The Best Hair Growth Serums for Long, Strong Hair (2024)

Hair rarely stays the same, shifting in its thickness and texture with time, amid stress, and through health changes like pregnancy and menopause. The best hair growth serum can help; it won’t necessarily restore your hair to normalcy, but rather establish a foundation that spurs hair growth, thus helping offset the effects of thinning and shedding.

Our top hair growth serum picks

• Best with minoxidil: Hims Alcohol-free Minoxidil Serum, £21
• Best silicone-free: Vegamour Gro Revitalizing Hair Serum, £60
• Best for damaged hair: Kérastase Genesis Fortifiant Hair Serum, £47 £36.60
• Best with peptides : The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density, £20.80
• Best for greys: Living Proof Scalp Care Density Serum, £54
• Best for an irritated scalp: The Steam Bar Scalp Serum, £44

But finding the right formula isn’t a matter of simply choosing a product off the shelf and hoping that it works. First, it helps to understand what’s causing your hair changes. “I encourage everyone with a concern for hair thinning or shedding to consult with a health-care provider first,” says Paradi Mirmirani, MD, a board-certified dermatologist who specialises in hair disorders with Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo, CA.

That’s because factors like genetics, your nutrition, stress and anxiety, and changes in your hormones, metabolism, or medications can all contribute to thinning hair. And the cause of your hair loss can help you determine the right ingredients for you – and, with that, the best hair growth serum. Therefore, “the best guidance is to ask questions and rely on trusted sources for scientific evidence and advice that is tailored to your individual need,” she instructs. With that in mind, consider these the serums worth trying to achieve your unique hair goals.

In this article

• What is a hair growth serum?
• What to look for in a hair growth serum
• What’s the difference between a serum and a supplement
• Expert tips to apply hair growth serums
• Do hair growth serums really work?
• Meet the experts

Best clinical: E-50 Exosomes For Hair

• Why we love it: Powered by exosomes (the latest longevity biohack loved by the celebrity set) E-50’s serum works by kickstarting your follicles’ natural growth and repair processes. The exosomes, which are small vesicles containing peptides, growth factors and DNA, are delivered deep into the dermis where they reinvigorate damaged and ageing cells. “My hairline has benefitted massively from this topical solution, with damaged, thinner areas well restored. Best administered in clinic by medical professionals, it is pricey, but worth the results – namely, denser edges – I’ve noticed in as little as 8 weeks.” – Tracy Achonwa, beauty writer
• Key ingredients: salmon-derived exosomes, peptides, lipids
• Best for: effective scalp healing and hair restoration
• Size: 5ml ampoules

Best with minoxidil: Hims Minoxidil Serum

• Why we love it: Minoxidil is the sole active ingredient approved by the FDA to support hair growth, but it often comes in a less-than-elegant format, like a foam. That’s not the case with this topical solution by Hims, which absorbs quickly into the scalp and extends the hair’s natural growth cycle. What’s more, each serum’s compositon is tailored to your hair’s specific needs through a medical questionnaire on the Hims site. Worth noting: It can’t be used while you’re breastfeeding or pregnant, so it might not be an option for postpartum hair loss.
• Key ingredients: Minoxidil
• Best for: pattern baldness
• Size: 60ml

Best for an irritated scalp: The Steam Bar Scalp Serum

• Why we love it: Want to grow longer hair? Experts advise aiming for a healthy scalp. The Steam Bar’s formula is designed to target irritation, balance the microbiome and ease conditions like sebhorreic dermatitis, providing optimal scalp conditions for growth. Developed with trichologists, its blend of vegan ingredients is gentle enough for daily use and incredibly effective at healing severe dandruff scales thanks to Brazilian peppertree.
• Key ingredients: inulin, magnesium carboxymethyl beta-glucan, Schinus Terebinthifolius (Brazilian Peppertree) seed extract
• Best for: irritated scalp
• Size: 50ml

Best for bald patches: UKLASH Hair Growth Serum

• Why we love it: With impressive before and afters for bald spots and thinning, it’s easy to see why UKLASH’s new serum has been selling fast since it launched. Its blend of turmeric, pea extract and lemon fruit water work to reduce scalp inflammation and flaking, while also conditioning strands for less hair breakage overall. “Super soothing, this serum has a refreshing feel on the scalp and the kind of consistency that works well for daily application. It’s water based, so absorbs nicely and leaves no greasy residue as it gets to work.” – Tracy Achonwa, beauty writer
• Key ingredients: turmeric, phytic acid, pea sprout extract
• Best for: All hair types
• Size: 30ml

Best silicone-free: Vegamour Gro Revitalising Hair Serum

• Why we love it: Free of silicones yet brimming with plant extracts, this water-based formula uses phytoactives like turmeric to increase the look of hair density and caffeine to stimulate the scalp. Although it contains biotin (often derived from animal sources), the formula is still vegan and cruelty-free – and helps deliver the thicker-looking hair in a matter of months.
• Key ingredients: turmeric, biotin, caffeine
• Best for: thinning hair
• Size: 30ml

Best for damaged hair: Kerastase Genesis Fortifiant Hair Serum

• Why we love it: Regular washing, brushing, and styling can take a toll on hair, which is where this Kerastase formula intends to help. The silicone-free serum pairs science-backed peptides like arginine with botanicals like ginger root extract and caffeine to help reduce mechanical damage to hair. Also worth noting is the fragrance, which has a woody yet refreshing feel thanks to notes of lavender, bergamot, and vetiver.
• Key ingredients: ginger root extract, arginine, caffeine
• Best for: thinning or breakage-prone hair
• Size: 90ml

