If hair loss or balding is what has been recently giving you sleepless nights, try befriending an egg! As per a recent study conducted in Japan, egg yolk can prevent balding and promote hair growth. Till now to stop hair balding, men had to depend on medicines. Therefore, this research comes as a breakthrough, although this being the first study, a treatment could be another few years away.

A man mainly loses his hair owing to three main factors, genetics, hormones, and age. The most common form of hair loss in males is the male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia. Here a man starts losing his hair from over his temples gradually forming a ‘m’ pattern or his hair starts thinning at the top of his crown or back of his head (almost like an egg). Apart from male pattern balding, a few other common reasons for hair loss are stress, hair treatment, and styling, a side effect of certain medications and a nutrient-deficient diet. As per the recent study, scientists from Osaka University in Japan found that peptide, a compound found in egg yolk of chicken eggs could stimulate hair growth in mice. The result of this study which was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that the compound peptide found in egg yolks, led to the production of growth factors in the skin, leading to hair production. They believed that peptide or HGP was the factor responsible for the growth of hair on birds like chicken, before hatching. The mice who had been implanted with human hair follicles for the study were treated with peptide either orally or through topical application. As per the results, the peptide was found to stimulate vascular endothelial growth factor which is a protein essential for hair growth in humans, thereby declaring the same as a ‘hair growth stimulating agent’, by the researchers.

So although further studies would be required on the same, this validation is good enough for adding eggs to your diet, because, since ages, eggs have been considered as a protein food for hair. An incredible source of nutrients, eggs are considered one of the most healthy and nutritious foods on earth. A single egg can alone give you a whopping 8.3 grams of protein. Egg yolks in itself are particularly nutrient-dense consisting of Biotin, vitamin A, D, E, K, and folate, all of which are known to be excellent for your hair. Therefore, being rich in vitamin proteins and fatty acids which are all essential for good hair growth, it is not surprising that egg yolks have been used to increase volume, length, and shine of hair for years!!

Here are a few ways in which you can apply egg to your hair, apart from obviously including it in your staple diet.

• Mix the yolk of an egg with olive oil, apply this to your hair as a mask and wash off after 20 minutes to half an hour with cold water. Hot water is best avoided as it not only damages your hair but can also cause the egg to clump. To avoid the smell of egg, you can add a few drops of lemon to the same.
• Mix a full egg with mashed bananas, honey, and some castor oil. Apply this to your hair and wash off after 30 minutes. This mask helps prevent hair fall as well as promotes hair growth.
• Add two teaspoons of neem oil to egg yolk for an anti-dandruff mask. This would not only help get rid of dandruff but also ensure a healthy scalp as well.
• Mix three egg yolks with an equal quantity of full-fat yoghurt and blend the mixture thoroughly in a blender. Apply all over the hair and leave for 20 minutes. Wash off later with a gentle shampoo.
• Mix 2-3 teaspoons of fenugreek paste to one whole egg yolk. Fenugreek is also known to repair damaged hair while promoting new hair growth. Apply this mixture on the scalp, leave for half an hour and then wash off with cold water.

Medically reviewed by Rishabh Verma, RP