NUTRAFOL® Women: Does it REALLY work?
- Ryan M. Trowbridge, MD, MS, MA
- Mar 9
- 8 min read
This is an unpaid, independent review. I have no vested interest in promoting this product other than providing people with accurate information.
What is NUTRAFOL® Women?
Nutrafol® Women is a hair growth supplement marketed towards women aged 18-44 experiencing hair thinning. It contains a mix of vitamins, minerals, plant-based ingredients, and marine (fish-derived) peptides that are meant to support hair growth and overall hair health.
The product makes several claims regarding its benefits including improved hair growth, reduced shedding, and faster-growing hair.
It also claims that some users have reported visibly thicker lashes and brows, reduced feelings of stress, and improved sleep quality. It uses “drug-free and natural ingredients” and claims to target root causes of hair thinning, according to their website:
Hormones: DHT sensitivity can be caused by genetics, stress, poor diet, and toxins.
Stress: Physical or emotional stress like giving birth or a demanding job.
Lifestyle: Refers to your surroundings, the products you use, and the foods you eat.
Metabolism: Influences how hair follicles receive nutrients from the body.
Nutrition: Nutrient gaps that can result from a poor diet or a compromised gut microbiome.
Aging: Aging reduces the scalp’s collagen and elastin, weakening its grip on hair strands.
Its hair growth claims are valid (although do require some clarification, see below, Tale of Two Trials). In a clinical trial it was shown to improve hair growth by about 10% in a select group of women. (Ablon & Kogan, 2018) Participants taking the supplement reported faster growth and less breakage compared to those taking the placebo. Shedding wasn't directly measured but it would be reasonable to assume this was less. They also reported decreased stress and anxiety levels, and improved sleep quality. But, although statistically significant (mathematically more patients taking Nutrafol® than placebo experienced this), the number was low, only ~15% of participants reporting these benefits.
Claims about visibly thicker lashes and brows are anecdotal, and are not supported by clinical studies.
Claims regarding being "drug-free" and "natural" are a matter of terminology. Most nutritional supplements are not considered drugs unless they make specific claims like "cures hair loss" instead of "supports healthy hair". Nutrafol® falls much more in the latter category, and I think the main point here is that Nutrafol® doesn't contain any traditional hair loss drugs like finasteride, dutasteride, or minoxidil.
"Natural" is a little harder one to tackle. If we use the definition, "coming from or begin made in living cells, or, those derived from substances produced by human, plant, or animal cells", it probably meets this mark. But there are many pharmaceutical drugs that also meet this definition like isotretinoin (naturally occurring and derived from Vitamin A), penicillin (naturally occuring and derived from penicillium chrysogenum mold), and biologic medications like Skyrizi (produced in cell lines but not occuring in nature), that most of us would not put in the "natural" category. You aren't going to pluck a capsule of Nutrafol® off a plant on your walk through the garden, and exactly what goes on during the extraction process to obtain these supplements isn't always known. However, Nutrafol® is a reputable company and there is no reason or evidence to suggest their products are contaminated or poorly processed. Nevertheless, it is still possible for herbal supplements and vitamins to cause toxicity or harm if taken improperly or in too great a quantity.
