As someone who has struggled with long-term hair loss, I understand the emotional toll it can take. The frustration, the self-doubt, the constant longing for a solution that can bring back the hair we once had. It felt like I just could not stop thinking about/obsessing over the state of my hair. And it absolutely started to impact my mental health. I stopped going on dates, stopped going out with my friends. I was desperate to find a product that could help. Note: This post contains affiliate links, but the story is my true experience.
Related post: My Horrific Hairloss Experience
That’s why I want to explore two popular hair growth supplements: Nutrafol and Moon Juice’s SuperHair. I have taken both of these supplements in my efforts to regrow my hair. When I initially began losing hair consistently a few years ago I began taking SuperHair right away. My main motivation for choosing SuperHair was the lower price.
SuperHair
Moon Juice presents the following information about SuperHair:
SuperHair® is your multivitamin plus hair magic.
Our clinical strength hair supplement promotes healthier, thicker, stronger hair 4 ways.* 10 bioavailable vitamins make up a comprehensive multivitamin to address the nutritional deficiencies that inhibit the growth of healthy hair.* Adaptogens like Ashwagandha help balance stress hormones that can contribute to thinning and hair loss.* Botanicals like Saw Palmetto support healthy hair follicles and promote thickness, and micronutrients promote hair strength and smooth texture.*
I took SuperHair for 5 months after suffering from telogen effluvium and I was very happy with the results. Here’s a photo of me about 2 months after I started taking it:
I had so much hair regrowth on the crown of my head and along the hairline that I woke up like this every day. I was thrilled. And, as a bonus, my energy level had increased and I felt much more focused.
Unfortunately, my hair loss wasn’t resolved. A year later it started falling out again. I had stopped taking the SuperHair a few months before the new hair loss and I was so angry at myself. But this time my hair loss wasn’t due to a one time episode of telogen effluvium. A scalp biopsy revealed that I had androgenetic alopecia.
Nutrafol
My dermatologist recommended Nutrafol and claimed most patients saw great results with it. I decided to try it instead of going back to SuperHair. In my desperate state I somehow thought Nutrafol would cause my hair to regrow even faster than SuperHair. Overall I had similar results on Nutrafol, but now I wasn’t just taking a hair supplement. I was also taking spironolactone every day.
The picture on the left below was taken at the time of my diagnosis with androgenetic alopecia. The photo on the right was taken 4 months later, after taking Nutrafol and spironolactone daily. My scalp isn’t nearly as visible due to all of the fuzzy baby hair regrowth.
Nutrafol and SuperHair share many of the same ingredients at differing %DV. One of the most notable things about Nutrafol is the amount of biotin in the recommended 4 caplets per day. It has an incredible 10,000% of the daily value, while SuperHair has 1,667%. I felt nauseous at first when I began taking Nutrafol and I think maybe it was due to the VERY high amount of biotin. I didn’t experience any nausea at all with SuperHair. The nausea went away after a couple of weeks but it was unpleasant while it lasted, and it made me slightly uneasy about taking so much biotin every day.
Conclusions
Overall I saw significant hair regrowth on both supplements, but was also taking spironolactone while taking Nutrafol so I don’t know if Nutrafol is truly as effective. I do think it can help by serving as a sort of turbocharged daily multivitamin. But because I felt nauseous when I first started taking it, it got me thinking about whether or not it was wise to be taking so much biotin every day.
From what I read, there is no scientific data that indicates too much biotin is dangerous. However, I do take how my body feels very seriously, and the nausea is one reason that I eventually stopped taking Nutrafol. One last thing to note is that SuperHair contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6, and that might explain why I felt so energetic while taking it.
I do think that many people see great results with Nutrafol, and I think you should try it if your dermatologist recommends it for your hair loss. My personal choice in hair supplements will continue to be SuperHair, though. I feel more comfortable with the ingredients. SuperHair has also increased my energy level.