The Protective and Regenerative Potential of Lactoferrin in Hair and Skin Health

Lactoferrin is a naturally occurring bioactive glycoprotein that is part of the body's innate immune system and has essential roles in iron metabolism, microbial defense, inflammation regulation, and tissue repair. It supports natural regulation of iron bioavailability in skin and hair follicles, reducing excess free-iron-driven oxidative stress while preserving iron levels needed for cellular function. Lactoferrin promotes cell regeneration by increasing proliferation, stimulating wound healing, and boosting matrix production in fibroblast models, and modulates inflammatory signaling relevant to skin and hair physiology. This review presents the first focused summary of lactoferrin's role specifically in skin and hair biology, linking mechanistic insights with clinical and preclinical evidence and mapping molecular functions to dermatologic and trichologic outcomes, including an overview of clinical skin studies exploring lactoferrin in conditions such as acne. The authors note that despite mechanistic plausibility, there are no existing well-controlled human clinical trials of lactoferrin for hair-focused outcomes, and propose lactoferrin as a microenvironment stabilizer with translational potential for hair and skin epithelial health.