The Link Between Taking Probiotics and Healthy Hair Growth

I was scrolling through reviews for a liquid hair supplement the other day.  I then came across a comment that immediately caught my attention.  The reviewer shared her disdain for the product. She then went on to say that taking probiotics and other vitamins gave her better results.

Probiotics? What do probiotics have to do with healthy hair growth?  At first, I thought this woman was sadly mistaken. But then I did some digging and realized that probiotics might play a major role in healthy, shiny hair growth.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered the connections between a healthy gut and thriving hair.  The two are very closely related in several ways.

Before I go into detail, I want to remind you how crucial it is that we have a healthy gut biome.  We have about as many cells in our gut as the rest of our entire bodies.  This part of our health cannot be ignored.  Optimal health can't be obtained without a strong focus on healthy gut bacteria.

While searching for the truth, I found a study that determined feeding probiotics to older rats gave them "a glow of health."  These changes produced characteristics typically found in younger mice during their peak.  One of the most obvious side effects of probiotic supplementation in older mice was the growth of "luxuriant fur."  This was in obvious contrast to the control group of elder mice who didn't receive supplementation.  Somehow, probiotics produced shiny, healthy fur in these rodents.  The difference made by taking probiotics is like night and day.  Take a look.

Not only did their hair get shiny, their skin actually thickened as well.  A healthy gut biome also lead "robust hair growth" in mice of both genders. 

Why was this happening?

The reason why eating probiotic yogurt made such drastic changes is because probiotics stimulated their hairs to enter the anagen phase of the hair cycle.  This is the phase where the hair strands are growing and happy.  That's exciting news, but do the same benefits translate to humans as well?

When I did a little digging, I found a testimony on a forum where the person talked about their experience taking probiotics for acne.

"It seems that when I take probiotics I get a lot of vellus hairs growing on my temples where there was no hair before. I haven’t been able to find any info on how probiotics could be related to hair regrowth. Although my hairloss isn’t caused by the usual reasons, it was caused by a drug called Accutane."

In some of the responses, a huge piece of information was revealed regarding the link between gut bacteria and hair growth.  Probiotics produce biotin. Yes, the same biotin that we purchase to stimulate growth is produced naturally in our bodies with the help of probiotics.  Our friendly bacteria also produce folate (folic acid), vitamin B12, and panthenol (B5) just to name a few.  Each of these ingredients can be found in all of your favorite hair vitamins. 

When our gut bacteria is compromised, we potentially lose out on the natural production of these hair-healthy nutrients.  You might say to yourself, "no worries, I'll just take hair vitamins instead."  Yes, you can.....and you should.  But, if your gut isn't healthy, don't assume that your body will properly assimilate the nutrients.  If you want to maximize the absorption of all those wonderful hair vitamins you're swallowing, thee absolute best way to do it is to focus on improving the health of your gut.

A lot us don't even think about probiotics as a "healthy hair supplement" but it is.  Perhaps this is why that woman who left the Amazon review experienced such wonderful benefits.  She addressed the root cause.  If your diet hasn't been that great or you've taken antibiotics over the winter, loading up on probiotics should be your priority.  If you're currently working on your summer body, don't forget to include probiotics as part of the plan. 

Probiotics are the answer to everything.