Hair fall is a common problem among healthy adults. In fact, these days, due to compromised food quality and certain lifestyle-related factors, even children have hair loss problems.
There are a lot of measures you can take, and modifying your diet is a good way to initiate healthy hair growth and control hair fall. You can reduce hair fall by consuming specific vitamins like vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B7 (Biotin), vitamin B12, and vitamin E.
Even though there is only limited research on these vitamins, they are still more beneficial than other nutrients when it comes to hair loss problems. We'll learn about that in detail in this article.
Do You Know?
- In the USA alone, almost 50 million men and nearly 30 million women have androgenetic alopecia or pattern baldness (the medical term for significant hair loss). 1
- Research has shown that up to 38% of healthy women have suffered from hair fall (especially in the frontal areas of the head) at some point in their whole lifetime. 2
- However, complete hair loss is more common in men than in women. On average, among all healthy adult males aged between 18 and 29 years, 16% experience severe hair loss. These numbers increase to 53% as they age. 3
What Is Hair Loss and Hair Growth Cycle?
Every person loses a certain quantity of hair daily. Hence, for most healthy people, hair loss that does not exceed 100 hair strands per day is completely normal. However, hair loss becomes concerning when your hair falls but doesn't grow back at the same speed. 4
Hair Growth Cycle
The hair growth cycle involves the following 3 stages 5:
1. Anagen
- The first stage is the growing stage, called anagen.
- Your hair stays in the anagen stage for 2-8 years on average.
- At any given point in time, 85%-90% of hairs are at this stage of the hair growth cycle.
2. Catagen
- This is the transition phase.
- In the catagen stage, your hair follicles (a part of your skin that carries the root of your hair) shrink.
- The duration of the catagen phase is roughly around 14-21 days.
3. Telogen
- The telogen phase lasts approximately 2-4 months.
- This phase signifies a resting period for the hair follicle.
- At the end of this phase, the hair naturally sheds and falls out.
Causes Of Hair Loss
Here are some common reasons for sudden hair loss in male and female individuals:
- Genetic factors (ageing)
- Hormonal Imbalance
- Side effects of some medicines and supplements
- Radiation therapy that targets your head
- Severely high-stress levels
- Overuse of hair styling products
- Hair beautification treatments that involve heat styling and chemical use 6
As long as your hair loss is not severe, you can modify your diet and add essential vitamins to it to encourage healthy hair growth.
The following sections provide a detailed analysis of vitamins that contribute to optimal hair health.
The speed at which your hair grows depends on a lot of factors, including 7:
- Genetic makeup
- Hormonal and stress levels
- Medical conditions
- Lifestyle habits
- Food
- Hair Treatment
Among the above, the most crucial hair growth factor is food, which contains nutrients like minerals and vitamins that are responsible for hair growth. Since these are required for normal cell growth, they play an important role in controlling hair fall.
In fact, there are some vitamins that are actually so good for your hair that they not only promote hair growth but also improve the overall quality of your hair.
Therefore, if you're wondering how to stop hair loss and regrow hair naturally, you can start by consuming a diet rich in the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B7 (biotin)
- Vitamin B9 (folate)
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Iron
- Zinc
- Protein
Which Vitamin Is Good for Hair Growth?
Based on research and studies, vitamin D, vitamin B (especially B7 and B12), and vitamin E are considered the best vitamins for hair growth. Other vitamins that are also required for hair fall control include vitamins A and C.
Below, we have described in detail how these vitamins are responsible for hair growth and why they are essential.
1. Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps grow hair follicles. That is why a lack of vitamin D is the most common vitamin deficiency in people with alopecia (severe hair loss from the face and head).
It is considered the best vitamin for hair growth because it is required for creating new hair follicles. Hair follicles are tiny sacs that contain the root of a hair strand.
These are responsible for:
- Maintaining the thickness of your hair
- Controlling and stopping the hair fall of premature hair
Vitamin deficiency symptoms including vitamin D are as follows—
- Becoming more sensitive to pain
- Pain in the muscles (especially the muscles of the upper arms, thighs, hips and legs)
- Weakness and pain in the bones
- A tingling sensation (in your feet and/or hands)
- Muscle spasms, twitches, and tremors
So, if you have any of these symptoms for a prolonged duration, you can take a vitamin D blood test to get confirmation.
Following this, here are some ways in which you can fulfil your requirement for D vitamin for healthy hair growth:
- Increased sun exposure
- Eating more fatty fish. Examples include mackerel, salmon, trout, and tuna
- Adding fish liver oils and vitamin D supplements to your diet 8
2. Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B is involved in cell metabolism. There are typically 8 vitamin B types—
- Thiamine (Vitamin B1)
- Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
- Niacin (Vitamin B3)
- Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5)
- Vitamin B6
- Biotin (Vitamin B7)
- Folate (Vitamin B9)
- Vitamin B12
Among these, vitamin B7 or biotin and vitamin B12 are the best vitamins for good hair growth.
Biotin (Vitamin B7)
Vitamin B7 is required for hair growth. A healthy body is capable of producing vitamin B7 in quantities that are essential for good control over hair fall.
