If you want longer, thicker strands, your hair growth serum needs this
Products that claim to give you long, luscious locks seem to be flying off the shelves at the moment, but are they actually worth the hype? According to trichologist and founder of Root Cause Scalp Analysis Bridgette Hill, there is some important information you need to know before you rush into buying a product labeled as a hair growth serum.
“It is first important to clearly state that we identify serums and topicals as hair loss prevention products versus hair growth products,” says Hill. “To date, there is no serum or active ingredient that has been proven to grow hair. No product can regenerate a dead hair follicle, which means a hair follicle without a viable blood source. FDA-approved topical medications for the treatment of androgenic or genetic hair loss address prevention of loss, not hair growth.”
With that distinction, Hill also wants to highlight the benefits of using a hair loss prevention serum and how hair strands thin in the first place. “What is experienced with ‘hair growth’ serums is the reawakening of the hair follicle,” says Hill. “It creates a healthier scalp microbiome, which increases the number of hair fibers that each follicle produces. To clarify, each hair follicle can produce more hair fibers, and most people can have two to five hair fibers per follicle. (This is genetically predetermined.) As the follicle is compromised, the follicle produces fewer hair fibers, resulting in ‘hair loss’ and thinning. The benefit and goal of these serums is to address miniaturization in its infancy for the best results.”
Even if hair loss isn’t a problem for you and you’d simply love a serum that helps promote long, luscious locks in some way, you can still look for hair strengthening serums that contain ingredients that help keep breakage at bay in check. Hill recommends looking for hair products that contain ingredients like saw palmetto, caffeine, licorice extract, pfaffia extract, ergothioneine, ginseng root, and burdock root. These will help nourish your hair at the root, allowing strands to grow longer than ever before. Keep scrolling below for a few options recommended by Hill and other user favorites.
This article originally appeared on whowhatwear.com