Thick, healthy hair is something a lot of us want, and not everyone gets there without a little effort. If you're dealing with hair thinning or shedding, whatever the cause, it can feel frustrating and discouraging.
Losing some hair is more common than you'd think, and the real question is how to stimulate hair growth in a way that lasts. There are a few habits and ingredients that can help support fuller, healthier-looking hair. Here's what to know.
First, a Quick Word on How Hair Grows
Before you can encourage hair growth, it helps to know what's happening at the root, literally. Each strand grows from a hair follicle, and every follicle moves through a hair growth cycle with four phases.
Those phases are anagen (the active growth phase), catagen (a short transition phase), telogen (the resting phase), and exogen (the shedding phase). At any given time, most of your follicles are in the growth phase, which is why healthy hair grows about half an inch per month.
Some shedding is completely normal. Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is expected and isn't a sign of anything wrong. It's when shedding ramps up or hair starts thinning that it's worth paying closer attention. If you're not sure which one you're dealing with, here's how to tell hair shedding from hair loss.
1. Get the Proper Vitamins
A balanced diet matters for your whole body, and your hair is no exception. Blood flow carries nutrients to each hair follicle, so getting enough of the right vitamins and minerals helps support strong, healthy strands.
Vitamin D and vitamin E help keep the scalp healthy, while biotin and zinc may support hair growth. Omega-3 fatty acids help keep the hair follicle hydrated, which can cut down on dryness and breakage.
One note on biotin: it tends to help most when you're low on it to begin with, and extra may not do much if your levels are already fine.
A few nutrient-rich foods that can support hair growth:
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Vitamin D, found in dairy products and fortified foods, helps keep the scalp healthy.
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Vitamin C, found in oranges and strawberries, helps the body produce collagen, which supports the hair follicles. Iron, found in spinach and lean red meat, carries oxygen to the cells and supports healthy growth.
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Fatty acids, found in salmon and avocados, help keep hair moisturized and can add shine.
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Biotin, found in eggs and nuts, helps the body produce keratin, the protein that makes up your hair.
Working these foods into your meals is a simple way to support healthier hair from the inside out.
2. Apply Essential Oils
Essential oils have become a popular natural option for supporting hair and scalp health. The most commonly used ones for hair are rosemary, peppermint, and lavender oil.
Rosemary oil is the standout here. It's thought to support circulation to the scalp, and one often-cited study found it performed comparably to minoxidil for some people over several months. Peppermint oil may support scalp health, and lavender oil has calming properties that can help with the stress that sometimes contributes to shedding.
Castor oil is another favorite, often used to coat and protect strands. Whichever you choose, mix a few drops of essential oil into a carrier oil like jojoba or coconut oil before applying, since undiluted essential oils can irritate the skin.
Paired with a healthy diet and good scalp care, essential oils can be a gentle addition to your routine.
3. Use Hair Probiotics
Probiotics aren't just for gut health. These live microorganisms have earned a spot in the beauty world too, and there's a reason for that.
Some research suggests probiotics can support gut health, and through the gut-skin axis, that support may extend to your skin and hair. A balanced gut microbiome may also help keep the scalp's natural oils in check, which can leave hair looking healthier and shinier.
Our Healthy Hair Probiotics is one option if you want to try this route. The formula blends live cultures with botanical extracts chosen to nourish the scalp and support a healthy hair growth cycle.*
It's also free from harsh chemicals, sulfates, and parabens, so it's gentle enough for daily use.
4. Massage Your Scalp
A scalp massage is one of the simplest things you can do for your hair, and it feels good too. Massaging boosts blood flow and circulation to the scalp, which supports the follicles where growth happens.
There's even research behind it. In one small study, participants who did a standardized daily scalp massage for around four minutes saw increased hair thickness over 24 weeks. Researchers think the stretching force on the dermal papilla cells at the base of each follicle is part of why.
Massaging also helps loosen built-up oil and product that can clog follicles over time. If buildup is a recurring issue for you, a scalp detox can help clear the way.
