Many of us are highly concerned about our physical appearance, which is why supplements that promote beauty, fitness, and overall health are high in demand, both for men and women. Among many other supplements in this category are hair loss supplements.
Hair loss is one common concern for both men and women, especially as they age. After all, for most of us, it’s best if we can keep as much of our hair as possible!
One way to address hair loss or potential hair loss is through hair loss supplements. These supplements, as their name tells you, promote hair growth, and help you avoid losing it in the future.
But do these supplements really work? What is the science behind hair loss? We are going to find out in this guide! We will discuss everything you need to know before choosing a hair loss supplement, including our choices for the best supplements for hair loss. Let’s get started!
What Are Hair Loss Supplements?
Before we dive into what hair loss supplements are, it is important we look at the science behind hair loss, and how to prevent or avoid it.
Just like other parts of our body, our hair needs certain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to be healthy. If you lack or are deficient in these certain nutrients, you are prone to losing your hair. To keep your hair healthy, you need to consume key nutrients to just do that.
Although nutrient supplementation, either through natural diet or synthetic supplements, is key to keeping your hair healthy, there is no evidence that vitamins can help you grow your hair faster so, beware of any hair loss supplements that claim such.
Lastly, hair growth (or loss) is not only affected by nutrient levels; age, genes, hormones, and lifestyle (diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, etc.) also affect your hair in one way or another. Nevertheless, the optimal intake of key nutrients will help you reduce your chances of hair loss.
Now that we understand the basic science behind hair loss, let’s discuss what hair loss supplements are and the common ingredients found in them.
Hair loss supplements are, as you can already tell, supplements that promise to protect you from losing your hair or, at least, help you reduce or slow down your hair loss process.
Hair loss supplements are often advertised as individual vitamins and other nutrients or they come packaged as hair loss supplements.
We will only discuss which key nutrients you can take because, if you are going for a packaged hair loss supplement, you will want to look for these key nutrients. If the hair loss supplement indicates a low amount or no amount of the said nutrients, it is a big red flag – even if they promise that the supplement will grow your hair in two weeks!
Key Ingredients In Hair Loss Supplements
1) Vitamin A
Vitamin A is one of the key vitamins that all cells use to grow. This certainly includes our hai, which is why it is a common ingredient in hair loss supplements. When you have a low level of vitamin A or a deficiency in vitamin A, it can potentially lead to hair loss, but getting too much vitamin A can also lead to hair loss, so do not take too much!
For food sources, vitamin A can be found in carrots, pumpkins, spinach, and sweet potatoes. Vitamin A can also be found in yogurt, eggs, and milk. If you like taking liver, cod liver oil is one great source of the vitamin as well.
2) Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a very powerful antioxidant that protects your body against oxidative stress mainly caused by free radicals. Because of this, vitamin C is mainly known for increasing one’s immune system.
The damage caused by free radicals goes beyond immune health. It can block your hair’s growth and even cause it to age. Therefore, vitamin C will be very helpful in dealing with free radicals, but that’s not the only benefits that vitamin C can bring to your hair.
Vitamin C is also key in creating collagen, a protein and key component in your hair’s structure. Vitamin C also helps your body to absorb iron, one mineral that’s needed for your hair to grow.
Citrus fruits such as orange, strawberry, and guava are key sources of vitamin C.
3) Vitamin B-Complex
Vitamin B-complex is a group of B vitamins that provide numerous benefits to your body – including your hair.
Specifically, the best B vitamin for your hair is biotin – a vitamin that’s loaded with numerous benefits even by on its own.
According to some studies, a deficiency of biotin can cause hair loss. However, biotin in a wide variety of foods that it’s almost impossible to be deficient from it.
Some B vitamins like B12 can mainly be found in animal products, so if you’re a vegan or vegetarian, we suggest you take supplements to get enough of these B vitamins.
4) Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a powerful vitamin that plays a variety of roles in supporting the human body. it is established that vitamin D plays a key part in hair growth and production. In fact, low levels of vitamin D are linked to alopecia, which is the technical term for complete hair loss.
