That headline — “I’m Shocked, the Hair on My Bald Head Is Growing Like Crazy and Not Falling Out – With Cloves and Red Onion” — is almost certainly presenting a home remedy as if it were a proven baldness treatment.
What the evidence actually shows
Red onion has limited evidence, but not for ordinary male-pattern baldness. One small 2002 clinical trial studied crude onion juice in people with patchy alopecia areata, an autoimmune form of hair loss. It reported substantially more regrowth with onion juice than tap water. That study involved only 38 people and did not establish that onion juice reverses hereditary baldness.
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PubMed
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Cloves are a different story. I couldn’t find good human clinical evidence showing that applying cloves or clove preparations to a bald scalp reliably regrows hair. So the combination of red onion + cloves has not been demonstrated to make a bald scalp “grow like crazy.”
Why the claim is misleading
The most common cause of baldness is hereditary/androgenetic hair loss. In this condition, susceptible hair follicles gradually shrink. The American Academy of Dermatology notes that treatments such as minoxidil and, for appropriate patients, finasteride can slow hair loss and potentially promote regrowth.
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American Academy of Dermatology
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The AAD also specifically cautions people about online “quick fixes” and home remedies that promise dramatic hair regrowth.
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American Academy of Dermatology
Could you try onion?
If you want to experiment with onion juice, understand that the evidence is very limited and condition-specific. Onion juice can also irritate the scalp, and putting concentrated clove preparations on the skin may cause irritation or allergic reactions.
If you’re actually experiencing a bald spot or progressive thinning, determining the type of hair loss is much more useful than trying a viral recipe. Different causes require different treatments, and some forms of hair loss can become permanent if treatment is delayed.
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American Academy of Dermatology
Bottom line: There is a small study suggesting onion juice may help alopecia areata, but there is no good evidence that cloves + red onion will regrow a bald head, particularly ordinary genetic male-pattern baldness.
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