If you want to have healthier hair, there are a plethora of supplements out there to help you out. It’s hard to know what works and what doesn’t, though. Lucky for you, I have the top 5 hair supplements that are sure to give you all of the results you’re looking for. I know I certainly benefited from them.
Biotin
B vitamins are essential for energy production. You can’t metabolize anything without them. B12 is common for energy problems in older people, but biotin is now understood to be incredibly beneficial.
Biotin, or B7, is one of the most important supplements for hair, nail, and skin health. Just take a look at any hair supplement and you’ll no doubt see biotin listed. A deficiency of biotin will be noticeable in the form of hair breakage, loss, and thinning. Since B vitamins aren’t stored in your body, you’ll have to make sure that you continuously take it in through supplements.
Of course, you could eat more vegetables, eggs, and whole grains to get biotin, but a supplement containing 100mcg, when taken each day, will do a much better job.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an incredibly important vitamin. It isn’t just another one of Doctor Oz’s crazy weekly hot-must-have supplements. Vitamin D is something that your body can produce on its own, but you have to have ample sunlight to do it. Most people have a deficiency of Vitamin D for that same reason, though.
A Vitamin D deficiency can cause depression, hair loss, and a load of other health problems. Even if you think you get sunlight during the day, if you have a problem with these, you might need a little extra.
It comes in most multi vitamins that you’ll find in doses that are anywhere from 1,000iu to just 50iu. The recommended dose is 600IU each day, but if you are trying to make up for a deficiency you can take up to 10,000IU a day for a week to get your system back in order.
Lysine
This is one of the building blocks that make up the proteins that your body craves so badly. Your hair is made up of proteins. Get it? You don’t often see people who have a deficiency in lysine, but boosting your intake can help in any case. If you do have a deficiency, you’ll see it in the form of anemia, hair loss, or weight loss.
One to one and a half grams is a healthy dose of lysine and you can find it in fish, whole grains, eggs, meat, and more. If you would like to make your hair healthier and longer, you should be taking it in the form of a supplement, however.
If you decide to go the supplement route, you should be taking 1000mg each day. Most people recommend using it for up to 6 months before taking a break. Make sure you also take iron as well, since it aids the absorption of lysine and makes sure that it is effective.
Calcium
Everybody knows that calcium is important for healthy bones, but what else does it do? It turns out, calcium is important to the reproduction of cells in almost every important part of your body. That includes hair production.
Calcium also controls hormone releases, which can affect your hair loss further. A deficiency will result in a loss in both bone mass and hair. You can prevent this by eating a proper diet filled with dairy products, but ideally you should be taking a calcium supplement if you are at risk.
1,000mg daily is what you should be taking. Many multi vitamins include it already, but you should take it on its own if you are concerned about your hair health, bone density, or all around daily diet.
Arginine
Arginine is one of the biggest amino acids when it comes to a variety of health conditions. Nitric oxide production, which arginine helps in, keeps your metabolism flowing, your heart pumping, and your energy high.
Arginine dilates your blood vessels and helps get your nutrients where they need to go. That dilation also means that your hair follicles can produce healthy, long, beautiful hair.
Like all of these other options, arginine can be found in dietary additions. Most prominently, beef, poultry, and milk. If you want to really enhance your hair, though, you’ll have to once again turn to supplements.
Dosage-wise, you can take up to 20 grams a day. 5-10 seems to be the sweet spot for most people, though. I would suggest starting there in the form of several doses throughout the day, including protein shakes (which also include arginine.)
Try these out one at a time. If you start taking everything imaginable, you won’t know which one actually works. Once you start seeing results, I’m sure you’ll be glad you took the time to figure out what was best for you.