Does MSM make your hair grow faster? No, not based on the evidence we have. MSM hasn't been tested for hair growth in a single human trial, and the animal studies that do exist are weaker than the marketing suggests.
That's worth knowing before you spend money on a tub of powder for your hair, so here's every study that exists, what each one measured, and what the research means for your hair.
The chemical formula for methylsulfonylmethane is (CH3)2SO2. The compound occurs naturally and is found in a variety of foods, such as green vegetables, garlic, seafood, onions, and milk.
Every study we could find
Does taking MSM grow your hair?
No human trial has ever tested MSM for hair growth. The strongest evidence for taking MSM is 32 poodles, and in that study MSM on its own didn't do a thing.
| Study | Who or what was tested | How it was given | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Srinivasan et al. | Male mice, depilated back skin | Topical | IndirectMSM at 10% plus MAP matched or beat minoxidil 5%. MSM worked as a penetration enhancer, so it raised how much MAP stayed in the skin about 200-fold.This is the study almost every MSM seller points to. It tested MSM as a delivery vehicle for another compound, not as something that grows hair, and researchers painted MSM on skin rather than taking it. |
| Alsaady et al. | 20 male Wistar albino mice | Topical | WeakMore growth and more follicles than the untreated mice.Five mice per group, and painted on skin. Nothing here tells you what happens if you take a supplement. |
| Li et al. | 21 Ragdoll kittens | Oral, in food | WeakScale thickness only tended to fall at the lower dose (p<0.10), which doesn't clear the bar researchers normally use.A trend in kittens, and scale thickness measures coat quality, not growth. It won't tell you whether your hair would grow. |
| Zhang et al. | 32 adult poodles | Oral, in food | Points againstMSM on its own didn't significantly improve either measure. Only myo-inositol and the MSM plus myo-inositol combination did.The newest and most-quoted study on taking MSM. Read closely, that makes the poodle results evidence against MSM on its own. |
| Muizzuddin and Benjamin | 83 adults across two studies | Oral | Not about hairImproved skin measures against placebo at 3 grams daily.The best human MSM study, and it never looked at hair. It's where the 1 to 3 gram doses you see quoted for your hair actually come from. |
| Schauss et al. | Rats | Oral | Safety onlyNo deaths, no organ damage, and normal kidney tissue at five to seven times the maximum human dose.This is why MSM is considered well tolerated, so it's a safety finding rather than proof MSM does anything for your hair. |
Sources, in order: Srinivasan 2009, Alsaady 2022, Li 2022, Zhang 2024, Muizzuddin 2022, Schauss 2002. We searched PubMed for methylsulfonylmethane and hair; last checked 2026-09-06.
What MSM is, and why sulfur got the credit
Many women take MSM for hair growth because the chemical compound contains sulfur, which is one of the primary building blocks for your hair. But, will methylsulfonylmethane actually make your hair grow?
The reasoning behind the supplement is simple, and you've probably read it on a label. Keratin, the protein your hair is built from, is held together partly by disulfide bonds, and those bonds need sulfur. MSM supplies sulfur, so more sulfur should mean stronger hair.
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That's also where the evidence stops. Supplying a raw material isn't the same as your body running short of it, and nothing shows that women eating an ordinary diet are low on the sulfur your hair needs.
What the research actually tested
Searching PubMed for methylsulfonylmethane and hair returns six papers. Not six good ones, or six recent ones; six in total, and the scorecard above is all of them.
Four studied animals. Two studied humans, and neither of those looked at hair at all, let alone hair like yours.
The most recent oral study followed 32 poodles for 65 days, and it's the one worth reading closely, because sellers quote it as proof more than any other. The dogs given MSM on its own showed no significant improvement in hair scale thickness or hair sulfur content. Only the myo-inositol group and the combination group did.
So the newest evidence actually points against MSM on its own. The kitten study has the same shape: hair scale thickness only tended to fall, at a p-value under 0.10, which doesn't clear the bar researchers normally treat as significant.
The study everyone cites is about something else
Almost every page selling MSM for your hair points back to one 2009 paper from Yeungnam University, and this article used to describe it as recent research into hair growth. It's neither.
The study painted solutions onto the shaved backs of male mice for 20 days. It was testing whether MSM helps magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, a vitamin C derivative, penetrate and stay in the skin. It does, dramatically: MSM at 10% raised how much of that compound stayed in the skin roughly 200-fold, and the combination matched or beat 5% minoxidil.
