I Tested the Nutrafol Women’s Hair Growth Supplement and Saw Results In 3 Months

Like many women, my hair loss has been the result of a perfect storm of events. In June 2019, I delivered my second daughter and within a couple of months, I was experiencing postpartum hair shedding. Then, in early 2020, I stopped taking birth control, resulting in hormonal changes in my body that triggered more hair loss. Not long after, I began experiencing immense stress due to the pandemic and social and political events through the end of the year. And between 2021 and early 2023, I was navigating an infuriatingly long process of getting my daughter an autism diagnosis and treatment, so the stress — and the hair shedding — worsened. 

While hair loss in people assigned male at birth is a well-known concern, hair loss in people assigned female at birth is discussed far less. But, it’s estimated that more than 50 percent of people assigned female at birth will experience hair loss at some point in their lives, so there is certainly a need for accessible treatments. Hair loss or shedding in women can happen for several reasons, including weight loss, childbirth, stress, genetics, damage from heated hair tools and chemical processing, and a range of illnesses.

Over the last two years, I tried a variety of supplements and products promising to strengthen my hair and encourage regrowth, but all of them fell short. Then, in April 2023, I decided to try out Nutrafol’s Women’s Hair Growth Supplement. Since it can take up to six months to see noticeable hair growth, I wanted to see what difference, if any, the Nutrafol supplement made at the halfway point (three months). Admittedly, I wasn’t overly optimistic that this would work, given my experience with over-the-counter treatments, but after three months of daily supplements, I am finally feeling hopeful because I’ve started seeing results. 

What Is Nutrafol?

Nutrafol is a supplement company that offers a variety of non-prescription products formulated to stimulate hair growth.

Since much of what leads to hair shedding and loss is related to hormones, Nutrafol’s products are categorized as binary men's or women's formulas. At this time, there are only two products for people assigned male at birth — a supplement and a hair serum — but there are four formulas for people assigned female at birth that I could choose from: 

• Women
• Women’s Vegan
• Women’s Balance
• Postpartum
  

Who Is Nutrafol Women's Hair Growth Supplement For?

Nutrafol has different products for different people, but the company says the Women's Hair Loss supplement I used is for people assigned female at birth who are younger than 45 and are not currently pregnant or breastfeeding (although, there is a product available for postpartum women)

Several peer-reviewed Nutrafol studies have shown that it does help with hair regrowth, those who saw the most positive effects had minimal hair loss. The website also notes that it's helpful for people like me who've been dealing with hair loss and shedding due to stress and hormone changes.

Nutrafol is not for people with more severe hair loss, and will likely not give you results that you might see from hair transplant surgery.

The original hair loss formula is also not vegan, but there is a vegan formula available if you are a vegan and want to try it.

Does Nutrafol Women's Hair Growth Supplement Work?

On its website, Nutrafol says its products are dermatologist-recommended and have been included in 11 clinical studies and peer-reviewed publications. In its letter to the FDA and FTC, Truth in Advertising argued that this claim is misleading because the four trials cited were paid for and performed by Nutrafol and the results were limited.

Still, several customer reviews on the brand's website claim the product is effective at reducing shedding, stimulating new hair growth, and improving thickness and volume. After just three months of testing, I have already begun to see less shedding and encouraging signs of new hair growth.

Sarah Anzlovar, MS, RDN, LDN says that there's "little to no evidence to support the use of most of the ingredients in Nutrafol for hair growth, especially the herbs."  

Dr. Anzlovar notes that some of the ingredients in Nutrafol supplements, like ashwagandha and horsetail may not be safe for use long-term. "Both of these ingredients, as well as other ingredients in the mix, can interact with common medications like diabetes medications, blood pressure medications, and blood thinners," she says. "They're also not safe for anyone with diabetes, kidney disease, or gout."

