Have you found that consuming more protein makes hair your grow faster?

[UrbanEast]

Have you found that eating more protein (either meat, whey protein, or whatever) makes your hair grow faster? I lost a lot of hair due to telogen effluvium. I treated the cause and it's growing back, but I still don't eat much protein. I'm wondering whether taking in more protein will help it grow faster.

Thanks in advance.

[vampyyri]

No... I'm vegetarian and I get .75" a month! I don't get nearly as much protein as I should, it's not so much protein as it is good nutrition/taking a multivitamin and genetics.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I don't know, but I try to have some protein almost daily, of fish, cheese, nuts, egg or various meats. I get a half inch of growth most months, sometimes more and very occasionally less.

[mira-chan]

The only time it would affect hair growth is if you are not getting enough in a the long term and becoming malnourished. Vegetarians and vegans can get plenty of proteins from non-meat sources. Vitamins won't help with malnutrition if you're not getting enough protein and your body starts using the protein in your muscles instead. If you don't like meat, whey, etc. then eggs (if vegetarian) or legumes/ protein containing grains (vegan sources), would work just as well for most.

If you have a lot of hair shedding I'd suggest going to the doctor to check your vitamin, hormone and thyroid levels, as those are most common reasons for hair sheds and slowed growth. Malnutrition can be a cause but it's comparatively rare in areas where food is relatively plentiful. Hair will not grow faster with excess protein, and too much can cause issues to your excretory system as well.

[UrbanEast]

The only time it would affect hair growth is if you are not getting enough in a the long term and becoming malnourished. Vegetarians and vegans can get plenty of proteins from non-meat sources. Vitamins won't help with malnutrition if you're not getting enough protein and your body starts using the protein in your muscles instead. If you don't like meat, whey, etc. then eggs (if vegetarian) or legumes/ protein containing grains (vegan sources), would work just as well for most.

If you have a lot of hair shedding I'd suggest going to the doctor to check your vitamin, hormone and thyroid levels, as those are most common reasons for hair sheds and slowed growth. Malnutrition can be a cause but it's comparatively rare in areas where food is relatively plentiful. Hair will not grow faster with excess protein, and too much can cause issues to your excretory system as well.

Thanks, Mira-Chan. Yes, I went to an endocrinologist, ob-gyn, and derm right away and was diagnosed with severe anemia. Much of my hair fell out in 4 months. (Before that, it was below classic; it never seemed to reach a terminal length)

I took medication and iron to treat the anemia, so the hair is growing back. It's growing at 1/2 inch a month, and I just want it to grow faster. Up to a year ago, it grew faster than that, and I always wished it would slow down.

My nutrition is pretty bad--lots of carbs and some cheese, few legumes and little meat. I am ok with whey protein, so I could eat more of that. I like eggs too but don't eat many of them.

[hanne jensen]

When I up my protein intake my hair grows slightly faster and becomes slightly stronger. My nails also become stronger and longer. I take a protein shake every morning and eat a lot of canned tuna, eggs, meat, quinoa, and my beloved peanutbutter. I also eat nuts for the goot fats in them. My hair is loving me now...

[Mimha]

I think it is more about having a well balanced healthy food, with all the necessary nutriments (vitamins, fatty acids, minerals) than specifically about proteins. You don't need tons of proteins to be healthy : you need enough (which I admit that I don't know exactly what quantity it is, but knowing that you can be exclusively vegetarian without being deficient in proteins means that it is not a huge quantity). The best example I can find is the fact that Indian people are not huge meat eaters (either due to poverty or to religion) and they have amongst the most quick growing long thick healthy hair in the world.

[Cg]

I agree with the posters who've emphasized a healthful, balanced diet. I would add also exercise, sleep, and de-stressing as much as possible. Vitamins are unnecessary if you eat well. They are valuable only if your body is deficient in something and can absorb what the vitamin provides.

[Wusel]

DEFINITELY! YES! Fats and protein! I've experienced a stall for a while (stress, bad relationship, sadness...) but overall since I'm on a ketogenic diet my hair grows VERY fast.

