Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Cofactor with no direct AGA evidence. Deficiency rare; mega-doses cause peripheral neuropathy.
How Vitamin B6 works — and how well we know it
Cofactor for over 100 enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism. Severe deficiency causes seborrheic dermatitis and can affect hair quality. No direct AGA mechanism.
oral
1.3–1.7 mg/day (RDA). Toxic neuropathy above ~100 mg/day chronic intake.
Available as a dietary supplement. RDA 1.3–1.7 mg/day. Chronic high-dose supplementation (>100 mg/day) causes peripheral neuropathy.
Patients with documented deficiency. Otherwise no AGA indication.
Evidence distribution across 1 claims
Why the grade is D. Deficiency-only correction. No AGA RCT support. Mega-doses cause neuropathy.
Every claim, traced back to its source
We took every major claim made about Vitamin B6 and matched it to the specific experimental model behind it. Click a claim to see the model, the finding, and our assessment of how much weight it deserves.
1 claims · evidence-by-evidence breakdown
1Open-LabelWeight: LowNo AGA-specific evidence; deficiency causes seborrheic-style scalp changes but is rareFiller ingredient with no AGA evidence in non-deficient adults.
Clinical literature on B6 deficiency syndromes plus absence of AGA-specific evidence.
Severe B6 deficiency can produce seborrheic dermatitis affecting the scalp. Modern adults rarely become deficient. No AGA trials of B6 supplementation exist.
Included in supplement bundles as multivitamin filler. Not a targeted AGA ingredient.
What's still missing from the science
- AGA-specific RCT — none reasonable to expect given mechanism.
Our verdict on Vitamin B6
Not in our formulary yet
We don't carry this ingredient. We only formulate around actives where the evidence — and the safety profile — is strong enough to recommend with confidence. As the data matures, we may revisit.
Related treatments
How does Vitamin B6 stack up against its closest peers?
A genuine cause of reversible hair shedding in iron-deficient patients — but useless and potentially harmful if your iron stores are normal.
Read the breakdown →A botanical 5-alpha reductase inhibitor whose only high-quality trials (in BPH) showed no benefit over placebo; the positive AGA data are small and low-quality.
Read the breakdown →One small Malaysian RCT showed a hair-count increase. Never replicated. Used by Nutrafol to justify its tocotrienol content.
Read the breakdown →