Searching for the perfect hair growth spray or supplement can be a daunting experience. If you don’t know which kind of vitamins are actually good for hair growth, it’s hard to know if the product you choose is likely to work at all.
To help you find the best hair growth products with the best ingredients possible, we’re going over all the vitamins and minerals that are key to better hair growth.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is amazing for hair growth because it’s essential for all your cells to reproduce. Since your hair is the fastest-growing tissue in the body, it needs quite a bit of Vitamin A to boost its growth even further.
However, you can have too much Vitamin A. In fact, a Vitamin A overdose can have the opposite effect and actually cause hair loss. So, just be careful with how much you’re adding to your diet.
Vitamin C
Found in citrus fruits and in various other natural forms, Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps balance any oxidative stress your body might be experiencing as a result of free radicals. This oxidative stress can cause hair loss, so antioxidants are necessary if you want to see hair growth of any kind.
Additionally, Vitamin C also aids in the creation of collagen and helps your body to absorb iron, which, as we’ll see below, does even more to promote hair growth.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is often associated with sun exposure and bone health. However, this important vitamin is also key to better hair health.
Since low levels of Vitamin D are linked to hair loss, it makes sense that ensuring you have enough of it can help your hair grow longer and stronger. It’s thought that Vitamin D actually helps to create new hair follicles although the real reason for its connection to hair growth is unclear.
Vitamin E
Similar to Vitamin C, the antioxidant known as Vitamin E is amazing for hair growth for the same reason. Antioxidants counteract oxidative stress and since oxidative stress can cause hair loss, antioxidants are great for hair growth.
Biotin
If you use a hair growth spray or take any kind of supplement for your hair, skin and nails, it likely includes biotin, one of the most well-known hair growth vitamins around.
Biotin is technically Vitamin B7 and is an important factor in cell reproduction. B vitamins help to create red blood cells to carry oxygen and vital nutrients to the scalp and hair follicles, therefore promoting hair growth.
However, people with a biotin deficiency see better hair growth results than those who are not experiencing a deficiency. Still, most hair growth products will contain biotin for its hair stimulating effects.
Iron
Although technically a mineral, not a vitamin, iron is key to healthy blood. Red blood cells need iron to effectively carry oxygen throughout your body. Women are often iron deficient (otherwise known as anaemic) due to heavy periods and others may be deficient due to vegetarian or vegan diets.
Iron deficiency can also contribute to hair loss and thinning hair. For the same reasons that biotin is an effective vitamin for hair growth, iron’s ability to help red blood cells transport oxygen to your scalp and hair follicles can aid in creating longer, stronger hair.
Zinc
Zinc is another mineral that is good for hair growth and is often found in top hair growth spray and oils. Zinc plays a major role in the creation of protein in your hair and throughout the rest of your body. It also aids in tissue repair which is beneficial when experiencing hair loss.
However, similar to Vitamin A, too much zinc may also cause hair loss. So, ensuring you have the right amount of zinc can help with hair growth and prevent hair loss.
Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and proteins are the building blocks of your hair. And although amino acids technically aren’t vitamins either, they’re still worth a mention as these ingredients are key to the effectiveness of hair growth spray, oils and supplements.
Collagen is a type of amino acid chain that is also common in hair growth products and they all work for the sole reason that hair is made up of almost all protein.
All in all, if your hair growth spray or supplements included any or all of these ingredients, you can ensure that it’s likely to work for you.
(SEE ALSO: Does hair growth serums work?)