Hair health is more than scalp-deep. The nutrients and food you consume can affect the health of your hair. Find out how to eat your way to healthy hair.
Using the right products for your hair type and texture is one important factor in maintaining healthy, shiny, and manageable hair. But one less obvious factor in hair health is your diet. What you eat and drink on a daily basis not only contributes to the health of your body, but also to the overall health of your hair. If you don’t consume the nutrients your hair needs to stay healthy, then it can cause troublesome effects like thinning, dull, or lifeless hair.
Let’s go over some foods and nutrients you can consume to eat your way to healthy hair:
Essential Fatty Acids
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids help maintain or improve the health of your hair, skin, and nails. Since the human body cannot naturally produce the oils in omega-3s, it’s important to consume enough to help keep your nails, skin, and nails healthy.
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include:
- Fatty fish - tuna, salmon, mackerel, and others
- Seeds & Nuts - flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts
- Certain oils - flaxseed oil and canola oil
- Vegetables & Beans - broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and soybeans (and tofu derived from soybeans)
Vitamins
Vegans and vegetarians often have a difficult time consuming enough vitamins that are essential to maintaining hair health.
These vitamins, and foods rich in these vitamins, include:
- B9 (folic acid) - fruits (especially citrus and tomatoes), lentils, and whole-grain and fortified-grain products (such as cereals or oatmeal)
- B6 - sweet potatoes, bananas, potatoes, and spinach
- B12 - protein-rich foods including poultry (such as turkey and chicken), red meat (beef and lamb, especially the liver), dairy products (like yogurt, milk, eggs, and cheese), fish (such as mackerel, trout, and salmon), and shellfish (such as mussels, clams, and crabs)
- B7 or H (biotin) - since this vitamin is part of the B-complex group of vitamins, it is also found in many of the foods listed above
Minerals
Minerals play a crucial role in hair growth and fortification. Although many of the foods already mentioned above include the minerals needed to promote hair health, it is often difficult to consume enough food to get all those healthy vitamins and minerals in an average diet. This is why it is good to incorporate multivitamin supplements that contain the following minerals:
Try our Go & Glo Multivitamin, combined with consistent use of Curls Dynasty hydrating products, to help make your hair healthy and strong.
If you are experiencing hair loss or texture changes, make sure to consult with your doctor, as it could be a sign of an underlying medical condition. If you just want to make sure to keep your hair healthy and strong with natural ingredients, Curls Dynasty’s got you covered.
Not sure what hair type you have and which products work best for your hair? Click here to take our hair quiz!