Which Vitamins Promote Healthy Hair & Growth

Be sure to get the recommended amounts of special vitamins to attain long, strong, healthy hair.

Healthy hair and the promotion of hair growth depends on getting enough of the right vitamins every day. If you do not consume sufficient vitamins and minerals, or do not eat enough in general, your hair growth could slow and you could experience hair loss. Prescription products containing a cocktail of beneficial vitamins may reverse the damage, and many foods contain the vitamins needed to maintain healthy hair.

B Vitamins

A number of B vitamins are necessary to maintaining healthy hair: vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9 (folic acid) and vitamin B-3 (niacin).

Vitamin B-12 is found primarily in meat, eggs and poultry, and, according to Dr. Ted Daly, most women who visit doctors seeking help with hair loss are found to have a B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-6, a vitamin derived from foods like egg yolks and liver, is said to create melanin. Melanin provides the pigments that keep hair from going gray. Niacin (vitamin B-3) works well when combined with biotin.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A, an antioxidant found in foods like carrots, broccoli and meat, promotes a healthy scalp. Your body needs vitamin A in order to produce sebum, an oil found on the scalp.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant found in fruits like kiwi, oranges and pineapple. This vitamin helps to maintain the capillaries that bring blood to your hair follicles. Vitamin C is known to promote regeneration of both hair and nails.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, found in foods like soybeans and nuts, increases the circulation of the scalp, allowing hair to grow faster.

Beta-Carotene

Carrots are a plentiful source of beta-carotene, but you can find this vitamin in a number of other fruits and vegetables as well.

Biotin (Vitamin H)

Vitamin H, more commonly known as biotin, is a common ingredient in products prescribed to hair-loss patients. According to Dr. Andrew Lessman, "Biotin is a major component in the natural hair manufacturing process. It is essential to not only grow new hair, but it also plays a major role in the overall health of skin and nails." It is hard to get the full amount of biotin a person needs everyday through food alone, so many dermatologists recommend taking biotin supplements.