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Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata
I C Hay1, M Jamieson, A D Ormerod
1Department of Dermatology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Scotland. ad.ormerod@abdn.ac.uk
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of aromatherapy in the treatment of patients with alopecia areata.
Design:
A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of 7 months' duration, with follow-up at 3 and 7 months.
Setting:
Dermatology outpatient department.
Participants:
Eighty-six patients diagnosed as having alopecia areata.
Intervention:
Eighty-six patients were randomized into 2 groups. The active group massaged essential oils (thyme, rosemary, lavender, and cedarwood) in a mixture of carrier oils (jojoba and grapeseed) into their scalp daily. The control group used only carrier oils for their massage, also daily.
Main Outcome Measures:
Treatment success was evaluated on sequential photographs by 2 dermatologists (I.C.H. and A.D.O.) independently. Similarly, the degree of improvement was measured by 2 methods: a 6-point scale and computerized analysis of traced areas of alopecia.
Results:
Nineteen (44%) of 43 patients in the active group showed improvement compared with 6 (15%) of 41 patients in the control group (P = .008). An alopecia scale was applied by blinded observers on sequential photographs and was shown to be reproducible with good interobserver agreement (kappa = 0.84). The degree of improvement on photographic assessment was significant (P = .05). Demographic analysis showed that the 2 groups were well matched for prognostic factors.
Conclusions:
The results show aromatherapy to be a safe and effective treatment for alopecia areata. Treatment with these essential oils was significantly more effective than treatment with the carrier oil alone (P = .008 for the primary outcome measure). We also successfully applied an evidence-based method to an alternative therapy.