Is Maca Good for Hair Growth? The Honest Answer
Is maca good for hair growth? On the current evidence, no. There are no human studies measuring hair outcomes in people taking maca, and the hormone balancing claim it usually rests on is not well supported either. Maca is a perfectly decent nutritious root, and it is unlikely to do you harm, but if you are buying it specifically for your hair you are buying a hope rather than a finding.
Key takeaways
- The direct answer to is maca good for hair growth is that no human study has ever measured hair outcomes in people taking it.
- The hormone balancing claim underneath the hair claim is itself shaky. Better quality trials have generally not found consistent hormonal changes.
- Maca is safe enough as a food and well tolerated as a supplement, so the cost of trying it is money and time rather than risk.
- Iron, ferritin, vitamin D, zinc and protein are the nutrients with genuine evidence, and only when you are actually low. A blood test beats guessing.
- Work out whether you have breakage, shedding or hair loss first. They have different causes and only one of them is a nutrition question at all.
What is maca, and why did it become a hair supplement?
Maca is Lepidium meyenii, a root vegetable in the brassica family, grown high in the Peruvian Andes and eaten there as a staple food for centuries. Dried and powdered, it has a malty flavour and turns up in smoothies, capsules and blends.
Its reputation in the West was built on sexual function and energy rather than hair. From there it acquired the label adaptogen, a marketing term rather than a clinical category, and then the broader claim that it balances hormones. Hair was tacked on at the end of that chain of reasoning: if hair loss is often hormonal, and maca balances hormones, then maca must help hair. Each link in that chain is weaker than the last, and the final one has never been tested.
That is worth saying plainly, because it is the whole story. Nobody set out to study maca and hair and found something promising. The claim was inferred, then repeated until it sounded established.
So is maca good for hair growth, according to the research?
There is no clinical trial measuring hair density, hair diameter, shedding rate or growth rate in people taking maca. Not a positive one, not a negative one. The category is empty. Anyone telling you the research supports it is describing studies that do not exist.
What does exist is a modest literature on maca and sexual function, some of it favourable, most of it small and of limited quality, and a body of work on its nutritional composition. Neither tells you anything about follicles.
An honest look at the claim chain matters more than the individual studies, so here it is laid out.
| Claim made for maca | What the evidence actually supports | Relevance to hair |
|---|---|---|
| Balances hormones | Trials have generally not found consistent changes in sex hormone levels | None established |
| Improves energy and libido | Some small trials report subjective improvement, the evidence base is limited and of modest quality | Indirect at best |
| Rich in nutrients | True as a food. A typical supplement serving is a very small part of daily intake | Marginal unless the diet is poor |
| Reduces stress | Sometimes described as an adaptogen, a term with no agreed clinical definition | Not demonstrated |
| Thickens hair | No human studies measuring hair outcomes | Unsupported |
For a fuller walk through the studies themselves, our companion article on maca for hair growth and what the evidence really shows goes through the trials in more detail. This page is about the practical decision: whether to spend money on it, and what to do instead.
Absence of evidence, honestly stated
No studies does not prove maca does nothing. It means nobody has looked. That is a reason not to spend money on the claim, not proof that the claim is false. We would rather tell you that than pretend to a certainty we do not have.
Is maca safe, even if it is not effective?
Broadly yes. It has a long history of use as a food, and the amounts in commercial supplements are generally well tolerated. Some people report mild digestive upset when they start.
Two caveats matter. Supplements in the UK are regulated as food, not as medicines, so the strength and purity of what is in the capsule is not verified the way it would be for a medicine. And maca is a brassica, which means it contains goitrogens, compounds relevant to thyroid function in large amounts. If you have a thyroid condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are managing a hormone sensitive condition, check with a GP or pharmacist before you start.
Which nutrients genuinely affect hair?
This is the useful part of the question, and the answer is well established. Hair is metabolically expensive and non essential, so the body deprioritises it early when something is short.
