Top Foods for Healthy Hair

Ok, so a lot of people think that healthy hair comes from a bottle or as a product of having a good stylist (or your own healthy styling routine) but that’s only partially true. Healthy hair is dependent on what you put on your hair and how you treat your hair (i.e., styling methods) but it is also important to pay attention to what you put in your body as well. A healthy diet will help you grow stronger and healthier cells throughout your entire body, including your hair. But there are some limitations. For example, if you have fine hair then you’ll likely never have thick strands growing from your scalp – no matter what you use on your hair or what you eat, that's just genetics.  But the benefits of a well-balanced diet will likely include good amounts of iron and can promote protein growth which can make a difference.

There are even hair growth promoting products and vitamins that claim to increase the healthiness or length of your hair. I’ve even taken a few of them myself. LOL. But ultimately, these are purely vitamin enriched products and/or multi-vitamins that are just giving you the normal nutrients your hair needs on a regular basis anyway. But be careful because anything in excess can have adverse effects and vitamins are no different.

So, here are a few foods that you can incorporate into your diet to help promote healthy hair.

# 1: Salmon - When it comes to foods that pack a beauty punch, it's hard to beat salmon. Loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, this high-quality protein source is also filled with vitamin B-12 and iron, and is needed to support scalp health.  A deficiency can result in a dry scalp and dull hair.  You can also add 1-2 tbsp of ground flaxseed in your daily diet for some plant-based omega-3 fats.

# 2: Dark Green Vegetables - Spinach, like broccoli and Swiss chard, is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, which your body needs to produce sebum which is the oily substance secreted by your hair follicles, and is the body's natural hair conditioner.  Dark green vegetables also provide iron and calcium.

# 3: Beans - Legumes like kidney beans and lentils should be an important part of your hair-care diet. Not only do they provide plentiful protein to promote hair growth, but ample iron, zinc, and biotin. Biotin deficiencies can also result in brittle hair in rare instances.  It is recommended that you get 3+ cups of lentils or beans each week.

# 4: Nuts - Certain types of nuts such as brazil nuts and walnuts provide selenium (an important mineral for the health of your scalp) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid that may help condition your hair). Cashews, pecans, and almonds are also great sources of zinc. A zinc deficiency can lead to hair shedding.

# 5: Poultry - Chickens and turkeys provide a high-quality protein. Deficiencies in protein can lead to one can weak brittle hair and can result in loss of hair color. Poultry also provides iron with a high degree of bioavailability, meaning your body can easily reap its benefits.

# 6: Eggs - Eggs are one of the best protein sources you can find. They also contain biotin and vitamin B-12, which are important beauty nutrients.

# 7: Whole Grains - Whole grains such as whole-wheat bread and fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals can be helpful in providing healthy dose of zinc, iron, and B vitamins.

# 8: Oysters - Oysters provide a healthy amount of zinc, a powerful antioxidant, in addition to being an aphrodisiac.  But if oysters isn't your thing, you can also get a good dose of zinc from beef and lamb.

# 9: Low-Fat Dairy Products - Products like skim milk and yogurt are great sources of calcium, an important mineral for hair growth. They also contain whey and casein, two high-quality protein sources.  You can even boost their benefits by stirring in a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseeds or walnuts for omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.

# 10: Carrots - Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, which promotes a healthy scalp along with good vision.

So, hurry up and make that grocery list!! Healthy hair is just a Safeway, Giant, Shoppers, Whole Foods, Kroger, Mars, SuperFresh, Food Lion, Wegmans........Ok, ok, you get the point!  Happy shopping!

KHurly Girl

The Pursuit of Healthy Hair

As a youth, I always loved to style hair. I styled my own hair, my sisters’ hair, and the hair of friends. In high school, I decided that I wanted to become a hair stylist after graduation. I signed up for a program that would allow me to find out what Cosmetology was all about. Surprisingly though, I didn’t get the opportunity to do much “hair” while in Cosmetology class because we had to learn everything else as well…Go figure! Anyhow to make a long story short, I changed my decision about becoming a stylist and ended up attending college and becoming an Electrical Engineer of all things! LOL. But I never lost my love for hair and always dreamed of at least opening a salon/spa one day.

So, now here we are about 15 years plus down the road since those dreams of becoming a hair stylist and today I’m a newly natural hair girl who loves her curls! So, my thoughts on hair and hair care today are significantly different than what they were years ago when I was a long haired relaxed chick! :-) Today my beliefs about healthy hair go deeper than just healthy “looking” hair and have morphed into the overall idea that both what I put ON my hair and IN my body affect my hair. As a result, I like to focus on organic store bought and homemade concoctions that promote the growth of healthy hair and eating healthier for overall hair health. It’s been a journey that I’ve been on since those happy hair days as a youth but this new phase is something that I pride myself on doing because I know that my health is not being negatively impacted anymore by the chemicals in the products that I use on my hair/scalp.

For the future, my new goal is to promote healthy hair through the development of organic hair products and eventually open a natural salon where your mind is eased by the products that we use and promote. So, I hope that you’ll continue to check back in to learn healthy hair tips, style tips, product reviews, the progress against my own hair goals, and for any little tidbit of information I may want to discuss about hair…LOL. And along the way I hope that you will feel free to comment and share your hair stories as well!!