How I Ordered My Nutrafol Supplements

You can purchase authentic Nutrafol products from three verified retailers:

• nutrafol.com
• sephora.com
• amazon.com 

If you choose to go through Sephora or Amazon, you can buy products one at a time at a fixed price or sign up for auto-refill programs for a discount (ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent off).  Because I went to the Nutrafol website, though, I had the option to take a quiz to get a recommendation for which of the four products (Women, Women’s Vegan, Women’s Balance, or Postpartum) would be best for me before I placed my order. 

Looking at the product options for people assigned female at birth, the only fit for me was the standard Women’s formula, but I still took the quiz out of curiosity. It took under three minutes and assessed me in all six areas that the supplements are supposed to address (hormones, stress, lifestyle, metabolism, nutrition, and aging) — then it made the recommendation, which was the product I’d expected. I wasn’t pushed to purchase any of the recommended products after taking the quiz; I still had the option to just choose the formula that I thought was best for me (which was the same one that the quiz recommended). 

For this article, InStyle reimbursed me for the cost of the Nutrafol subscription. Even though the subscription is pricey, if I continue to see hair growth I would pay out of my own pocket to continue taking the supplement once the six-month testing period has ended.

When it comes to spending money, I don’t mind investing in products that work or will last — like a really good pair of jeans or a high-end hairdryer — but otherwise, I tend to have a “the cheaper, the better” attitude. I appreciated that in addition to a discount when you sign up for an auto-fill plan, Nutrafol also offers free consultations with a naturopathic doctor (a perk I haven’t taken advantage of yet). You can also pause or cancel the subscription at any time after sign-up. 

Nutrafol does give you the option of purchasing add-ons with your supplement subscription. However, I have not tried any of the add-ons; I wanted to see if the standard supplement alone would be enough to help my situation because I would obviously rather not spend more money than I have to.

Truth be told, I think the add-ons are intriguing, but I doubt I’d go the extra step in trying one unless I knew for certain there was a legitimate need, such as a blood test showing high levels of cortisol. I don’t like putting loads of supplements into my body — no matter how “natural” the ingredients — so I’d probably consult with a dermatologist before I’d add another supplement to the mix.

My Experience Using the Nutrafol Women's Hair Growth Supplement

My three-month Nutrafol supply was delivered six days after I placed my order.

I received one month’s worth of pills in a glass jar, which was packaged in a small cardboard box, as well as two refill packs in thick, sealed plastic bags. All three products were tightly packed in a compact shipping box and there didn’t appear to be any damage. The subsequent months came in pouches that I was able to pour into the jar once I had finished the prior month’s supply. I was a little disappointed because even though the refill pouches are made from “previously recycled plastic” they are not recyclable; as Nutrafol says on its FAQ page, “most plastic cannot be recycled twice.” 

Taking the Pills

Upon opening the jar with my first month’s supply, I was a bit shocked by how large the pills were — each is around three-quarters of an inch long (about the size of a quarter).

I didn’t see anything on the label that said it was okay to split the dosing up, such as two pills in the morning and then the other two in the afternoon, so I just accepted that I’d have to hype myself up each day (this is, of course, a me-problem, but also a good FYI to anyone else who hates taking pills like I do). 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the supplements didn’t have a strong odor. A lot of natural supplements have a distinct smell, so I braced myself for Nutrafol to be the same. It was nice opening up the container each day without that typical musty odor wafting out (gross).  

I take multivitamins and ADHD medications in the morning, so I didn’t want to add Nutrafol in the mix and risk feeling very, very nauseous. So I decided to take the supplements around lunchtime. Unfortunately, I just don’t have a very good daily lunchtime routine, so I’d randomly remember around 3 p.m. and have to find a snack to take them with since they need to be taken with food. As long as I had food in my stomach when taking them, though, I didn’t feel any negative side effects from the supplements (if I took them on an empty stomach, I would feel queasy).

When I Started to See Results

After about a month I noticed I was shedding less hair, and about six weeks in, my hair stylist told me she was noticing tiny new hairs popping up, a sign of new growth. 

