Hair Growth & Prenatal Vitamins

[nycstar]

It's quite possible this has been posted before so sorry for any duplicate postings on this. Are (over-the-counter) prenatal vitamins safe to take for hair growth even though you're not pregnant? I'd like to know, other than my multivitamin intake, good diet & exercise, what other vitamins and homeopathic enhancers are available for hair growth.
Thanks in advance! :hollie:

[Keildra]

I've heard it's not good because your getting too much vitamins (apparently that's a bad thing) maybe too much Iron is what they mean but anyway you could take a small dose of biotin for the same effect.

[Lassie]

I too have heard that its best not to take prenatal unless you are pregnant...
Unless you are pregnant the folate levels can make you ill (nauseous, headaches etc etc) the iron levels are also high, so unless you are anaemic they can cause much constipation.

I have tried msm and LOOOOOVE it (replied to your post)

Im also taking hair formula 37 and am equally impressed.

Have tried monistat at very strenghts for many month but had too much scalp irritation. (though did have an increase in growth)

Keeping away from DE due to the long term toxidity and even short term ill effects...

Biotin and silica enhanced over health of hair (softness, shine) but never did much for me for growth..

Have not tried much else....not planning to right now, am extremally impressed with msm and hair formula 37 (fingers crossed it stays that way)

[Cholera]

I'm not pregnant, and I take prenatal vitamins for my hair. I haven't noticed any overdose effects from iron, and my FNP hasn't told me to stop taking them. I think they're fine, and they make me feel better in general, but I don't know if they're really helping my hair much :/

[Rhiannon7]

I used to take hair, skin and nails vits, and i noticed nice growth rate, but they were a bit expensive. bought them at GNC. not sure if taking prenatal vits when not pregnant is ok. never tried them when i was not pregnant.

[sibiryachka]

I've heard it's not good because your getting too much vitamins (apparently that's a bad thing) maybe too much Iron is what they mean but anyway you could take a small dose of biotin for the same effect.

This is the exact reason I take biotin supplements - I was planning to start prenatals until I had it explained to me that biotin is the component that helps hair & nails, and that way you're not getting too much of the other nutrients.

[pennyroyal]

i have been taking prenatal vitamins for years now & I haven't noticed any bad affects from it. I was actually told by a dr that it's ok.
I am a vegetarian so i actually need more iron which i get with prenatal vitamins.
I have heard of other women having bad reactions to them but i am, luckily, not one of them!

[kittensoupnrice]

I have read some resources that recommend that all women who are fertile should take prenatal vitamins. The theory being, if you do get pregnant, the folate required to help prevent spinal cord issues needs to be present within the first 2 weeks after conception. Many women do not even realize they are pregnant by this point.

[Gumball]

I don't have any experience (and likely never will) with prenatal vitamins, so I did a bit of searching to see if there were any bits of information already out there. I found a few older threads that discussed prenatal vitamins in case you wanted to browse them, too:

Thread 1 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=24000)

Thread 2 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=18690)

Thread 3 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=23049)

Thread 4 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=21852)

Thread 5 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=6863)

Thread 6 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1994)

[SummerWarmth]

I usually take prenatals while not pregnant. I'm taking them right now (still breastfeeding). The vitamins say they are good for before, during, and after pregnancy...I'm assuming that means it's okay to take them no matter what. (Note: don't let your men take them - too much iron in them.) ;)

[elliebean184]

I have read some resources that recommend that all women who are fertile should take prenatal vitamins. The theory being, if you do get pregnant, the folate required to help prevent spinal cord issues needs to be present within the first 2 weeks after conception. Many women do not even realize they are pregnant by this point.

Exactly what I heard from the doc..... that way you're covered whenever you do get pregnant.

[TizrahRae]

I take prenatal vitamins and I've noticed an increase in hair growth. I have no symptoms of having too much iron. The pill bottle says to take 2, but I only take one each day.
If you're nervous about it, just take it when it's that time of the month. You need more iron during that time anyway.

[nycstar]

I've read the comments so far and they're extremely helpful--thanks! I'll speak with my gyn regarding taking prenatal vitamins. Can anyone recommend a specific brand of biotin and give me a good source on where to buy it? I want to make sure I'm buying legit vitamins.
Thank you :)

[grmn-rpnzl]

I'm taking prenatal vitamins right now, though I'm trying to get pregnant, and I have not noticed any increased hair or nail growth. When I was taking hair vitamins I saw much improvement in my hair and mostly in my nails.

