What are the benefits of hair supplements for my hair?

There are a lot of hair supplements out there on the market that promise hair growth and hair thickness, in record time. I have always been so tempted to try all the pills out there! The only vitamin supplements I take are vitamin C when am under the weather and Iron for medical reasons. I have tried multi vitamin supplements before my hair journey and that wasn’t even for my hair so I cannot say if I benefitted from using them. However, I have heard that iron tablets (just a soft iron tablet) is really good for thicker new growth hair strands – (Stylist Magazine UK), their advice was to eat red meat or lentils at least twice a week and have some green leafy vegetables, as that is all the body needs (disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or doctor don’t quote me on this, I just read it)

What are the benefits of hair supplements?

1. If your body is lacking some vital nutrients that aid to the growth of hair, then taking supplement will help you obtain the deficiency you are lacking. If your body is lacking nutrients, the first part of the body that suffers are the ones that are not vital for day to day body function; i.e. nails, hair, skin (these are less important that keeping you breathing and digesting and fighting disease)

Questions you need to ask before taking

1. Am I really lacking the nutrients I am taking in? It might be worth going for a blood test to see if you are actually low in these nutrients that you plan on taking, if not then really it’s a waste of money as it will just be removed from your body at best or hinder the function of other bodily functions at worst. Interesting article on the huffpost.com about the dangers of Biotin and how an excess of this supplement actually hinders hair growth and can also case high blood sugar levels, skin rashes, lower vitamin C and B6 levels. The article also says that a deficiency of Biotin is very rare. The required daily dosage for biotin is 2.5mg, but some biotin supplements are up to 5mg! Though the article does say biotin is important for hair growth (Article: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4016804)

Ø  Biotin rich food – carrots, almonds, chicken eggs, cow and goat milk, berries and fruits, onions, cucumber, cauliflower – (phew I am definitely eating biotin rich foods!)

2. What are you actually taking? I have seen so many hair supplement products that have unnatural products; I sit there thinking what the hell that is? If you are taking a product that is not normally in your food how will your body react to it? Supplements are produced in a way that mimics the naturally occurring nutrients and is not really in its natural occurring state

3. If you have had issues with your health, it is probably worth taking to you doctor or pharmacist about the supplements you are about to take, as this might actually make your condition worse. I will not lie, the idea of supplements has always been something I wanted to try, however, at the start of my hair journey I was diagnosed with a clot in my brain and had to take up treatment, and guess what every single hair supplement I wanted to try did not work well with my treatment, damn…..had to leave my 10 hair supplement bottles I had picked up back on the counter for someone else to enjoy.

I am not saying hair supplements are bad or that they are not necessary nor am I saying they are good; we just need to ask more questions before using them. Just because your hair crush is using them and got super amazing results does not mean that they are good for you. Most bloggers have disclaimers on their websites; therefore, you should also be making an informed decision.

The funny truth is even when you have a ‘bad’ diet you will be amazed at how much of your daily required nutrients you are consuming and in excess even, therefore taking supplements might not actually be of any benefit. I always thought the supplements we took in that our body didn’t need would just be processed as worst, I was very shocked to even think that too much of a naturally occurring supplement could actually led to complications.

Happy Hair Journeys Ladies! :o)

‘When you love someone, you love the person as they are, and not as you’d like them to be’ – Leo Tolstoy