I was honestly in a bit of disbelief that this was the result of Nutrafol. I kept trying to find other explanations, because after all of the money I’d poured into hair growth products over the last two years, it was really hard for me trust that something was actually working. 

By the end of my third month, I could visibly see new growth along my hairline, and my hair stylist showed me how many tiny hairs were sticking out all around my head in areas I wouldn’t have thought to look for otherwise. She told me that new growth is particularly easy to spot after using a hair dryer because it sticks straight out and doesn’t like to lie flat. 

I could definitely spot the new hair once I knew what to look for. While I wish there had been more of a difference, I do think my hairline looks a little fuller than it did before I started Nutrafol. 

Fast Facts About Nutrafol

Customer Service

Nutrafol’s customer service left a lot to be desired. There is a chatbot on the website that can help with basic questions anytime. It can connect you to a service agent, but only if you initiate the chat between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, which isn’t exactly ideal for people who live in this time zone and work traditional business hours. The contact page does have an option to email customer service, too. 

It’s not listed on the “Contact Us” page so I ended up finding the number through Nutrafol’s Facebook page. Once I got through the phone line, it was pretty easy (I didn’t have to sit through countless menus to speak to someone) and the representative was very kind and helpful when I asked for account details. Still, it’s disappointing that the number isn’t easier to find and that the chat feature’s hours are so limited. 

Cancelling An Auto-Fill Subscription

After my initial three-month package was delivered, I went into the system to see how to cancel my membership — not because I anticipated the pills wouldn’t work or because I wanted to cancel just yet, but because if they didn’t work I knew I’d forget to cancel the subscription otherwise (I’ve fallen victim to the auto-renew model more times than I care to admit). I was happy to see that it was really easy to stop. I didn’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops or answer several pop-up questions. Plus I learned that if and when I cancel the subscription, it would not deactivate my account page, either, so I can go in at any time and start it back up if I’d like. 

Returns

I didn’t end up returning any of my product, but it’s worth noting that Nutrafol does have a 30-day refund window. If for some reason you decide the supplements aren’t for you, you can return them for a refund within 30 days of delivery, which is really helpful if you purchase multiple months upfront and don’t want to lose all of the money you invested. 

Company Reputation

Thousands of customers, including some celebrities, have praised Nutrafol’s products, but the brand is not without a little bad press. In April 2023, the nonprofit organization Truth in Advertising filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claiming the company uses deceptive marketing by calling its products “clinically proven.” 

The reason Truth in Advertising was able to take action is that Nutrafol is considered a dietary supplement, which does not require FDA approval; however, FDA approval is needed in order to make certain health claims. So, while what Nutrafol claims its product can do may be true, there are legalities around the language the company can use in its marketing as a dietary supplement without FDA approval. 

Pros and Cons

After using Nutrafol for three months (halfway through my testing experience) here are my pros and cons for the service. 

My Final Thoughts

Since all of the information on Nutrafol’s site indicated that it would take three to six months to see results, I assumed that if I did see any change, it would be minimal. Plus, after trying so many other products in the years and months leading up to testing Nutrafol’s supplements, my expectations were very low.

Still, I can’t ignore how many pills are required in order to see results. To me, four large pills per day is a lot for an OTC treatment (also, I’ve determined that it’s impossible to find a compact way to pack seven days' worth of these pills plus all of my other daily medications into a travel bag for vacation).

I also don’t know how sustainable the price tag is. Not to mention, assuming the supplement is a total success, what happens if I stop taking it? 

Even with my reservations and long-term questions, at the end of three months, I can confidently say that I’d feel comfortable recommending Nutrafol to someone who was looking for an over-the-counter way to address hair shedding or loss. My only caveat is that, given its price point, I would be mindful and upfront about the cost when giving the recommendation. And, honestly, if I’m feeling this assured about the product at the mid-way point in the trial, I can hardly wait to see the regrowth progress at the six-month mark. 

Nutrafol also offers a hair growth supplement designed for people assigned female at birth over 45+ (We are currently testing this, but customer reviews on the brand website are positive.)