[IndigoAsh]

every doctor or midwife I have seen or spoken to has told me to take them a year in advance of trying to conceive and than through the pregnancy. I think it's really up to you. I never had an issue, but the prenatals make some women killer constipated. My hair grew like a foot and a half in 2 years while taking them.

I highly suggest Nature's Sunshine for prenatals, personally.

Edited to tell you Nature's Sunshine has a Hair and Nails vitamin. Those are real good too.

[ravenreed]

Too much iron can build up and damage your organs.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prenatal-vitamins/AN01665

[kabelaced]

I've been curious about this for a while. Before I knew of LHC and before I bought the Hair-Skin-Nails stuff from The Vitamin Shoppe, I went with my grandma to the GNC because she was going to buy a huge thing of prenatal vitamins for her very fine, short hair. She'd said a client told her that prenatal vitamins help your hair grow long and healthy fast! Never found out how well that worked because I think my grandma got fed up with them and stopped taking them. Her hair is perpetually just below her chin.

My old regimen consisted only of The Vitamin Shoppe's Hair-Skin-Nails formula (around ten bucks for 100 tablets at TVS)...I didn't really notice a lot of hair growth from the pill (although there was biotin, horsetail and a lot of other stuff in it), but boy were my nails strong and they grew very quickly! Recently I bought a crazy megavitamin from the drug store where I work (meant to round out the deficiencies in my diet), but there's no biotin in it, so I've been shopping around for a good supplement. The health food store near me is Fruitful Yield, and when I went I found among all of the biotin supplements a container of 100 tablets for around 6.50 - brand was "Country Life."

Personally, I'm a cheapo, so I'll always look for the lowest price (especially for experimental stuff). When I get my next paycheck, I'm buying the Country Life stuff - that way I can take it with my mega pill and not be afraid of overdosing too much on all of the other things that are in the Hair-Skin-Nails pill besides Biotin.

If I'm not mistaken, I think Igor made a thread somewhere about supplements for hair health - wasn't that in the VIT thread? I've heard of MSM before, so I'm going to look that up now...:)

[kabelaced]

This is kind of an add on since I just thought about brands of vitamins. I heard from a coworker a while ago that all drugs are FDA required to have exactly the same ingredients in them so that they pretty much work exactly the same (and I've compared things like generic brand Tylenol versus no-name brand to find this to be true). There were many different brands of biotin supplements at Fruitful Yield, all in varying tablet amounts for different prices that mostly didn't reflect on how much you were actually getting, so I am wondering if there is actually a quality difference. (Please don't shoot me if this sound like a dumb question! Just never thought of it before.)

For things like supplements and herbal remedies, I don't think the FDA has any say in regulation for quality or anything else. Can someone clarify this, please? :confused:

[long.again]

I've been taking prenatal vitamins since I was 12 (and no, I didn't get pregnant at 12 - I turned vegetarian at 12). I always thought the only difference between prenatals and a multi-vitamin was more folic acid. They don't have a crazy lot extra in them. Creating life doesn't mean you need 2x of everything, it's just better if you have a little extra.

Prenatals used to make me a little queazy but they don't anymore and I only take them before bed.

[nycstar]

every doctor or midwife I have seen or spoken to has told me to take them a year in advance of trying to conceive and than through the pregnancy. I think it's really up to you. I never had an issue, but the prenatals make some women killer constipated. My hair grew like a foot and a half in 2 years while taking them.

I highly suggest Nature's Sunshine for prenatals, personally.

Edited to tell you Nature's Sunshine has a Hair and Nails vitamin. Those are real good too.
Thanks so much. Any tips for lessening the constipation?

[nycstar]

I've been curious about this for a while. Before I knew of LHC and before I bought the Hair-Skin-Nails stuff from The Vitamin Shoppe, I went with my grandma to the GNC because she was going to buy a huge thing of prenatal vitamins for her very fine, short hair. She'd said a client told her that prenatal vitamins help your hair grow long and healthy fast! Never found out how well that worked because I think my grandma got fed up with them and stopped taking them. Her hair is perpetually just below her chin.

My old regimen consisted only of The Vitamin Shoppe's Hair-Skin-Nails formula (around ten bucks for 100 tablets at TVS)...I didn't really notice a lot of hair growth from the pill (although there was biotin, horsetail and a lot of other stuff in it), but boy were my nails strong and they grew very quickly! Recently I bought a crazy megavitamin from the drug store where I work (meant to round out the deficiencies in my diet), but there's no biotin in it, so I've been shopping around for a good supplement. The health food store near me is Fruitful Yield, and when I went I found among all of the biotin supplements a container of 100 tablets for around 6.50 - brand was "Country Life."

