People who suffer from a hair loss condition called Alopecia areata have started to turn to alternative forms of treatment in order to cure their hair loss woes. Cures range from the use of essential oils, onion juice and now, some preliminary studies done by researches from the Free University of Brussels and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology have shown that hypnosis may in fact be able to help sufferers re-grow their hair.

Hair loss, also known as alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease characterized by the onset of sudden hair loss in circular spots from the person’s scalp or any part of his or her body that has sufficient hair. Some researchers say that psychological factors like psychotrauma and highly stressful events are reported to have played a role in hair loss however very few
studies have looked at the possibility of using psychological treatments to combat hair loss.

Research done at the Free University of Brussels explored the possibility of hypnosis as a treatment for twenty one persons who suffered from extensive hair loss (around 30 percent or more of their scalp) for a duration of longer than three months. All of the subjects had previously undergone failed hair loss treatments with steroids and were observed for a duration ranging from six months to six years. In most of the cases, the study participants underwent hypnosis as well as other forms of medical treatment for their hair loss.

After three to four sessions of treatment, the team reports that twelve of the twenty one hair loss test subjects experienced hair re growth on roughly seventy five percent of the exposed areas on their scalp whereas nine of the twelve patients reportedly experienced total hair re growth.

The hair loss and hypnosis test subjects did not report any negative side effects due to the hypnosis and the therapies however five of the participants exhibited hair loss relapse during the follow up period.