Best for dry hair: Divi Scalp Serum

• Why we love it: With an ingredient list that could rival a face serum, this formula brings together a lineup of ingredients meant to nourish the scalp – and in doing so, encourage hair growth and density. A blend of copper peptides, caffeine, and rosemary oil encourages healthy growth, while hyaluronic acid, amino acids, and vitamin E supply moisture.
• Key Ingredients: copper tripeptide-1, hyaluronic acid, caffeine
• Best for: thinning hair, dry scalps, or those with tight hairstyles
• Size: 30ml

Best with peptides: The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum For Hair Density

• Why we love it: Peptides are often used in skin care to encourage collagen and elastin production, but applied to your scalp, they can also support hair health and lend a thicker, fuller appearance. This formula harnesses an array of proprietary peptides to do just that, as well as caffeine to stimulate circulation on the scalp, thus delivering more nutrients to the roots.
• Key ingredients: Caffeine, peptides, green tea extract, Redensyl
• Best for: All hair types
• Size: 60ml

Best for greys: Living Proof Scalp Care Density Serum

• Why we love it: No matter how well you may care for your hair, time takes a toll in the form of thinning and greying. This scalp serum intends to address both, with a proprietary complex that minimises the appearance of greys alongside peptides, phytonutrients, and other cutting-edge actives that simultaneously boost hair density. Together, they deliver the hair of your youth in a matter of months.
• Key ingredients: Amino acids, amaranth peptides, pea sprout extract
• Best for: age-related hair loss and greying
• Size: 50ml

Best for age-related thinning: Act+Acre Cold Processed Stem Cell Scalp Serum

• Why we love it: Born of a desire to support scalp health, Act+Acre is the brainchild of trichologist Helen Reavey, whose celebrity clients include Tilda Swinton and Alicia Keys. The brand’s stem cell-powered scalp serum connects the dots even more clearly between scalp health and thick hair. It uses apple stem cells extracted through a cold-pressing process—the better to retain its nutrients—as well as aloe vera and bamboo extract to bolster the scalp's skin barrier and microbiome, thus restoring (and maintaining) the hair growth cycle.
• Key ingredients: 2 per cent apple stem cells, aloe vera, bamboo extract
• Best for: Mildly thinning hair
• Size: 65 ml

Best for temporary hair thinning: René Furterer Triphasic Reactional Concentrated Serum

• Why we love it: Some forms of hair loss, such as those related to acute stress or postpartum hormones, are temporary – but still worthy of treatment. This serum uses plant-based extracts, such as a lotus complex and Brazilian ginseng extract, to restore hair to its anagen, or growth, phase. It has an extra advantage in terms of convenience, too: Each of the 12 ampoules in this set is intended to be applied just once a week for three months.
• Key ingredients: Lotus minerals, pfaffia extract, lemon essential oil
• Best for: Sudden or temporary hair thinning
• Size: 12 0.16 oz. vials

Best wash-out treatment: The Nue Co. Supa Thick Treatment

• Why we love it: This is one of the few serums that works as a pre-shampoo treatment, as it needs to be washed out after 20 minutes. The benefit, however, is that it only needs to be used two or three times a week to offer the results, such as a soothed, less flaky scalp and healthy hair growth. It deploys botanical oils like rosemary leaf and peppermint to encourage blood flow (and thus nutrients) to the hair follicles, while a blend of probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics bolster the scalp’s microbiome.
• Key ingredients: Larix wood extract, camellia extract, rosemary leaf oil
• Best for: imbalanced scalp
• Size: 100 ml

Best hair oil: Ranavat Might Majesty Fortifying Hair Serum

• Why we love it: For those seeking shine alongside strength, this pre-shampoo treatment draws from the Ayurvedic tradition of hair oiling, delivering moisture and a glossy finish with a blend of sunflower seed and jasmine oils. (The latter lends a light floral fragrance, too.) Suspended in this oil is amla extract, a potent antioxidant that has long been used in India to soften and protect hair –giving this serum the ability to both minimise shedding and encourage growth.
• Key ingredients: Amla extract, sunflower oil, jasmine oil
• Best for: Dry hair
• Size: 50ml

What is a hair growth serum?

Like that for your scalp, a hair growth serum is a formula that, generally speaking, offers a high concentration of ingredients, such as vitamins, botanical extracts, and essential oils, with the purpose of improving the appearance, strength, and thickness of hair, according to Dr. Christine Shaver, MD, a board-certified dermatologist who specialises in hair restoration at Bernstein Medical Center in New York. You can also find hair growth serums that contain active ingredients that have been FDA-approved to promote hair growth, like minoxidil.

Depending on their formulation and how often you use them, “hair growth serums can provide a variety of benefits, from improving the healthy appearance of hair to enhancing hair growth,” says Dr. Shaver, who notes that it’s critical to choose a formula that targets your unique hair goals.

What to look for in a hair growth serum

First, consider your hair needs. For instance, if your hair tends to be dry, then “look for serums that contain oils to help hydrate the dry hair shaft,” says Dr. Shaver. Meanwhile, if you simply want better, faster hair growth, then she recommends looking for products with ingredients that have been clinically proven to do just that – and have scientific data that support their use.