaher i have to sue red onions ( which are the small ones) or Bombay Onions (which are the big ones) as some say the big onions are too strong?
Someone please help
i want this for the reversing of grey hairs!
Please reply!!
Lori
I use the fairly large white and yellow onions.
Anonymous
Hi i’m Ryan, a 19 year old male and wanted to know wheather i have to apply onion juice onto my scalp everyday or what?
I have grey hair and i want to get rid of it as it is really annoying for me to keep seeing them.
Does this remedy actually help in the reversal or what?
Please Reply! 🙂
Lori
I saw a definite difference in hair growth. You can read others’ comments to see how it worked for greying hair 🙂
Anonymous
Did you notice any changes bro…
Plz reply. …
Anonymous
Hi I’m 19 and have grey hairs!
It really annoy me to see grey hairs and I’mfind methods to try and reverses
Do I have to rub onion juice everyday or how does it work?
Please reply
Lori
I applied it every day at first and then cut back to once a week (just because I didn’t have time to do it every day).