In this article, we will go over 7 vitamins that promote thicker hair, what they do, and explain how you can incorporate them into your daily routine.
Importance of Hair Vitamins
Unfortunately, the quality of our hair lessens as we age. Additionally, many people are unaware of the areas of nutrition that target hair growth and strength and their diets may lack in these areas. It can be difficult in our busy lives to make sure we are covering every nutritional base and for some people it can feel quite impossible to keep track.
Luckily, supplementation allows us to make up in the places we lack dietarily. Knowing which vitamins are important for hair quality and adding these to your diet may be beneficial in helping you obtain thicker hair.
Overview of Hair Growth Supplements
Hair growth supplements take common ingredients that are beneficial for hair growth and make them easier for you to consume, whether it's in capsule form, powder, etc., so you can make up for missing nutrients in your diet.
Top 7 Hair Vitamins for Growth
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble nutrient essential for healthy vision, immune function, cell growth, and reproductive health. It comes in two main dietary forms: preformed vitamin A (retinol) from animal products and provitamin A (beta-carotene) from colorful fruits and vegetables.
Benefits for Hair Growth
According to the National Library of Medicine, Vitamin A helps all body cells grow, aids skin glands in making moisturizing scalp oil (sebum), and supports fast-growing hair tissues. However, taking extra supplements when you are not deficient will not speed up growth and can actually cause hair loss.
- Cell growth: Supports the rapid growth and turnover of hair and skin cells.
- Scalp moisture: Helps the scalp produce sebum to keep hair soft and stop breakage.
- Tissue protection: Acts as an antioxidant to protect follicles from damage
2. Biotin
Biotin, or vitamin B7, is a water-soluble nutrient that helps your body convert food into energy and supports healthy hair, skin, and nails. A normal diet provides enough biotin, making true deficiencies rare. Supplements rarely help unless you have an actual deficiency, and high doses can mess up medical lab tests.
Role in Hair Health
Most people naturally get enough biotin through their diets, but if you have a deficiency, this will affect the health of your hair. A biotin supplement can help you get the full amount you need, as according to a review of the use of Biotin for hair loss conducted by PubMed.
3. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient vital for building strong bones, absorbing calcium, and supporting immune health. Your body makes it when skin meets sunlight. You can also get it from foods like fish and fortified milk, or from daily supplements.
Connection to Hair Follicles
Vitamin D receptors (VDR) in hair follicles to help create new follicles, regulate the hair growth cycle, and support keratin production, as illustrated by the Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling. Low levels of vitamin D are often linked to excessive shedding and hair loss conditions like telogen effluvium and alopecia areata.
- Triggers Growth: Signals follicles to move into the active growth phase (anagen).
- Creates Follicles: Helps build new hair pores and awaken dormant ones.
- Makes Keratin: Supports skin cells that produce the protein structure of your hair (keratinocytes).
Deficiency and Hair Loss
- Increased Shedding: Low vitamin D keeps hair stuck in the resting phase too long.
- Thinning Hair: Leads to weaker strands and overall volume loss.
- Linked Conditions: Low levels connect to patchy loss (alopecia areata) and stress shedding (telogen effluvium).
4. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of fat-soluble compounds that function as powerful antioxidants, protecting cell membranes, supporting immune function, and promoting skin and eye health.
Antioxidant Effects on Hair
Vitamin E neutralizes free radicals caused by pollution, UV rays, and heat styling. It reduces oxidative stress on the scalp, helps repair damaged hair follicles, improves blood flow, and locks in moisture to restore natural shine.
Key Antioxidant Effects
- Fights Free Radicals: Stops unstable molecules from breaking down hair protein and cell membranes.
- Reduces Hair Loss: Lowers scalp oxidative stress, which is linked to premature shedding and alopecia.
- Boosts Blood Flow: Encourages micro-circulation in the scalp to feed oxygen to roots.
- Protects Lipid Barrier: Replenishes natural oils on the skin and hair shaft to stop frizz and breakage.
5. Zinc
Zinc is a chemical element (symbol Zn, atomic number 30) and an essential mineral that your body needs for immune function, wound healing, and cell growth. It is found in many foods, including meat, shellfish, legumes, and seeds.
Importance for Hair Structure
Zinc builds hair structure by driving protein synthesis for keratin production, enabling cell division in follicles, and regulating scalp oils. Low zinc causes weak, brittle strands and hair shedding, but excess zinc can also harm hair.
7. Iron
Iron is an essential mineral your body uses to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. It supports muscle function, energy production, and a healthy immune system. Without enough iron, you can feel very tired and develop anemia.
Role in Oxygen Supply to Hair
The oxygen supply of iron fuels the high energy demands of rapidly dividing cells in the hair root, allowing them to build strong hair, as researched by the Journal of Korean Medical Science. Low iron cuts this oxygen flow, causing hair to stop growing and enter a shedding phase early.
- Hemoglobin Production: Iron creates the protein that moves oxygen through your blood to your scalp.
- Cell Energy: Hair matrix cells need steady oxygen to make ATP, the fuel for fast cell division.
- Growth Cycle Support: Good oxygen flow keeps hair in its active growth phase (anagen).
7. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are healthy fats that your body cannot make on its own. You must get them from food or pills. They help your heart, brain, and immune system work right.
Nourishing the Scalp
Omega-3 fatty acids nourish the scalp by reducing inflammation, regulating oil production, and improving blood flow to hair follicles, as according to PubMed. These essential fats support the skin barrier to lock in moisture, helping to ease dryness, flakiness, and irritation.
Key Scalp and Hair Benefits
- Calms Inflammation: Lowers irritation linked to dandruff, itchiness, and inflammatory scalp conditions.
- Improves Hydration: Supports natural lipid layers to prevent moisture loss in the skin and hair shaft.
- Boosts Circulation: Enhances blood flow to the roots, delivering oxygen and vital nutrients to follicles.
- Strengthens Strands: Nourishes cells to support stronger growth cycles and reduce excess shedding
How to Incorporate Hair Vitamins into Your Routine
If you would like to start incorporating hair vitamins into your daily routine, you can do so by prioritizing certain foods or using supplements.
Dietary Sources
|
Vitamin |
Dietary Source |
|
Vitamin A |
Animal Sources (Preformed Vitamin A):
Plant Sources (Provitamin A Carotenoids)
|
|
Biotin |
Animal Sources:
Plant Sources:
|
|
Vitamin D |
Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. The best natural sources are fatty fish like salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel, as well as fish liver oils. Most dietary vitamin D comes from fortified foods like milk, plant milks, and cereals |
|
Vitamin E |
Found naturally in plant oils, nuts, seeds, and certain vegetables. Top dietary sources include wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds, and almonds. |
|
Zinc |
Zinc is found in many foods, with the highest and most absorbable amounts present in shellfish like oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, and whole grains. |
|
Iron |
Animal Sources (Heme Iron):
Plant Sources (Non-Heme Iron):
|
|
Omega-3 fatty acids |
Fatty Fish and Seafood (EPA and DHA):
Plant-Based Foods (ALA)
|
Supplements vs. Food
You can eliminate the guess work of trying to figure out if you’re getting enough of specific vitamins by taking supplements. Formulas specifically designed for hair growth and quality such as Hair Nutrition by Elavonne make it simple to incorporate hair vitamins into your daily routine, as they contain the entire dose within a capsule.
Healthy Practices
Incorporating the vitamins we discussed into your diet either through the foods you eat or through supplementation can help you increase the quality of your hair naturally and help combat the deterioration of your hair as you age.