There’s something about a full, robust head of hair that feels comforting. It can bolster your confidence and help you feel like you have the perfect accessory for any outfit you wear.
This is why it can be so upsetting if you start to lose your hair or if it isn’t growing as richly as it used to.
The good news is that there could be an easier fix than you realize. Nutrition plays a powerful role in how well your hair grows. For that reason, there are many hair growth supplements that can help you get back the beautiful long hair you remember.
1. Biotin
As you shop for hair growth supplements and multi-vitamins, biotin is one of the most common ingredients you’ll see. That’s no accident.
Biotin, also called vitamin B7, is one of the top nutrients your body uses to build hair. If you don’t have enough of it, your hair won’t grow.
Keep in mind that biotin is a great way to help your existing hair grow faster. It doesn’t usually make your hair thicker. It also isn’t likely to help you regrow hair you’ve lost from male pattern baldness or other types of natural thinning.
2. Green Tea Extract
For most men who lose their hair, run-of-the-mill male pattern baldness is to blame.
This type of hair loss is caused by DHT: a natural byproduct of the testosterone in your body. DHT shrinks your hair follicles little by little. Those follicles produce less and less hair until they produce no hair at all.
Green tea extract is a natural way to fight that process because it limits the impact that DHT has on your follicles. It’s one of the most reliable ways to fix your hair problems.
3. Zinc
Every person’s scalp is unique. Some people’s scalps produce a lot of a natural oil called sebum while others produce too little.
If you don’t have enough oil on your scalp, it can limit your hair growth. You need sebum to keep your scalp hydrated. Zinc is a nutrient that helps your body produce the sebum you need.
A zinc deficiency is also a common factor that causes hair loss. You may not have enough zinc, even if you don’t realize it. If you have a zinc deficiency that’s contributing to your hair problems, a supplement will take care of it.
There is a limit, though. Too much zinc can also cause hair loss. It’s safer to either get more zinc from your diet or to choose a milder zinc supplement.
4. Vitamin A
Vitamin A helps your hair growth in multiple ways.
First, vitamin A is one of the most crucial nutrients your body needs for cells to grow. That includes your hair cells, so a vitamin A supplement can make sure your body has what it needs to produce more hair.
On top of this, vitamin A helps you produce that important sebum that hydrates your scalp.
As with zinc, though, you don’t want to go overboard. Too much vitamin A can make hair loss worse.
5. Cystine
Cystine is probably less familiar to you than the other nutrients on this list, but it’s important nonetheless.
Cystine is an amino acid: one of the key building blocks of protein. This includes the protein your body uses for hair growth. Boosting the cystine in your body helps you give your body all the tools it needs to improve your hair growth.
6. Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiencies are more common than you may realize. Considering that our bodies use sunlight to produce some of our vitamin D, people who spend little time outside are at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiencies.
If you don’t have enough vitamin D, it can hold back your hair growth and lead to hair loss.
While the medical community is still studying this, it’s possible that vitamin D may help your scalp develop new hair follicles as well.
7. Ashwagandha
The planet is full of hidden miracles that help us heal, and one of those is ashwagandha.
Ashwagandha is a natural herb. When it’s in your system, this herb reduces the stress hormones your body produces. Because those stress hormones cause hair loss, these supplements can help you keep your hair thick and strong.
Keep in mind that ashwagandha is most effective for protecting the hair you have, rather than stimulating new growth.
8. Vitamin C
Your scalp is out in the world among the elements every day, and it takes quite a beating in the process.
Some of the most damaging parts of the environment are the free radicals that come from air pollution. Those free radicals can damage your hair follicles and keep you from getting the hair growth you want.
Vitamin C can help. This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant that protects your follicles from damage.
9. Iron
Iron is another of those vitamins that your body could be missing without you realizing it. Iron deficiencies are common, especially in women who menstruate because they lose blood every month. These iron deficiencies are also likely to cause hair loss.
An iron supplement can give your body the iron it needs to keep producing hair. It also helps your body with a variety of other functions, so an iron deficiency is an important problem to resolve.
Finding the Right Hair Growth Supplements for You
If you feel insecure about your hair, it can impact you every day. Everyone wants to live their lives feeling confident and happy with the way they look, and the hair growth supplements above could be the first step toward that goal.
If you’re looking for more ways to enhance your natural beauty, check out more health and beauty articles on our blog.
