There's a common misconception that prenatal vitamins have a positive effect on your hair--specifically, that they make hair grow faster and stronger. While it's true that many women who are on prenatals have thick, healthy hair, this isn't a result of the vitamins; prenatals don't have any effect on your hair.
Your Hair
Your hair is an accessory of the integumentary system, which is made up of your skin and nails in addition to body and head hair. The hair itself isn't living, nor is it made up of cells that need nourishment. In fact, the idea that hair needs vitamins or that you can improve damaged or weak hair with vitamins is fallacious; no vitamins have any effect on hair itself. Follicle cells, which produce your hair, benefit from vitamins, however.
Vitamin Needs
The cells that make up the hair follicle and produce your hair need vitamins and minerals, just like all other metabolically active body cells. If you're very vitamin and mineral deficient--rare in individuals eating balanced diets--your hair may become weak and brittle. If you're eating a relatively normal diet, however, adding extra vitamins above and beyond cellular requirements won't improve hair; vitamins are not a more-is-better nutrient.
Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins can't improve your hair for the same reason that regular daily multivitamins can't; in the end, prenatals are nothing more than regular vitamin and mineral supplements, with the specific quantities of each nutrient adjusted to meet the needs of pregnant women. In particular, prenatal vitamins contain lots of iron and folic acid. These nutrients are particularly important to pregnant women, but don't affect hair quality.
Reason for Misconceptions
The reason the misconception regarding hair quality and prenatal vitamins is so prevalent is that many women on prenatal vitamins have lustrous hair. This isn't a result of the vitamins, however, and is rather an effect of pregnancy hormones. Increased hormone levels increase blood flow to the skin and scalp, which in turn increases your hair's growth rate.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
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