Rosemary and prenatal vitamins for faster hair growth! Really?

[Elina]

I am not sure wether you can make your hair grow faster or not. Some people say yes, but most people say know. Perhaps it's individual.

But I keeo reading about rosemary, and that it helps with hair growth. Has anyone tried to put rosemary essential oil in your hair and noticed a difference in how fast your hair grew?

I also keep reading about prenatal vitamins, and that they also would help your hair to get more healthy and grow faster?

Is there anyone who has any experience with these methods?

[browneyedsusan]

I think it's pregnancy that helps more than anything. The hormonal shifts that go with being pregnant make you hold onto your hair longer and not shed it out like usual. Then, after Baby comes, it all sheds out at once! It doesn't happen to everyone, but is fairly common. (I had great hair, skin and nails while I was pregnant, and a massive hair fall after delivery. I got a gasp out of my hairdresser, even!)

Time grows hair. Just put it up and forget about it. Try not to look at it for a couple of months. I grew from a teensy pixie last March, and it was uglier than the backside of a 10$ mule last summer, but I just pinned it up and pretended that it was fabulous. :)
(It still isn't fabulous, but I'm still pretending....)

[Nellon]

*hijack* Actually browneyedsusan your hair is fabulous! Looks very very nice in the new pic. *end of hijack* :)

[jacqueline101]

Monistat has helped mine to grow.

[hafattack]

Monistat did nothing for me. But! Summer, protein intake (whey protein and scrambled eggs... not together though) really helped boost my growth.. it isnt permanent though. As happy as it would make us all, there is no magic cure

[akilina]

I think it's pregnancy that helps more than anything. The hormonal shifts that go with being pregnant make you hold onto your hair longer and not shed it out like usual. Then, after Baby comes, it all sheds out at once! It doesn't happen to everyone, but is fairly common. (I had great hair, skin and nails while I was pregnant, and a massive hair fall after delivery. I got a gasp out of my hairdresser, even!)

Time grows hair. Just put it up and forget about it. Try not to look at it for a couple of months. I grew from a teensy pixie last March, and it was uglier than the backside of a 10$ mule last summer, but I just pinned it up and pretended that it was fabulous. :)
(It still isn't fabulous, but I'm still pretending....)

Yes, my pregnant cousin said something like "Oh these prenatals are making my hair grow SO Fast I am going to take them forever" Im like..Um. Its the pregnancy and hormones. Most likely NOT a vitamin doing all of this magic. I didn't argue the point though just said "cool" haha.

I agree with time. Most likely, things that "grow your hair faster" are not going to work. I really don't know why monistat works for some people, but from hearing on here..it seems that Monistat and DE and two of the most successful growers.
MN did not work for me. And I wont be taking any DE. Castor oil helped with new growth but not faster growth. However, it did produce a LOT of new growth for sure!

[Sharysa]

I am not sure wether you can make your hair grow faster or not. Some people say yes, but most people say know. Perhaps it's individual.

But I keeo reading about rosemary, and that it helps with hair growth. Has anyone tried to put rosemary essential oil in your hair and noticed a difference in how fast your hair grew?

I haven't used rosemary myself, but it has a LONG tradition of being used for hair-growth, shine, and moisturizing. One note is that if you make your rosemary infusion/rinse too strong and if you use it frequently, it might darken your hair.

[MaryO]

I'm forever trying stuff to increase growth and also the only thing that has worked is pregnancy- won't be trying that again though! :-P

[Allychan]

It really is about optimising the conditions FOR growth. If you lack some mineral, recognise it then start taking it as a supplement or in your food you will benefit from it like DE which is high in silica. Same as Monistat and Castor oil, if your hair has fungal or bacterial problems(which many of us unknowingly do) and apply this stuff to your hair/scalp it will help it, but if fungas/bacteria is not an issue for your particular head you won't reap the benefits.

