7 Essential Vitamins for Hair Growth

Which Vitamins for Hair Growth?

Altogether, there are 13 vitamins that can impact your hair health: vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the eight B-complex vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12). Some are more important than others, which we’ll get into in this guide.

When sticking to a vegan, cruelty-free hair care regimen, it’s crucial to verify yourself the source of these vitamins. In fact, some manufacturers still use animal sources or test their products on animals. Luckily, almost all of the essential vitamins for healthy hair can be sourced from plants.

In this guide to natural vitamins for hair growth, you will learn which vitamins are important for healthy hair and how they can help hair growth.

Vitamin A

All of our cells need vitamin A for their growth and that includes our hair. Hair grow faster than any other tissue, so they need the proper nutrients to do so. Vitamin A also helps the body to produce sebum, the oil that our body naturally produces to keep our skin and hair well-moisturized. If too much sebum can make your hair greasy, too little sebum will make your hair more vulnerable.

It’s important to note that consuming too much vitamin A can have a negative effect and contributes to hair loss. It’s recommended for women to have 700 mcg per day and men to have 900 mcg per day.

Vegan sources of vitamin A are:

• Pumpkins
• Sweet potatoes
• Kale
• Butternut squash
• Carrots
• Collard greens
• Sweet red peppers
• Spinach

Vitamin B7 (Biotin)

Biotin may be one of the most popular vitamins for healthy hair. It helps our cells convert nutrients into energy, then used to grow healthy hair (skin and nails, too!). Vitamin B7 also helps to supplement keratin, the protein that makes up our hair, skin, and nails. Note that a biotin deficiency can cause hair loss (as well as skin and nail problems).

If you’re looking for vegan sources of biotin, eat more of these foods. Note that you’ll reap the most benefits of biotin for hair through these foods if you eat them raw.

Vegan sources of biotin are:

• Nuts (peanuts, walnuts and pecans)
• Seeds
• Broccolis
• Spinach
• Onions
• Bananas
• Cauliflower
• Mushrooms
• Avocados
• Sweet potatoes

If you’re not interested in adding the above vegan sources of biotin into your diet, a supplement will be sufficient. Just make sure to check that it’s a vegan biotin supplement for hair. And please, do not abuse, as overdosing biotin can put your health at risk! For safer alternatives, take a look at these natural biotin shampoos for hair growth.

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

Vitamin B12 is one of the most important vitamins for hair growth. Without it, your body wouldn’t produce the correct amount of red blood cells. Those cells are rich in oxygen and are responsible for feeding hair follicles. If your hair follicles aren’t getting enough nutrients, they will begin to die or become damaged, leading to hair loss.

Vegan sources of vitamin B12 are:

• Plant-based milk
• Supplements

Vitamin B12 deficiencies are common, especially if you’re following a vegan diet. The reason for this is vitamin B12 can only be found naturally in animal sources. However, it’s possible to find vegan foods that are fortified with vitamin B12 or find vegan supplements for hair growth.

Vitamin C

If you’re experiencing brittle or thinning hair, you might want to look into vitamin C for hair growth. Vitamin C protects our bodies from harmful free radicals. When free radicals cause damage to the hair follicle and hair shaft, it can result in thinning or broken hair.

Furthermore, vitamin C helps our body to produce collagen, another necessary protein for growing healthy hair, skin, and nails. Because it’s hard to find vegan collagen sources, vitamin C plays a crucial role in a vegan diet.

Vegan sources of vitamin C are:

• Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons and limes)
• Pineapples
• Strawberries
• Peppers
• Broccolis

Vitamin D

Not having enough vitamin D has been linked to hair loss and alopecia. Research shows that a healthy amount of vitamin D can help regenerate hair follicles and give hair new chances for growth. It’s very common for people to have a vitamin D deficiency so it’s important to get enough vitamin D for healthy hair through intentional eating or supplements.

Vegan sources of vitamin D are:

• Sunlight
• Fortified soy milk
• Fortified almond milk
• Mushrooms
• Fortified cereals

Vegan sources of vitamin D are rare, so you’ll have to find it through lots of sunlight – who doesn’t love that? – or fortified foods. If you’re going to introduce a vegan vitamin D supplement into your diet, ensure that it doesn’t contain animal-derived sources!

Vitamin E

This is another one of the best vitamins for hair loss because it’s packed with antioxidants to fight back against oxidative stress. Too much oxidative stress on the scalp can lead to hair loss so a diet that is rich in vitamin E is important. Healthy hair starts at the scalp, so when you can tackle hair issues right at the root, you’ll be better off in the long run.

Vegan sources of vitamin E are:

• Wheat germ oil
• Sunflower seeds
• Collard greens
• Spinach
• Nuts (peanuts and almonds)

Vitamin K

If you’ve got a dry, red or itchy scalp, you might need to implement more vitamin K into your diet. Vitamin K is one of the best vitamins for hair because it attacks issues that prevent us from having healthy hair follicles like eczema, psoriasis, and dry skin. In addition, vitamin K can promote regeneration of hair in areas where hair has since fallen out.

Vegan sources of vitamin K are:

• Green beans
• Broccolis
• Kale
• Spinach

Overdosing on Vitamins, Truth or Myth?

While it’s theoretically impossible to overdose on vitamins by eating well-balanced and natural meals only, some vitamin supplements can have toxic levels of fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins and tend to accumulate in the body. In addition, certain water-soluble vitamins are known to cause health issues when taken in excess, such as Vitamin B6 and B7 (Biotin).

Because supplements are not monitored by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), it’s crucial to get your vitamins from a manufacturer that you trust. Always go for natural plant-based vitamins – they are less likely to cause toxicity.

As a rule of thumb, if you’re serious about implementing certain vitamins supplements in your hair growth strategy, consult your pharmacist or nutritionist first.