We’ve all been there, walking down the vitamin aisle looking for vitamins that will transform our hair from this…
To this…
In a fortnight. Well, I have bad news. There’s no vitamin on earth that’s EVER going to work that fast, but if you’re willing to wait three months, these vitamins might give you visible results.
I started this research when I did my annual jaunt to the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim in March. It’s like Mecca for granola people.I go there to get a sense of what the trends are in health and wellness so I can share it. The big thing this year and last year was collagen.
So what is it? It’s a substance your body produces that is the building blocks of your skin, muscles and tendons. But as we age, our body produces less collagen, and it shows. Your skin may look a little dull, your hair may be thinning, and you might notice more aches and pains in your joints. So the natural health community is raving about it as a sort of “fountain of youth.” But be wary–not all vitamin bottles on that aisle are created equal. More than likely, the cheap ones are cheap for a reason. The USDA has loose regulations on natural supplements, so you’d best do your own homework and not be hypnotized by fancy claims and packaging.
The character of my hair is fine, 4a. For years I had a thin spot at the crown of my head–not exactly bald, but thinning. Maxi Me would make sure to fluff the hair around it so you couldn’t see it as pronounced when I wore my hair straight. After three month of taking collagen and keratin supplements, my hair isn’t necessarily longer. BUT…it’s thicker and fuller than it’s ever been…like, ever.
My hair in May/June 2012
May hair in May 2013
May 2013
COMPARE THE HAIR AROUND THE TEMPLES WITH THE PHOTO ABOVE WITH THE ONE FROM LAST YEAR.
What do I have to thank for the new-found density of my hair? Besides exercise and good, clean eating, I’ve been taking the following:
Reserveage Collagen Booster with Hyaluronic Acid and Resveratrol
Granted this product is more for the skin and joints–the hyaluronic acid works to “plump” the skin so it looks soother, which reviews are raving about. But this product has definitely contributed to the density of my hair. Clo Clo (my middle girl, 10) has told me several times that my hair now looks like the afro wigs I’d picked up while on my book tour last year. Now THAT’S huge.
I’m also taking this…
Reserveage Keratin Booster with Biotin and Resveratrol
And if you still have doubts, you need to mosey over to Amazon and read the reviews. I’m on my third bottle–that I bought, which is HUGE for me, because I can get all kinds of random vitamins for free. The real worth of a product in a blogger’s eyes is if you’d actually buy it yourself, even if it was never given to you to review. Got my first batch for free, but I’ve paid for two bottles since and they’ve got a customer in my for life. Hell, even my nails, which are usually thin and weak as paper have improved.
These are my tops picks, but honorable mentions must go to…
Neocell Collagen Plus Vitamin C
Check out what this You-Tuber has to say about it:
People have also reported growth using Phyto Phytophanere Dietary Supplement for Hair & Nails.
It doesn’t contain collagen, but other essential vitamins and healthy fats, plus Vitamin A and Vitamin C. I’ve taken these in the past and I’ll most likely start again, because I didn’t notice a slight change in my growth rate. The makeup sites give it rave reviews.
Last but not least, there’s Biosil.
I add it to the list not necessarily because it’s worked for me (I have taken it in the past, but I can’t quantify it), but because of how many people swear by it. Be careful though…acne has been a bothersome side-effect for some.
Bottom line, make sure you give these products enough time to work, which is around three months. Make sure the quality is up to par, though, otherwise you’ll waste three month drinking snake oil and your will still look like this…
Thanks for the recommendations!
Those first two pictures are hilarious.
This sounds great. Definitely making a note.
Thanks for the info! I’ve taken biotin and horsetail and noticed an improvement in my hair, but never thought to take collagen. I definitely need to add this to my vitamin regimen.
BTW, @christelyn the before and expected after pics are very funny!
Thanks for the vitatips, Chris. I actually took the OTC/generic One-A-Day Weight Smarts, and although I can’t say there was any real effect with the waist line just from taking vitamins, I did notice my skin had gotten smoother and a bit clearer with consistent use (and yes, after three months). Hmmm, these look like keepers. May give a go sometime. Cheers!
I will definitely be trying the Collagen and Keratin Booster vitamins! I need all the help I can get with my hair. I took the powder form of the super collagen +C earlier this spring, but I didn’t continue when I ran out so I can say if it worked. I’m taking 5000mg biotin and hair, skin and nail vitamins now. I also took prenatal vitamins for a while, they worked well for a time. I was on YT and someone named Honesty Love suggested a product called Mineral Rich. She said it grew her hair about two inches in a month or so. I took that for a month and didn’t see much difference. My hair is still a hot mess! My nails look great though, they grew out really fast. I also use BJCO(Black Jamaican Castor Oil). Didn’t see much difference in my hair, but my eyelashes have never been so long I am willing to try any and everything to grow out and thicken my hair. I don’t want really long hair….uh, who am I kidding?!?! I want long hair! At least long, to my shoulders with even fullness all around. Maybe someone here can give me some suggestions on what I can do for my hair issues ( I hope!). I’m not sure of my hair type, but I do know it’s two different textures in the back and side(curly) than on the top and front(kinky).
My issues are:
1. Breakage in my crown. This has been happening to me since my teens. I have no clue why. I use to blame it on the jheri curl my mother gave me in 1984. My crown use to be the longest and fastest growing area of my hair, but now it breaks off to about 1/4 inch and I can’t seem to maintain any grown for long. I have no medical problems of any funguses. I’m just stumped. It’s about 1/2 long since it broke off, which was about a month ago now.