As for Rosemary, it’s full of micronutrients and antibacterial agents that are beneficial for the scalp. In a research study, Rosemary combined Cedarwood (Randomized trial of Aromatherapy), was successful in the treatment for alopecia areata. (Archives of Dermatology, 134(11), 1349-1352.) So there is research supporting the claims about Rosemary and hair growth

[woolyleprechaun]

Rosemary is good for everything, I would definately give it a go. It can't harm! Prenatal vitamins.....nah. I can't see what is in them that would do anything magical for hair growth, unless you are lacking in any of the vitamins to start with. A decent multivitamin will do that job just as well. What I have found is that a handful of things 'work', but not forever.

[LilBoPeep]

I tried monistat it works but gave me massive headaches for weeks, I stopped monistating and within a few washings the headache went away. I have also used a Rosemary rinse before I condition, It smelled lovely, but I couldn't really see any results. Maybe I was not doing it often enough. I also take a prenatal every day, but I like hair, skin and nails vits better. I'm just trying to use these up the prenatals I have before I switch back.

[LilBoPeep]

I tried monistat, it works but it gave me massive headaches. I tried a Rosemary rinse before I condition my hair. I really didn't see any results from it, but maybe I wasn't doing it often enough. I also take a daily prenatal, but I preferred hair, skin and nails vits, I'm just trying to use the prenatals I got thinking they might work better.

[LilBoPeep]

Ooops! Sorry about the double posting!

[jeanniet]

I used fresh rosemary as part of a conditioning rinse for about a year, and while my hair grew pretty quickly during that time, I can't really say that it grew any faster than it normally would in that period of time. It's not harmful to hair, so it would be worth trying if you're really interested.

[MirrorOfErised]

I used fresh rosemary as part of a conditioning rinse for about a year, and while my hair grew pretty quickly during that time, I can't really say that it grew any faster than it normally would in that period of time. It's not harmful to hair, so it would be worth trying if you're really interested.


How did you do your conditioning rinse?

I have a rosemary bush in the garden so would like to include it in my routine, but I'm already doing an apple cider vinegar rinse, so would I do the rosemary rinse first, or after?

Also, did you wash it out or just leave it?

TIA :)

[jeanniet]

How did you do your conditioning rinse?

I have a rosemary bush in the garden so would like to include it in my routine, but I'm already doing an apple cider vinegar rinse, so would I do the rosemary rinse first, or after?

Also, did you wash it out or just leave it?

TIA :)

It's been a while, and I actually don't remember now exactly how I used them, but I'm pretty sure I rinsed them out and then did a final citric acid rinse. Check my blog; the details for what I did are in there. I stopped using herbs last winter. We were having a drought, and around February my ends got really, really dry. After some experimenting, I realized that I just wasn't getting enough moisture into my hair with the very dry winter, so I went back to using some conventional products.

Some people do leave herbal rinses in, but that never seems to work for my hair. It may be because of my well water. I would experiment if you think you might want to try it as a leave-in.

[leslissocool]

A side effect of being anemic is hair loss and lack of hair growth. If you are anemic and start taking pre natal vitamins which have higher doses of Iron compared to multivitamins, changes are your hair will grow faster.


I am anemic. Once I got control over that my growth rate went to a steady one inch a month. Many women don't consume enough iron or protein (specially during their periods) and then they start taking the vitamins and their hair starts to grow. Not because of the vitamins, but because of issues in their diet and vitamin deficiency, and I am talking about the girls who aren't pregnant.

Pregnancy hormones can make hair grow, but can also make it stop growing or even fall out.

[chen bao jun]

Actually rosemary can cause seizures in some people.

[Miss Maisie]

Arg! I am pregnant right now, and have been SO EXCITED for this mythical pregnancy hair. My hair hasn't changed AT ALL. Same growth, same shedding, same not-being-pregnancy-fantastic. All I can say is that I better not have some huge shed after, seeing as I'm 5 months in and my hair has continued to shed as much as ever :-P

(My mom said that she never had a post-pregnancy shed. Here's to hoping!)

[ravenreed]

Some women never get it, or get a very mild shed. Mine was particularly horrible... It is hard to know. It's like two pregnancies are never identical, even for the same woman. I wouldn't fret about it. To be honest, at the time I was so overwhelmed with being a new mom that massive hair shedding was the least of my concerns!


