Verbatim response from Claude
The Honest Answer
It depends on the cause of your hair loss, but here's a practical breakdown:
Hair Growth Supplements (OTC)
These can help if you have nutritional deficiencies:
- Nutrafol - Well-researched, addresses stress hormones, inflammation, and nutrition. Probably the most clinically studied OTC option
- Viviscal - Has decent clinical trials behind it, particularly for women
- Biotin supplements - Only helpful if you're actually biotin-deficient (most people aren't)
Realistic expectation: Modest improvement over 3-6 months, works best for stress-related or nutritional hair loss
When You Likely Need Prescription Treatment
- Pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia) - the most common type
- Alopecia areata
- Thyroid or hormonal causes
Proven prescription options:
- Minoxidil (also available OTC as Rogaine) - genuinely effective
- Finasteride (men) or spironolactone (women) - require prescriptions
- Hims/Hers or Keeps - telehealth platforms that make prescriptions convenient and affordable
My Recommendation
Start with a dermatologist to identify the cause. Supplements alone rarely fix pattern baldness, but they won't hurt if you're also doing prescribed treatment.