1Shedding can have several causes.
Shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal. Excess shedding often follows stress, illness, surgery, childbirth or weight loss, and tends to show up a few months after the event.1 Female pattern hair loss, which often begins in the 40s, 50s or 60s, usually shows up as a widening part.2
2A supplement can't diagnose the reason.
Effective treatment starts with finding the cause, which may take an exam or blood work.4 No supplement, including this one, can tell you why your hair is changing.
3Amounts and forms matter.
Two products with the same ingredient names can contain very different amounts and extract forms. The FDA doesn't approve supplements for safety or effectiveness before they're sold, so reading the label is up to you.6
4Consistency matters when you evaluate.
Hair changes slowly. Changing several products at once, or judging after a couple of weeks, makes it almost impossible to know what's doing what.
5Sudden or unexplained changes deserve a professional.
If shedding is sudden, patchy, comes with scalp symptoms, or worries you, see a board-certified dermatologist. The AAD notes that treatment tends to work best when it starts early.2
6Supplements don't replace treatment.
If you've been diagnosed with a condition or prescribed a treatment, this routine isn't a substitute. Talk to your clinician before adding or stopping anything.
7Saw palmetto needs specific caution.
Saw palmetto may be unsafe during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Reported side effects are usually mild, such as digestive upset, dizziness or headache. Some herbs interact with medicines, so check with your provider first if you take any medication, especially hormonal medication like birth control or hormone therapy.5