Regarding claims addressing the root causes of hair loss and thinning, this is a complex topic. Even if we agreed on the root causes Nutrafol® targets, how effective is Nutrafol® Women at addressing these contributors? Nutrafol® doesn’t specifically state HOW it addresses those key factors, but one might presume the following:
Cause of Hair Thinning | Relevant Ingredients | Potential Impact |
|---|---|---|
Hormones | Saw Palmetto Extract | Helps block DHT, a hormone linked to hair thinning |
Ashwagandha Extract | May help balance cortisol levels, reducing hormonal imbalances | |
Stress | Ashwagandha Extract | Adaptogen that helps the body manage stress and lower cortisol levels |
Lifestyle | Not clear which are intended to alter your lifestyle. | Not entirely sure how taking these supplements alter your lifestyle for good or bad |
Metabolism | Iodine (from Organic Kelp), Zinc, Selenium; Black Pepper Extract, Cayenne Extract | Supports thyroid function, which regulates metabolism and hair growth; may improve circulation and nutrient absorption, supporting hair growth |
Nutrition | Biotin, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, L-Cysteine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, Keratin | Essential for hair structure, growth, and repair, but benefit to those who aren't deficient is not clear. |
Aging | Hydrolyzed Marine Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Resveratrol (from Japanese Knotweed), Palm Extract (Tocotrienols) | Supports hair follicle strength, skin hydration, and fights oxidative stress that contributes to hair aging...theoretically |
Many of these claims, although biologically plausible, are not supported by an abundance of data, high quality or otherwise. Drake et al (2023) surveyed existing literature on dietary and nutritional interventions in individuals with hair loss without and no known baseline nutritional deficiency. There is some positive evidence for tocotrienols (Vitamin E) and zinc if deficient. The evidence is week or inconclusive for many other ingredients including saw palmetto (limited benefit for men, not proven in women), curcumin (turmeric extract), marine collagen, ashwagandha (stress reduction, not hair growth), selenium, and biotin (no strong evidence unless deficient). For hyaluronic acid, keratin, amino acids, horsetail, Japanese knotweed, black pepper, cayenne, iodine, Vitamins A, C, D, evidence is absent or lacking.
A Tale of Two Trials
Nutrafol® should be commended for aspiring to perform clinical trials on their products and establish efficacy. Nutrafol® registered two trials with clinicaltrials.gov around the same time in 2016/2017 aimed at testing the efficacy of Nutrafol® Women:
Efficacy and Safety of a Nutraceutical Supplement With Standardized Botanicals in Women With Thinning Hair. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03206567. Sponsor: Ablon Skin Institute Research Center
Study to Evaluate a Nutraceutical Supplement for Treatment of Hair Loss and Thinning in Females.
ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03052413. Sponsor: Sadick Research Group
The study by Ablon and Kogan (2018) was published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology and was a six-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that aimed to assess Nutrafol® Women Capsules in promoting hair growth in women. It is a study they highlight on their website. Overall, participants in the study showed approximately 10% thicker hair compared to placebo (over 10% more terminal hairs and nearly 16% more vellus hairs). Important details about the study are:
Type of hair loss treated: self-perceived thinning hair (patients with hair loss diagnoses like alopecia areata, scarring alopecia, androgenetic alopecia and telogen effluvium were excluded)
Patient characteristics: healthy women aged 21-65 (participants were excluded if they were pregnant or used medications known to affect hair growth)
Length of study: 6 months
Outcomes assessed:
Objective hair growth in a designated 1 cm² scalp area by macrophotography and phototrichogram
Blinded investigator assessment of global hair growth and quality
Participants completed self-assessment and quality-of-life questionnaires.
Results (statistically significant):
Terminal and vellus hair counts in the treatment group at both day 90 and day 180 (P<0.009) compared to placebo.
Blinded investigator assessments also demonstrated significant improvements in hair growth (P=0.016) and overall hair quality (P=0.005)
Participants in the treatment group reported improvements in hair thickness and body (80.8% vs. 46.2% in placebo, P=0.027).
The study conducted by the Sadick Research Group, which was never published, differed with respect to some key criteria:
It included women with clinically confirmed female pattern hair loss.
It required a Savin hair loss classification of female pattern hair loss.
It required a diagnosis lasting for greater than 6 months prior to the study.
It included 21-55 year olds
It required the participants to maintain the same hair style throughout the study.
