The Best Vitamins for Hair Growth Are a Six-Month Commitment

The Best Vitamins for Hair Growth Are a Six-Month Commitment

The best vitamins for hair growth take about six months to judge, because hair only grows around half an inch a month. Here are the supplements and gummies, the scalp serums, and the thickening shampoos and conditioners that make the hair you have look fuller while you wait.

Hair grows about half an inch a month, roughly six inches a year, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. That single number explains most of the frustration with hair supplements. Anything you start today can only affect hair that has not grown yet, so you will not see a difference in the mirror for months, and the ends you are looking at now started growing a year or more ago. The best vitamins for hair growth are a six-month commitment, taken alongside good care for the hair you already have.

A quick word before the list. Supplements are not a fix for every kind of shedding, and biotin in particular can interfere with some blood test results. Check with your doctor before you start anything, especially if you are pregnant, take other medication or have noticed sudden hair loss.

With that said, here is what is out there. Vegamour's GRO Biotin Gummies and Havasu Nutrition's strawberry flavored biotin gummies are the easy, chewable option. Codeage's Hair Gummies are sugar free. Act+Acre's Thick + Full capsules are made for fuller looking hair, and MegaFood's Hair Growth vitamins combine biotin with hyaluronic acid.

Reserveage's Keratin Hair Booster and ResVitale's Keratin Hair Enhance are keratin based capsules, the second with biotin and resveratrol. Nature's Craft's Biotin Capsules are the simplest of the group.

Pick one, take it as the label says every day, and set a reminder to judge it in six months, not six weeks.

Collage of hair gummies, capsules, scalp serums and volumizing shampoos beside a photo of a woman with long blonde hair.
Hair supplements, scalp serums and thickening shampoos for the long game.

Hair supplements and gummies

Scalp serums for the roots

Supplements work from the inside, if they work for you at all. Scalp serums work from the outside, on the skin the hair grows from, and many people use both. None of these are medicines, so think of them as good scalp care rather than a treatment for hair loss.

Vegamour's GRO Hair Serum is made for thinning hair and goes on with a dropper along the part. Act+Acre's 2% Stem Cell Scalp Serum is for thicker looking hair. The Ordinary's Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density is the simplest place to start. Nécessaire's Scalp Serum has 5% Capixyl, and Kérastase's Genesis serum is a strengthening serum for scalp and hair, made for hair that breaks easily.

OUAI's Hydrating Scalp Serum is gentler, for a dry, tight scalp. Caudalie's Hair Density Serum has soothing peptides, and Virtue's Flourish Density Booster is for thinning hair.

Apply to a clean, dry or towel dried scalp, part by part, and massage for a minute with your fingertips. The massage feels good, and it helps the serum spread evenly. Use it at the same time every day, since evenings are easiest for most people, and give it at least three months before you judge it.

Take a photo of your part in the same light every month. Change is slow, and without photos you will not notice it. Keep the bottle next to your toothbrush so the habit sticks, and wash your hands after, since serum on your fingers ends up on your face.

Scalp serums

Shampoos and conditioners that add body

While you wait for new growth, the right wash day makes the hair you have look fuller now. Thickening shampoos and conditioners do not change how many hairs you have, but they can make each one feel thicker and give roots more lift.

BondiBoost's Hair Thickening Therapy shampoo, amika's Big Hit and Bumble and bumble's Thickening Volume shampoo all add lift at the roots. Oribe's Hair Alchemy is a strengthening shampoo, and Olaplex's No.4 Fine shampoo is a volumizing, strengthening version of their bond maintenance wash. Caudalie's Hair Volume Shampoo is made for thickening and density, and Crown Affair's Volumizing Shampoo is for oily, flat hair.

OUAI's Thick Hair Conditioner is for hair that is already thick or coarse and needs softness. Use conditioner mostly on the ends, so it does not weigh down the roots.

What I would skip: a heavy, silicone rich conditioner if your hair is fine and flat. It will smooth, but it can also leave hair limp by lunchtime. I would also skip tight ponytails and buns every day, which pull on the hairline over time, and very hot tools on the same spot. Breakage makes hair look thinner than it is. A soft scrunchie, a heat protectant and lower heat settings keep more of the length you are growing.

Wash as often as your scalp needs. An oily scalp can be washed daily with a gentle shampoo, and a clean scalp makes roots look fuller.

Thickening shampoos and conditioners

Six months, then decide

Give any new routine six months. That is how long it takes for enough new hair to grow for you to judge it, and most people give up at six weeks. Keep the monthly photos, and be honest about what you see.

If you notice sudden shedding, patches, or a widening part that keeps getting worse, see a dermatologist rather than adding another supplement. Many causes of thinning, from low iron to thyroid changes to stress, are easier to address once you know what they are. A balanced diet with enough protein matters too, alongside anything in a bottle. And be kind to yourself in the meantime. A good cut, taking off the thinnest ends, often makes hair look thicker overnight while the new growth comes in. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Arctic Fox Hair Dye and What a Hair Growth Shampoo Can and Cannot Do for Thinning Hair.