Helminthic therapy and hair growth

Increased hair growth[edit | edit source]

There have been numerous reports of hair growth increasing while using helminthic therapy, along with improvements to fingernails and skin condition.

I’m 1.5 years into NA. And I just noticed that hair is growing back in places that had stopped 20 years ago. For example I had over plucked my eyebrows in my childhood & it didn’t grow back. I recently noticed hair growing very quickly in my eyebrow area and am having to re-pluck this to avoid a unibrow… I have so much hair at current it’s hard to keep up with it. I used to shave every 3-4 days. Now I have to on day 2. [1] [2]

My hair is so shiny and healthy looking now (since adopting NA). People comment! [3]

My hair got a little thicker (while hosting NA). [4]

I have hair growing in like crazy! I have curly hair and I keep it tied in a knot a lot so when the little strands started popping up everywhere I was horrified at first 😂 then I realized my hair was actually growing! [5] And an update following the second dose of NA... Once again I noticed lots of hair growth. I have head hair growing in all sizes and it hasn't been this thick since I was in my early 20s. Nice! [6]

I'm a regular Rapunzel these days (even with meds-induced and hyperthyroid hair-loss) I've been able to grow it a good 20cm longer (since using NA) so it's down to my bum pretty much and it's definitely healthier all along the length and not prone to splitting either. [7]

It’s been about 6 months for me so far w/ NA and some of the improvements are hard to quantify but my hair is very obviously regrowing. It’s not a slight improvement but rather a significant, noticeable improvement. My leg hair started growing again within four weeks. Then I noticed my eyelashes were longer. Even if there were no other benefit I would probably continue for this reason alone. I was always a person with tons of hair and I was watching it get thinner every year so it’s been a bonus. [8] [9]

I am only 4 months in with NA but I just said the other day that I feel like my haircut is growing out very quickly this time. [10]

Decreased hair growth[edit | edit source]

There have been a few accounts of hair being shed, but, in all but three cases, this has been limited to the side effect phase of the therapy, i.e., the first 2-3 months.

Transient hair loss[edit | edit source]

My wife mentioned her hair coming out more than normal when brushing it and showering. She has thick, healthy hair and never really had a problem with hair loss so it's something new that came up since dosing with worms. [11]

I had a problem with thinning hair before I took hookworm (probably thyroid-related in my case). It got even worse in the early weeks after my first HW dose but it stopped once the worms had settled in and my thyroid was treated. So whatever contribution the worms made to the problem was only temporary… The excessive hair loss had stopped by the time my other (mostly gastrointestinal) side effects had stopped. [12]

Persistent hair loss[edit | edit source]

The first of the three patients - all female and NA hosts - who have reported hair loss beyond the first few months of therapy has aplastic anemia. It was only after having had NA for two years that she began to lose hair, and she says that it has always grown back whenever she has lost her worms. There were apparently no changes around the time that the hair loss started, either in NA dosing or other treatments, etc., that might account for this effect, so the patient assumed that it must be worm-related. [13]

The second of these three individuals has reported steady hair loss since first introducing hookworms to treat ulcerative colitis. She had never suffered any hair loss previously, and, once started, it continued until she eventually had barely any hair left on her head. She does say, however, that she will take hair loss over colitis and blood loss any day. [14]

The experience of the third self-treater is contrary to that of the last individual, in that hookworms proved to be the only species not to cause hair loss.

My experience with HDC, TSO and TTO have all been the same. At first they are great. Like a new lease on life, all symptoms disappear or fade into the background. But then... I start getting hair loss and hives. The only helminth I have used successfully off and on over an 8 yr period of time are hookworm. They never cause hair loss or hives. [15]

Change in hair colour[edit | edit source]

In addition to my hair growing faster, being more thick, and having less gray hair... I’m noticing that the color of my hair is changing. It’s interestingly becoming more dark in pigmentation. I’m typically a medium-dark blonde naturally. And it’s growing out as a medium brown shade. It probably started over 6 months ago likely in relation to it growing faster & being more healthy. [16]

