Does pumpkin seed oil regrow hair?

What the 2014 trial found

Cho and colleagues, at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, randomly assigned 76 men with mild to moderate androgenetic alopecia to pumpkin seed oil capsules or placebo; 64 finished. After 24 weeks, hair counts in a fixed area had risen by an average of 40% on the oil and 10% on placebo. Hair thickness did not differ between the groups. A blinded investigator rated 17 of the 37 men on the oil as slightly or moderately improved, against 3 of the 39 on placebo.

Why the result is weaker than it sounds

The trial was funded by Dreamplus, the company that supplied the capsules and held the randomisation codes. It was entered on ClinicalTrials.gov in May 2013, after it had ended in December 2012, so its outcomes were not fixed in public before the results were known. The product was Octa Sabal Plus, and a 2019 review notes that it also contains extracts of vegetables, primrose, red clover and tomato, so the effect cannot be put down to pumpkin seed oil alone. The trial did not measure DHT.

The other studies

A 2021 trial gave 30 women with female pattern hair loss pumpkin seed oil and 30 others 5% minoxidil foam for three months, with no placebo group. Its summary reports improvement within each group but no comparison between them. A 2022 Thai study of a pumpkin seed oil scalp serum had no control group. The reviews that rate it most favourably, including a 2023 systematic review in JAMA Dermatology that saw a "potential benefit", rest on the 2014 trial.

What dermatology guidelines say

The European S3 guideline on androgenetic alopecia does not mention pumpkin seed oil. The summary of the 2025 Canadian consensus, which rates 45 treatments, does not name it either.

The DHT claim

The idea that pumpkin seed oil blocks the enzyme that makes DHT comes from studies in animals and cells. The 2014 trial did not measure DHT, and free testosterone did not change.

Safety

The European Medicines Agency recognises pumpkin seed only for urinary symptoms of an enlarged prostate or an overactive bladder, on the basis of traditional use, and lists no hair use. It reports mild stomach complaints in about 4% of users, and advises against use under 18 and in pregnancy. Its dose for the oil is 3 to 4 g a day, eight to ten times what the 2014 trial used.

Sources

1. Effect of pumpkin seed oil on hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial · Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014 · PMID 24864154
2. Effect of Pumpkin Seed Oil on Hair Growth in Men With Androgenetic Alopecia (NCT01852487) · ClinicalTrials.gov, 2013
3. Complementary and Alternative Treatments for Alopecia: A Comprehensive Review · Skin Appendage Disorders, 2019 · PMID 30815439
4. Pumpkin seed oil vs. minoxidil 5% topical foam for the treatment of female pattern hair loss: A randomized comparative trial · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021 · PMID 33544448
5. Pumpkin Seed Oil-Loaded Niosomes for Topical Application: 5α-Reductase Inhibitory, Anti-Inflammatory, and In Vivo Anti-Hair Loss Effects · Pharmaceuticals, 2022 · PMID 36015077
6. Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of Nutritional Supplements for Treating Hair Loss: A Systematic Review · JAMA Dermatology, 2023 · PMID 36449274
7. Evidence-based (S3) guideline for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women and in men – short version · Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 2018 · PMID 29178529
8. A Canadian Consensus on Androgenetic Alopecia: Approach and Management · Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, 2025 · PMID 40986632
9. Community herbal monograph on Cucurbita pepo L., semen · European Medicines Agency, 2012