Stringy Hair

I recently (within the last 6 months or so) had my hair cut. I turned 30 and was excited to make some changes that would reflect a different, more mature and sophisticated me. I have not regretted the decision one bit. Prior to cutting my hair, my hair was about shoulder length. I had often desired to let my hair grow longer than that, but what bothered me about it was that though it was attempting to grow longer, it was beginning to look a little stringy. One thing I cannot stand to see on a woman (or man for that matter) is stringy hair!  But on the other hand, I love to see thick healthy hair (especially if it’s yours ;-)) whether long or short.

Fortunately, I have always had a beautician who took pride in making sure my hair and others’ hair stayed healthy. However, many like to blame their beautician when it looks like they are having problems with their hair. They will blame the beautician for improper techniques, or putting too much of a certain chemical on the hair, or putting too much heat on the hair, or just being too rough with the hair. This may be the case for some, but for many, the villain causing the most detriment to the hair is…your diet.

One thing many fail to realize is that our diets play a vital part in us seeing that thick healthy hair many of us desire. Our dietary habits and associated diseases may often affect the strength, thickness, and yes, even the color of the hair. Many of our dietary habits are deficient in certain vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids that may affect hair health. Some of which include zinc, iron, selenium, vitamin A, biotin, vitamin C, and essential fatty acids n-6 and n-3.

So how do you increase these needed nutrients in your diet? Yes, of course, a multivitamin may do the trick, but I believe our bodies were designed to get most of what we need nutrition-wise from the foods that we eat. So what foods contain the vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids we need?

-Good sources of zinc include sea food and eggs.

-Good sources of iron include meat, fish, and poultry.

-Good sources of selenium include seafood, legumes, whole grains, lean meats, and dairy products.

-Good sources of vitamin A include milk, fish, egg yolk, dark-yellow, orange, red, and green vegetables.

-Good sources of biotin include corn and soy.

-Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits and tomatoes.

-Good sources of essential fatty acids n-6 and n-3 include salmon, nuts, and various types of vegetable oils (corn, safflower, peanut, canola, etc.).

To sum it up, it seems to me that we need to eat more lean protein sources (seafood, nuts), and more colorful fruits and vegetables in order to promote better hair health. For those of you who eat a lot of food that is not healthy, but still have beautiful hair, I say: “kudos to you.” But, can you imagine how much healthier your hair would be if you ate better? That’s all I have for today. I will talk with you later…J

References:

Goldberg, L. J., & Lenzy, Y. (2010). Nutrition and hair. Clinics in Dermatology, 28(4), 412-419.

Schlenker, E., & Roth, S.L. (2011). Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.