Some food items that can easily fulfil your body's requirement for vitamin B7 (or biotin) include:
Apart from these, your large intestine has bacteria that also create biotin naturally. 9
So, for people who lack biotin, vitamin B7 supplements are a good solution for compromised hair growth. Note that there are no clinical trials or research studies to support the claim that biotin supplementation can be beneficial for people who do not have a deficiency of it.
Vitamin B12
Another type of vitamin B that is good for controlling hair fall is vitamin B12. Research has shown that a lack of vitamin B12 can cause hair loss.
A vitamin B12 deficiency is generally observed in the following cases:
- People who take a strictly vegan diet
- Patients with gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., Crohn's disease) and those who have undergone gastrointestinal surgeries or bariatric surgery
- People who use metformin drug to control blood sugar
- When someone is going through chronic heartburn and uses PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) for relief 10
You can take a vitamin B12 deficiency test to know if increasing its quantities in your diet can be good for your hair.
3. Vitamin E
After vitamin D and vitamin B, vitamin E is also one of the best vitamins for fast hair growth. This is because of its following properties:
- Natural antioxidant effects
- Promotes healthy scalp
- Reduces hair breakage from the follicle
Note that there is not enough research to confirm that vitamin E can control extreme hair fall. However, it is still required for proper hair growth because it can reverse heat and chemical damage to the hair and make it shinier.
There are 3 ways to fulfil your body's requirement for vitamin E for fast hair growth.
- First, choose a shampoo and a conditioner containing vitamin E.
- Second, change your overall diet to include vitamin E-rich foods. Here are some examples:
- Leafy green vegetables (e.g., boiled spinach and broccoli)
- Nuts (e.g., dry roasted almonds and peanut butter)
- Seeds (e.g., Dried and roasted sunflower seeds)
- Vegetable oils (e.g., wheat germ oil)
- Fortified breakfast cereals
- And lastly, ask an expert to prescribe you vitamin E supplements that are good for your hair. 11
5. Vitamin C
Apart from the above-mentioned vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin A are two other important vitamins that help with hair growth.
Likewise, similar to vitamin E, vitamin C also has antioxidant properties, which are good for the health of your hair follicles.
Other ways in which vitamin C is responsible for proper hair growth include the following:
- Vitamin C produces collagen. It makes your hair stronger.
- Among minerals, the deficiency of iron has been directly linked to hair loss. Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron more efficiently from the diet that you consume. Therefore, it is indirectly good for controlling hair fall.
Most berries, especially strawberries, are a good source of vitamin C. 12
6. Vitamin A
Vitamin A might not be the best vitamin for hair, but it is still highly beneficial and good for hair fall control.
However, while vitamin A is required by your body in a specific quantity, an excess of it can be harmful to your hair. This is because studies suggest that over-supplementation of vitamin A is not good when you're trying to control hair fall.
Spinach is a good source of vitamin A. It helps with hair growth by supplying the body with vitamin A and other essential nutrients like iron, folate (vitamin B9), and vitamin C.
Vitamins D, B, and E, along with vitamin C and vitamin K, are the best vitamins for hair growth. You can get these by consuming a nutritional diet and adding enough minerals like iron and zinc to it.
If you notice symptoms constantly while suffering from uncontrollable hair fall, you can take a complete vitamin profile test.
The test results can help you determine the severity of your situation. Hence, you can make the right changes required for controlling hair fall thereafter.
Which Vitamin Is Good for Hair Fall Control?
Female pattern baldness, more commonly called female pattern hair loss, is common among women of almost all ethnicities and backgrounds. Regardless of age and gender, controlling hair fall is essential to improving the overall quality of life.
As already mentioned, modifying your diet and adding essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to your diet is a good solution to controlling hair fall. 13
Here are some foods that can help you add vitamins for good hair health in your diet—
- Berries (especially strawberries): A good source of vitamin C
- Spinach: It contains vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin B9 or folate
- Fatty fish: They contain vitamin D3 and vitamin B complex
- Sweet potatoes: They contain vitamin A
- Avocados: A good source of vitamin E
- Nuts: These contain vitamin E and Vitamin B
- Seeds: These are rich in vitamin E
- Sweet peppers: A good source of vitamins C and A
But before making these changes, you must get an idea of which vitamins your body lacks and how they are affecting your hair growth. For this, you can take a vitamin test package.
Likewise, a blood test for hair loss in females can help a woman better understand the root cause of her hair loss. Following the test results, she can modify her lifestyle or take suitable vitamin supplements that are good for hair fall control.
Are Hair Growth Supplements Safe?
There is no proper evidence that can state that hair growth supplements can actually encourage healthy hair growth or even control hair fall in healthy people (that is, those who do not have any nutrient deficiencies).
However, if your hair fall is caused due to a lack of some particular vitamins, then supplements might be helpful.
In either of these cases, it is the best idea to consult a medical professional before taking any supplements.
How To Choose the Best Hair Growth Supplements for You?
You can take an online full body checkup to get an idea of your overall health status. This will help you identify factors like any underlying diseases or use of medicines that might be causing your hair loss.
Following this, you can consult a medical expert who can suggest the best multivitamin/hair growth supplement for your hair type.
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