So the headline result is real, and it isn't about MSM growing your hair. MSM was the delivery vehicle, not the active ingredient, and it went onto skin rather than down anyone's throat. A capsule reproduces neither half of that, which matters when you're deciding what to put in your cart.
Where Can You Buy Methylsulfonylmethane?
Methylsulfonylmethane supplements are available in almost every health food store, grocery store, pharmacy, and several online retailers.
Methylsulfonylmethane is present in many foods. However, the content level of MSM reduces while foods are cooking.
So you can ingest it without taking over-the-counter MSM supplements, but most women will want to increase their overall intake of the chemical compound.
So, unless you eat most of your food raw, taking an MSM supplement is likely the preferred option.
How much MSM should you take?
There's no established dose for your hair, because no human study of MSM and hair exists to set one from. For scale, the largest human MSM study used 1 gram or 3 grams a day for 16 weeks, and it was measuring facial wrinkles.
How long before you'd see anything?
Longer than most people keep taking it, and the math is the reason.
Your hair, if it's textured, grows about a third of an inch a month. Loussouarn measured African volunteers at 256 micrometers a day, roughly 0.3 inches a month, against 396 for Caucasian volunteers; individual results ran from 150 to 363 micrometers a day across only 38 people, so treat it as a guide rather than a promise about your hair specifically.
Two weeks of any supplement gives your hair about an eighth of an inch of new growth. That's inside the margin of how differently your hair sits from one wash day to the next. Anyone promising you a visible change that fast is describing something other than growth.
Does MSM Help With Hair Loss?
No human study supports MSM as a treatment for hair loss, and it isn't FDA-approved for that. The animal work is topical, on mice, and in the most recent oral study MSM on its own did nothing.
Is MSM better than biotin for your hair?
Neither MSM nor biotin has good evidence behind it for women who aren't deficient, so you're choosing between two weak options.
Biotin at least has human research, and what it shows is narrow. Biotin helps people with a genuine deficiency or a specific inherited condition, and that deficiency is rare. MSM has no human hair research at all.
If you're picking between them for your hair on evidence alone, biotin is ahead only because somebody bothered to study it in people.
Other Uses of MSM Supplements
MSM is possibly effective for treating various ailments such as hemorrhoids, osteoarthritis, and rosacea. There are many other potential uses of MSM, but we can't currently substantiate the other uses due to insufficient evidence.
It is true that the human body uses sulfur to build things other than just hair. Sulfur is also used to develop bones and form cartilage for the joints. MSM is not only beneficial to your hair but also good for your whole body.
What You Should Know Before Taking MSM
Before I conclude, it's important for you to understand that using MSM also comes with several potential side effects.
The National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, hasn't established a recommended daily allowance (RDA) of methylsulfonylmethane intake.
Note that RDA is defined as the average intake necessary to satisfy the nutritional requirements of nearly all healthy people.
Toxicology work in rats found no deaths and no organ damage at 1.5 grams per kilogram a day for 90 days, five to seven times the maximum recommended human dose.
Reported side effects are mostly digestive: nausea, diarrhea, bloating, and headaches. Some people report trouble sleeping. None of that shows up in your hair, but it will show up in your week.
MSM is generally considered safe for many people if taken in the appropriate doses. However, we always suggest that ladies speak with their medical doctor prior to taking any new supplements.
This is particularly the case for women who are pregnant or currently breastfeeding.
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Who might still reasonably try MSM
Nothing here says MSM is harmful, and that matters. It's got a good safety record, it's inexpensive, and the human research on skin is genuinely positive, which is more than most things on your bathroom shelf can claim.
If you want to take MSM for your skin, the evidence supports 3 grams a day. If your hair looks better alongside that, treat that as a bonus rather than the reason you bought MSM.
What the evidence doesn't support is buying MSM specifically to grow your hair, or letting MSM replace something that already works on your hair.
What actually moves the needle
The uncomfortable part of this topic is that your hair is almost certainly growing fine already. Khumalo and Gumedze followed 1,042 South African schoolchildren and found that combed natural hair reaches a length plateau within about a year of a haircut, because breakage eventually equals new growth.
That's the whole problem in one sentence. If your length looks stuck, your fix is usually retention rather than acceleration, and retention responds to things that cost nothing: gentler detangling, less tension at your hairline, and consistent moisture.
