10 Best Hair Growth Vitamins for Longer, Stronger Tresses
Meet the hardest-working hair supplements.
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Hair loss can be triggered by just about anything, ranging from your diet and age to stress levels and heat damage. It can be frustrating figuring out the best course of action if it happens to you, but the good news is, you can give your strands a much-needed nutritional boost with the right hair growth vitamins and supplements.
Best Hair Growth Vitamins
Just like the rest of our body, our hair requires nutrients such as biotin and vitamin B-12, found in the SugarBearHair Hair Vitamins, to grow strong. To help you learn more about what to consider when shopping for hair growth vitamins, we consulted experts about the efficacy of their favorite nutrients and go-to product recommendations. We also rounded up noteworthy hair growth vitamin supplements that are aligned with their expert guidance.
What Should Hair Growth Vitamins Contain?
One of the biggest concerns about supplements is what actually ends up in them. The Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate supplements as rigorously as it does traditional drugs, so to be honest, it's completely up to the consumer to read the labels and look into the ingredients themselves.
To help you shop smartly, we asked hair experts for their go-to ingredient recommendations and why they're so effective at promoting healthy hair.
- Biotin, which is found in the Sports Research Biotin for Hair, Skin & Nails, is a superhero ingredient well-regarded for the ability to help promote hair growth. When you take a supplement that combines biotin with zinc, it “provides maintenance for normal hair, skin, and nails,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mona Gohara, M.D.
- Zinc, found in Viviscal Hair Growth Supplement, is “an amazing anti-inflammatory and also one of the building blocks of hair,” says Seamus McKernan, a Chicago-based hairstylist, and Nioxin Top Artist. Zinc deficiency has even been linked to hair loss, according to Dr. Carrie Lam, M.D., the medical director of Lam Clinic in Tustin, California. Just be careful not to consume too much zinc, or you might inadvertently cause hair loss, she cautions.
- Iron, which is in the Nioxin Recharging Complex Supplements, helps stimulate hair growth and is excellent when combined with zinc. Iron “helps with the normal function of the immune system, which is helpful for hair growth and maintenance because when your body undergoes stress due to an illness, you can often lose hair afterward as a result of that stress,” explains Gohara.
- Collagen, a marque ingredient in Nutrafol, is trendy and effective in boosting hair growth, notes Lam. It also helps improve both nail strength and your skin’s elasticity, which is why the ingredient is commonly found in anti-aging products, too.
- Vitamin E is “a powerful antioxidant that can make your scalp healthier,” says Lam. When your scalp is healthy, you’ll experience hair growth. Vitamin E, which is in the HUM Nutrition Red Carpet Hair & Nails Formula, improves is great for improving the health of your skin and nails, too, she adds.
Regardless of which ingestible you consume, talking to your doctor before you incorporate new supplements into your daily routine is always a great place to start.
Additionally, trichologist Anabel Kingsley says there’s no “one-size-fits-all” treatment for hair loss and that the best plan often includes a combination of adding supplements and adjusting your diet to ensure it includes the proper doses of essential nutrients.
How long does it take to see results from hair vitamins?
“Hair regrowth is absolutely not an overnight process,” says Gohara. You’ll usually start to see results within 6 to 12 weeks, but it typically takes up to 24 weeks (6 months) to see full results, according to Kinsley.
Is it worth taking hair vitamins?
As great as these vitamins are for your hair’s health, don’t expect to grow a full mane overnight. It takes months just to start seeing results, and the results usually aren’t as significant as you’d expect. Yes, you will definitely see some improvement if you take these hair growth vitamins daily as directed, but if you have more extreme breakage, thinning, and/or balding, you may want to talk to a trichologist or board-certified doctor about more intensive options.
Now that you've gotten the scoop on these supplements, take a look at some of the best hair growth vitamins you can find on the market right now.
Note: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Please consult your doctor before using any of these products.
Nicole Saunders is the beauty editor at Best Products with over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing lifestyle content. She specializes in breaking down complicated topics, like high-frequency wands and microcurrent devices, into easy-to-understand guides. She takes great pride in heavily researching and testing featured beauty products, — such as hairdryers and foundations — on our site, and spotlights her all-time seasonal favorites in her quarterly column Best New Beauty. And she tests quite literally thousands of launches for our Beauty Awards package.
Jennifer is the former beauty editor for BestProducts.com, where she’s testing out everything from the latest lip gloss to the craziest skincare trend sweeping the online beauty-verse. Her work has been featured in Allure, Byrdie, HelloGiggles, and more. When she’s not swatching eyeshadow all over her arms, you can find the NYC-based editor scouring for hours on end for vintage finds, eating pad thai, and hanging out with her cat, Chunks.
Katie McBroom is an award-winning content creator and freelance writer. Prior to contributing to Biography, she served as Content Editor for Google and Beauty Editor for Best Products. Her work has also appeared in publications including CNN, WWD, Business Insider, Forbes, and Men's Health, among others.
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