[spirals]

No. Nothing ever seems to affect my growth rate except maybe summer; I get a brief spurt then. But eating more protein and almost no sugar has affected my health in the most positive way. I stabilized my blood sugar and lost weight and my nails are much healthier.

[mdvl]

I've noticed that consuming more protein absolutely does not affect hair and nails growth. But whole food - plant based diet affects everything: skin, hair, nails and health!
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[ExpectoPatronum]

Agreeing with others who have said that a healthy balanced diet is more helpful for hair growth than consuming more of one particular thing. Hair growth is the sum of everything we put into our bodies, so we have to make sure we have all the things it needs. Protein is just one of the building blocks. Vitamins and minerals are important as well.

[Deborah]

If you are protein deficient, then adding more protein to your diet will probably help your hair grow at its best rate. If you eat plenty of protein now, then adding more will not likely make your hair grow any faster.

[Rosetta]

The only time it would affect hair growth is if you are not getting enough in a the long term and becoming malnourished. Vegetarians and vegans can get plenty of proteins from non-meat sources. Vitamins won't help with malnutrition if you're not getting enough protein and your body starts using the protein in your muscles instead. If you don't like meat, whey, etc. then eggs (if vegetarian) or legumes/ protein containing grains (vegan sources), would work just as well for most.
Just a small correction - unfortunately plant proteins don't work just as well, as they are not complete proteins like animal proteins are; plant ones lack one or several essential amino acids that animal proteins contain.

(e.g. https://authoritynutrition.com/animal-vs-plant-protein, or https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/)

[Cg]

Just a small correction - unfortunately plant proteins don't work just as well, as they are not complete proteins like animal proteins are; plant ones lack one or several essential amino acids that animal proteins contain.

Actually, plant proteins do work just as well when you combine what amino acid(s) one plant lacks with one that contains it. (Quite easy, as vegans and vegetarians know.) It's only that animal proteins provide all essential amino acids by themselves whereas one plant does not.

[Strands]

Ok, so probably unsolicited, but I was a vegan. Now, I am a vegan gone rogue. I went through a LOT of shedding when I went vegan, and now a lot of it has grown back. This was back in 2012 I was vegan, ended in 2013. It was 6+ months of veganism. I was getting PLENTY of protein from other sources, but still had a lot of shedding that stopped within a week of eating meat again. Perhaps it was coincidental, but I am gonna go with my gut here and say that eating meat is good for the hair. I feel that God put it here for a reason, the Bible tells us it is here for us to eat, and just in my experience it has helped.

[Strands]

Actually, plant proteins do work just as well when you combine what amino acid(s) one plant lacks with one that contains it. (Quite easy, as vegans and vegetarians know.) It's only that animal proteins provide all essential amino acids by themselves whereas one plant does not.

Hmm. I was vegan for over 6 months. Not to say I know it all, because God knows I don't, but for real since I went rogue and eat meat now I have seen a lot of health improvement, NOT just my hair. Sorry, but there are things missing from vegan protein sources. Can you prove that vegan foods contain the SAME chains of amino acids? Do you have sources?

[Cg]

Lysine, leucine, isoleucine, et. al. are lysine, leucine, isoleucine, et. al. regardless of their source. This is why vegans who eat a varied diet don't die of malnutrition.

Your experience may very well mean that you weren't getting adequate protein. Or fat. Then again, there might have been any number of other factors at work, not necessarily dietary. It's common but fallacious to mistake correlation for causation. Particularly when using only one data point.

I was a vegan for 20 years and did not experience any deleterious effects. And no significant changes when I adopted an omnivorous diet.

[Bhruninha]

Yes! My growth rate almost doubled when I went from 50g to 110 grams of protein per day.

[vampyyri]

I've been vegetarian for two years, and have not had any adverse effects. When I track my macronutrients, I'm getting plenty of protein (eggs, :cheese:, beans), and I only supplement to make sure my iron/mineral levels are where they should be. My hair still grows at an above average speed as well.