Clinical efficacy of popular oral hair growth supplement ingredients

Abstract

Hair supplements are a vast and growing industry. Patients often turn to oral supplements to address hair concerns as they are easily accessible. There are numerous products on the market, many with thousands of reviews (both positive and negative). Nutritional supplements are regulated by the FDA as foods instead of drugs, meaning they do not have to prove their efficacy and safety before becoming available to consumers. While some oral supplements have strong evidence supporting their use for hair growth, many ingredients have not been tested in clinical trials, have only in vitro evidence for hair growth, or have only been tested in animals. Given these industry characteristics, it is important for dermatologists to be aware of the safety and utility of these ingredients to provide appropriate counseling to their patients. The goal of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of popular hair growth oral supplement ingredients and formulations. This review does not address the topical formulations of these ingredients and their effects on hair growth.

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“…It was reported as beneficial in hair development, treating dandruff and split-ends along with characteristic hair conditioner [ 78 ].…”

“…It is used to prevent any kind of damage or damage to the hair, protection against dandruff, conditions the hair, acts as a tonic for hair, and additionally facilitates in styling of hair [ 78 ].…”

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“…Dietary supplements are a large and vibrant industry, with globally estimated sales that exceed $100 billion. 22 While some ingredients and formulations have shown evidence supporting their use in commercial supplements for hair regrowth, 23 many others have gained huge popularity mainly with the aid of extensively disseminated marketing messages on social media and on the internet in general.…”

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“…18,19 In addition, exogenous intake of biotin may result in a falsely low troponin value, leading to a possible and unfortunate missed diagnosis of a myocardial infarction. 19…”

“…It can cause false negative or false positive test results. For instance, high doses may result in a false positive TSH receptor antibody and a Graves disease‐like presentation in patients who may have no clinical signs or symptoms of the disease 18,19 . In addition, exogenous intake of biotin may result in a falsely low troponin value, leading to a possible and unfortunate missed diagnosis of a myocardial infarction 19 …”