Hair vitamins are popular for women, but men are often left out, despite the increase in male pattern baldness is more common. What men don’t realize is that even beyond just helping with hair loss, hair vitamins for men can give general male health support as well.
These benefits can range anywhere from prostate support, all the way to stress support.
Here are the top 5 benefits of hair vitamins for men and why you consider taking one as a preventative measure.
1. Preventing Hair Loss
The whole point of taking natural hair vitamins is to stop hair from falling out in the first place. Male pattern baldness also referred to as androgenic alopecia typically affects around 50% of all men over the age of 50.
Most of the time, this occurs from a genetic condition. That is why it is common for many men to look at their fathers and see what type of hair receding they will experience as they get older.
Typically, hair loss presents in two different patterns. The first is a receding hairline. The bangs will start to move up on the head, presenting more skin for the forehead than originally.
The other pattern starts at the crown of the head and works its way out in a circle pattern. This is why men will have hair on the sides of their heads, but now the top.
This is why companies will put biotin, a B vitamin, into their hair vitamins. Those that are deficient in biotin are said to experience hair loss or a red rash.
2. Provides Prostate Support
While hair loss is considered hereditary, it stems from a sensitivity to a byproduct of testosterone being converted into estrogen. This byproduct is called dihydrotestosterone, otherwise known as DHT.
DHT is typically converted into the prostate, which is why you will typically take a supplement to help prevent this as you get older. Ingredients like Saw Palmetto, Pumpkin Seed, and DIM are all considered great options for preventing this conversion.
Saw Palmetto and Pumpkin Seed Oil both work to help reduce the inflammation that typically occurs in the prostate as we get older. This inflammation can be a direct cause of hair loss and stems from a poor diet and lack of exercise.
DIM, diindolylmethane, works to prevent the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. This prevention helps keep testosterone high without converting into estrogen to create DHT.
3. Helps Manage Stress and Energy
Another big benefit of having B vitamins in your hair supplement is the fact that increasing your B vitamins leads to a decrease in stress fatigue. When you are stressed out, your body wants to eliminate these vitamins first, leading to an increase in fatigue.
B vitamins are necessary for almost all energy production systems because of their coenzyme nature. They help our body create enzymes to break down food for energy more effectively, so the more we get rid of, the worse off our energy levels are.
Testosterone also plays a huge portion in energy levels and stress levels. When our bodies get older and go through andropause, we deal with emotional fatigue and mood swings just as women do during menopause.
By incorporating a hair vitamin for males, we are allowing our bodies to work at peak functionality, even when the years have added up.
4. Nail and Skin Support
As we get older, our body loses the elasticity that we experience in younger years. This means we can see an increase in wrinkles and blemishes that would otherwise disappear, staying.
Our nails continue to get more brittle when we are older as well, as the nail matrix does not produce as much collagen. This can lead to an increase in nail breakage and cracking that can make hands-on tasks more difficult.
Hair and nail supplements will typically increase the amount of vitamin C that they have. Vitamin C plays a crucial role in our body’s ability to make collagen, which is the main protein that makes up our skin and nails.
Not only does it impact our body’s skin and nail regulation and growth, but it also impacts our immune system. Staying on top of vitamin C intake helps reduce oxidative stress and allows our immune system to fight off infections more effectively.
For those looking for healthy skin and nails, check out these natural hair vitamins.
5. Affects Sex Drive
Just like with energy and stress, too much stress from aging and life can increase estrogen. When we increase estrogen, we find a decrease in our sex drive and vitality.
Decreasing the amount of estrogen conversion can help prevent the effects of andropause that occur. A misconception is that we produce less testosterone as we get older, but studies have found this is often untrue. Our bodies just convert more testosterone into estrogen.
Increased amounts of estrogen will make it hard to get into the mood and sometimes even harder to get proper blood flow to the right region. Increased inflammation of the prostate will also prevent proper blood flow and even cause pain when trying to perform.
What Types of Vitamins Should You Look For?
While all these ingredients play a portion in how your body can handle hair loss and energy support, just sprinkling them in vitamins will not do much. Certain vitamins also require specific types of bonding for them to even absorb properly.
With B vitamins and C vitamins, they both require water to be present in the body to absorb properly. This means staying adequately hydrated throughout the day.
Certain B vitamins do require a specific bonding to be absorbed into our bodies. With B12, you should look for methylcobalamin, versus its unabsorbed form, cyanocobalamin. With B6, look for P-5-P, instead of pyridoxine hydrochloride.
What Dosage Should You Take These Vitamins At?
When taking any supplement, always double-check to see if they have a clean label. This means they list every single ingredient out for you to see how much of each is in the product. If they still use proprietary blends, where they give you a dosage of all the ingredients combined, you should probably ditch the company.
For biotin, you should look to get around 1,000 micrograms (mcgs) per serving. While many companies will put over this, this is the minimal amount and usually, all your body will take in. Biotin does not have a certain form you have to look out for, as it absorbs really well no matter what.
When it comes to folic acid or folate, look to get around 800 micrograms of folic acid. Or, if it has the better-absorbed version folate or methyl folate, then you only need around 400 micrograms.
Vitamin C is up in the air and you should be careful when taking this supplement. Certain individuals have a sensitivity to it, so taking it as ascorbic acid can lead to an upset stomach. If this occurs, switch over to calcium ascorbate, as that is a slower absorbing form of vitamin C.
When it comes to getting it in a hair vitamin, you should look for minimally 100 milligrams (mgs).
With Saw Palmetto, be sure that it is a standardized version of the berry. The whole very version is typically a waste, as it is not potent enough to make a difference.
When standardized, it should be minimally 160 milligrams of active ingredients per serving. Anything less, and the body is not getting enough straight anti-inflammatory support for the prostate to be worth it.
Does Anything Else Cause Hairloss?
Genetics is not the only thing that could be playing a role in hair loss. Certain types of medications like chemotherapy drugs and immunosuppressants are responsible for hair loss as well.
Certain mineral deficiencies are also commonly followed with hair loss, specifically an iron deficiency. Those with anemia should keep this in mind, as you might be fighting off two different issues at the same time.
Sudden weight loss has also been associated with an increase in hair loss. This is because the body is suddenly put under a great amount of stress and loses its cushion that, sort of putting the body into shock.
Sometimes, it can truly just be that specific hair follicles are not producing hair anymore.
Hair Vitamins for Men: Good for More Than Just Hair
Regardless of the reason for taking hair vitamins for men, the goal is to keep that hair thick and strong and your energy levels at tip-top shape. Be sure to keep consistent, as most vitamins and herbs minimally take 8 weeks before seeing effects.
Keep in mind that these are not end all be all solutions. Always check with a medical professional before going with a hair vitamin, as certain diseases could be the reason for hair loss. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
If you enjoyed the article and want to learn more about current trends in the health world and everywhere else, be sure to check out the rest of our blog. If you know a guy that has been considering hair vitamins for men, be sure to share this article with them.