2. Thinning at the temples due to braiding . I took my braids out in March and I was horrified at what I had done to myself!. It was hard to tell how bad it was between braidings because I don’t have the best eyesight even with glasses, but I took a picture so I could get a better look and saw just how bad it was!No more braids for me.
3. Severe breakage. I cringe at the amount of hair that comes out on my comb. I don’t know how to make it stop!
🙁 I have two inch strands mixed in with the longer strands so my hair looks so much thinner than it would be if all the strands were even.
@Seenyc Sounds like you have pretty weak hair. Have you tried protein treatments? I recommend the Alterna Caviar Line…they have a protein shampoo and condition that is BOSS. How are you styling your hair? I don’t run a comb through my hair unless it’s wet and soaked with conditioner. Make sure you combs are seamless too (just google seamless combs and you’ll fine online stores that carry them), and finally, STOP braiding you hair! Or if you do, try box braids and insist you stylist braid loosely around your edges.
hth
@Christelyn
My hair didn’t use to be so weak. My breakage in my teens was because of poor care. I went natural 8 years ago and the funny thing is when I cut off my hair to about an inch, within 6 months it had grown out to where it was before and then seemed to stop growing. I had more success when I had it braided and started taking the prenatal vitamins. I have a seamless comb, that’s black girl kinky hair 101 LOL! I need to find a good protective style and keep my hands off of my hair. I’ll look into the Alterna Caviar Line. I’m willing to try anything if it will work. I’m going to gather all the tools, trim my ends and start in July to document my progress. Thank you so much for your feedback Christelyn!
I can’t recommend Biosil because it didn’t work for me but the ingredients in the other products have also helped me grow thicker hair and nails, so I’d try them if my current products weren’t doing the trick. I take Solgar brand Biotin and Myo-Inositol daily, and atomic or ionic versions of iodine, active silica, selenium, and fulvic acid. I also take chlorella and spirulina. My hair is growing faster and is noticeably thicker.
i just recently started paying attention to vitamins during my pregnancy. i’m still taking my prenatals to help keep my milk up, and plan to continue taking at least a multi vitamin for life. do you know if it’s okay to mix these with regular multi vitamins? plus i’m really intrested in gnc’s be beautiful combo pack.
That first chick is jacked up. Not as bad as Homer, but…LOL! This was a cool post, Chris.
My hair has been thinner at the top front for years. Before I went natural, there would be months between my relaxers, and I would pull my hair tight in a bun. Almost 2 inches of it was natural, and I wanted it straighter to go along with the majority of my hair. What a mistake! Haven’t done that since, but it took its toll, among other things that I cannot figure out about my crazy hair. I take biotin, but I ran out of silica recently. Never thought of taking collagen, and I never heard of a seamless comb. I use a wide-tooth comb to detangle, and only when my hair is soaked with water and conditioner. I will definitely try some of these products. I just have to stick with them to see results. My hair grows slowly. I will also look into the seamless comb.
Christelyn I just wanted to post a picture of my lock length. I’ve been taking the collagen and keratin boosters and this is what happened! I had a problem with traction alopecia from a heavy-handed sister lock technician so I needed to get that growth going. I made myself an oil that I put, religiously on my scalp and then took these supplements. Here’s the result: http://s1055.photobucket.com/user/kpfears/media/KarlaHair.jpg.html. My locks are thick and long now. Even my current sister lock technician said my hair is so long, thick and healthy and wanted to know what I did. Thanks for the tip!
@Karla BOO! It says I can’t see the photo! But I’m glad the vitamins are working for you, but I’m not surprised…this stuff is really the best.
@Christelyn Okay, let’s try this: http://karlasuniverse.tumblr.com/image/60314934076
@Karla I see it! Wow your hair is really long!! How long did it take for you to start seeing results?
@Karla I started taking these a month ago. How long did it take to see results? I have purchased 90 days worth.
@Brenda55 @Karla It took me three months.
@Christelyn @Karla Well I purchase that much. What do they say? Patience…patience.
@Christelyn Two months. Then my hair started growing like gangbusters. I had my locks retightened yesterday and my lock technician just went nuts over the growth. I was doing it every six weeks but she said it if keeps growing like this, I may have to go to every four weeks.
@Brenda55 Two months for me. All my alopecia spots filled in and then I noticed some length. Don kept saying my hair was so long but I couldn’t see it from the back until I took this photo. I didn’t know it was that long! I should have, though. I’m not well-versed in long hair but the signs were there: 1) hot, sweaty neck; 2) Getting caught in my t-shirts; 3) having to constantly flip it to rearrange it. 4) had to buy a WW bouffant satin sleeping cap and a long hair swim cap to fit it all in. Conventional caps don’t hold it in anymore.
@Karla Thanks for the response. I will be starting month two today. I hope this helps. Female pattern baldness runs in my family. I am going to be realistic with all of this. I would like my hair to grow in a little thicker if that is possible. Length would be nice but I am satisfied at its current length I would like it thicker than what it is. I will give it the full 90 to see what happens.
@Brenda55 I hope it works for you too. I sent some to my aunt in Delaware. She has always had alopecia issues like my grandmother. She’s been taking it faithfully for a month and said she’s starting to see results so is very excited. We’ll see how much hair she actually gets back. She’s been wearing weaves on top of her alopecia so had a little traction alopecia going on too. She said she just wants to be able to wear a tiny afro.