Although some studies suggest CBD can help support hair growth, it’s unclear how much CBD is necessary to produce results.

A lack of conclusive research on the topic is available, but some studies show that CBD could help with hair growth.

At the same time, CBD’s effect on hair growth is dose-dependent — depending on the dose, CBD could cause hair loss or gain.

Further research is necessary to establish whether CBD can stimulate hair growth and, if so, what concentration of CBD to use.

CBD may help with hair growth because of the endocannabinoid system.

The endocannabinoid system is present throughout your body. It helps regulate important bodily functions, including sleep, digestion, and mood.

Chemicals from hemp and cannabis — called cannabinoids — interact with the receptors in the endocannabinoid system, thus producing certain effects. CBD is one such cannabinoid.

According to a 2023 case series (a group of case reports), some endocannabinoid receptors interact with hair follicles. For example, blocking the CB1 receptor causes the hair shaft to lengthen, while the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) affects the hair follicle cycle.

For this reason, certain cannabinoids — including CBD — may affect hair growth when applied to your scalp.

However, the research also notes that the effects of CBD on hair growth are dose-dependent. Higher doses of CBD could cause hair to enter the catagen phase, meaning it stops growing.

Stress may cause hair loss, and some people use CBD for stress and anxiety. However, researchers haven’t investigated the effects of CBD on stress-related hair loss.

The endocannabinoid system affects skin health, including oil production, inflammation, and more.

CBD has anti-inflammatory properties, which could help soothe inflammatory scalp conditions that may affect hair growth, such as eczema and psoriasis.

It may also help regulate oil production, according to a 2014 study. CBD may improve your scalp’s overall health by regulating sebum production.

One 2021 case series involved giving 35 people about 3–4 milligrams (mg) of topical CBD per day for 6 months. On average, a 93.5% increase was present in hair count, with no reported side effects.

The case series also noted that CBD works differently from finasteride and minoxidil, two popular hair growth medications. For that reason, people could use CBD with those drugs.

Keep in mind, though, that CBD-infused hair products also contain other ingredients. If you have a sensitive scalp, your body might react to those ingredients. Doing a patch test before applying a new hair product to your entire scalp may be a good idea.

Overall, a few noted side effects of topical CBD exist. However, more research is necessary to understand its safety fully.

Many CBD-infused hair products are available, including shampoos, scalp oils, conditioners, and more.

While no consensus exists yet on how to use CBD for hair growth, many studies on CBD and hair growth involve a daily topical application to the scalp.

As with all CBD products, it’s important to research before purchasing, especially because some CBD companies produce low quality or mislabeled products.

To ensure that you’re getting high quality products, it’s a good idea to:

If you can’t find a ready-made CBD product that you like, you can make your own CBD-infused coconut oil or add a few drops of CBD to another carrier oil, such as jojoba oil.

You could also pair it with a scalp massage, which may stimulate hair growth, according to a 2019 survey.

Since a lack of research on the topic exists, no consensus on the optimal dosage of CBD for hair growth is available yet. But in the 2021 case series mentioned above, the participants used about 3–4 mg of CBD per day.

As mentioned, in many studies, researchers asked the participants to apply CBD to their scalps at least once per day. If you’d like to try CBD for hair growth, it may be a good idea to use it each day.

While some studies suggest CBD can stimulate hair growth, more research is necessary to confirm how much CBD may be helpful to use and how to use it.

With that said, no reported side effects of using CBD on the scalp exist. As such, it may be worth a try. Just be sure that you buy quality CBD products.

If hair loss bothers you, consider speaking with a healthcare professional. Many safe, effective hair loss treatments are available that might help reduce shedding and improve hair growth.

You can also look into other ways to support healthy hair growth naturally.

Sian Ferguson is a freelance health and cannabis writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. She’s passionate about empowering readers to take care of their mental and physical health through science-based, empathetically delivered information.