QUESTION: “Are there any supplements or oils that are proven to help hair grow thicker or faster? Thanks!”
DR. NEAL: Thank you for your question. I’m so glad you asked because, if you were to try and find an answer through a Google search, you’ll end up seeing lots of advertisements for products claiming to help improve the health of a person’s hair. Or, just as bad, testimonials from people claiming that something they did or a product they used helped them with their issues.
So we have to look to more trustworthy sources.
When it comes to supplements, my absolute favorite site to reference is ConsumerLab.com. And, according to them, there are some supplements that may help regrow hair or promote hair health.
While none of these supplements are cures for baldness, some of them may improve hair growth.
Listen to Dr. Neal address this topic on Episode 1127 of the podcast Optimal Health Daily.
Some Disclaimers
I should also mention that many of these studies were performed in men and with only a few study participants. This means that we have to be careful before we make any claims like, “What Dr. Neal is discussing will definitely work for me!”
As I always say, we want to weigh any pros and cons before trying any of the stuff I’m about to discuss.
Is it more likely to help than cause me harm? If yes, then you’re on the right track. And, of course, always discuss any supplement with you’re thinking of trying with your doctor first.
Now that those disclaimers are out of the way, let’s begin…
Not Effective – Biotin, Iron, Vitamin D, Zinc, and Cysteine
There are some that swear that biotin supplementation improves hair health and stimulates hair growth.
Biotin, also known as vitamin B7, is actually naturally produced by the body. Our gut bacteria can create it. But biotin is also found in some common foods like oats, eggs, bananas, peanuts, and mushrooms. So, a biotin deficiency is not very common.
When it comes to healthy hair growth, the theory is that extra biotin may be help. Unfortunately, the reality is that supplementing with biotin doesn’t appear to help.
Don’t get me wrong, deficiencies in certain nutrients can lead to hair loss in both men and women. In women, especially, an iron deficiency can lead to hair loss. Same with vitamin D and zinc. Not consuming enough protein each day will do the same.
But most of us consume plenty of protein each day, so that’s usually not an issue.
Does this mean it’s time to start supplementing iron, vitamin D and zinc? No. Be careful before supplementing with any and all of those. Iron and zinc are minerals and consuming too much is really easy to do, especially when you supplement. Vitamin D toxicity isn’t as common, but it can interfere with certain medications.
So as I said before, check with your doctor before taking any supplement.
Others swear by cysteine supplementation.
Cysteine is a specific type of protein, or amino acid. But, cysteine supplementation doesn’t appear to help hair growth.
Possibly Effective Supplements
So, what the heck was ConsumerLab.com talking about when they mentioned that there are some supplements that actually do work? Well, one study looked at men supplementing with 200 mg of saw palmetto extract and 50 mg beta-sitosterol twice a day and found this led to improvements in hair growth.
Saw palmetto is actually a type of palm tree and the fruit from it is used to create the supplement. Beta-sitosterol is actually a type of plant-based cholesterol. Yes, plants contain cholesterol, too, BUT… plant-based cholesterol does NOT increase blood cholesterol levels or risk of cardiovascular disease. Plant-based cholesterols are actually good for us and may actually decrease our blood cholesterol levels. That’s a different Q&A episode altogether.
In the context of today’s question, supplementing with both of these appeared to help men regrow some of their hair. Another study found that 320 mg of just saw palmetto each day also improved hair growth in men. So, even though there are differences in the amounts of saw palmetto consumed each day, it seems that there may be something to this. A different study looked at pumpkin seed oil and found that consuming 400 mg each day for 4 months increased hair growth in men. But, sadly, all of these studies enrolled small numbers of participants… less than 20. This makes it difficult to draw any strong conclusions. And, again, most of the studies were performed in men. This makes it difficult to know whether these supplements would help women, too.
For women with alopecia, specifically, there may be some supplementations that help. Alopecia, sometimes referred to by its full name, alopecia areata is considered an autoimmune disease. This means that, for some reason, the body attacks hair follicles which can lead to baldness or less hair growth in certain areas of the body, like the scalp. A full medical work-up is important here, but in women, some supplements are showing promise. Specifically, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as supplementing with certain antioxidants may help.
Hair Loss Medication
There is a prescription medication called Propecia (generic name, finasteride) that appears to be quite effective at regrowing hair in both men and women. In fact, it shows better results when compared to most of the supplements I just discussed. But, again, this is a medication so you won’t find it over-the counter. A prescription is required.
You would definitely need a complete a medical work-up with your doctor before taking this medication.
The Bottom Line
All of this to say that there are definitely options when it comes to promoting healthy hair growth. But each of these options should be discussed with your doctor first.
For information on anti-wrinkle creams, check out our previous QnA.
Listen to Dr. Neal address this topic on Episode 1127 of the podcast Optimal Health Daily.
