Let me preface this by saying I’ve never had naturally voluminous hair. I’m not here to complain: I’ve learned how to manage and tame my fine, fragile hair, accepting my mane for what it is without giving up my highlights. (Yes, there is a way to have healthy highlighted hair.) As an expert in testing out beauty products, I’ve tried every hair supplement on the market, from pure collagen powder and prenatal pills to biotin-infused everything.
But I only recently discovered a true miracle worker. Unfortunately, due to the numerous attempts—and fails—to find a suitable supplement, I became a bit of a skeptic when familiarizing myself with new products. In fact, I essentially gave up testing new products and justified it by using fewer hot tools and stripping myself of all bad hair habits. It’s hard to decipher why I gravitated toward Nutrafol supplements—I guess my last attempt proved to be the most effective.
I didn’t do my due diligence when researching the product. However, these hair-changing capsules came highly recommended by a colleague, so I nonchalantly took the Nutrafol Hair Wellness Evaluation, which creates a customized recommendation for your hair’s needs. Founded with a mission to bring safe, efficacious natural products to the market, Nutrafol creates natural formulations that address a wide range of hormonal, environmental, and hereditary causes that affect hair health.
"My business partners and I took almost a year of research, involving other doctors in the process, to dive deep into unhealthy hair follicles at the root and how botanicals can work to achieve healthy hair,” Sophia Kogan, MD, chief medical officer of Nutrafol, explains. "It was especially important to understand the scientific basis to be able to bring Nutrafol and its science to Western medical doctors.”
What to Expect When Using Nutrafol
Here’s the truth: It’s not going to happen overnight. If you opt for instantly gratifying products, this is not for you. You don’t take one capsule and wake up as Rapunzel the next day—although, I did notice results within the first month. Trichologist and founder of Colour Collective Kerry Yates suggests giving yourself a full 90 days to assess results; although some users have reported positive results within the first 45 days of use.
Let me break down the regimen: After taking the hair wellness evaluation, which assesses stress, diet, and your wellness routine, Nutrafol recommends one core solution (the pills) and two targeted boosters (ranging from liver support to digestive enzymes and vitamin B). I was prescribed the core Nutrafol Women’s Supplement, as well as the Vitamin B Booster and Liver Support Supplement. I took four core capsules, two liver support capsules, and a droplet of vitamin B once a day with food.
Yates reminds hair supplement users that hair health begins with making internal changes such as maintaining a balanced diet and taking vitamins to address any missing nutritional components to help keep hair follicles functioning properly. While Yates is not aware of any known Nutrafol side effects, before beginning any ingestible or medicine for current health challenges or concerns—including Nutrafol—Yates suggests consulting with your internist for guidance.
Supporting Hair Health
According to Yates, there are definite signs to look out for when monitoring your hair health. If you've noticed any of the below, it may be time to incorporate Nutrafol as well as one of the following styling products and tools or additional supplements into your haircare regimen to achieve the best results.
- Change in Hair Manageability: Your hair is harder to style and and poses a challenge when combing and brushing it.
- Change in Overall Appearance: There may be a difference in the amount of shine with hair appearing dull and lifeless with no volume or body. Hair is dry and brittle, and there is a loss of elasticity.
- Decreased Hair Density: Your hair could undergo a shift in hair density. (Unfortunately, it is not really noticeable until 50% of your hair is lost.) Regardless, this is a sure sign that you have a hair health problem.
- Change in Hair Texture: Changes in the hair life cycle can change the hair texture, with coarse or medium hair becoming fine.
To help jump-start your hair growth, Yates also suggests giving yourself a scalp massage for a minimum of four minutes daily to relieve tensions while improving blood circulation, staying away from heavy oils that can clog the hair follicle, washing your hair every other day versus every day, and opting for lower-tension hairstyles to prevent permanent damage to the follicle.
The Results
What did I notice? Do I suddenly have hair down to my heels? No. But finally, my hair has grown past my collarbone (a milestone I never foresaw), and the once-dead ends are no longer broken and scrappy. My hair has remained fine, but it’s now much denser. I’m currently on my third bottle, and I’m eager to see the improvement as I remain committed to this plan.
When it comes to whether or not hair supplements or hair masks are better, I remain convinced that supplements are the real game changer. Kogan confirmed my suspicions, saying, "The living portion of the hair, the follicle, is a sensitive mini organ that’s impacted by everything that happens within the body. Its health is reflective of the internal environment and should be treated from within. That’s where botanicals and Nutrafol come in.”
Adrienne Faurote's hair after using Nutrafol's hair supplements.
While Nutrafol's supplements promote hair growth from within, I’m mindful of the other products I’m using. Scroll below to see which products, in use with Nutrafol, enhance my hair health.
Additional Products to Enhance Hair Health
This eliminates blow-drying my hair—an ideal two-for-one.
Everyone's hair hero.
Typically, I use this once a month. It leaves my scalp feeling renewed and refreshed.
With thin hair, it's best not to have a super-tight ponytail; I opt for these silk scrunchies to let my hair breathe.
I tend to go for powder-formula dry shampoos because powder keeps my hair cleaner longer.
On ponytail days, I love going for a slicked-back look, using castor oil to smooth my baby hairs.
A heat protectant is a must.
If you color, straighten, blow-dry, or highlight your hair on a regular basis (for me, E—all of the above), this hair mask is the answer when it comes to nourishing your hair.
This will give your scalp the deepest clean.
This hair mask contains argan oil, hyaluronic acid, vegan keratin, and vitamin B3 to strengthen and moisturize dry, damaged hair.
Silk and satin pillowcases keep hair smooth and safe from friction.
More Hair Supplements We Love
Hum Nutrition's gummies contain hair-loving ingredients like biotin, folic acid, and zinc, which work to help prevent strand loss.
Custom haircare brand Prose is truly a game changer for stressed-out strands, and the brand's hair-nourishing supplements are no different. The brand will put together a custom blend of ingredients for you that help balance the scalp and promote growth after you answer a few questions about your hair type, environment, etc.
If you're a fan of Act+Acre's cold-pressed products, you'll definitely want to try the brand's hair capsules. Capsules contain ingredients like vitamin C, amino acids, bamboo, and horsetail extract to help with healthy strand growth and thickness.
These hair gummies also contain ingredients like biotin, folic acid, and vitamin B. Vitamins C, E, and A also help neutralize free radicals that can potentially damage hair follicles.
Designed to fill dietary gaps, these multivitamin if formulated with ingredients like plant-based calcium and magnesium sourced from purified seawater to promote easy digestion, absorption, and an all-around healthier diet.
This piece was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.