Iron and ferritin. Low iron stores are one of the most common correctable findings in women with increased shedding. Ferritin is the storage marker, and it can be low while a standard full blood count still looks normal, which is why it is worth asking for specifically.
Protein and calories. Hair is made of keratin. Sustained under eating, and crash dieting in particular, is a reliable way to push a large number of follicles into the resting phase at once.
Vitamin D and zinc. Both are associated with hair changes when someone is genuinely deficient. Correcting a real shortfall helps. Adding more on top of an adequate level does not.
The pattern is consistent: fixing a genuine shortfall helps, topping up an adequate diet does not. That is why the honest answer to is maca good for hair growth matters less than whether anything is actually missing from your diet in the first place.
Two nutrients to be careful with
Selenium and vitamin A are both associated with increased hair shedding when taken in excess. If you are stacking several supplements, check you are not doubling up on either.
Get a discount on the thinning hair range
Join the Watermans mailing list and we will email a discount code straight to your inbox, so you can try the thinning hair range for less. Vegan, made in the UK, over 5 million bottles sold since 2012.
Is it hair loss, hair shedding or hair breakage?
Before spending anything on a supplement, work out which of these you have. They look similar in the mirror and have almost nothing in common underneath.
Hair shedding is whole hairs leaving the scalp with a small white bulb at the root end. Fifty to a hundred a day is normal. A sudden increase two to three months after illness, surgery, childbirth, a crash diet or serious stress is usually telogen effluvium, and it generally settles on its own once the trigger has passed. Nutrition is genuinely relevant here, which is the only place a supplement conversation makes sense. Our guide to what causes telogen effluvium, its timeline and recovery covers it properly.
Hair loss is follicular. The follicles gradually miniaturise over years and produce finer, shorter hairs, showing up as a widening parting or a receding hairline rather than as a sudden increase in hairs on the pillow. This is inherited and progressive, and no supplement addresses it. See what triggers androgenic alopecia for what actually drives it, and speak to a GP early, because the options that exist work better before a lot of density has gone.
Hair breakage is the fibre snapping along its length, leaving short pieces of uneven length, split ends and a halo of shorter hairs. It is mechanical and chemical damage: heat, bleach, tight styles, brushing wet hair. Nothing you swallow fixes it, and it is often the real problem when someone says their hair will not grow past a certain length. The hair is growing. It is snapping off at the same rate. Is hair loss normal for a woman is a useful sense check if you are unsure which of the three you are looking at.
What should you do instead?
If your shedding has genuinely increased, ask your GP for bloods including ferritin, vitamin D and thyroid function. That single step is worth more than any supplement, because it either finds something correctable or rules it out.
Eat enough. Protein at each meal, and enough calories overall. This sounds too simple to matter and it is the most common finding behind diet related shedding.
Then reduce the damage on the way out. Length is kept, not just grown, and most people lose more to breakage than they realise. Lower the heat, protect before styling, and stop brushing hair when it is soaking wet. Seven everyday habits that reduce breakage is the practical version of that.
Where do hair supplements and products honestly fit?
A hair supplement is worth having as nutritional insurance if your diet is genuinely patchy, and worth nothing as a substitute for finding out why your hair changed. We sell one, and that is exactly how we would describe it.
GrowPro® Hair Gummies, £22.95
Sugar free vegan gummies with biotin, zinc, MSM, bamboo silica and B vitamins. Nutrients that contribute to the maintenance of normal hair, as everyday nutritional cover. Not a substitute for a blood test if your shedding has changed.
View GrowPro® Hair GummiesOn the outside, the job is keeping the length you grow. A shampoo that cleans without stripping, and a conditioner that reduces the friction causing snapping, do more for visible length over six months than most supplements do.
Grow Me® Shampoo, £14.95
A sulphate free daily shampoo with biotin, caffeine, rosemary and niacinamide, formulated for a comfortable scalp and stronger looking strands. Vegan, made in the UK, over 5 million bottles sold since 2012.