To do it, use your fingertips (or a scalp massager) to work in small circular motions with moderate pressure for 5 to 10 minutes. You can do it dry or with a little oil or conditioner. Stick with it, and you may notice a difference over a few weeks.
5. Take Vitamins and Supplements
Hair loss has a lot of possible causes, and one that's easy to overlook is a nutrient deficiency. Just like the rest of your body, your hair needs certain vitamins and minerals to do its job.
When you're running low, hair can thin or break more easily. Iron is a big one for women. Low iron, measured as ferritin, is one of the most common nutritional reasons for shedding. Low vitamin D and zinc can contribute too, since vitamin D receptors sit right in the hair follicles.
A daily multivitamin like Daily Love® Multivitamin can help cover your bases with 25+ nutrients, though it's not a substitute for addressing a specific deficiency.* Curious how ingredients like biotin stack up against others? Here's a look at biotin versus collagen for hair.
If you think a deficiency might be behind your shedding, talk to your doctor. A simple blood test can check your levels, and they can point you toward the right supplement.
6. Get Regular Trims
Let's clear up a common myth first: trims don't make your hair grow faster. Growth happens at the follicle, not at the ends, so snipping the tips doesn't speed anything up.
What trims do help with is length retention. When split ends form, the hair shaft frays and breakage creeps up the strand, which can leave hair looking shorter and thinner over time. Cutting off damaged ends before they worsen helps your hair hold onto the length it grows.
For more on keeping strands intact between cuts, here's how to stop hair breakage. A trim every six to eight weeks is a reasonable rhythm for most people.
7. Stay Hydrated
Here's a low-effort one: drink your water. Staying hydrated supports nearly every process in your body, including the production of new hair cells.
When you're dehydrated, your scalp can get dry, which can lead to irritation and flakiness that isn't great for healthy growth. Aim for steady water intake through the day, and your hair (and the rest of you) will benefit.
8. Consider Your Hair Care Habits
How you treat your hair day to day adds up. Frequent heat styling, tight hairstyles, and harsh treatments like bleach can all lead to damage, thinning, or breakage.
Tight ponytails and braids worn often can cause a type of thinning called traction alopecia, which usually shows up around the hairline. Heat and chemical treatments weaken the hair shaft and can leave strands more prone to snapping.
A few easy swaps help: use a heat protectant before styling, choose looser styles over tight ones, and don't overdo washing. Not sure how often to wash? Here's a guide on how often you should wash your hair.
When to Consider Clinical Options
At-home habits go a long way, but sometimes thinning has a medical cause worth looking into, like thyroid issues, PCOS, hormonal shifts after pregnancy or around menopause, or a pattern of loss that runs in the family. If your shedding is sudden, patchy, or ongoing, a dermatologist can help you figure out what's going on.
There are also clinical treatments worth knowing about, even if they're a different lane from supplements. Minoxidil (the active ingredient in Rogaine) is the main over-the-counter topical approved by the FDA for hair loss. Finasteride is a prescription option, though it's used for male pattern hair loss.
For women, doctors sometimes prescribe spironolactone. In-office options include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), low-level laser or red light therapy, and microneedling. These aren't things Love Wellness offers, but a dermatologist can walk you through whether any of them fit your situation.
A Final Word
If you've been wondering how to stimulate hair growth, the honest answer is that it takes consistency more than any single trick. Most of these habits need a few months, often three to six, before you'll notice a real change, so give them time to work.
Supporting your hair from the inside is part of the picture too. Our Healthy Hair Probiotics is formulated to support a healthy hair growth cycle, with a clinically studied pea protein called AnaGain™ Nu that helps nourish the follicles and support the growth phase.* You'll find it alongside our other beauty supplements for hair, skin, and nails.
At Love Wellness, we're all about self-care that's body positive and doctor developed. However you choose to support your hair, be patient with the process and feel your best, at every stage of life.
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