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Clinical Efficacy of Popular Oral Hair Growth Supplement Ingredients
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- This review article assessed the available evidence on the efficacy of oral supplement ingredients and formulations as they pertain to hair growth. The authors identified no clinical evidence supporting the use of vitamin A, vitamin D, biotin, niacin, selenium, ashwagandha, curcumin, and capsaicin for treatment of hair loss. There is weak evidence for vitamin C and iron supplementation for patients with known iron deficiency. Mild evidence exists for the use of vitamin E and zinc in hair loss conditions in addition to mild evidence for horsetail and methylsulfonylmethane as complementary management for skin and hair health. Some evidence exists for the use of pumpkin seed oil and saw palmetto as additional options for androgenetic alopecia. Finally, marine complexes have exhibited positive effects on hair health.
- Although there is some evidence to support the use of oral supplements for hair growth, it is important to remember that supplements are not FDA-regulated as drugs, but rather as foods. Therefore, large, peer-reviewed clinical studies are needed to determine the safety and clinical efficacy of the oral supplements discussed in this review article.
– Alex Noble, MD
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
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Hair supplements are a vast and growing industry. Patients often turn to oral supplements to address hair concerns as they are easily accessible. There are numerous products on the market, many with thousands of reviews (both positive and negative). Nutritional supplements are regulated by the FDA as foods instead of drugs, meaning they do not have to prove their efficacy and safety before becoming available to consumers. While some oral supplements have strong evidence supporting their use for hair growth, many ingredients have not been tested in clinical trials, have only in vitro evidence for hair growth, or have only been tested in animals. Given these industry characteristics, it is important for dermatologists to be aware of the safety and utility of these ingredients to provide appropriate counseling to their patients. The goal of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of popular hair growth oral supplement ingredients and formulations. This review does not address the topical formulations of these ingredients and their effects on hair growth.
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International Journal of Dermatology
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Clinical Efficacy of Popular Oral Hair Growth Supplement Ingredients
Int. J. Dermatol 2020 Dec 09;[EPub Ahead of Print], MJ Adelman, LM Bedford, GA PottsFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Dermatology
The oral supplement industry is exploding, and well-designed studies are lacking for many conditions, including hair loss. As dermatologists, this is in our area of expertise and this article helps sort through the marketing to offer evidence-based advice to our often anxious desperate patients with hair loss. Although lack of evidence may show a limit of our existing knowledge, mechanisms exist for many natural substances for improvement in hair growth necessitating further study.
This article describes the existing data behind oral supplements, including vitamins, minerals, plant derivatives, and marine-derived nutraceuticals. In absence of deficiency, vitamin A, vitamin D, biotin, niacin, and selenium have not been proven to help with hair growth. Ashwagandha, curcumin, and capsaicin also have no human studies showing efficacy for hair health.
Promising vitamins, including vitamin C, may help indirectly with improvement of absorption of iron and may improve hair growth. One small study showed increase in hair count with vitamin E supplementation.
Of the minerals, zinc is important for patients who have a deficiency due to malabsorption states, may improve hair thickness in women, and improves hair regrowth in alopecia areata. Iron is essential element in hemoglobin function as well as hair. Patients with low ferritin should have supplementation and treatment of underlying blood loss.
Of plant based nutraceuticals pumpkin seed oil or saw palmetto have some evidence for androgenetic alopecia as an alternative treatment. Horsetail and separately methylsulfonylmethane have some promising human studies showing improvement in hair health.
Of marine-based nutraceuticals, AminoMar has strong evidence for hair count increase, whereas Synergen Complex and Nourkrin have mild evidence for hair count increases.