In This Story:
So many things about your day could go right but life still won’t be perfect if it’s a bad hair day. And there are two ways to deal with it. You either brave the frizz and manage to feign a smile while watching women effortlessly strut around with picture-perfect tresses or you make an effort to change things. Honestly, it’s high time you detangle the mysteries of your mane and trounced bad hair days. On that note, these superfoods have been hair saviours forever and should urgently find space on your plate.
Other than eating right and taking the proper nutrients, also read ahead some hair care tips that will help you reduce hair fall, promote hair growth, minimise hair damage, and control frizz. Along with certain foods for thicker hair growth, there are also some lifestyle changes you can make to improve the overall appearance of your hair.
Essential Nutrients Needed For Hair
Here are some essential nutrients you need to incorporate into your everyday food for healthy hair.
- Protein: Hair is made of a type of protein called keratin, and a lack of protein can lead to weak, brittle, and damaged hair, eventually leading to hair loss. Some protein-rich foods you need are eggs, fish, chicken, dairy products, soy, legumes, and nuts.
- Biotin: Biotin strengthens and improves hair growth by increasing keratin production. A deficiency of biotin can cause hair thinning and breakage, you can incorporate eggs, almonds, walnuts, whole grains, and sweet potatoes into your diet to increase your biotin increase.
- Iron: To increase your oxygen supply to your hair, you need to improve your iron intake, an iron deficiency can lead to hair loss and hair damage. Some good sources of iron as spinach, lentils, red meat, pumpkin seeds, and more.
- Vitamin A: Vitamin A helps keep the scalp healthy and hydrated while promoting hair growth. It increases sebum production and keeps the scalp moisturised and strong. Some foods that have an abundance of vitamin A are carrots, spinach, dairy products, and sweet potatoes.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C aids in collagen production that improves cell regeneration pace, it also enhances iron absorption and strengthens hair follicles. You can consume citrus-y fruits such as lemons, oranges, limes, and more along with strawberries, capsicums, and kiwis to get that healthy dose of vitamin C.
Top Foods For Healthy Hair
Here are some top foods for healthy hair
Food For Healthy Hair #1: Avocado
Always lusting for a lustrous mane but inexplicable hair loss giving you a hard time? Presenting the ultimate strand saviour – Avocado, the best-known fruit for good hair. A big-time growth stimulator in the world of hair care, this antioxidant-rich fruit unclogs blocked hair follicles and strengthens them to promote dense growth. Loaded with Vitamins, Copper, Iron and Folic Acid, this buttery berry helps retain natural moisture and protect your tresses from dandruff. The dream team of B-complex vitamins, Magnesium and Potassium in this best fruit for hair actively works from the inside to seal cuticle cells and prevent hair from rampant breakage. Swap the dollop of mayonnaise with mashed avocados in your salad, so your tresses can thank you!
Topical Alternative: Plum Avocado Hair Mask For Dry and Frizzy Hair
Food For Healthy Hair #2: Olive Oil
Great for your salads but better for your locks, Olive Oil is high in antioxidants and Vitamins E and K. If you spend more mornings with your hair straightener rather than a big breakfast bowl, let the humble Olive Oil rescue you. It packs a bevvy of benefits that can help your good hair days last longer. It deeply conditions to soften your tresses tames frizz, and reduces split ends. Since it acts as a moisturizing agent, it helps prevent dryness of the scalp and consequently prevents dandruff. A key ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, this bitter tiny fruit should be a part of your diet for healthy hair STAT. One dirty martini, please!
Topical Alternative: Wild Organic Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Hair Oil
Food For Healthy Hair #3: Murumuru Butter
When it comes to moisture, look no further than Murumuru Butter. What’s that you ask? Extracted from the seeds of the Murumuru palm tree, this butter is loaded with Oleic Acid and penetrates hair cuticles for intense moisturization. We don’t need to say that’s a sure-shot headway in achieving smooth and manageable tresses. Moreover, it’s non-greasy and lightweight which means no oily scalp. Your struggle days are finally over, you can watch your tresses finally behave.
Topical Alternative: Earth Rhythm Shampoo Bar With Murumuru Butter For Wavy, Curly Hair
Food For Healthy Hair #4: Walnut
Remember all the times you munched on a walnut with hopes to improve your brain power? Well, you also did your hair a favour because walnuts contain copious amounts of Selenium. Why do you need them, you ask? This brain food saves you from excessive hair loss while the Omega Fatty Acids strengthen your hair follicles. The anti-fungal traits of this dry fruit for hair make it a viable option for soothing an irritated scalp. Let’s tone down on the constant scratch, scratch, eh? Another highlight you can’t afford to miss is that the husk of this nut is a natural colouring agent and improves your natural hair colour. Just saying but you might want to reconsider that salon appointment.
Topical Alternative: Streax Hair Serum With Walnut Oil
Food For Healthy Hair #5: Egg
Love eggs in your morning routine? You’ve certainly got one thing right in your life. A powerhouse of proteins, Eggs can help improve the texture of your mane. They are also loaded with Biotin – a hair growth vitamin – which should be your BFF for fringe benefits anyway. Sure, a greasy scalp can be blamed on humidity and hormones, but seriously, who’s got the time for that? Enter: Egg whites – the ultimate sebum-balancing cleanser, which means better scalp hygiene. Also, if you are guilty of neglecting the yolk and being biased towards just the white, you should know you are missing out on a great source of Vitamin D – the vitamin responsible for stimulating hair follicles and thus, hair growth. Besides, the Lutein in egg yolk can make damaged hair a thing of the past.
