THE NEW YORK TIMES – Online and off, many people have credited supplements with helping them overcome hair loss. Videos abound on TikTok of people saying that brands like Nutrafol and Viviscal made their hair thicker, healthier and shinier.
So do these hair growth supplements really work?
Such supplements often contain vitamins (like biotin and vitamins A, C and D), minerals (like zinc and selenium) and extracts from plants including turmeric and horsetail. They can also contain collagen and even shark cartilage and oyster extract powder.
In some cases, they might help to regrow lost or thinning hair. But they have not been well-studied and may not be as effective as prescription treatments, like minoxidil (also sold over the counter as Rogaine) or oral finasteride, said Dr. Melanie Tawfik, a dermatologist at MedStar Health in Chevy Chase, Md.
They can also have some downsides, said Dr. Ajay Kailas, a dermatologist and founder of the teledermatology company VidDerm. People taking Nutrafol are instructed to take four capsules a day, and a one-month supply costs nearly $90.
…article continued below
– Advertisement –
“That’s a deal breaker for a lot of my patients,” he said.
The Science
Little peer-reviewed research has been conducted on these supplements. Academic researchers have studied some of their individual ingredients, but the key studies that have analyzed the effectiveness of popular hair loss supplements have been funded by the companies that market them.
In certain cases, the researchers involved worked for the company, too.
“That’s always a potential bias that we don’t love to see,” Dr. Tawfik said.
In one clinical trial published in 2021, for instance, researchers — including one who worked for the company that makes Nutrafol — tested the supplement’s effects on 40 women between the ages of 40 and 65 with self-reported hair thinning.
…article continued below
– Advertisement –
It found that over six months, those who took Nutrafol had significantly more hair growth than those who took a placebo …