Hi people, what's been on?

Here's a question I've been asked so many times and the answer is usually riddled with bias, facts , myths and legends.

There are a lot of companies coming out with hair growth pills and depending on who you ask, you might get the
'It absolutely works'
'It's a sham'
'I don't know'

Let me get some things out of the way.

1. I've never used any hair growing pills so I don't have the personal experience to say if it grows hair or not and I'll give you my reasons why later.
2. I have no personal interest in the outcome of this post.
3. This post is written solely based on my conclusions after researching on the topic, final decisions lie with you.

So,

What are hair growth pills?

Hair growth pills are dietary supplements that is being marketed to the masses for hair growth!  These pills claim to strengthen hair, provide a healthier scalp, help with the elasticity of hair, and grow hair fast.

How do they work?

According to one hair supplement brand, hair pills ' works to nourish hair follicles, prevent hair loss, and speed up hair growth. They also work to improve the overall health of your hair and prevent breakage. They stimulate the circulation in the scalp, thus improving the overall hair quality. By stimulating blood flow in the scalp, hair follicles become stronger, cutting down on hair breakage, hair loss, and thinning'.
Another one says it 'is formulated with hair-specific nutrients to nourish your hair from the INSIDE OUT and promote faster growing, longer, thicker, stronger, and more vibrant hair'.

What do they contain?

What's the big deal?

I'll first start with this picture explaining hair growth.


Put simply, imagine your hair is a plant. The scalp is the soil, the bulb is the root and the hair strand is the plant growing out.
Remember how in secondary school we were taught the necessary minerals needed for a plant to grow big and strong? Well our hair needs similar minerals and vitamins to grow strong and long. Just the way a plant starved of the necessary nutrients grows weakly with yellowing leaves, the hair strands starved of necessary nutrients grows out weakly.

It has been observed that there are vitamins and minerals necessary for the formation of protein fibres such as keratin (which your hair/nails are made of) and collagen (which your skin is made of).
Let's talk about keratin since this is about hair.
Keratins have large amounts of the sulphur -containing amino acid cysteine, required for strength and rigidity of hair . Human hair contains approximately 14% cysteine.