Hair loss is nothing new. Baldness in ancient times did exist so people have been searching for a long time for solutions to problems with their appearance, including hair loss. Before modern treatments, like ARTAS® Robotic Hair Restoration procedures, people tried all sorts of bizarre methods to cure hair loss.
Please note that we Do Not recommend any of these ancient remedies for hair growth. We merely present them as the historical curiosities that they are.
“Ancient “Remedies” for Hair Growth
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4000 BCE Egypt
Donkey hooves, dates, and dog paws would be ground together, mixed with oil, cooked, and rubbed on bald heads as an ancient remedy for hair growth.
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3000 BCE India
The easiest “remedy” for hair loss on this list comes from India. Instead of mixing and applying various ground animal parts, this tradition suggested standing on your head to increase blood flow to the scalp.
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1550 BCE Egypt
A medical script known as The Ebers Papyrus offers a different recipe for Egyptian hair loss, though it still includes fat. For this remedy fat from a hippopotamus, crocodile, male cat, snake, and ibex are mixed, and applied to the scalp. If that doesn’t work, then the follow-up solution is to boil porcupine hair. The result is applied to the bald areas for four days.
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375 BCE Greece
Hippocrates endorsed a mix of pigeon droppings, opium, horseradish, beet root, and spices as an ancient remedy for hair growth. Aristotle recommended goat urine as a treatment instead.
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50 BCE Rome
Romans who experienced hair loss tended to rub myrrh onto their scalps. Other Romans tried a more drastic remedy – burning a donkey’s genitals to ash, which was then mixed with the urine of the person losing their hair. The mixture was applied to the head.
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750 A.D. China
For hair loss in this time period… Chinese men would blend rosemary, safflower oil, herbs, and crushed animal testes.
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900 A.D Scandinavia
Vikings dealt with hair loss by rubbing goose poop on their scalps.
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1000 A.D. Ireland
One especially odd Celtic hair treatment was considered extremely potent. The affected person stuffed mice into a jar, sealed the jar, and then buried the jar next to the fire. A year later the person suffering hair loss is supposed to dig up the jar, but they were instructed to wear gloves while doing it because touching the jar barehanded could lead to hair growth on their fingertips.
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1530 England
Henry VIII fought his hair loss by spreading a mix of dog and horse urine on his head.
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1896 United States
Would you believe that Scientific American had an article about the effect listening to music has on the hair. Specifically, it breaks down the type of instruments for positive and negative effects on hair growth. String instruments – and especially violins and pianos – had a beneficial and preservative effect on hairlines. Listening to brass instruments had a damaging effect. It is strange but a lot less smelly and much easier than the earlier suggestions.
Cleopatra advised Julius Caesar to instead use an Egyptian recipe for hair recovery. It entailed grinding dead mice and horse teeth with bear grease.
RHRLI Offers the Most Modern Hair Restoration
Thankfully, we know a lot more about the real reasons for hair loss today. Even better, we have permanent, effective treatments to restore a natural hairline. If you are considering hair restoration treatment, RHRLI is the premier facility on Long Island and in New York City. As a board-certified hair restoration surgeon with many years of experience using state-of-the-art hair restoration techniques, I can create the hair line you want. Contact us for a free consultation to evaluate your hair loss and determine whether you are a good candidate for ARTAS® hair restoration. To find out if you are a viable candidate, contact us at RHRLI today.