Vitamin B’s Role in Hair Growth

B vitamins are commonly found in meat, seafood, poultry, and eggs, but if you’re vegan or plant-based, fear not! To get more B vitamins out of a plant-based diet, make sure to incorporate lots of leafy greens, legumes, seeds, and nutritional yeast into your daily meals.

B vitamins are key nutrients in our diets and more! These vitamins help create energy from food by breaking down carbohydrates and fat. They also break down amino acids and transport oxygen and energy-containing nutrients around the body.

When it comes to our overall health and wellness, B vitamins are essential for preventative care. They help promote healthy metabolism, cholesterol levels, and hormone production, and boost mood levels. On top of that, B vitamins play a significant role in cognitive abilities and the formation of red blood cells.

Red blood cells are not only vital as oxygen carriers in our body, the proteins in these cells help with cellular growth and repair. That includes your body’s cells that help with hair growth. B vitamins may also have a crucial role in gut health, proper nerve functions, cholesterol levels, hormone production, muscle tone, and eyesight.

Since B vitamins provide numerous benefits for a healthier body and mind, it’s no wonder they would have hair-tastic benefits for hair health. As briefly mentioned, B vitamins support and boost hair growth through their key function of producing red blood cells, which helps generate new hair and greater tensile strength by transporting oxygen and key proteins to the scalp.

Here are the following ways in which different B vitamins support healthy hair growth:

Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, plays a crucial role in hair growth by converting nutrients from food into energy that the body can use.

Thiamine is particularly helpful for maintaining a healthy scalp because it lowers blood vessel constriction. This improves blood flow and oxygen circulation, which helps transfer key nutrients to the hair follicle for healthy hair growth.

You can find thiamine in several different foods, including meats and fish, whole grains, black beans, and fortified cereals. You can also find it in our Multivitamin Healthy Hair Conditioner.

Formulated with B vitamins, vegan keratin, vitamin E, and CoQ10, this deeply nourishing, reparative conditioner works as a daily restorative treatment for nourishing and strengthening dry, damaged hair.

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)

Vitamin B2, or riboflavin, is a key nutrient for two key coenzymes that are responsible for energy production, cellular function, and metabolism.

Riboflavin also helps your body maintain normal levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that’s used to create proteins, which, in turn, support healthy hair.

Niacin (Vitamin B3)

Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is used by the body to convert niacin into a coenzyme known as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) which, among many functions, is particularly important for the production of energy from the nutrients found in food.

On the beauty end, niacin moisturizes the hair and scalp, which prevents dryness and dandruff. It’s also been shown to target the repair of DNA, which may impact DNA damage to the scalp caused by stressors in the environment.

Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5)

Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5, is crucial to the generation of coenzyme A, which is important for the development of fatty acids in the body, among other necessary functions.

In our products, we use pro-vitamin B5–also known as panthenol – which is the alcohol analog of vitamin B5, making it more stable. There are many benefits of B-complex for the skin and hair! Vitamin B5 works to help moisturize, soothe, and heal both our complexions and scalps.
For dry, itchy, or irritated skin, vitamin B5 delivers superb hydrating, healing, and calming benefits. This vitamin is also beneficial for hair strengthening and growth and is ideal for applying to the scalp and skin to encourage healthy hair growth.

Panthenol keeps the hair nourished, conditioned, and hydrated, which is why we feature it in our Multi-Vitamin Healthy Hair De-Frizz Serum. With hot, humid temps around the corner, this serum tames annoying frizz and flyaways with B5, nourishing vitamin E, and other hair and scalp beneficial vitamins to repair and protect.

Vitamin B6

More of a generalized term, vitamin B6 refers to the compounds pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, and their 5’-phosphate esters.

These components of vitamin B6 play a role in many different bodily processes, and over a hundred of those processes are linked to the metabolism of protein which, as we know, is crucial for healthy hair.

Vitamin B6 is also vital in the role of immune function, cognitive development, and the production of hemoglobin in the blood, which carries oxygen for the production and repair of cells in your body; this includes cells that target hair growth.

Biotin (Vitamin B7)

Vitamin B7, also known as biotin, may be one of the best-known nutrients in skin and hair care. And for good reason! In addition to its role in numerous processes related to the metabolism of fatty acids, it’s also necessary for tissue repair due to its role in cell signaling.

Those with a biotin deficiency tend to experience mild hair loss as well as weak nails and patchy skin, which is why it’s often included in supplements meant to target hair, skin, and nail issues.

While naturally produced in the gut, you can get your biotin from several different food sources, including seeds, nuts, mushrooms, and certain vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, broccoli, and avocados.

We feature biotin in our Multi-Vitamin Healthy Hair Shampoo, which gently cleanses the scalp without stripping the hair strands. This deeply nourishing, reparative shampoo is fortified with vegan keratin, biotin, B5, vitamin E, and other hair and scalp beneficial vitamins for softer, healthier hair.

Folate (Folic Acid, or Vitamin B9)

Vitamin B9, also known as folate or folic acid, is a crucial nutrient that plays a role in the production of DNA. Folic acid also helps with the synthesis of red blood cells, which transfer oxygen through various parts of the body, including the scalp. Folic acid is particularly important for hair volume and color, and it can even reduce premature graying.

You can find folic acid (and other B vitamins) in our Multi-Vitamin Healthy Hair Leave-In Conditioner. This weightless leave-in treatment has a trifecta of hair benefits; it detangles, smooths, and enhances shine. Say hello to hydration, and goodbye to dry damaged strands.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin for the production of energy in the body, and it also plays a major role in hair health.

It mainly affects hair growth in two different ways: first, it assists the body with the production of red blood cells, and it ensures that the red blood cells are the right size and shape for delivering oxygen throughout the body.

Red blood cells are especially important for hair growth because they carry oxygen to points in the body that need it, such as hair follicles. Oxygen stimulates the hair follicles, which use the oxygen to grow new hair.

If your diet is lacking in vitamin B12, your hair follicles might not be getting the oxygen needed to grow thicker hair, so make sure to have plenty in both your diet and hair regimen. Aside from liver, beef, and dairy products, you can also find plant-based vitamin B12 in nutritional yeast and fortified cereals. Of course, you can also find it in our natural hair products!

As we know, B vitamins are found in a long list of meats, dairy, and veggies, which can be achieved in a well-rounded diet of healthy foods. If you feel your diet is falling short and you’re experiencing some hair issues, hopefully, these tips and different forms of B vitamins will get your hair back to its happy, healthy state. Who knew all those B’s were a path to A-plus in overall body and hair health?