Hair Growth Vitamins | What Science Says About Them

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Want to know if hair growth vitamins could help you grow your hair and if they could cause any damage? Then keep reading, this post is for you!

Every day we are bombarded with new products, new hair supplements, and whatnot. This makes identifying what might work for us way more difficult. To make it worse, supplements are not cheap, so how do we find out if we need to invest in hair growth supplements?

In this post, you are going to learn about vitamins and what they might do for your hair according to science.

After learning more about hair growth vitamins and knowing how they work for our hair, hopefully, you will be able to scope a product that can help you.

This post is all about hair growth vitamins and their benefits according to science.

In this article:

1. Who will benefit from hair growth vitamins
2. Types of vitamins that help with hair growth
3. Beware of these vitamins

Who could benefit from hair growth vitamins

Differently from what many would tell you hair growth vitamins (or hair growth supplements for what matters) don’t work for everybody. Basically, the only situation where you can be almost sure vitamin supplements will make a difference in your hair growth is when you have a vitamin deficiency.

Vitamins are micronutrients which means they are obtained from the different types of foods that we consume. If a diet is lacking a certain type of nutrient, a vitamin deficiency may occur. Usually tough, we need a few milligrams per day so a vitamin deficiency is not very common.

For instance, if you know you have a balanced and healthy diet (be honest tough😂) using vitamin supplements for hair growth may not be the solution for you. If you are experiencing hair loss while on a healthy diet, vitamin deficiency almost surely isn’t the cause. This means that buying hair growth vitamins will just be throwing money away for you.

! If you are experiencing extreme hair loss please see a doctor before trying anything else.

Wrapping it up some vitamins are actually proven to help with hair growth. In many cases though, this doesn’t mean you need to supplement it. Actually, the best way to provide our body with these beneficial nutrients is with food. Keep on reading to find out more.

>> Related post: 5 Best Hair Growth Tips (That actually work!)

Types of vitamins and minerals that help with hair growth

Vitamin C

Probably most of us know vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, as a potent antioxidant that helps prevent free radical damage (i.e. it helps in preventing wrinkles). However, vitamin C is also essential for your gut to absorb iron which, as you’ll read in a few lines, plays an important role in hair growth.

In addition ascorbic acid also helps increase blood circulation. In particular, increased blood circulation in the scalp leads to the stimulation of hair follicles which can promote hair growth.

Humans are naturally deficient in the enzyme necessary to produce vitamin C which means we should take vitamin C through our diet. Foods that have a particularly high concentration of vitamin C are citrus fruits, potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, and cabbages.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D modulates the growth of keratinocytes, the cells of our hair. Its role in hair growth is evidenced by hair loss in patients with a particular mutation that prevents them to make use of vitamin D benefits.

You can boost your levels of vitamin D by eating fatty fish or drinking fortified milk. Also taking magnesium with Vitamin D will enhance the extent to which the vitamin can be used by your body.

Iron

This micronutrient has proved to be surprisingly useful in hair growth. Red blood cells need iron to carry oxygen. As we said before, increased blood circulation in the scalp can promote hair growth.

Also, a 2007 study evidenced that “low iron store represents a risk factor for hair loss in non-menopausal women”. This basically means that low iron levels can lead to hair loss.

You can find high concentrations of iron in red meat (grass-fed), leafy greens, and legumes.

Zinc

Zinc can play a role in making protein for our hair cells as well as other cells. Our body cannot make this mineral which means we need to take it through our diet. You can find it in food like shellfish, meat, beans, nuts, and seeds.

A 2009 study pointed out that zinc supplements proved efficient for alopecia patients who have a low serum zinc level. So, if you are experiencing substantial hair loss, you may want to talk to your doctor about a possible zinc supplementation.

Other nutrients

Beyond vitamins and minerals, some oils were proven to increase hair growth and health. TikTok famous rosemary oil is at the top of the list. It was proven that after consistent daily application rosemary oil increased the hair count of most of the participants.

Also, it turned out that using coconut oil as a pre-wash and post-wash helped in reducing protein loss.

Beware of these vitamins

Vitamin A

Vitamin A represents a group of fat-soluble retinoids that includes our beloved retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters. It is most known for its anti-aging benefits.

This vitamin serves many roles in the body. For example, it is critical for vision but what interests us the most is that it’s necessary for cellular growth and differentiation. Reading this we might think it must promote hair growth. Actually, a few studies confirmed that “consuming too much or over-supplementing vitamin A can cause hair loss“.

Therefore if you are thinking of supplementing vitamin A it’s probably best to consult your doctor first.

Biotin

Biotin, also known as vitamin B7 or H, is included in the vitamin B complex.

The adequate intake of vitamin B7 for adults is 30 mcg/day and biotin deficiency in Western countries is rare. In addition, “severe biotin deficiency in healthy individuals eating a normal diet has never been reported [26, 27]”.

While there is no proven limit for biotin intake many supplements for hair, skin, and nails far exceed the recommended daily intake of biotin. Also, it was proven that “while signs of biotin deficiency include hair loss, skin rashes, and brittle nails, the efficacy of biotin in supplements for hair, skin, and nails as a means to remedy these conditions is not supported in large-scale studies“.

Basically what these studies have shown is that yes, biotin is vital for our hair health, but biotin supplements seem to have no benefit at all (if not on people with a severe deficiency).

>> Related posts:

1. 5 Best Hair Growth Tips (That actually work!)

2. Best Hair Growth Oil | Get Thick & Healthy Strands

3. Tips for Healthy Hair | 3 Hair Hacks Backed by Science

This post was all about hair growth vitamins and their actual benefits according to science.

Did you know that biotin supplements probably don’t work? Let me know in the comment section.