Anabolic Health follows strict standards of editorial integrity to help you make health choices with confidence. Some of the products we feature are from our partners. Here’s how we make money.
One of the first things people notice when we first meet them is our hair. If your hair is barely there, it can have a pretty devastating effects on your self-esteem. So it's understandable that many people out there are on the lookout for great hair care products and tips such as using silica for hair growth.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good, and the good news is there are several ways now to naturally promote hair growth. Using silica for hair growth is one of the best supplements for that along with biotin.
Other silica health benefits include its anti-inflammatory action, improved cell repair, metabolism, and collagen synthesis. Because of all these mechanisms, silica can also help keep your skin and nails healthy.
With so many different silica supplements out there to choose from, we decided to give you a rundown of the absolute best.
A Quick Look at the Best Silica for Hair Growth
Here are five of the best silica supplements for hair growth on the market right now:
Cellfood Essential Silica Formula
This is a liquid silica formula with 25mg of element silicon and additional trace elements. It's known for being an excellent supplement if you want to see improvements in the effects on your skin and nails in as little as 12 days.
Swanson Horsetail (Natural Silica)
This is a horsetail extract-derived silica supplement that's loaded with essential minerals for hair and skin health.
Swanson Superior Herbs Bamboo Extract
This organic silica formulation boosts a 70% silica content which is fairly large. It is sourced from bamboo extract.
Solgar Oceanic Silica
This is a silica supplement with additional calcium to support bone health. This formulation is ideal for vegetarians.
Hubner Original Silica Gel
This is a colloidal gel formula with 2.8g silicic acid anhydride per 100mL, specifically meant to promote healthy hair, skin, nails, and connective tissue.
Reviews of the Best Best Silica Supplements for Hair Growth
Picture | Product | Brand | Ingredients | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cellfood |
| ||
 | Swanson Premium |
| ||
 | Swanson Superior Herbs |
| ||
 | Solgar |
| ||
 | Hubner |
|
This is a vegan formula that is also yeast-free, gluten-free, soy-free, alcohol-free, sugar-free, GMO-free, and thiaminase-free.
More importantly, it contains easy to absorb 25mg silicone per serving.
The Proprietary Silica Blend includes Deuterium Sulfate, Ionic Trace Mineral Blend, Trace Enzyme Blend, and Trace Amino Acid Blend. These additional trace elements can help strengthen your bones and increase your collagen production. This means that it is not only good for your hair but also for your cartilage, skin, nails, teeth and gums.
Things We Liked
- Additional trace elements for maximum health benefits
- Drinkable liquid form
- Does not require refrigeration
Things We Didn't Like
- Shaking the liquid before intake may not always help distribute its contents, which settle at the bottom of the bottle
- Contains relatively low dosages
- Most expensive among all products in review
This Swanson formula has an important natural silica source - horsetail herb. Aside from silica, it also contains gelatin, microcrystalline cellulose (plant fiber), and magnesium stearate.
Horsetail herb is known to deliver essential minerals for healthier and stronger hair, nails, skin, and even tendons. A single bottle will not only give you sufficient daily silica per capsule (500 mg) but also provide enough silicon content to last for three months.
Things We Liked
- It is sourced from horsetail, widely regarded as one of the best herbs for silica
- Capsule form makes it easy to take, and nutrients are quickly absorbed
Things We Didn't Like
- Horsetail may have diuretic effects
Bamboo is also one of the best sources of organic silica. Every bottle is standardized to have 70% organic silica from bamboo extract which is about ten times more than Horsetail silica content in volume (around 7%).
All of this silica help maintain healthy hair, skin and nails. It is all natural, and you only need to take one capsule daily.
Things We Liked
- Compared to horsetail, bamboo is the better source of silica
- Two bottles of 60 capsules each may last for four months, making it a very good and economic choice
Things We Didn't Like
- The formulation does not include additional trace elements
This product contains silica (108 mcg), microcrystalline cellulose, vegetable cellulose, and vegetable Magnesium Stearate. It derives its elemental silicon content from marine red algae powder, and it's pretty good at preventing brittle hair and brittle nails.
Aside from supporting hair growth, it may also promote bone health due to its additional calcium content (200mg). This product may be a sufficient alternative to better bamboo or horsetail derived silica supplements if you are on a budget.
Things We Liked
- Includes 200mg of calcium per capsule
- Each capsule is free of gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, yeast, sugar, sodium, artificial flavour, sweetener, preservatives and colour
- Vegetarian approved
- The cheapest option among our reviewed products
Things We Didn't Like
- Marine-derived red algae powder (Lithothamnium coralloides) is not among the top sources of silica (bamboo and horsetail)
- Relatively low dosage which requires you to take two veggie capsules daily
This silica gel from Hubner has a very high silica content. Their colloidal formula provides silicon in one of its purest forms. It is derived from quartz crystals.
Things We Liked
- Contains elemental silicon which is quickly absorbed
- High dosage per serving
- 100% natural
Things We Didn't Like
- Gel form is not really all that great
- Bad taste
- Needs refrigeration
- Does not include other additional trace elements
Choosing a Silicon Supplement for Your Hair Growth Needs
Supplements, especially in tablet or capsule forms, are more convenient forms as you can bring them anywhere. That's not the only thing you should be looking for, though.
Here are other qualities you need to keep in mind when choosing a silicon supplement for healthy hair growth:
Different Silica Sources
When it comes to using silica for hair growth, two plant sources of silica are known to be the best: bamboo and horsetail herb. Both plant sources are better than those derived from animals or artificial sources. This is because animals have already processed some of the trace minerals in their system.
However, between bamboo and horsetail, the former is hailed as the most excellent source. Horsetail herb, scientific name Equisetum arvense, is known to only contain an average of 5 to 8% organic silica.
On the other hand, Bambousa Vulgaris, the source of bamboo extract, boasts an average 70% organic silica content.
Which Supplement Form?
Once you know you are getting the best source of silica, the next issue is how to optimize the absorption of the supplement in your system. This is something one would usually overlook.
Just because you take a supplement that does not mean your body will process it efficiently. Capsules, tablets, and soft gels are better than liquid form of supplements; however, they usually come with higher prices as well.
Liquid supplements have a shorter shelf-life. Also storing them would have some of its components settle down at the bottom of the bottle which can be a pain in the ass and prevent you from getting all the silica from the formula.
Dosage
On average, an individual should consume between 20 to 60 milligrams of silica through food and other non-supplement sources daily. The amount of silica in our body tends to get lower with poor diet and ageing.
For obvious beneficial effects on hair growth, at least 200mg of silica needs to be consumed per day through supplements to show beneficial effects.
Conclusion
If you are ready to up your game in your hair care, we recommend that you opt for Swanson Superior Herbs Bamboo Extract or Swanson Horsetail, with the former being the better choice.
Both products contain silica from excellent sources. However, as mentioned, bamboo has the highest silica content which also explains why Swanson Bamboo Extract has a lower daily dosage than Swanson Horsetail Silica.
Also, despite the differences as mentioned earlier in dosage, both can still provide above the 200 mg recommended daily dosage for silica supplements. Remember that 200 mg is the minimum recommended dosage for obvious health benefits such as increased hair growth.
Lastly, another common characteristic between the two supplements is their capsule form. Having these supplements in capsules ensures that you will be able to easily consume it and that the silica can be distributed throughout your whole body for maximum health benefits.
Image credits: Amazon.com