My son's second dose was Sunday. It's Wednesday today and his hair is suddenly different. I had been noticing for a while that his hair was very dry, thin, and sort of "colourless" (hard to describe -- he has brown hair but it was a very dull colour). Well, today I noticed it's now soft, a deep chestnut brown, and starting to curl like new baby hair! All I can think of for the apparent colour change is that the thin parts have filled in, and before it looked dull because you could see the spaces through it. He looks so healthy all of a sudden with this new hair, I feel pretty confident this is due to the helminths. [17]

Alopecia[edit | edit source]

In one case, hookworms proved to be effective for someone who has alopecia as a result of the lupus component of her disease.

… without a doubt, my treatment with hookworms has been very effective on my bald spots and thinning areas. [18]

However, most of those who have had success in treating alopecia have used HDC rather than NA.

I have alopecia and have tried helminths on and off for years, both hookworm and hdc. Hookworm actually made it worse and tons of hair fell out. Had good results initially with hdc. I thought they were a miracle at first, but the good effects wore off about 5 months in, when they stopped working and the hair fell out again. I tried the hdc for quite a while, trying to regain the initial results, but I never got the same hair growth again. If I were to try it again for alopecia I would use hdc. I had the best initial response to alopecia with them. (Edited from several posts. [19] [20] [21])

Taking HDC lead to a very quick remission in a case of alopecia areata that had been progressing for 5 years and caused total baldness for 3 years.

After starting HDC I regained 80% of all hair within about 4 months. [22]

After subsequently adding NA and maintaining his colony for four years, this same individual has reported that, in the longterm, NA caused neither progression nor regression of his alopecia, but that NA helps him better with other problems. And he added:

I know another person with AA where HW actually triggered AA, especially in the inflammatory phase. So at this moment I would advise people with AA to give TSO or HDC a try. (Link expired.)

The following three comments were made by a blogger at 4, 5 and 6 months after starting to take HDC every two weeks.

For over 12 years, I have had alopecia (on my lower legs) and (now) I have hundreds of tiny, fine hairs regrowing, where once there were none. [23]

During November, I ran the dust mop after a long lay off … (and) there wasn’t nearly as much of my hair getting picked up as normal. A family member confirmed this observation… I am not shedding as much hair as I normally do, either from my head, or body. Normally, I shed so much hair it is annoying. While that has not stopped completely, it is noticeably less. This would correlate well with the reversal of alopecia on my lower legs I mentioned last month. [24]

… all previously described positive benefits were maintained (this month), and to these I would add that the hair on my head is less grey. My sideburns had gone completely grey before worming up. Now they have freckles of dark hair, and my hair is less grey overall, as well. [25]

Another HDC user has reported:

I take both HDC (30 every two weeks) and NA to treat asthma and eczema. I also have alopecia universalis, which had been mild most of my life but, when I turned 51, I lost every hair on my body. It had started to grow back before I began taking HDC but, once I started the HDC, it grew very fast until I had a full head of hair. But it can still come and go from pure bald to full hair. (Edited from three posts: [26] [27] [28].)

In a further update, this individual said that, overall, worms have not helped her alopecia. [29]

The chances of success using helminths to treat alopecia are greatly increased if the therapy is started early, and especially in children. [30] The more established the condition is, the lower the chance of success.

Alopecia and the gut[edit | edit source]

Mechanisms of tolerance and potential therapeutic interventions in Alopecia Areata -- Full text (See section 4: Gut microbiota and helminths, autoimmunity and tolerance.)

Alopecia areata and the gut - the link opens up for novel therapeutic interventions

We have seen a link between AA and a dysfunctional gastrointestinal system which raised the hypothesis that an underlying intestinal inflammation drives the priming and dysregulation of immune cells that lead to hair follicle destruction.

In view of this last finding, it might be advantageous to combine helminthic therapy with FMT to address alopecia.

Hair Growth in Two Alopecia Patients after Fecal Microbiota Transplant -- Full text | PDF