View Grow Me® Shampoo
Condition Me® Conditioner, £13.95
A breakage defence conditioner that reduces the snapping that stops length being kept. The natural pairing with the shampoo above.
View Condition Me® Conditioner
Frequently asked questions
Is maca good for hair growth if you have no deficiency?
There is no good human evidence that it is. Maca is a nutritious root, but nothing in the published research shows it changes the hair cycle in people who are already reasonably well fed. If your bloods are normal and you eat a varied diet, maca is unlikely to be the missing piece.
How long would you have to take maca to see anything?
Hair grows roughly one centimetre a month, and any change in the hair cycle takes three to six months to become visible. That is the honest window for any nutritional change. It is also long enough that people often credit maca for a recovery that was happening anyway, which is exactly how supplement myths take hold.
Is maca safe to take?
Maca has been eaten as a food in Peru for centuries and is generally well tolerated as a supplement in the amounts sold commercially. That said, it is not regulated as a medicine in the UK, quality varies between brands, and anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on thyroid medication or managing a hormone sensitive condition should speak to a GP or pharmacist before starting it.
Does maca affect hormones?
The popular claim is that it balances hormones. The better quality studies have generally not found consistent changes to sex hormone levels in people taking maca. Some trials report subjective improvements in wellbeing or libido without a matching hormonal shift, which suggests the effect is not the hormonal one the marketing implies.
Is maca good for hair growth in men specifically?
There is no evidence that it is. Male pattern hair loss is driven by an inherited sensitivity of the follicles to androgens, and a root vegetable powder does not change that inherited sensitivity. Men noticing a receding hairline or thinning crown will get far more from an early conversation with a GP than from a supplement.
What nutrients actually matter for hair?
Iron, ferritin, vitamin D, zinc, protein and overall calorie intake are the ones with real evidence behind them, and the effect appears when someone is genuinely low rather than as a bonus on top of an adequate diet. Low ferritin in particular is a common and correctable finding in women with increased shedding, which is why a blood test beats guessing.
Should I take maca alongside other hair supplements?
Stacking supplements makes it impossible to know what, if anything, helped, and some nutrients are genuinely risky in excess. Selenium and vitamin A are the two to watch, because too much of either is associated with hair shedding rather than improvement. More is not better.
If maca is not the answer, what is?
For most people, unglamorous things: enough protein and calories, treating any diagnosed iron or vitamin D shortfall under a GP, reducing heat and tension damage, and a shampoo and conditioner that limit breakage so the length you grow is actually kept.
The short version
Is maca good for hair growth? There is no evidence that it is, because nobody has studied it for that, and the hormone balancing claim underneath it does not hold up well either. It is safe enough and cheap enough that trying it is a low risk decision, but it is a hope rather than a plan. The things that genuinely move the needle are less interesting: find out whether you are actually low in iron, vitamin D or zinc, eat enough protein, work out whether you are dealing with breakage, shedding or hair loss, and look after the length you already have. Do those, and whether you also take maca stops mattering very much.
Watermans products are 100% cosmetic and do not treat medical hair loss. Individual results may vary. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet or for medical advice. This article is general information and is not medical advice. Speak to your GP or a pharmacist about any concern with your health or your scalp.
Sources & References
- Shin BC et al., Maca (L. meyenii) for improving sexual function: a systematic review, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2010, on the limited size and quality of the maca trial evidence.
- Almohanna HM et al., The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Hair Loss: A Review, Dermatology and Therapy, 2019, on which nutrients have evidence behind them and the risks of excess selenium and vitamin A.
- Guo EL, Katta R, Diet and hair loss: effects of nutrient deficiency and supplement use, Dermatology Practical and Conceptual, 2017, on iron, ferritin and the effect of restrictive dieting on the hair cycle.
- NHS, Vitamins and minerals, on recommended intakes and the upper limits worth respecting.
- NHS, Hair loss, on when a change in your hair warrants seeing a GP.