Personally, I'm a cheapo, so I'll always look for the lowest price (especially for experimental stuff). When I get my next paycheck, I'm buying the Country Life stuff - that way I can take it with my mega pill and not be afraid of overdosing too much on all of the other things that are in the Hair-Skin-Nails pill besides Biotin.

If I'm not mistaken, I think Igor made a thread somewhere about supplements for hair health - wasn't that in the VIT thread? I've heard of MSM before, so I'm going to look that up now...:)


I understand about wanting to spend less!! BTW, why did your grandmother get fed up with them?

[liz08]

I definitely always take prenatal vitamins, even when I'm not actually pregnant. I probably started taking them about 2-3 years before I got pregnant the first time. As someone else mentioned, it's just so much better for you to be on them in case you get pregnant unexpectedly. Also, your body needs to start building up a store of folic acid PRIOR to getting pregnant, so you really do need to be on them in advance. And there aren't any drawbacks to taking them when not pregnant when you're during your childbearing years (although it's probably wise to switch to a regular multi once you're sure you're done with kids). I really like the Completia Prenatals by Nature's Way. They're a good brand that absorbs well into the body, but they're not ridiculously expensive either.

[EtherealOde]

I had a hysterectomy several years ago, and started taking a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement made for women over the age of 50 (even though I was only 45 at the time). Because I no longer have periods, I don't need the extra iron in regular vitamins. A prenatal vitamin would have even more iron, so I won't ever take them unless advised to by my doctor. I did take them during my childbearing years though. I never took anything else until I had my tubes tied, and I was sure I would never get pregnant again. Then I just took a good supplement.

As for biotin, I take a 5000 mcg instant dissolve micro tablet I buy at my local health food store. It is manufactured by Continental Vitamin Company, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA. It comes in a tiny little bottle with 100 tablets per bottle.

[McFearless]

I've heard good reviews about prenatal vitamins so I convinced myself to try it out. I realised that they don't do anything more than a regular multi does...its the changes in your body due to pregnancy that causes fast growth.

[Sunsailing]

I have a couple of comments (take them for what they're worth...)

My wife takes prenatal vitamins prescribed by her doctor. She is not looking at getting pregnant (not possible). Her doctor says that there is not a better type of vitamin for women and wants her to keep taking them.

She does not experience extra hair growth.

Here are my thoughts on perceived extra hair growth...
During pregnancy, a woman's hormonal balance changes. Part of the hormonal change causes less shedding during a pregancy. She experiences thicker hair and maybe slightly faster growth. During this time she might also be taking prenatal vitamins. I think a lot of women connect the less shedding and extra growth to the prenatal vitamins, even though they are directly connected to hormones.

[McFearless]

During pregnancy, a woman's hormonal balance changes. Part of the hormonal change causes less shedding during a pregancy. She experiences thicker hair and maybe slightly faster growth. During this time she might also be taking prenatal vitamins. I think a lot of women connect the less shedding and extra growth to the prenatal vitamins, even though they are directly connected to hormones.

Thats what I tried to say haha. Very true!

[nycstar]

I haven't taken any supplements for my hair because: a) my hair grows at a rapid steady rate, and, b) I'm still afraid to take stuff like biotin and prenatal vitamins. hmmm...

[Raine]

I take prenatal vitamins, but haven't noticed any major growth. My hair was a lot healthier feeling and seemed to be shinier and growing faster when I was actually pregnant, but not so much now even though I'm still taking the vits.

[CurlyCyndi]

I have taken a few holistic nutrition classes for my masters (which I am no longer pursuing) But according to my classes and nutritionist prenatal are actually very great for women pregnant or not. According to a lot of my classes women even when they take some vitamins still lack the vitamins for optimum health. It is also advice by many nutritionist that women take prenatal pills while they are in their child baring years because having the necessary vitamins prior to getting pregnant can help a pregnancy in so many ways.


As per my own experience I lost almost all my hair in 2008 due to my own abusing of my hair (I had been dyeing and flat ironing from the age of 14-22...). I was left with less then 4 inches of hair due to trying to relax my hair (this was something I had no experience with and my hair never had before). Anyhow I pretty much cut it all off and one of the major things I did to help grew my hair was taking prenatal vitamins. My hair grew very very fast from almost bald to shoulder length in 4-5months. Of course I did many things that attributed to the hair growth... Like no longer using Shampoo. I used Wen Hair care products, I used a wig and left my hair in a protective style underneath. I also lead an extremely healthy life style (became vegetarian, ate super foods, and exercised 2-3x's daily).