Arg! I am pregnant right now, and have been SO EXCITED for this mythical pregnancy hair. My hair hasn't changed AT ALL. Same growth, same shedding, same not-being-pregnancy-fantastic. All I can say is that I better not have some huge shed after, seeing as I'm 5 months in and my hair has continued to shed as much as ever :-P

(My mom said that she never had a post-pregnancy shed. Here's to hoping!)

[Katze]

Nope. Tried rosemary rinses as well as EOs back when I was first learning about natural hair care - no difference.

Prenatals might help with general health if you are deficient in something, and thus affect hair growth, but that is a side effect of nourishing your body. They never made a whit of difference for me.

Pregnancy hair the first time around was gorgeous - I almost hit waist, and my hair was so thick I didn't know what to do with it. Then most of it fell out when DD was 3-6 months old. This time (DS is three months this week) I didn't have the lovely pregnancy hair, but am shedding again. Prenatals and biotin are not doing anything to change this situation.

IMO your hair is genetically programmed to grow a certain thickness, length, etc. Some people are lucky, some aren't. You can take care of your bodily health and thus maximize what nature has given you, but that's all.

[Panth]

A side effect of being anemic is hair loss and lack of hair growth. If you are anemic and start taking pre natal vitamins which have higher doses of Iron compared to multivitamins, changes are your hair will grow faster.


I am anemic. Once I got control over that my growth rate went to a steady one inch a month. Many women don't consume enough iron or protein (specially during their periods) and then they start taking the vitamins and their hair starts to grow. Not because of the vitamins, but because of issues in their diet and vitamin deficiency, and I am talking about the girls who aren't pregnant.

Pregnancy hormones can make hair grow, but can also make it stop growing or even fall out.

Note, though, that iron overdose can be extremely harmful and/or fatal. There is a particular concern of children getting hold of a parent's tablets and having an accidental overdose as iron tablets are unpalatable and thus manufacturers often make them exceedingly sweet. A better idea would be to determine if one is anaemic (an easy way, at least in the UK, would be to attempt to give blood, as all blood donors are tested for anaemia prior to donation, of course you could visit a doctor). Then one can see whether iron supplementation would be beneficial.

(And, yes, as everyone has said - it is not the pregnancy multivitamin / folic acid that causes the hair growth but rather that the hormones of pregnancy prolong the anagen phase of hair follicles, resulting in reduced shedding during pregnancy.)

[leslissocool]

Note, though, that iron overdose can be extremely harmful and/or fatal. There is a particular concern of children getting hold of a parent's tablets and having an accidental overdose as iron tablets are unpalatable and thus manufacturers often make them exceedingly sweet. A better idea would be to determine if one is anaemic (an easy way, at least in the UK, would be to attempt to give blood, as all blood donors are tested for anaemia prior to donation, of course you could visit a doctor). Then one can see whether iron supplementation would be beneficial.

(And, yes, as everyone has said - it is not the pregnancy multivitamin / folic acid that causes the hair growth but rather that the hormones of pregnancy prolong the anagen phase of hair follicles, resulting in reduced shedding during pregnancy.)

Of course, in order to know if you are anemic you should go to the doctor (they do that test in the US too, it's a simple pinch in the finger with results in 10 minutes before you give blood) but Iron supplements and prenatal vitamins don't have the same dosage. Kids usually don't need as much protein as things like slow fe have, so if they do ingest it it can be very poisonous. However the dose in prenatal vitamins is not strong enough to get a healthy woman sick. My OBGYN told me menstruating women should actually take prenatal vitamins as they are design for bodies that are ready for reproduction, that's why many women take them months before trying for babies. Because I am anemic, he told me I would benefit from them and I did.

Iron consumed through food doesn't have the same effect, so if someone doesn't know if they are anemic and are shedding a lot (hair is not growing) steaming up spinach and adding lemon juice is a great way to get some extra iron. Your body will only take what it needs through the food.

[Auksaplauke]

I guess my prenatal vitamins promote hair growth.Now when I look them no hair grows slower.