Vitamins and Supplements for Your Hair
What you eat can work magic — or wreak havoc — on your hair.
To learn which foods will help keep your locks shiny, full, and healthy, read on.
Hair and Nutrition

Your body thrives on the right blend of nutrients, and your hair does, too. To get the best vitamins and minerals for healthy hair, choose foods packed with these nutrients.
Protein

More than 90 percent of your hair is made up of protein, so you need to have enough protein in your diet to support hair growth. Fortunately, most people in the United States get plenty of protein naturally from their diet. Foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products are high in protein. Vegetarians can get protein from plant sources such as soybeans, seeds, and nuts.
Beta-carotene

This antioxidant can help your body synthesize protein, may encourage hair growth, and may help prevent hair loss. Look for it in lots of fruits and vegetables, especially orange ones.
Vitamin A

Vitamin A fosters scalp health. Many orange fruits and vegetables — cantaloupe, apricots, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots — are good sources of vitamin A, as is broccoli.
The B Vitamins

The nutrients in this family of vitamins, often called B-complex vitamins, may help promote hair growth and prevent hair loss and breakage. Vitamin B3 (niacin) may nourish hair follicles, while vitamins B5, B6, and B12 may prevent both hair loss and premature graying. B vitamins can be found in poultry, beef, fish, eggs, whole grains, beans, sunflower seeds, peas, nuts, leafy green vegetables, and fortified breads and cereals.
Biotin

A biotin deficiency can leave your scalp itchy and scaly. To help keep your scalp healthy, choose biotin-rich meats, fish, eggs, dairy foods, nuts, whole grains, and molasses.
Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron. It also helps keep your blood vessels healthy, helps prevent hair breakage, and promotes hair growth. All the citrus fruits — grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, and so on — are high in vitamin C, as are berries and melons.
Vitamin E

This antioxidant vitamin helps your cells repair themselves and facilitates your body's synthesis of protein; it also encourages hair growth and aids in circulation. It is plentiful in green vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, beans, nuts, and avocados.
Vitamin K

This vitamin can promote hair health. Find it in seafood, eggs, liver, dairy products, green vegetables, figs, cabbage, oatmeal, yogurt, and wheat.
Para-aminobenzoic acid

This nutrient might help stave off gray hair. Look for it in yogurt, whole grains, and some organ meats (like liver).

Minerals

A range of minerals, including trace minerals, can help promote hair growth and protect against hair breakage. Key among them are silica, calcium, iron, copper, and zinc. These minerals are found in a broad range of unprocessed foods, including meats, seafood, nuts, seeds, liver, eggs, rice, oats, whole-grain cereals, sunflower seeds, lettuce, onion, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, bean sprouts, leafy green vegetables, strawberries, dates, and raisins. Organic foods frequently have higher concentrations of trace minerals than conventionally grown foods.

Enjoy A Variety

For the broadest range of the best vitamins and minerals for hair health, eat a variety of nutritious foods. That way, you'll get the benefit of the micronutrients that are found in trace amounts. If you feel your diet may be lacking in any vitamins or minerals, talk to your doctor to see whether he or she recommends a daily multivitamin.

The Best Foods for Gorgeous Hair
When it comes to beautiful hair, styling products can do only so much. Nourish your locks from the inside out by eating nutrient-packed foods that promote strength and shine.
Chickpeas

In addition to providing zinc and folate (nutrients that promote hair health), chickpeas are a great vegetarian source of iron-rich protein, an important combination for hair growth and repair. Because hair gets its structure from hardened proteins called keratin, people who don't have enough protein in their diet experience slower growth and weaker strands. To increase the absorption of iron from chickpeas, couple with a vitamin C–rich food such as tomatoes, bell peppers or citrus fruit.
Skinless Chicken

Skinless chicken breast is another healthy source of protein, and it's rich in B vitamins — folate, B6 and B12 — that maintain healthy hair. These vitamins play an important role in the creation of red blood cells, which carry oxygen and nutrients to all body cells, including those of the scalp, follicles and growing hair. When the body is deprived of B vitamins, the cells can starve, causing shedding, slow growth or weak strands that are prone to breaking.
Lentils

Lentils are especially high in both folate and iron, two powerful nutrients that nourish your mane. Folate is a B vitamin that aids the creation of red blood cells; iron helps those blood cells carry oxygen and nutrients to all body cells. With iron deficiency, a condition known as anemia, cells can't get enough oxygen to function properly. The result can be devastating to the whole body, causing weakness, fatigue and maybe even hair loss. So load up on iron-rich lentils for sturdy tresses — and if you're a premenopausal woman, consider taking a multivitamin that contains iron to replace iron lost during menstruation.
Strawberries

Oranges often get the credit as the best vitamin C–packed fruit, but did you know that just eight strawberries deliver 100 percent of your daily value? Strawberries are a juicy, delicious source of vitamin C, which is largely responsible for the health of collagen. Hair follicles require collagen, a structural fiber, for optimal growth. Even minor vitamin C deficiencies can lead to dry, splitting hair that breaks easily, so eating vitamin C–rich foods like strawberries can help you grow stronger, more resilient strands.
Peanuts

You may have heard about the benefits of biotin for hair health in a shampoo ad, or read in a magazine that taking biotin supplements can make your hair grow faster. Biotin is a B vitamin essential for hair growth and overall scalp health, but our bodies make their own biotin in the intestines, and it's also found in many common foods. A biotin deficiency is therefore very rare, so supplements are usually unnecessary if you're eating a balanced diet that includes some high-biotin foods. Peanuts are a great choice, as they're also high in B vitamins and folate, which contribute to healthy hair.
Kale

Beta carotene is converted into vitamin A, which is necessary for all cell growth and turnover. Skimping on beta carotene can lead to dull, lifeless hair and dandruff, which is really just dry skin. Regularly eating kale, a leafy green vegetable, is one of the best ways to pack beta carotene into your diet for healthier locks. You can saut&eacute a bunch or two with a little olive oil and garlic, or try my delicious recipe for crispy kale chips: Cut or tear fresh kale into pieces, place in a single layer on a baking sheet, mist with oil spray and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Claude Thomas Salon and Spa services all the northwest suburbs of the Chicagoland area. Such as:
Palatine, Barrington, Long Grove, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, South Barrington, Deer Park, Lake Zurick, NorthBrook, Wlimette, Hoffman estate , Rolling Meadows, Lake in the Hills, Wauconda, Lake Barrington, Algonquin, Illinois and more

Claude Thomas is ranked #1 in the nation for hair extensions and hair loss solution, custom wigs, and hair systems