Spearmint tea lowers androgens, the hormones that drive many of the most frustrating PCOS symptoms like excess hair growth, acne, and irregular cycles. In the best-known clinical trial, women with PCOS who drank spearmint tea twice a day for 30 days had significantly lower free testosterone levels and higher levels of key reproductive hormones compared to a placebo group. It’s one of the few herbal remedies with actual trial data behind it for PCOS, though that data is still limited in size and duration.
How Spearmint Tea Affects Androgens
PCOS is closely tied to elevated androgens, particularly testosterone. These higher-than-typical levels are what cause hirsutism (unwanted facial and body hair), hormonal acne, thinning scalp hair, and disrupted ovulation. Spearmint tea appears to have a direct anti-androgenic effect, meaning it reduces the amount of free testosterone circulating in your blood.
In an early Turkish study, women with hirsutism drank spearmint tea twice a day for just five days during the first half of their menstrual cycle. Even in that short window, researchers measured a significant drop in free testosterone. A follow-up randomized controlled trial out of England extended this to 30 days, with 42 women drinking spearmint tea twice daily. The results held: free testosterone decreased, while luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol all increased. Those three hormones play central roles in ovulation and cycle regularity, so a rise in their levels is a positive signal for reproductive function.
The specific variety that matters is spearmint (Mentha spicata), not peppermint (Mentha piperita). While both showed anti-androgenic effects in animal studies, the human trials were conducted with spearmint specifically. If you’re buying tea for this purpose, check the label to confirm it’s spearmint.
Effects on Hirsutism and Hair Growth
Excess hair growth is one of the most common reasons women with PCOS turn to spearmint tea. The 30-day trial found that while hormone levels shifted significantly within a month, objective hirsutism scores did not change in that time frame. This makes biological sense: hair grows in cycles, and reducing the hormonal signal that triggers it doesn’t immediately reverse hair that’s already growing. Researchers noted that a longer trial would be needed to see visible changes in hair growth patterns. Women who use spearmint tea for hirsutism should expect to wait several months before noticing a difference, since each hair follicle takes weeks to cycle through growth and shedding phases.
Potential Metabolic Benefits
Beyond hormones, PCOS often involves insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar, and difficulty managing weight. A 2021 meta-analysis pooling six randomized trials of various teas (including spearmint, green tea, and marjoram) in women with PCOS found meaningful improvements across metabolic markers. Women drinking tea supplements lost more weight (about 2.7 kg on average), had lower fasting blood sugar, and had lower fasting insulin levels compared to placebo groups.
It’s worth noting that the meta-analysis grouped different types of tea together, so the metabolic benefits can’t be attributed to spearmint alone. Subgroup analysis showed that herbal teas (which included spearmint) were effective at reducing free testosterone, while green tea drove more of the metabolic improvements. Interventions lasting three months or more produced the strongest effects on blood sugar and FSH levels, while shorter interventions still improved insulin levels. The takeaway: spearmint tea’s clearest benefit is hormonal, but it may offer modest metabolic support as part of a broader approach.
How Much to Drink and for How Long
The clinical trials used a consistent protocol: two cups of spearmint tea per day. Cleveland Clinic notes that most studies used roughly 5 grams of dried spearmint leaf daily, which works out to about three or four standard tea bags. Two cups per day is a reasonable starting point and matches the dose with the most evidence behind it.
Hormonal changes showed up within five days in the shorter Turkish study and held through 30 days in the longer trial. However, these studies measured blood hormone levels, not visible symptom improvement. If you’re drinking spearmint tea to manage acne or unwanted hair, plan on at least two to three months of consistent daily use before evaluating whether it’s working for you. Hormonal acne tends to respond faster than hirsutism because skin cell turnover is quicker than hair growth cycles.
What the Evidence Doesn’t Cover
The honest limitation here is that the total body of research is small. The landmark trial included only 42 women over one month. No large-scale, long-term study has tracked what happens with six months or a year of daily spearmint tea. There’s no data on whether the anti-androgenic effect plateaus over time, reverses after stopping, or varies depending on PCOS phenotype. The studies also haven’t measured effects on ovulation rates or fertility outcomes directly.
Most of the clinical trials were conducted in England, Turkey, Iran, and Jordan, with publication dates ranging from 2006 to 2020. No major new randomized trials have been published through 2024, meaning the evidence base hasn’t grown much in recent years. The findings are promising and consistent, but they come from a small number of studies with small sample sizes.
How Spearmint Tea Fits Into PCOS Management
Spearmint tea is not a replacement for other PCOS treatments, but it can be a useful addition. For women with mildly elevated androgens, the original Turkish researchers suggested spearmint could serve as an alternative to pharmaceutical anti-androgen therapy for mild hirsutism. For those already on medication or managing PCOS through diet and exercise, two cups of spearmint tea daily is a low-risk addition that targets the androgenic side of the condition specifically.
Its main advantage is specificity: it lowers free testosterone and raises LH, FSH, and estradiol, directly addressing the hormonal imbalance at the core of many PCOS symptoms. Its main limitation is that the evidence, while consistent, comes from small and short studies. If you’re going to try it, commit to at least a month of twice-daily use before expecting any measurable hormonal shift, and several months before expecting visible changes in symptoms like hair growth or acne.