Vitamin D can be taken through direct contact with the sun’s rays, especially in the morning (to avoid skin burning). However, not all people have the climate or weather where the sun shines all the time, which is why for people living in these regions, supplementation is suggested.
For food sources, vitamin D can be taken from fatty fish, certain types of mushrooms, cod liver oil, and fortified foods.
5) Vitamin E
Often sold as a skin supplement, vitamin E presents a variety of benefits for your hair. Like vitamin C, vitamin E is also an antioxidant, making it a great vitamin to protect you against free radicals and oxidative stress – which is great for your hair.
For instance, according to one study, people who suffer from hair loss got a 34.5% increase in their hair growth after supplementing with vitamin E for 8 months.
Vitamin E is commonly found in avocados, almonds, spinach, and sunflower seeds.
How To Take Hair Loss Supplements
Hair loss supplements are often sold in pill form, and they are either sold as individual vitamins or a packaged hair loss supplement in itself.
Hair loss supplements may also come in creams which you can apply to your hair to restore its growth.
Do Hair Loss Supplements Really Work?
Yes, hair loss supplements really work, especially if you buy supplements for individual vitamins and nutrients.
If you are planning to buy packaged hair loss supplements, be sure to check the label and see if they contain the proper amounts of the vitamins mentioned above.
If yes, it may indicate a working supplement, but if no, then that’s a big red flag. Getting reviews from a trusted friend or even an online source that you trust are also great resources for knowing which supplements work and which do not.
Are Hair Loss Supplements Right For You?
Hair loss supplements normally work fine for people with average health. However, if you’re pregnant or someone who suffers from a medical condition, consider asking your doctor for advice before taking any supplementation to avoid unexpected side effects.
Best Supplements For Hair Loss
Viviscal Advanced Hair Health
Viviscal Hair Growth Supplement is an extremely popular supplement used by celebrities all over. This supplement works for women by nourishing thinning hair and promoting existing hair growth from within. This supplement includes marine complex AminoMar®, as well as Biotin, Zinc, Vitamin C, Horsetail Extract, and Iron, to nourish hair from within.
GET A FREE GIFT WITH YOUR VIVISCAL PURCHASENutrafol
Nutrafol is a hair growth supplement made specifically to help with thinning hair and make existing follicles thicker and stronger as well. The supplement comes in pill form and is suggested to be taken 2-4 times a day. One of the best parts of Nutrafol is that it is backed by a few different studies that show the potential of the product.
GET THE BEST PRICE ON NUTRAFOLOuai
This hair supplement from Ouai provides a dose of Biotin, Silica, Ashwagandha, and Amino acids. These ingredients work together to strengthen and support hair growth. Just take one pill daily to see the results of healthy and growing hair.
GET THE BEST PRICE ON OUAIVegamour |GRO Hair Serum
Vegamour uses a plant-based, cruelty-free formula alongside powerful Phyto-actives known to inhibit DHT production to create a hair growth formula. They claim that by using the product, you can visibly increase hair density up to 50%, while reducing loss from combing and washing by up to 76% by month four!
GET THE BEST PRICE ON VEGAMOUR | GRO HAIR SERUMHair Loss Supplement Alternatives
Like many supplements, the main alternative to hair loss supplements is consuming vitamins and minerals that promote hair growth. As we mentioned above, some vitamins that are great for hair growth include Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B-Complex, and Vitamin A.
If you prefer to not take a supplement marketed as an overall “hair growth” supplement, then your best bet is to take the above vitamins. They all promote healthy hair, and might even lead to hair growth.
Final Thoughts: Best Supplements For Hair Loss
If you are thinking about adding hair loss supplements to your diet, now is a great time to try it out. Hair loss supplements are easy and safe supplements to test that carry a variety of benefits with it. If you start taking hair loss supplements and experience any negative symptoms, contact a medical professional for help.
