Oak + Iris Highlights Volume 3: Hair + Nutrition with Danielle Cahalan
Happy June! Sorry for the blog hiatus! Now, it is officially summer, and I am so excited to have a very special guest on this edition of Oak + Iris Highlights.
As a stylist, one of the things I get asked about most is hair loss. It is a very common concern for many people, men and women alike, and often feels like people want a quick fix. I teamed up with a trusted friend, dietitian, and all around lovely human, Danielle Cahalan, to answer some questions regarding nutrition and hair growth.
A little background on Danielle: she and I met working for The Salon Professional Academy around 2013. While she lived in Nashville for a few years, she is from Chicagoland, and currently lives and practices as a Registered Dietitian there, as well as online through her private practice.
Danielle is an athlete herself, and has worked as a stylist and barber, but decided to pursue her passion by going back to school for her dietetics degree. She specializes in women's health nutrition in her private practice but is also well-versed in the clinical setting (both inpatient and outpatient). She is working on acquiring her CDCES (Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist certification) and plans to enroll in a Graduate Program in the fall to earn her Master's in Health Psychology.
As a stylist, I am never comfortable offering advice outside of my scope of training (ie- recommending any treatment beyond topical products/treatments). Below are some questions I asked Danielle in regards to diet and supplements we often hear buzzing around the beauty industry:
1. Are there any specific foods that help to boost hair growth?
Let me start by saying that the media and supplement industry tend to glorify vitamin and mineral products as the answer to all of your hair growth problems. The issue here is that we tend to overlook the basics first, and those basics are 1) getting enough daily calories in, and 2) making sure that we are hitting our daily protein quota. If we are not giving our bodies the nutrients it requires to function on a fundamental level, then unnecessary bodily functions (like hair growth) suffer and become collateral damage. Start there! Have a professional calculate your estimated calorie and protein needs to ensure that you are nourishing your body (and in turn, hair growth) accordingly.
In addition to sufficient calorie and protein intake, consuming foods rich in zinc¹, omega 3s², and vitamin D³ are scientifically linked to preventing hair loss and promoting healthy hair growth. One of zinc's main functions is cell growth and repair, helping with the regeneration of hair growth. Foods rich in zinc include meat, seafood, nuts and seeds, lentils and legumes. Some studies have shown omega 3s to result in thicker and stronger hair.² Foods rich in omega 3s include fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, or plant-based sources like chia seeds, walnuts, flax seed meal, and vegetable oils. Lastly, vitamin D helps stimulate hair follicle growth. Vitamin D (aka the sunshine vitamin) is most bioavailable from the sun, but we can also retrieve vitamin D from our diet in foods such as egg yolks, bone-in fish, salmon, dairy, tofu, UV-exposed mushrooms, and fortified beverages and foods like orange juice and certain cereals. Instead of relying on supplementation, start with foods first as a mode of getting these nutrients in. In fact, overdosing on supplements can actually have an adverse effect and cause hair loss! Speak to your provider before adding a new supplement to your regimen.
2. Are there specific foods that help make hair overall healthier/shinier/stronger?
Hair is made from keratin, a protein that hardens or "keratinizes". Our hair appears healthier, shinier and stronger when there is sufficient oil (or sebum) production to nourish each hair strand that can otherwise appear dull and brittle. Just like how our skin responds well to dietary fat, so does our hair! (as both are made from keratin). Omega 3s and fat-soluble vitamin E⁴ also help nourish your hair follicles and help our luscious locks retain moisture. People don't realize that fat surrounds every cell in our body, so you can imagine the importance of its functionality. Healthy fats to include in your diet to help support the appearance and health of hair are: nuts and seeds, nut or seed butters, olive oil, olives, avocado, fatty fish, tahini, and wheat germ. And no, dietary fat in proper portion servings do not make us fat. 😉
