Vitamins for Hair Growth

Who Benefits From "Hair Vitamins"

By its nature, all vitamins are important to your health. Some are more vital than others; the body itself can produce some, but for optimal health you should aim to get what you need of everything on a regular basis. Thus, approaching the nutritional and potential supplementation angle just for hair concerns is not a winner; what good does lustrous hair do if you get sick, develop a skin condition, or any other deficit effects? It's unlikely to go that far of course, but it helps you get the point about overall health taking precedence over any one niche vitamin therapy you may consider.

Having said that, some vitamins are indeed helpful in livening up unhealthy hair. So is thyroid health, a key producer of natural body hormones. A sluggish thyroid is suspected to contribute to thin, brittle hair, while a thyroid in overdrive may create limp, greasy-looking hair. Adequate protein intake is also important to ensure proper hair growth. There's no need to go on a crazy bodybuilder's high protein diet; just make sure you can a few servings of chicken, fish, beef, eggs or other protein sources per day. Some beauty experts swear by brewer's yeast supplementation, although the scientific backing is not quite established.

Reality Check

However, a few points of note before you dive into your grand hair-revival initiative. First off, if you're a balding guy getting up there in the years, slugging big fistfuls vitamin capsules isn't going to transform you into a member of some 80s hair band. If your genes have condemned you to chrome-dome status, there's not much you can do about it beyond expensive surgery. Or shave it all off and go for the Captain Picard look -- anything but the dreaded comb-over. Please.

Also, bear in mind that the hair you see on your head is a lost cause. It's just dead matter; otherwise going to the barber would be like going to the dentist. So if your hair is thin and brittle, you can use shampoos and whatnot. However, any vitamins for hair growth you take will only affect the hair growing out RIGHT NOW. So, expect a minimum of a one to two month delay before seeing actual results.

Finally, be wary of fantastic claims and overpriced "package deals" with everything you need to -- cough BS cough -- double or triple hair growth rate overnight or dramatically improve the look of your hair within a month. Your hair follicles are too smart to be tricked by slick advertisers; your brain shouldn't either.

Vitamins For Hair Growth

So, what DOES work for getting that hair growing and healthy. Vitamin B6, beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor), inositol, biotin and folic acid are important components, as are the minerals zinc, magnesium, and sulfur.

Guess what? All these are typically included in a good multivitamin/mineral capsule at a cost of mere cents a day. If you're not a fan of supplements, you can get the bulk of these vitamins by making sure to eat carrots, seafood and leafy green veggies. Add some healthy oils and -- whoa! -- that's a salad!

There are plenty other sources of these vitamins out there, and they're all part of a healthy diet. The point here is that there's very little need to drop hundreds of dollars on what is essentially hyped-up multivitamins selling for big bucks just because they claim to be specifically for hair growth. Again, few things beat a basic, all-around healthy diet.