The published clinical study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the highest standard for clinical trials at demonstrating effectiveness of an intervention. And, it showed a pretty definitive improvement in the participants studied. However, the trial was small (only 24 patients in the treatment group) and the benefit was pretty modest (~10% improvement). Based on its inclusion and exclusion criteria, it was potentially structured in a way that maximized the likelihood of positive results by selecting participants with milder, self-perceived thinning hair rather than diagnosed conditions, whereas the unpublished study, which included women with confirmed hair loss, may have shown less impressive results, potentially explaining why its findings were not published.
Conclusion/Bottom Line/My Two Cents
Nutrafol® Women appears to be an an effective treatment to provide modest (~10% increase) in hair growth/thickness in women who are otherwise healthy, have not hair loss diagnosis, but would like their hair to be thicker or feel they have thinning hair. However, there is no data that Nutrafol® Women is effective for patients with female pattern (androgenic) hair loss or other causes of hair loss like alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, or scarring alopecia. Nutrafol® has no studies supporting its effectiveness in androgenic alopecia in men or women, despite having registered and conducted clinical trials in those groups.
This doesn't mean it isn't effective or can't be helpful in those scenarios. Treating hair loss is difficult and using all the bows in your quiver is a reasonable approach. It's just a balance between cost and likely effectiveness, and there currently is no available data that supports the effectiveness of Nutrafol® Women in patients with clinically diagnosed hair loss.
I like the general approach Nutrafol® takes, attempting to provide vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements for hair loss and attempting to do so in an evidence-based way. In addition to the two studies discussed here, they have five other studies registered on clinicaltrials.gov, one of which resulted in two peer-reviewed publications. Studies that have been registered without a subsequent publication, indicating a possible negative result, undergoing manuscript preparation, or not yet complete, include the following:
Nutraceutical Supplement With Standardized Botanicals in Males With Thinning Hair
ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05339958 (completed)
Nutraceutical Supplement With Vegan Botanicals in Females With Self-Perceived Thinning Hair
ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05332743 (completed)
Prospective Study of Nutraceutical Supplements to Support Hair Growth in Females
ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06376409 (indicates still recruiting)
Evaluation of an Oral Hair Supplement to Improve Hair Strength and Support Growth in Women and Men ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06362941 (active but not recruiting)
Hopefully, sometime in the future they will publish the outcomes of these trials, good or bad, to provide us with more guidance on what can help people struggling with hair loss.
Dr. Ryan M. Trowbridge, MD, MS, MA
Harvard-Trained, Board-Certified Dermatologist and DermMythBuster
P.S. Have you come across any new or conflicting research on this topic? Please share—I’d love to explore it further with you!
Have concerns about hair loss? You can obtain an online consultation from Dr. Trowbridge at Bridge Dermatology if you currently reside in California, Connecticut, Illinois, or Nebraska.
References
Ablon G. A study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a nutraceutical supplement for promoting hair growth in women with self-perceived thinning hair. ClinicalTrials.gov. Published June 27, 2017. Updated October 27, 2017. Accessed March 8, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03206567.
Ablon G, Kogan S. A six-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the safety and efficacy of a nutraceutical supplement for promoting hair growth in women with self-perceived thinning hair. J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(5):558-565.
Ablon G, Kogan S. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of a nutraceutical supplement for promoting hair growth in perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women with thinning hair. J Drugs Dermatol. 2021;20(1):55-61. doi:10.36849/JDD.5701.
Ablon G, Kogan S, Raymond I. A long-term study of the safety and efficacy of a nutraceutical supplement for promoting hair growth in perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women. J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(7):783. doi:10.36849/JDD.776.
Drake L, Reyes-Hadsall S, Martinez J, Heinrich C, Huang K, Mostaghimi A. Evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of nutritional supplements for treating hair loss: A systematic review. JAMA Dermatol. 2023;159(1):79-86. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2022.4867.
Sadick N. A study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a nutraceutical supplement for hair growth in women with thinning hair. ClinicalTrials.gov. Published February 10, 2017. Updated April 25, 2019. Accessed March 8, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03052413.
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