While regular trips to the salon and healthy hair care practices make a world of difference, the key to sensational strands may be found in your kitchen.
According to a holistic nutritionist, there are four main foods everyone should be incorporating into their diet for better hair: pumpkin seeds, omega-3 fatty acids, eggs and yellow sweet peppers.
Speaking on TikTok, Joy McCarthy (also known as @joyoushealth) said: “It’s no surprise that your nutrition plays a huge role in the health of your hair.
“Remember that each strand is actually dead. In order to have healthy hair, you need to have a healthy scalp.”
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Sharing the top foods for “healthy, shiny hair”, the nutrition expert advised women to increase their consumption of eggs.
She said: “I could do a whole video just talking about the health benefits of eggs – honestly, they’re like mother nature’s perfect food.
“You have protein and biotin – both very important for strong, healthy hair – and you have all that healthy fat and iron.”
Protein is essential for growth and repair, and health experts stress the importance of eating enough to ensure sensational strands.
The experts at Holland & Barrett explained: “If your diet doesn’t include enough protein, the body starts to ration the nutrient, focusing on sending it to more critical functions like your blood.
“This can stall hair growth, leading to dull, brittle hair. If low levels of protein continue for a few months, hair may fall out.”
As for biotin, this can “improve the keratin infrastructure within our bodies”. However, biotin can only impact hair growth if there is an existing biotin deficiency.
Omega-3 fatty acids keep the scalp moisturised and reduce inflammation, while iron is needed for healthy hair cell development.
Eggs are rich in protein, biotin, healthy fats and iron
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In addition to eggs, Joy advised hair enthusiasts to up their consumption of pumpkin seeds, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and yellow sweet peppers.
She explained that pumpkin seeds contain healthy fats and are a good source of B vitamins – particularly B7 – which is great for hair growth and building the hair’s “resilience”.
Omega-3 fatty acids are also ideal hair-boosting foods as they are essential for blood circulation. The expert said: “You need good blood circulation so that you get nutrition to the scalp.” Salmon, sardines, chia seeds and spirulina are all good sources of this.
Finally, Joy recommended stocking up on yellow sweet peppers. These are high in vitamin C, which is needed for collagen production. It also helps to produce sebum in the scalp, which gives the hair its shiny quality.
