It might be appropriate to advise clients with thinning hair and hair loss to eat their broccoli!

The phytochemical sulforaphane has emerged as the breakout star in hair loss restoration research conducted by scientists at a South Korean firm, Gragem Co., Ltd., and the University of Suwon, and recently published in the journal Cosmetics. Found in broccoli, brussels sprouts and some other vegetables, sulforaphane is an antioxidant already celebrated for its anti-cancer benefits.

The latest study tested whether sulforaphane, in combination with three other substances, could impact the hairline at the parietal and forehead regions. Previous studies have shown that sulforaphane is among the substances regulating the molecular mechanism of specific genes involved in the hair loss process. After noticing encouraging hair growth and conducting further research, the researchers determined that sulforaphane alone relieved some hair loss in the experiemental cell culture conditions.  

"When we compared the difference between before using the test product and after 18 weeks of using the test product, the visual evaluation scores of the parietal and forehead regions increased significantly," the researchers wrote. "This result suggests that this test product has specificity in acting on both parietal and forehead regions....We demonstrated that sulforaphane has the potential to become a highly effective functional hair cosmetic to relieve hair loss with AGA [androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness]....The results after 18 weeks of using the prototype formulation revealed a significant difference in the hair loss-relieving efficacy when compared to that before using the product."