Taurine for Hair Growth: Benefits, Uses & Effectiveness

There is a small amount of anecdotal evidence that taurine can be beneficial for hair loss.

In this article I’m going to review whether this is true and if you can use taurine yourself to slow down, or even completely stop and reverse and further thinning and receding of your hair.

What is Taurine?

Taurine is the body’s most abundant aminosulfonic acid, the organic compounds that combine to make up the body’s proteins.

The main component of your hair, as well as your skin and nails, is a protein called keratin—it’s what gives the hair strands their strength.

So by increasing your intake of taurine, you increase the amount of keratin and help to strengthen your hair.

As well as making hair stronger, taurine has a host of other benefits to prevent hair loss and promote all round better health.

It has been shown to decrease the level of cortisol, known as the stress hormone, in the body, causing a reduction in anxiety levels. Many of the causes of hair loss have been linked back to elevated anxiety and stress.

When you’re stressed, the capillaries in your body, and especially your scalp, shrink, leading to your hair follicles being denied the amount of blood they need to nourish them properly.

If the stress continues for long enough, the hair will weaken and eventually fall out.

The other damaging effects of increased stress levels, such as trouble sleeping, poor diet or drinking and smoking too much, can lead to further problems.

Taurine is also highly efficient in helping the liver and kidneys flush toxins from the scalp, removing excess sebum, as well as dead skin cells and DHT.

DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) attaches itself to a hair follicle’s androgen receptors, causing them to shrink and blocking the blood flow the follicle needs to survive.

Taurine is found in high concentrations in the heart as well and is essential in supporting a healthy cardiovascular system by delivering essential minerals to the scalp, such as calcium and magnesium.

Improve Your Diet to Increase Taurine ( & Reduce Hair Loss?)

Although taurine is produced naturally in the body, making it what’s known as a non-essential amino acid, your levels can lower due to the effects of stress or natural aging.

Changing your diet so that it includes plenty of taurine-rich foods can help redress the balance.

Foods with the highest levels of taurine include seafood such as mackerel, salmon, and crab, meats like beef and lamb (especially liver) as well as eggs and most dairy products.

Except sea algae, there’s no taurine in plants, so vegetarians and vegans need to monitor their levels and consider supplements if they’re not getting enough.

Taurine is also found in many energy drinks, which have been the focus of a lot of negative publicity recently. It’s important to stress that it’s the high doses of caffeine and sugar those drinks contain that are the cause of the negative side effects reported.

DHT – The Hair Follicle Assassin

Recently several studies from, among others, pharmaceutical giant L’Oreal, have concluded that taurine helps protect hair follicles from the effects of TGF-B1, a protein that causes them to shrink and leads to fibrosis.

TGF-B1 (or, transforming growth factor beta 1) is the main culprit in androgenetic alopecia.

The reason for hair loss in 95% of cases, androgenetic alopecia is caused by a combination of genetics and the male hormone DHT, and made worse by stress.

The research showed that taurine was absorbed by the hair bulb and acted as a shield on the follicle, preventing TGF-beta1 from being able to damage the hair.

Not only was taurine able to prevent hair loss as a result of TGF-B1, but a 2013 study at the University of Seoul, South Korea proved it also reduced the effects of stress as well.

Taurine Supplements For Hair Loss – Do They Work?

By knowing the cause of your hair loss, it becomes much easier to treat, so you must consult a doctor before trying any of the available hair loss or taurine remedies on the market.

Causing an oversupply of taurine by taking too much as a supplement puts you at risk of a number of health factors such as hypoglycemia, digestive problems, dehydration or brain and nervous system damage.

Conclusion

There have been several studies to prove that taurine might help a little bit in combatting hair loss and promoting hair growth by protecting the hair follicles from damage. It also has a great many other benefits for overall health.

Make sure your diet contains plenty of taurine-rich foods and if you’re considering starting a supplement program, consult with your doctor first and always follow dosage guidelines.