Supplement question... Is all this really necessary?

[trj1922]

I have noticed that a lot of women use dietary supplements on LHCF. I'm trying to be more consistent with my garlic, l-cysteine, biotin, and a multi as my hair is a wreck due to continued thinning and now major breakage. I was hoping for waist in 2009, but it ain't gonna happen. I need a major haircut and my hair will still be a raggedy, thin, scraggly mess that I'm ashamed to be seen in public with.

Anyway, my question is this... It seems that the women who use supplements seriously use a lot of them. Far more than the dosage recommendation on the packaging. Is all that really necessary? Does it actually work better to take 8000 mgs of garlic as opposed to 1000 or 2000? Also, doesn't it get expensive? What experiences have you ladies had and were the results spectacular or just so-so?

 

[Juliagizzle]

Well I look at my overall health when thinking about supplements for hair. I had some deficiencies so that is what made me take decide to take certain supplements. I do like supplements as well eating the right foods and drinking enough water. I dont know about garlic pills I eat garlic cooked and raw. and yesterday I used some on scalp and results were very decent. I can can get expensive sometimes. I like vitacost they have good prices.

 

[newflowers]

I don't use as many supplements as some ladies, but I do take supplements - a liquid mutli with whole foods, biotin, b-complex, c-complex, msm, efa's, and spirulina - for hair and general health. While I generally eat well and include a lot of fruits and veggies, I also have a knee injury, high stress level, and work long hours, so taking the extra vitamins helps. My doctor approves and suggested I continue - he made the recommendation for the c-complex and efa's. I find taking the supplements helps me in general and it does improve my hair growth and skin. I don't take high amounts because it is expensive. Perhaps my hair would grow faster if I did, but it grows, and it's strong - I'm happy with the results.

 

[Nonie]

I think taking high dosages is not only expensive but also wasteful. The water soluble vitamins get peed away.

I don't take a hair vitamin/mineral but I do take a regular multi. When I joined the forum, in addition to my multi or in lieu of it, I went after all the "usual suspects" (biotin, MSM, B5, silica, amino acids...you name it!). Did my hair grow any faster? No. So I returned to my regular multi and haven't looked back.

There is only so much that your body can use at a time. Taking too much of the oil-soluble vitamins could lead to toxicity. Taking too much of the water soluble kind just gives you very expensive pee.

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Well I take them for my health, and being a plus size diva, and not having time to really eat what I need, and sometimes I go hours without eating, so taking my vitamins make me feel good that I'm giving, not only my hair, but my body some minerals and vitamins that I need, but I started drinking more water, I take 6 vitmains, but 4 are water soluble so I'm not worried, but I don't know about other vitamins.....a multi-vitamin and a simple hair vitamin in my opinion are the only ones you really need......I mean, I had a nurse in my college class tell me you can overdose on vitamins, and around that time I was taking vitamins like crazy and after I read on the net about what could happen if you overdose, I decrease my vitamin intake big time.....I mean I want the hair length bad, but not bad enough to mess up my body's system.....so I think 2 or 3 are a must haves, but I mean you are not going to die if you don't take vitamins.......but my opinion though.

 

[supermodelsonya]

I just take biotin. Plain and simple. My NG is coming in stronger and thicker than ever before. So much so that my hair looks "weird" Its all thick in the crown but the poor ends (the last three inches) are sooooo thin from being permed over and over and over again. Ugh......

 

[supermodelsonya]

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[omnipadme]

I like taking a multi-vitamin or supplement (greens + powder) along with msm- all that extra stuff . Hair grows without all the overkill.

 

[Junebug D]

No, it's not necessary. I take a multi, fish oil, MSM, biotin, and iron pills and it's becoming too much for me. My hair doesn't seem to be growing any faster, nor do I feel particularly healthier or in a better mood. But I know it's probably at least a little bit good for me since I don't eat much, I don't eat fish at all, I am anemic, and health problems run in the family... yeah. I want to cut something out, and it'll probably be biotin although I do appreciate what it does for my nails.

As for dosages, I am curious about that too. I have no plans on going overkill. My nails were greatly improved just on the manufacturer's recommended dosage of MSM and biotin. I don't know what, if anything, any of these supplements are doing for my hair.

 

[topnotch1010]

I just take the recommended dosage of fish oil and garlic and my daily multi, that's it. Like a pp said, you will pee a lot of stuff right back out, if you go into overkill. I do know for a fact the fish oil helps me out a lot. They make my nails strong and as soon as I stop taking them consistently, they start to break. I don't really know what its doing to my hair. This is the first time I have really kept up with my hair growth, but I'm pretty sure its helping that out too.

 

[newflowers]

topnotch - I love, love, love the even, blent cut - your hair looks fab!

 

[trj1922]

Thanks ladies! I'd still love to hear more experiences, especially from women with MAJOR hair health issues, particularly thinning. My hair grows well lengthwise, but I've lost so much hair (with no obvious cause) that I can't even style and enjoy what I grow.

Has anyone seen supplements help cases of severe thinning?

 

[that_1_grrrl]

I do not think all of that is necessary. I think everybody should just examine what their hair (and body) really needs before picking what vitamins to take. I take a multi (although not regularly) because I feel my health isn't what it should be. I have considered taking MSM because I hear it's really good for joints, and I have a lot of pain in my knees from time to time.

I wouldn't take any of the amino acids because I already eat tons of protein everyday, which is probably why I am fat. I think it's just important to get what you are lacking. Everything else, as Nonie said, is just going to get flushed down the toilet.

 

[that_1_grrrl]

Thanks ladies! I'd still love to hear more experiences, especially from women with MAJOR hair health issues, particularly thinning. My hair grows well lengthwise, but I've lost so much hair (with no obvious cause) that I can't even style and enjoy what I grow.

Has anyone seen supplements help cases of severe thinning?

I didn't read this before I commented. I think you would have to find out what the cause of thinning is before you choose a supplement. How long have you been taking the supplements you're on now? If you haven't been on long, I would wait to see if anything changes as your hair grows out. If you have been on them for a while, then deficiency in those areas is probably not your problem.

 

[trj1922]

Thanks Rosie,

In answer to your question, I've been to 3 dermatologists, 2 primary care doctors, and an endocrinologist. NADA!!! No one can find a cause. I am assuming at this point that I'm just on my own. Even LHCF has only been minimally helpful advice about thinning.

 

[Nonie]

Trj, my suggestion would be to get a hair multi as its combination of supplements is supposed to address all aspects necessary for healthy hair growth...or just get a good multi for your whole body. If I were to get a hair multi, I'd get Great Hair by Vitol. I recently recommended it to a friend of mine whose hair was thinning and she's very happy with how it makes her feel as a whole. Besides the fact that when I was taking a hair multi, it was the one brand that seemed to have the supps I wanted in high quantities, I particularly liked it more now because it is time-released. Which means, even if the nutrients are in high quantities, they are not dumped into your system all at once only to be peed away but are released in slow doses so that your blood gets to transport them to the follicles bit by bit.