The Best Hair Growth Treatment

Buying Guide

If your old family photos show a lot of balding heads, you might expect that it’s coming. For others, the first signs of hair loss can come as a complete surprise. Whatever the cause, the reaction to a receding hairline is usually the same: How can I save my hair?

That’s exactly why the market for hair-growth treatments is a booming one, with a lot of competing formulas. So, how do you wade through all the different oils and shampoos to find one that actually works? First, it might help to understand a little bit about how your hair grows — and why it may stop.

Healthy hair grows in three cyclical phases. The anagen phase is by far the longest, and it’s when your follicles are actively sprouting new hair. Following that is a short catagen phase no longer than a couple weeks when those hairs start to become detached from the follicle base. The final phase is a resting period called telogen when some hairs can start to fall out before the follicles re-enter the anagen phase. Your hairs aren’t all in the same phase at the same time, but most of them should always be in that anagen phase, which means the ones falling out (as much as 100 a day) are outnumbered by the actively growing ones.

The leading cause of hair loss is androgenic alopecia, which is genetic. This condition causes your anagen phase to shorten in certain areas, which means less hair in that growing phase. Stress, hormonal changes or nutritional imbalances can also stunt hair growth, usually by causing hair to prematurely enter the telogen phase.

If you’re dealing with genetic hair loss, your most reliable fix will probably be a treatment with minoxidil. This medication is the active ingredient in Rogaine and other prescription hair-growth products, but it can now be found in some over-the-counter treatments as well. It’s still not completely clear how minoxidil works, but study after study has shown that, in many cases, it really does. While they’re not a quick fix and may take several months to show significant results, minoxidil treatments can help follicles grow and extend their anagen phase. Historically, it’s been shown to work best when people use it before severe hair loss starts to set in, and it’s most effective on or near the top of the head.

Other hair-growth products use biotin, which is a supplement that can work either topically or through pills. Biotin is essentially vitamin B7, which doesn’t so much help your hair grow as make it stronger. When your existing hair is thicker and less prone to fall out, the net effect is a fuller head of hair, which is what many people are going for.

Keratin treatments are another popular solution, and they work in much the same way: By fortifying existing hair. Keratin is a naturally occurring substance that’s already in our hair, and the best products simply help your follicles boost production. Be careful, though. Some salon treatments contain a mix of chemicals that can release formaldehyde when mixed with water. That’s an irritant that won’t help your hair, and it can even be carcinogenic with repeated use.

Even if you’re not currently experiencing hair loss, chances are it will happen to you at some point. You can tilt the odds in your favor, though, by taking a little preventative medicine. And, no, we’re not talking about pills. Your diet can play a big role in the health of your hair, especially one that’s rich in fatty acids, protein and vitamin B6. You can get those by eating lots of fish, plus fruits and veggies including bananas and spinach.