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The Hair Edit · Pumpkin seed oil, compared · Advertisement feature by HALO Hair

Treating your thyroid didn't stop the parting? I compared 5 pumpkin seed oil capsules. Only one passed.

Five pumpkin seed oil bottles in a row, HALO Hair in the centre

Four of the five fail the same test — and it's not the one you'd guess. The cheapest one fails it. The "3,000 mg" one fails it too. Read to the end and you'll be able to check any bottle in 30 seconds.

By Ellie, 38Started losing hair at 34 · co-founder, HALO Hair · 6 min read

The short version: I was 34 when my parting went see-the-scalp wide, my bloods came back "normal", and I'd tried everything in the aisle. Then my sister Beth — who checks supplement labels for a living — opened my cabinet and said: "Ellie, half of these aren't even allowed to mention hair."

Read the full story

I was 34 when I noticed my parting had gone wide. Not "a bit thin" wide. See-the-scalp wide. So I did what everyone does: biotin for four months, a caffeine shampoo, and the rosemary oil thing everyone was doing on TikTok. Nothing changed, except my bathroom cabinet got fuller.

I went to the GP. She ran my bloods, everything came back "normal", and she actually said the words "some women just thin". I went home and, if I'm honest, I just accepted it.

Then Beth came round. She's spent eight years checking supplement labels for a living, so she's a nightmare in a health shop. She opened my cabinet, picked up three of the bottles, and read them out loud. Half of them didn't have a single ingredient that's allowed to be connected to hair on a UK label. Not because the brands forgot — because what was in the bottle didn't qualify.

or skip to the 5-bottle comparison ↓

I had no idea what she meant. Turns out there's a simple test. Here it is, and here are the five bottles I ran through it.

First, the bit your meds can't reach

Why the parting carries on after your thyroid is treated.

Two things can thin your hair at once. The thyroid part sheds all over — and your treatment is already working on that one. The DHT part sits on top: the parting, the temples. Your thyroid meds never touch it, because it was never their job. DHT sticks to sensitive roots and sends each new hair back finer. That part has its own routine — and it's simpler than you think.

Whiteboard: your thyroid explains the shedding, not the parting; the on-top part is DHT and your meds never touch it

1Every hair grows from a root.It grows for a few years, rests, falls out, and a new one starts from the same root. The root decides how thick the new hair is.

2DHT makes sensitive roots shrink.DHT is a hormone everyone makes, women too. DHT sticks to hair roots. Some roots have more spots it can stick to. Every time it sticks, that root stops growing a bit earlier than it should and comes back a bit smaller.

3A smaller root grows a thinner hair.And lets go of it sooner. Your hair isn't falling out more. It's coming back thinner, every time. That's the widening parting.

Why some roots and not others? It's in your genes. The roots on top of your head are born with more spots that DHT can stick to than the roots at the back and sides. That's why hair thins on top and along the parting, never at the back — and why it often runs in families.

Is it my thyroid or DHT? Easy check. Shedding everywhere at once — that's the thyroid part, and your treatment covers it. Thinning on top while the back stays full — that's the DHT part. Most women with a thyroid condition have been staring at the second one for years without a name for it.

So what needs to happen? You can't switch the hormone off. You look after the roots instead. They need three things, and a bottle only helps if it does all three. That's the whole test.

The solution — and how to check a bottle for it

Three things your roots need. Three things to check.

1Cope with DHTTwo plant oils get in the way, so less DHT sticks to the root: pumpkin seed oil, and saw palmetto (an extract from a berry).Check: saw palmetto as an extract with the mg shown. An extract is the concentrated part of the berry. "Powder" is the whole dried berry — much weaker, and you can't tell how much is in it.

2Protection from wearRoots work hard for years and pick up everyday damage — the same kind that ages skin. Vitamin E helps protect cells from it.Check: vitamin E on the label. Almost no hair bottle has it.

3FoodZinc builds new hair, biotin turns the food you eat into it, selenium guards the root while it's built.Check: zinc · selenium · biotin. UK rules only let a bottle mention hair if it contains a nutrient with a proven role in hair — and only these three qualify.

Plus two honesty checks: every amount printed on the bottle (no "blend"), and made in the UK for women's hair. Most pumpkin seed oil capsules are sold in the US to men for prostate health — same hormone, different body part — and were never made with hair, or women, in mind.

The results

The top 5, ranked on those checks.

Scored on the three needs plus the two honesty checks. Prices are what I saw on Amazon UK in August 2026 and may change.

Side by side.

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On the label	HALO	NOW	Swanson	Nature's Truth	Solaray

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What women say

They read the label too. Swipe.

One honest thing

Give it twelve weeks. Here's why.

A new hair takes about 12 weeks to grow long enough to see above the skin. So nothing can show before then — from any bottle. Take a photo on day one by a window, same spot, and compare at week 12. That's why the guarantee runs 90 days. Two easy checks: the photo, and the hair-tie test — wrap your hair tie round your ponytail and count the turns. Fewer turns = thicker ponytail.

Week 1Settling in

Week 4Still quiet

Week 8The check-in

Week 12You decide

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Who's behind this

Two sisters. One parting.

I'm Ellie — the one whose hair thinned. Beth is my sister, who spent eight years checking supplement labels for a living. She made the first batch for me. Then for my friends. That's HALO Hair: a real extract, the three nutrients that are actually allowed to mention hair, the protection job nobody covers — and every number printed.

What we'll never do: fake doctors, before-and-after photos we can't stand behind, "regrow in 14 days" promises, or a "proprietary blend" that hides the amounts.

Before you buy.

Can I take it with the pill?

Yes — a high-street pharmacist checked the label for everyday use alongside the combined pill. On prescription medication, pregnant or breastfeeding? Ask your pharmacist first.

Is it vegan?

Not yet — the soft capsule is made with gelatine from cows. Gluten-free, no artificial colours. A vegan version is on the way.

Any side effects?

Most people notice nothing. The plant oils can occasionally upset a sensitive stomach — take them with food.

Is it a subscription?

Only if you want it to be. The refill option (ticked by default) is 17% cheaper and renews automatically — cancel anytime, in one click. Untick it and it's a simple one-time purchase; nothing renews.

Is this a DHT blocker?

We don't make that claim — in the UK no food supplement legally can. What we do: real saw palmetto extract at 320 mg, pumpkin seed oil at 1,000 mg (pressed without heat, so the oil keeps its goodness), and zinc, selenium and biotin at the full daily amount.

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Advertisement feature by HALO Hair. Food supplement. Zinc, selenium and biotin contribute to the maintenance of normal hair; vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Not a medicine; does not treat hair loss. Competitor products are named for comparison only; prices observed on Amazon UK, August 2026, and may change; trademarks belong to their owners. Results vary. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication, speak to your pharmacist or GP.

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