Did Vitamins/Minerals/Diet Contribute to your Hair Health?

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I posted this in another thread in ET and thought I would ask the question here.

Men have been found to prefer long-haired women. An evolutionary psychology explanation for this is that malnutrition and deficiencies in minerals and vitamins causes loss of hair or hair changes. Hair therefore indicates health and nutrition.

Did changes in your diet, vitamin or mineral intake contribute to your hair health or changes in hair quality once you began your healthy hair journey?

If you have not made any of those changes, do you think it would help?

 

[BeautyBlvd]

I never ate terribly to begin with but I do not notice any difference in my hair health or an increase in growth when I switch up my diet. I do notice differences when I switch up my actual hair care regimen. But a healthy diet can't hurt, right?

 

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No one else?

 

[CarLiTa]

I remember one period in my life when I ate a lot of greens, my hair grew much faster than expected. I ate a huge, colorful salad daily. Ate very nutrient-rich foods.

Another time, hanging my head upside down did the trick.

More so than exercise or vitamins. I'm most convinced by the greens idea.

 

[Prettymetty]

I did a high protein diet for a while after I had my son. I did it for weight loss, but I noticed faster hair growth. My normal rate is 1/4-1/3 inch per month, but high protein can get me 1/2 inch or more monthly.

 

[atlien11]

When I was on Birth control and it was sucking the life and nutrients out of my body, my hair wasn't as thick nor did it grow as fast.

As I began to eat better, get off of the pill, and take vitamins, my hair improved drastically. Now that I exercise, eat better, and take vitamins regularly my hair growth/thickeness is the best its ever been but it has leveled off.

I continue to take vitamins and eat clean for reasons more than my hair. In short, vitamins definitely don't hurt and will give you a boost if you are already deficient in whatever it is you are taking. Just my opinion.

 

[PlainJane]

I just made a complete change in my diet and added vitamins to my routine only a few weeks ago so I'll have to wait and see.

 

[HappyAtLast]

I never paid attention to my hair in relation to my diet, but since being on silica and msm for an extended period of time, I notice better quality hair - stronger, more resilient, plumper. Prior to those supplements, I was taking a multi, so a multi alone wasn't enough for me to notice a change in my hair.

 

[ezina]

Definitely. I noticed the increased growth rate with biotin. I'm still unsure about MSM, but it makes the new growth very soft (and a godsend for my upper back and shoulder pains). I'm currently experimenting with silica.

 

[Lebiya]

I did a high protein diet for a while after I had my son. I did it for weight loss, but I noticed faster hair growth. My normal rate is 1/4-1/3 inch per month, but high protein can get me 1/2 inch or more monthly.

Thats awesome Prettymetty.

Do you know approximately much protein you got daily? Alot of people experience more than normal growth from a high protein diet. I remember a thread were someone got 1-2 inches in a month I believe from taking 100g of protein a day while working out ..or something along those lines.

 

[Enyo]

When I ate anything green and had a high protein diet, yes, it did.

 

[Prettymetty]

Lebiya I was consuming 100grams a day. Sometimes more. I ate tuna, salmon, chicken breasts, peanut butter, nuts and occasionally I had protein shakes.

 

[Lebiya]

@Lebiya I was consuming 100grams a day. Sometimes more. I ate tuna, salmon, chicken breasts, peanut butter, nuts and occasionally I had protein shakes.

Awesome, and that's all healthy protein too!

I am consuming 3 raw eggs a day, protein shakes, 1 tbl of peanut butter, trail mix nuts and I will be sure to add tuna as well - all organic except for the shake. This can get very expensive - I am trying to make this my staple diet for 2 months. I also do inversion. So far my scalp has been itchy so we shall see.

 

[SEMO]

I think vitamins help my hair to grow faster and I can tell a difference in the way my hair behaves (along with softer skin and thicker nails). The difference in the quality of my hair became apparent to me when, after years of consistent vitamin usage, I stopped taking them for at least a year. I stopped b/c I was well past my goal hair length and it was one less thing for me to remember to each day.

The hair that grew when I was on my vitamin break seems more prone to dryness and is perhaps a slight bit less silky. I'm back taking vitamins now (sadly, not as consistently as I was before - the ones I have now have biotin and I have to be careful, to avoid acne). But now it's more to promote thickness and the quality of my hair, more than for speeding up my growth.

The vitamins I currently take are the GNC hair, skin and nails (with biotin), along with an iron supplement. Normally I take the GNC hsn w/o biotin.

 

[InBloom]

I've tried several things.

I've always had a decent diet, remembering to eat colorful raw food as much as possible, but I'm not completely clean with my food choices all the time. I think my habits are far better than the average person.

About vitamins..

I did Hairfinity with no noticeable results. I don't think I stayed on these long enough

Tried Biotin and this gave me horrible skin breakouts (even drinking insane amounts of water)

Evening primrose made by twins sore/tender to the point of wincing

Mineral Rich gave me incredible gas, embarrassing

Several brands of Hair, Skin & Nails vitamins with no real hair results. I had really nice nails though

Now I'm trying Hairburst and I think I see faster growth. Not exceptionally fast, but noticeable.

 

[Crystal22]

I am deficient in Vitamin d and have a low ferritin level(iron storage). I have been taking vitamin d and iron for the last 4 weeks and I can honestly say my hair has grown at least an inch in that time frame.

So yes if you're deficient in a vitamin it can definitely affect your hair growth.