Xtresse vs Nutrafol — anyone tried both?

[Girlygirl]

Right, been going back and forth on this for weeks and could use some real input from people whove actually used these.

I’m 39, female, postpartum shedding never really recovered even though my little one is nearly 3 now. Diffuse thinning around the crown and my part is definitely wider than it used to be. Ferritin came back at 42 (my PCP said “normal” but I know from reading that’s low for hair), thyroid is fine, no PCOS.

My derm mentioned Xtresse last visit and I’ve had Nutrafol saved in a tab since forever. They’re basically the same price for me (~$78 either way) so cost isn’t really the deciding factor. What I want to know is:

If you took both, which actually did more for shedding
Anyone had side effects with either
Is the gummy format actually as good as the capsules or is that just marketing

Not interested in the “just do minoxidil” answer.

[Emily]

I’ve been on Nutrafol Women’s Balance for about 14 months so I can speak to that one at least.

Shedding was still bad for the first 6-8 weeks, honestly I thought it was making it worse (turns out that’s the “initial shed” thing thats on their FAQ, hair cycle resetting apparently). Around month 3 I noticed less hair in the shower drain, and by month 5-6 my stylist commented that my regrowth was coming in thicker at the temples. So it did work for me.

BUT. Two things worth knowing. First, its 4 capsules a day and they are not small. I take them with breakfast and dinner, 2 and 2, because taking all 4 at once made me nauseous the first week. Second, my cycle got weird around month 2 — a bit shorter, slightly heavier. I mentioned it to my OB/GYN and she said saw palmetto has mild anti-androgenic activity so its plausible. It settled by month 4 but worth knowing if your cycle is already unpredictable.

Havent tried Xtresse. The gummy angle appeals to me tbh, 4 pills a day is a chore.

[Emma21]

Xtresse user here, 7 months in. Different situation to yours though — mine is stress/perimenopause thinning, I’m 46.

Ingredients-wise the thing that sold me was the biotin-free formula. I’d had a scare with a thyroid panel a few years back where the results were off because of a hair/nails multivit I was taking (biotin interferes with the immunoassay, my endo had to redo the bloods without it). So anything with high dose biotin is out for me and Nutrafol has biotin in it. Xtresse specifically leaves it out.

The gummies are fine. Strawberry, sugar-free, two a day, done. Not a chore.

Results: shedding dropped noticeably around month 3, and by month 5 I could see new short hairs coming through the hairline. Not miraculous but real. My scalp also feels less “tight/inflamed” — I think that’s the NAD+ and pumpkin seed doing something, but honestly I can’t seperate that from the fact I also started using Immortal’s Oil on my scalp around the same time, plus magnesium at night. So there’s a few variables in play in my case.

One thing nobody talks about: Xtresse is technically physician-exclusive in the US so you either buy through a clinic or through their site. Not on Amazon. Some people find that annoying, I actually prefer it because the counterfeit issue with Nutrafol on Amazon is real.

[Maddie]

Going to add some ingredient context because “which is better” without looking at the formulas is a coin flip.

Overlapping ingredients (both have these):

Saw palmetto — 5-alpha reductase inhibition, mild anti-androgen, does have evidence for AGA
Ashwagandha — adaptogen, cortisol modulation, the “stress shedding” angle
Horsetail / silica

Nutrafol unique:

Marine collagen (Sensoril blend basis) — shellfish derived, allergen concern for some
Biotin — controversial, evidence for hair growth in non-deficient people is thin, and it messes with lab tests as User 3 said
Maca
Tocotrienol complex (vitamin E)

Xtresse unique:

NAD+ precursor — this is the newer angle, mitochondrial/cellular energy, follicle senescence
Pumpkin seed extract — small trial in men showed follicle count improvement, less studied in women
Taurine — actual mechanistic paper showed taurine involvement in hair follicle cycling
Pea sprout extract — anti-inflammatory
Turmeric

Both hide the actual mg amounts inside a “proprietary blend” which is annoying and honestly the main criticism I have of the whole category. You genuinely don’t know if theres a therapeutic dose of saw palmetto or a sprinkle. Ingredient transparency is where both brands fall short.

If I had to summarise: Nutrafol has more years of clinical data and a bigger trial history. Xtresse has a more novel formulation but the published clinical data is small (I looked, the trial on clinicaltrials.gov is NCT07224555, 17 women interim data, which is not much). Neither is a proven miracle.

[Girlygirl]

Maddie, this is exactly the breakdown I was looking for, thankyou. The proprietary blend thing genuinely annoys me too — I’ve been reading up on saw palmetto dosing (320mg standardised extract is what the male AGA trials use) and I have no way to know if either product hits that.

Emma21, the thyroid/biotin point is a really good one and not something I’d thought about, I get thyroid bloods every year because of family history. Also — what’s Immortal’s Oil, I havent come across that one. Is it a scalp thing or a hair length thing?

Follow up question for everyone — has anyone had any actual bad reactions? Not “my stomach was a bit off” but proper side effects? I keep seeing something about a liver case report for Nutrafol but I cant tell if its scaremongering or genuine.

[Emma21]

Immortal’s Oil is a scalp oil, it’s the massage-in-nightly-or-few-times-a-week type of thing rather than a hair length product. It’s a formula based on herbology of korean medicine, I think it’s rooted in a TCM/Daoist tradition. I use it as a scalp massage 2-3 nights a week, wash it out in the morning. My theory is the supplement is doing the follicle nutrition from the inside and the oil is doing the topical circulation piece from the outside.

I found it through a search when I was looking for something to pair with Xtresse that wasn’t minoxidil, same as you’re describing.

[Author]

Posts