Does peppermint oil regrow hair?
We found no study that tested peppermint oil on hair growth in people. The claim rests on one 2014 study in mice, scored on five animals per group at four weeks, that is often reported as showing peppermint oil beat minoxidil. That comparison was not tested statistically, and a 2024 review states that no study has yet evaluated peppermint oil for hair growth in humans.
What the mouse study found
Oh and colleagues shaved mice and applied 3% peppermint oil, 3% minoxidil, jojoba oil or saline to their backs for four weeks; the final scores came from five mice per group. The peppermint group grew the most hair. The figures that circulate, about 92% against about 55% for minoxidil, are not reported with a statistical test between those two groups; the paper's significance tests compare peppermint with saline and jojoba oil.
In people
A 2024 review of natural treatments for androgenetic alopecia states: "Up to date, no studies have been done to evaluate the potential efficacy of peppermint oil in enhancing the growth of hair and treating androgenic alopecia on human." Our own searches of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov found none either. Peppermint appears in some multi-ingredient hair products that have been tested, but those studies cannot say what the peppermint did.
Safety
The European Medicines Agency recognises peppermint oil on the skin for tension headache, and by tradition for coughs and colds, muscle pain and itching on intact skin. It lists no hair or scalp use. It must not be used in children under two, because menthol can cause reflex apnoea and spasm of the larynx, or in children with a history of seizures. The agency says not to apply it to broken or irritated skin, to keep it away from the eyes, and not to use it continuously for more than two weeks. Some people are allergic to it: in North American dermatitis clinics, 0.6% of patients patch-tested reacted.
Sources
- Peppermint Oil Promotes Hair Growth without Toxic Signs · Toxicological Research, 2014 · PMID 25584150
- An Overview of Commonly Used Natural Alternatives for the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia, with Special Emphasis on Rosemary Oil · Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2024 · PMID 39524109
- European Union herbal monograph on Mentha x piperita L., aetheroleum (Revision 1) · European Medicines Agency, 2020
- Patch Testing to Mentha piperita (Peppermint) Oil: The North American Contact Dermatitis Group Experience (2009-2020) · Dermatitis, 2025 · PMID 39172635
Checked against its sources on 2026-10-01, by us, not by a doctor. A research register, not medical advice: talk to a dermatologist about your own case. See why we're not doctors.