Beauty · Hair
Thinning, shedding and breakage need different answers. Tell us what you're seeing and what you already use. We'll show the options worth comparing, why, and how to use them.
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Your hair plan is ready
3 options · 0 supplements added
The short answer
For pattern hair loss, the strongest evidence is for medicines (topical minoxidil and oral finasteride), not supplements. A few supplements, such as specific saw palmetto extracts and a studied pumpkin seed oil preparation, show limited evidence. Biotin, iron, zinc and vitamin D are worth considering mainly when a deficiency has been documented.
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See sourcesKey takeaways
Hair · Guide
Which options have evidence for gradual thinning in adult men, what benefit you might expect, and what each one involves, before you choose a brand.
Hair · Guide
Gradual thinning at the hairline or the crown is one kind of hair loss. Sudden shedding, patches, a sore scalp and breakage are different questions, and each leads somewhere else.
Hair · Guide
Correcting a documented deficiency and taking a supplement to regrow hair are two different questions. This page goes through what was studied for each nutrient, and where that leaves a man with pattern hair loss.
Hair · Guide
A routine is a small number of things used consistently. This page sets out what has been studied together, what should not be stacked, what the labels say about use, and how long to give it.
Hair · Comparison
A scalp product used twice a day and a prescription tablet taken once a day. Our review does not establish a winner between them, so this page compares what each was tested against, what each asks of you and what each risks.
Hair · Comparison
Two prescription medicines from the same group. One large trial compared them over six months. Approval, long-term data, side-effect warnings and how long each stays in the body differ.
Hair · Guide
Finasteride tablets with minoxidil on the scalp is the pairing with direct trial evidence. Here are its numbers and their limits, the other ways of combining the two, and what product labels say.
Hair · How to
What four US and UK men's labels say about how much to use, how to put on the solution and the foam, and when to expect a change. Then what the trials counted at 16 and 48 weeks.
Hair · Guide
A tablet once a day sounds easier, and stronger, than a foam twice a day. Here is what the trials in men measured, which side effects were counted, and how the tablet compares with the solution and the foam.
Hair · Comparison
The 5% foam and the 5% liquid are two forms of one medicine. Each has its own trial in men, its own label and its own base. No trial we rely on shows which one regrows more hair.
Hair · Guide
The two US men's labels say minoxidil is for the top of the scalp, not a receding hairline. Here is what the labels and the trials cover at the front, and what stays open.
Hair · Guide
A scalp spray is meant to deliver finasteride where the hair grows and less of it to the rest of the body. One trial tested one spray for 24 weeks. Here is what it measured, and what it did not settle against the tablet.
Hair · Guide
What was counted with the solution and foam, what was counted with the tablets, and which symptoms the US labels tell users to stop for.
Hair · Guide
What was counted in trials of the 1 mg tablet, what regulators in Europe, the UK and the US have added since, and what nobody can yet put a number on.
Hair · Guide
Rolling short needles over the scalp is said to make minoxidil work better. Small trials in men point that way, but each used its own protocol, their numbers are poorly reported, and none is a guide for a roller at home.
Step one
Picking the outcome first keeps the evidence honest: what helps breakage says nothing about regrowth.
At the hairline or the crown, in adult men. This is what our comparison of treatments covers.
OpenHair that snaps or feels fragile: a different outcome from regrowth.
OpenFlaking, oiliness or irritation, and how they relate to the hair you see.
OpenWhat can be used together, what is an alternative to what, and how long to give it.
OpenSee a professional first if hair loss is sudden, in patches, comes with pain, marked redness or scarring, or follows a strict diet, a new medicine or pregnancy. These need their own assessment, not a supplement plan.
Types of hair lossWhat we compare
Supplements are only part of the answer. The order is a reading order within each group, not a ranking of effect.
Initial topical reference. Solution or foam: one form, chosen by context.
A formulation alternative to the solution, not a second component to add.
Separate oral reference to compare alongside topical minoxidil.
A route to compare when topical isn't accepted, sustainable or suitable.
Topical alternative to explore after the initial references.
A further, specialist comparison.
Preliminary candidate, lower priority for review.
Saw palmetto, identified extract
Oral botanical with studies of identified extracts. Extracts differ; results don't transfer.
Pumpkin seed oil, trial preparation
Oral botanical with one trial of one preparation. No order shown against saw palmetto.
Studied nutraceutical formulas
Results belong to the whole formula, never to one ingredient inside it.
Biotin
Not a default add-on. Can interfere with some lab tests.
Iron
Relevant when a deficiency is documented, not because it's popular.
Zinc
Relevant when a deficiency is documented.
Vitamin D
Relevant when a deficiency is documented.
Microneedling
Explained first for the add-on-to-minoxidil question.
Low-level laser / LED device
Compare the specific device and the commitment it asks for.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
Specialist option with its own protocol.
Visible to those who look for botanicals. No DIY essential-oil conversions.
Gentle hair-shaft care
Can come first for breakage and manageability, without being a therapy.
Cosmetic coverage
A stand-alone option for appearance, no regrowth treatment required.
Supplements, honestly
Correcting a documented deficiency can matter. Supplementing when you're well nourished is a separate question, with separate and usually thinner evidence. Your plan keeps them apart.
Vitamins and minerals
Biotin, iron, zinc and vitamin D are not added because they're popular.
Profile
Biotin
Vitamin B7 · supplement
Studied for
Hair loss with a documented deficiency
Default add-on
No, not without a deficiency
Watch out
Can interfere with some lab tests
What we won't do
No credit borrowed from a whole formula, and no study protocol turned into a DIY recipe.
My plan
Hair · Density & shedding
3
compared
1
base
0
supplements
Components
Topical minoxidil
Core optionBase · solution or foam
Oral finasteride
Core optionOptional · discuss with a prescriber
Supplements
None added: no documented deficiency
No. It helps you describe what you're seeing and what has already been assessed. Identifying the cause is a clinical job, and some patterns, like sudden shedding or patches, should be seen by a professional first.
Because for pattern hair loss the strongest evidence is for medicines. Hiding them would make supplements look better than they are. Everything is labelled so you can compare like with like.
Not by default. Biotin, iron, zinc and vitamin D become relevant when a deficiency is documented. High-dose biotin can also interfere with some lab tests, which is part of every profile.
The evidence for a studied rosemary lotion is limited and doesn't show equivalence. We show it to people who look for botanicals, with the exact preparation studied, never as a DIY essential-oil recipe.
References
A selection of the guidelines, reviews, trials and institutional fact sheets behind this page.
Kanti et al., J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol · 2018
Drake et al., JAMA Dermatology · 2022
Olsen et al., J Am Acad Dermatol · 2002
Cho et al., Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · 2014
NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
A few questions to filter the comparison. It doesn't diagnose or prescribe.