Are Steroid Shots for Hair Loss Effective?

Steroid shots can help with a wide range of health needs, but did you know that some of them can even treat hair loss?

There are two predominant categories of steroids: anabolic steroids and corticosteroids. Both are used to treat a variety of diseases, disorders, and conditions. But while one may cause hair loss, another may stop it.

Anabolic steroids are predominantly used to manage androgen hormone levels. As a result, they can cause or worsen male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss (aka androgenetic alopecia). Corticosteroid injections, on the other hand, can treat several hair loss conditions — though not the type caused by anabolic steroids.

Below, we’ve explained how corticosteroids might be able to help with certain types of hair loss, which side effects they may cause, and what other treatment options you could try instead.

Conditions like alopecia areata (an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks otherwise healthy hair follicles) can cause patchy hair loss. Because corticosteroids suppress inflammation and immune system responses, they can help protect you from hair loss due to alopecia areata and other autoimmune conditions like psoriasis, discoid lupus, and lichen planopilaris.

A corticosteroid may also be used to treat hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease or IBS, leukemia, lymphoma, arthritis, adrenal issues, dermatitis, and asthma — as well as to help manage the immune systems of people who have had organ transplants.

In other words, corticosteroids can do a lot. And in theory, they can do a lot to protect your follicles from hair loss as well.

The answer is a little complicated. Some corticosteroids like prednisone can operate as a treatment for hair loss in certain cases.

Steroid Injections for Alopecia Areata Hair Loss

Specific conditions like alopecia areata can be managed with intralesional corticosteroid shots directly into affected areas of the scalp or intramuscular corticosteroid shots. In both cases, a healthcare professional would administer the injections to help reduce inflammation.

Extensive alopecia areata may take more than the hair on your head too; it may kill off your body hair or cause patches of hair loss elsewhere — a condition called alopecia totalis.

Corticosteroid injections (aka alopecia injections) may be just what is needed when your own immune system begins going haywire and attacking your hair follicles as if they’re foreign bodies.  

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) points out that some off-label benefits of certain corticosteroids may indeed include increased hair growth or hair regrowth.

A dermatologist may also recommend topical steroids for the treatment of alopecia areata.

The number of people either of these steroid treatments help, however, is pretty small — as only about two percent of the population is at risk for alopecia areata that causes hair loss. 

Steroid Injections for Male Pattern Baldness & Telogen Effluvium

We’ll keep it straightforward: Severe alopecia areata may respond well to steroid medication, but other types of hair loss typically require other treatment options.

When it comes to genetic or hormonal hair loss like male pattern baldness and other types of alopecia like telogen effluvium (shedding resulting from stress or shock), corticosteroids likely aren’t your answer. 

Keep reading to find alternative hair loss treatment options. 

Unfortunately, injectable corticosteroid can come with a number of potentially serious adverse effects as well as benefits. 

Side effects of an intralesional injection may include:

• Skin hypopigmentation and atrophy

• Postinjection flare

• Infection

Very rare side effects also include osteoarthritis progression, bone injury, and tendon rupture. These are more likely when there is higher systemic absorption.

Systemic use of injectable steroids can reduce bone density and lead to osteoporosis. And because they can cause excessive adrenal suppression, they can exacerbate conditions like: 

• Diabetes

• Myopathy

• Cataracts

• Glaucoma

• Psychiatric disturbances

• Weakened immune systems

Somewhat confusingly, some FDA listings for corticosteroids include a risk to your hair follicles from use. Thinning of the scalp is one of the potential side effects of prednisone, and while it’s not a common side effect, it makes the use of prednisone and other corticosteroids a gray area when it comes to hair safety.

There have not been many studies looking at corticosteroid use with regards to other types of severe alopecia and extensive hair loss, and it does not appear from the body of medical literature that anyone is suggesting corticosteroids as a first or second tier treatment plan when you start seeing some thinning up top.

Hair loss is a complex topic, in part because hair loss has so many forms and potential causes. A healthcare provider can help determine what might be causing your hair loss or thinning hair.

Depending on what your healthcare provider determines, they may recommend several avenues for oral, topical, or injectable hair loss treatments. 

The American Academy of Dermatology calls minoxidil and finasteride two of the most effective medications for treating hair loss. 

These medications have different mechanisms of action, but both work to help you restore your hair to its original state. 

Minoxidil is an FDA-approved topical treatment for hair loss designed to stimulate growth by increasing blood flow to the hair follicles themselves, which can in turn restart your hair’s growth cycle. 

In clinical trials, topical minoxidil solutions have been shown to be effective at treating a variety of hair loss disorders.

Oral medications like finasteride work by managing the levels of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (also known as DHT), which scientists believe has some responsibility for male pattern baldness. It’s unclear exactly how exactly DHT affects follicles, but using finasteride to reduce DHT levels has shown to be effective in protecting hair and allowing follicles to grow.

Aside from existing medications, your healthcare provider may also check to make sure you’re not deficient in key vitamins for hair health like vitamin A, vitamin D, or biotin (consider our Biotin Gummy Multivitamins if you are deficient).

Whether you’re experiencing alopecia areata, androgenetic alopecia, or telogen effluvium, effective treatment starts with a conversation between you and a healthcare professional.

• Corticosteroid injections may be the solution for a small portion of the population suffering from hair loss, but a healthcare provider’s assessment can help you understand if you’re a good candidate. There are a number of side effects to consider.

• The FDA has approved other treatments that can help with diffuse, complete, or patchy hair loss — namely topical minoxidil and oral finasteride.

• Because hair loss has a variety of causes, a healthcare provider will address topics like family history and hair diseases to determine what type of hair loss you’re experiencing and what they recommend you do about it.

For more general information about hair loss, thinning hair, and hair regrowth medications, check out our hair health guides.

And if you’re interested in taking the next step, we can connect you with a healthcare professional for an online consultation.