A Diet for Healthy Hair

/ 7 comments
As you may well know, my hair has been the bane of my existence from a very young age. Getting afro combs tangled in it, being mega jealous of friends with sleek hair (I still am), scraping it back and pretending it wasn't there, shaving 2/3 of it off just to be rid of the majority of it and even being jealous of my Dad for having alopecia. Yep, I hated my hair so much I craved that it would fall out and leave me completely bald.

[[ Uh, yeah, actually I shaved 2/3 off any dyed it green...Take THAT hair, y'bitch. ]]

Right now I'm actually trying to grow it all back - I have three odd lengths, with one side basically being a mini afro (now you know why all my FOTD pics are from the side/ hand over half my head!) It isn't so bad since I started using hot oils and Naked products, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. I figured since 99.9% of 'nourishing', 'moisture rich', 'repairing' hair products I've tried have zero effect on my hair - maybe I should try and improve it from the inside out with hair loving foods...

Food Groups/ Vitamins/ Minerals

Proteins - Liver and blood rich meats, marmite, brewer's yeast, fatty fish (mackerel, tuna, salmon), cottage cheese, cheese in general, yogurt, tofu.

Iron - Liver and blood rich meats, whole grain cereal, dark green veg (helloooo spinach!), eggs (also great for protein), dates, dried apricots, prunes, peas raisins, cocoa powder and chocolate, sun dried tomatoes, molasses.

B Vitamins - Eggs, turkey and other poultry, tuna and other fish, potatoes, bananas, lentils, chilli peppers.

Essential Fatty Acids - Walnuts, sunflower seeds, canola (rapeseed) oil, fish, shellfish, soy.

Vitamin E - Avacados, almonds, pine nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, olive oil, paprika and red chilli powder, dried herbs, dried apricots, green olives.

Sulfur - Onion, meat, fish, nuts, asparagus, sprouts, broccoli, kale, turnips and garlic. The sulphur content of food is often lost once it has been cooked or processed, so try eating raw or partially cooked food (like stir fries) where you can.

Zinc - Barley grass, kelp, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, whole grain, brewers yeast, milk, nuts, cocoa powder and chocolate, avacados, blackberries, raspberries, wasabi root, lemon grass and beans.

Water - Goes without saying, really, doesn't it?!

What to Avoid


As well as there being plenty of foods that our hair benefits from, there are also a few things that we should avoid to keep our locks happy...

Caffeine - Tea, coffee, chocolate, energy drinks, fizzy drinks.
Sugar - Sweets, desserts, fizzy drinks, refined white flour, alcohol.
Fat - Fatty meats and fish, fried food, crisps, desserts, junk food.
Carbonated Drinks - Sorry, your addiction to coca-cola ends here!

I shall let you know how I'm incorporating all of the different food groups into my diet at some point next week, I wonder if it will really be any different to what I already eat... I'm not expecting a huge difference any time soon, especially since I have bleached my hair recently and straighten it fairly often - but at least I'll know I'm doing something good for it!

How do you look after your hair? Do you take vitamin tablets for it? Any hair growing tips?

7 comments:

  1. This is great! I've been trying to eat a bit healthier lately too, but for my skin- and it's totally been working!
    Excited to see how you work these foods into your diet! <3

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  2. I love your chelsea hawk! haha!

    Good luck with your hair diet, I've noticed when I eat crap my hair looks crap and falls out more =0/ I don't take any supplements or anything but not brushing it often prevents it splitting and falling out, my hair is very thick and wavy so I just run my fingers through it and let it dry naturally xx

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  3. I eat a lot of avocadoes, tomatoes and oily fish and always have I also take 1000 mg of vitamin c everyday, my hair is really good but red hair is usually quite good, I have mistreated my hair so much over the years but its still really thick and strong, unfortunately my nails aren't the same which is annoying butd id reccoment getting some good fatty oils in you.
    also dont take the skin/hair/nails supplements they are full of rubbish like phenylanaline (sp.) which is a neurotoxin, not good x

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  4. @ Widdlesh, eee, glad to hear it's been having an effect! I wonder if this lot will help my skin, too...Hopefully!

    @ Karleigh, haha, thanks! I didn't keep the fringe for long, though. Ooh, hair falling out doesn't sound good :/ If I could get away without straightening/ brushing my hair I would do - unfortunately I can't...It doesn't take on any sort of style naturally, just a ball of frizz.

    @ Lori, neurotoxins in supplements?! Weird, but tbh they must be there for a reason and not capable of damage in the amount of them you're supposed to take. I'm going to have to eat a sh*t ton of nuts, because I can't stand seafood -_-

    @ Vulcan_Butterfly, haha, thanks! That is actually how it looked at it's worst point lmao.

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  5. LOVE you blog! I actually nominated you for the Kreativ Blog award!

    http://purrceptivevixxen.blogspot.com/2011/04/kreativ-blogger-award.html

    xoxo

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  6. Your green hair is awesome!
    I swear by hoot oils for my hair, which has been beaten to death by bleaching and by being very dry naturally. I put on some hot oil, wrap it all in clingfilm and then waft it with the warm setting on my hairdryer for a while, then just leave it for ages before rinsing. Works a treat!

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