Healthy Hair from the INSIDE Out

When trying to grow strong, healthy, natural hair, there is only so much you can do on the Outside of your hair. Oils, creams and conditioners will make your hair look healthier and stronger, however if you find that the longer your hair grows the weaker it seems to get (a lot of breakage at the ends or the hair thinning towards the ends) then you may not be getting enough of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to maintain a healthy hair shaft. 

We can help!

1)     The simplest thing you can do to help your hair grow healthy is to add a multivitamin into your morning or nightly routine. Honestly, if you feel like your hair is lacking luster, your whole body is probably deficient in the vitamins and minerals it needs. Your multivitamin will have most of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to keep your hair strong. Most people ONLY need a multivitamin to see differences in hair. Your multivitamin should have:

a.       Vitamin A or beta carotene

b.      Vitamin B, specifically B12,  B6 and Biotin

c.       Vitamin D

d.      Zinc

e.      Iron

If you’re not a pill person, try finding your vitamins in liquid or gummy form (not kids vitamins… You are an adult), or you can try getting everything you need through your diet.

2)     Having a diet full of everything your body needs can be difficult but it would defiantly give you better results and a healthier overall lifestyle. The following is a list of foods you would need to supplement into your diet to help support healthier hair.

a.       Salmon: packed with protein, vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3’s will help add shine to your hair as well as keep your scalp moist and healthy. If you don’t eat meat or don’t like salmon (I don’t) try a couple table spoons flaxseed.

b.      Dark Green Vegetables: Spinach, broccoli, kelp, romaine lettuce and such provide iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C so that your hair will produce sebum. Sebum is the oil that naturally conditions your hair.  Without this your hair should feel dry and brittle.

c.       Beans!: You want to stick the legumes like kidney and lentils when picking your beans. These will provide you with protein for hair growth, iron, zinc and biotin for hair strength.

d.      Nuts: Brazil Nuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, almond, peanuts, …. Any kind of nut is going to be beneficial to your hair by providing it with protein and those omega-3’s

e.      Other Foods I would suggest: Poultry (Protein), eggs (biotin, B-12, and protein), whole grains (zinc, iron, and B vitamins), Oysters (zinc), low-fat dairy (protein and calcium) and carrots (vitamin A)

Now, I understand that this is a lot of food to try to add into your diet just for healthy hair. Honestly, a healthy diet for your entire body should resemble this anyway. They key is to have a balance of foods so that you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.

3)      If you think you need a little extra to help your hair grow to its fullest potential, try taking a hair, skin and nails supplement. Elle and I take Spring Valley’s version which you can get from Wal-Mart.

      It has biotin, collagen and gelatin to help support the structure of your hair. One of the pluses about the Wal-Mart brand is that the ingredients are primarily plant based. Some of the other brands derive their ingredients from seafood and other meat sources which can be a problem for someone who is allergic to seafood (Sheena!).

Keep in mind that you will need 3-4 months of consistency with this supplement routine until your able to see noticeable results. Although this may seem like a long time, it is totally worth it. After three months of taking the hair, skin and nails supplements, I straightened my hair for the first time in a long time (I actually don’t remember when) and my hair was at least 2 inches longer than what I thought it would be.

Another VERY important thing you should take note of before you start your supplement routine, is that if you take too much of some of these vitamins and minerals, it will actually make your hair start to fall out. Specifically vitamin A and biotin. This is why I started by writing that most of you will only need a multivitamin to help you achieve healthier hair.

Take a hard look at your diet and consider what you really need. If you need help developing something specifically for your health and diet , you can always contact us at IOBCurls@gmail.com or simply comment on this post!

Love You All!

MoJo