Topical Alternative: Chik Hairfall Prevent Egg White Shampoo
Food For Healthy Hair #6: Yoghurt
If you suffer from dandruff and frizz that’s because you haven’t given Yogurt a shot yet! What makes Yogurt the game changer in tress troubles? It’s high in protein, the building block of your locks. The Lactic Acid in this moisturizing agent buffs away dead skin cells and cleanses the scalp, making way for healthier hair. To add to that, it regulates sebum production and balances the pH levels of your scalp while keeping hair fall in control. The best part is that Yogurt is loaded with Probiotics – the good bacteria that help your body absorb nutrients faster. Time to make that occasional cup of Yogurt an everyday on-the-go affair.
Topical Alternative: Fabessentials Banana Rice Water Yogurt Hair Mask
Food For Healthy Hair #7: Cinnamon
You may be surprised to learn that Cinnamon can do more than just add zing to your biryani. A scalp stimulator, it promotes blood circulation and scavenges unwanted buildup to encourage the growth of healthier follicles. Its anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties soothe an irritated scalp and prevent infections, which translates to improved hair health. This antioxidant-rich spice keeps away free radicals and prevents further hair damage. We say provide deep nourishment to your hair follicles, the Cinnamon way.
Topical Alternative: Rustic Art Natural & Organic Cinnamon Rosemary Shampoo Butter
Food For Healthy Hair #8: Onion
Wondering if your hair has any plans to grow longer while you watch it get thinner instead? What your hair needs, besides your desperate failed attempts, can be simply spelt in seven letters – Sulphur. And guess what, Onion brims with Sulphur that reduces thinning and regenerates hair follicles. This antioxidant and nutrient-dense vegetable is good for hair, battles premature greying and improves blood circulation in the scalp for faster growth. Its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal traits treat scalp infections for a healthier scalp with reduced hair loss. Drinking a cup of Onion juice can gradually give you smooth strands that endure the stress of the week without breaking a sweat.
Topical Alternative: Mamaearth Onion Oil For Hair Regrowth & Fall Control With Redensyl
Effective Hair Care Tips To Follow
We have rounded up the best hair care tips on how to maintain healthy hair that will make you realize everything that you have been doing wrong all this while. You can follow these natural hair care tips at home.
-
We know you can’t resist the blow dryer. We have been tempted too. The least you could do is protect your locks from damage. Before using any heat styling tools, spritz your hair with a hair-protecting serum.
We recommend: Wella Professionals EIMI Thermal Image Heat Protection Spray
- Those hot showers you love so much. Switch to lukewarm or cold showers and save your hair from getting brittle for that momentary delight.
- Remember how you immediately wrap your hair in a towel as soon as you step out of the shower? Yes, don’t do that. Use an old cotton tee instead, which would be gentler on your tresses.
-
Don’t you love how tight ponytails keep all the hair off your face and let your skin breathe? Give that a break and try wearing your hair down or rocking looser ponytails with Invisibobbles.
We recommend: Invisibobble Hair Ring
- Swap your cotton pillow cover with a satin pillowcase if you don’t want your to go in vain every time you hit the bed.
General Tips For Hair Care
There are a few tips other than the right diet for healthy hair for you to follow. Here are some general haircare tips everyone should be mindful of:
-
Know Your Hair
Make sure you understand your hair better than anyone else, the texture, the porosity, the characteristics, and more. If you have straight, wavy, curly, or coily hair, you need different care depending on your hair type. If you have an oily scalp or a dry scalp, highly porous or low porous, every hair texture and type needs special care.
-
Place Your Products Right
Shampoos are meant to clean your scalp, remove dirt, reduce excess oil, and stimulate blood circulation, so avoid applying shampoo to your strands as it can dry the shaft out. Similarly, conditioners are meant for the hair length, to improve barrier support, add moisture, and condition the hair, applying conditioner to the scalp will only waste the product and add no value to the hair.
-
Maintain Consistency
Make sure you nourish your hair with the right supplements and products, a consistent hair care routine along with the right food for healthy hair can improve the overall quality of your hair. Ignoring your hair care needs and overdoing it on some days can be counterproductive for your hair growth.
Parting Thoughts
If you crack the best food to eat for healthy hair, you can sort half your problems out. The difference between a good day and a bad day is hair, and to have good hair days all day every day, you need to incorporate the right foods into your diet. Some foods to eat for healthy hair are eggs, meat, nuts, legumes, fruits, and leafy greens. Maintain a consistent regime, opt for satin pillows over cotton, use products that are infused with the right ingredients, and last but not least, know your hair type.
FAQs
-
What are some best foods to eat for hair?
Some of the best foods for healthy hair are avocado, nuts, legumes, fruits, green leafy vegetables, meat, and dairy.
-
What are some best food-based serums for hair?
Here are some serums with everyday food for healthy hair:
-
What are some shampoos for hair growth?
Here are some shampoos made with everyday food for thicker hair growth:
-
What vitamins should I eat for hair growth?
If you are looking for foods to eat for healthy hair, then increase your vitamin intake, especially vitamins A, B12, B7, C, and D. You can have fish, eggs, chicken, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fruits for your body to extract these vitamins and nourish your hair.
-
How frequently do you wash your hair?
If you have oily hair, wash it twice a week to reduce the grease and dirt, if you have dry hair, then you can wash your hair once a week, but condition your hair twice to increase moisture levels.
