How Long for Saw Palmetto to Work: Everything You Need to Know

Saw palmetto is a common dietary supplement, essential oil, and sometimes even a medical treatment. In fact, in the United States and Europe, it’s common for saw palmetto to be used to treat things like hair loss and even an enlarged prostate. While it’s an effective treatment, you may be wondering about how long it takes to see results.

So, how long for saw palmetto to work? While we wish we could give you a short and sweet answer, it can take a few days to half a year, depending on the condition you’re treating. Read on to learn more.

What Is Saw Palmetto?

Saw palmetto is a small palm tree that reaches about five to six feet in height. While it’s a small and decorative tree, saw palmetto has been used in holistic care for centuries. This is because it can prevent the 5-alpha reductase enzyme from converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which prevents male pattern baldness.

Furthermore, saw palmetto can treat other conditions, like an enlarged prostate, UTI, and much more. In order for saw palmetto to work, it’s usually found in high concentrations as saw palmetto essential oil or supplements.

What Conditions Can Saw Palmetto Help With?

Saw palmetto can help with a lot of health conditions, ranging from mild ones to severe problems like benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Learn more about the conditions that saw palmetto can help with below.

Hair Loss

One of the most common reasons to use saw palmetto is for hair loss. Studies have found that it can assist with hair loss by strengthening hair follicles and the scalp.

However, it can also prevent conditions like male pattern baldness from progressing by limiting the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It works by limiting the action of the 5-alpha reductase enzymes.

While more research needs to be done on this topic, in more than 35% of people, there has been some level of success.

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH)

This is a condition that makes it challenging for people to go to the bathroom. You’ll also find that it causes a lot of general discomfort when you actually manage to urinate. While the condition is benign, that doesn’t mean you want to be stuck with it forever.

There are many treatments that doctors will provide, but one of them is saw palmetto. Taking saw palmetto can relieve symptoms of BPH and make it easier to urinate and get back to feeling comfortable.

Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)

Some research has found that saw palmetto can help with urinary tract infections as well. It can relieve symptoms, make it easier to go to the bathroom, and reduce pain. That said, saw palmetto is usually used in conjunction with antibiotics or other treatments for severe UTIs.

How Long for Saw Palmetto to Work?

Saw palmetto can work in as little as a few days to several years, depending on what you’re using it for. This is due to the fact that it’s used to treat a wide variety of conditions, and many of these conditions take a long time to resolve. Learn more about how long saw palmetto takes to work for different conditions below.

How Long for Saw Palmetto to Work for an Enlarged Prostate?

You’ll need to consult with your doctor to determine how long saw palmetto will take to work for an enlarged prostate. However, you can expect it to take around four to six weeks before you start feeling results.

You’ll want to check with your doctor regularly during this time to determine if symptoms are decreasing and if the size of your prostate is as well.

How Long for Saw Palmetto to Work for Hair Loss?

When it comes to hair loss, saw palmetto takes a long time to work. You may not notice any results until after four to six months. In fact, it may take even longer. It’s for this reason that it’s not a bad idea to consider alternative treatment options during this time if you’re worried about the effectiveness of saw palmetto.

If you still don’t notice any results after half a year, you may want to try something else.

How Long for Saw Palmetto to Work? Our Final Thoughts

So, how long for saw palmetto to work? Expect saw palmetto to take around four weeks to six months to work, depending on what you’re using it for. If you’re using saw palmetto for hair loss, expect it to take around four to six months, and if you’re using saw palmetto for an enlarged prostate, expect it to take around four to six weeks.