Hair honesty, from people with no serum to sell.
Most hair products promise growth. Two things have evidence. Here is the whole picture.
First, find the reason
Sudden shedding usually follows the body a few months behind a stressor: illness, crash dieting, childbirth, new medicines. That kind regrows on its own. Gradual thinning at the temples or crown is usually hereditary. And low iron or thyroid problems quietly thin hair too, which is why a blood test beats a shopping trip when hair falls fast.
What has real evidence
Two treatments, and neither is a shampoo: minoxidil applied to the scalp, and for men, finasteride from a doctor. Both take four to six months to show and work only while used. Everything else with evidence is unglamorous: enough protein, corrected iron, treated thyroid, and gentleness with heat and tight hairstyles.
What the aisle sells anyway
Biotin does nothing unless you are deficient, which is rare. Caffeine shampoos, growth gummies and collagen have marketing, not trials. Money spent there is better spent on the blood test, or on a dermatologist looking at your actual scalp: our photo review does exactly that in writing for $39.
For flakes and an itchy scalp
Dandruff is a scalp condition, not a hygiene problem, and shampoos with ketoconazole, zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide treat it. Leave it on the scalp two to three minutes before rinsing; that contact time is most of the trick.
See medicated shampoosCommon questions
How much hair loss is normal?
Does biotin help hair growth?
Can hair grow back after thinning?
Written by the AskDoc Medical Team. We take no money from any brand; picks are what doctors tell patients to look for.