Are Vitamins and Supplements Effective for Treating Hair Loss?

This question, from a member of the Hair Restoration Social Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by recommended hair restoration physician Dr. William Lindsey:

Which vitamins and supplements are the top ones to help hair growth?

There are lots of anecdotal reports of supplements, shampoos and lasers out there that claim to do wonders for hair loss and most anything else. Before you spend significant money, try to find a controlled study published in a peer reviewed medical journal in the US or Europe showing that whatever product you are interested in actually has a clinical effect in human beings.

If you can find even one study, then I’d say it’s likely worth a try. If you can’t, ask yourself why. All doctors want to show how great their results are. If a doctor finds something that works, I guarantee you that he wants to be the first to publish it!

I can completely understand balding patients wanting to try things they hear about and avoid or augment medications like Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) or hair transplant surgery. All I’m saying is, know what you are spending your hard earned money on.

Dr. William Lindsey – Mclean, VA

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David – aka TakingThePlunge
Assistant Publisher and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum
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Technorati Tags: hair growth, hair loss, balding, Propecia, finasteride, Rogaine, minoxidil, hair transplant

David aka - TakingthePlunge

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View Comments

Jeni says:

September 27, 2010 at 12:28 am

I take so many vitamins and I know they probably don't work but I keep trying different ones, in case I finally fix some sort of deficiency I may or may not have. I take iron pills for my low iron, biotin, saw palmetto, a multivitamin, and a whole bunch of other things. When I stop taking them, my hair sheds slightly more, so they probably help my hair by a whopping 10%.