3. What can happen to the general state of one’s hair if they are not properly nourishing their body?
When an individual isn't receiving adequate nutrition, their non-essential bodily functions are pushed to the wayside in order to deliver what nutrients they are consuming to their vital organs and vital processes to keep them alive (blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, etc.). The growth and appearance of your hair, skin and nails is quite low on the totem pole in regards to priority of distribution, so without consistent proper nourishment, your hair will not grow as efficiently, will appear dull and brittle, and you can even begin to experience hair loss. The hair loss stems from possible nutrient deficiencies and your undernourished hair follicles, which act as anchors to your scalp. When your hair follicles are not nourished or strong enough, they have difficulty maintaining their residence and begin to separate from your scalp; Hence, hair loss occurs.
4. Biotin is commonly talked about as a means to promote hair growth, but I am not typically comfortable recommending any sort of supplement/pill. Is this supplement generally safe to use? Is it effective?
The funny thing with biotin is that there is extremely limited evidence that it's effective as a hair growth supplement.⁵ I would recommend many other nutrients ahead of this one. What's even more humorous is that we actually synthesize biotin in our body! The good bacteria in our large intestines has the capability of producing biotin, so the better approach is focusing on gut health and your food choices to support your natural bodily processes.⁶ Our bodies are intricately designed and intelligent beyond our comprehension. It knows what you need, and supplements are usually not the answer or will treat the root cause of your hair loss and hair growth woes. Save your money! Supplements are a temporary fix and bandaid in the grand scheme of nutrition, and they essentially exist to "supplement" the diet. I suggest choosing foods first that are rich in fiber, prebiotics, and short-chain fatty acids to support gut health, which can then support your body to make its own biotin! Plus, nearly all of us retrieve sufficient amounts of biotin from our diet without even trying to.
If you are currently experiencing alopecia (patchy hair loss), then you may be biotin-deficient, which may warrant supplementation that can actually benefit you. Foods rich in biotin to include in your diet are organ meats, eggs, fish, sweet potatoes, and almonds.
5. Are there any other nutrition tips related to hair health you would like to share?
Yes! Another nutrition-related tip that comes to mind is eating foods that increase circulation and nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is a vasodilator that dilates our blood vessels and increases blood flow. With increased circulation and blood flow, our hair follicles are more nourished and can better support optimal hair growth.⁷ Foods that act as vasodilators and increase blood flow include beets and beet juice, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, peppers, tart cherries or tart cherry juice, waterlemon, berries, garlic and onions.
While this isn't a direct diet tip, being mindful of certain lifestyle factors like stress levels, sleep quality, and exercise can also improve your hair growth. I work on these other 3 pillars of health with my clients as well to make sure everything in life compliments and supports other variables.
If you are interested in getting your estimated energy needs calculated and/or nutrition guidance from Registered Dietitian, Danielle Cahalan, please email her at daniellencahalan@gmail.com or book your free consultation here.
She also offers a self-paced women's health & nutrition course which you can complete on your own time and leisure and can help you optimize your nutrition and support your overall health! Learn more about the Fuel Her Up Course here.
1. Karashima T, Tsuruta D, Hamada T, Ono F, Ishii N, Abe T, Ohyama B, Nakama T, Dainichi T, Hashimoto T. Oral zinc therapy for zinc deficiency-related telogen effluvium. Dermatol Ther. 2012 Mar-Apr;25(2):210-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1529-8019.2012.01443.x. PMID: 22741940.
2. Goodman, E. (2021, February 2). Omega-3 for hair: Is it good for growth or thickness? Medical News Today. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/omega-3-for-hair
3. Saini K, Mysore V. Role of vitamin D in hair loss: A short review. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Nov;20(11):3407-3414. doi: 10.1111/jocd.14421. Epub 2021 Sep 22. PMID: 34553483.
4. Ferreira, M. (2019, March 8). Vitamin E for hair: Benefits, uses, safety, and more. Healthline. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/vitamin-e-for-hair#:~:text=Vitamin%20E%20is%20essential%20for,preserving%20the%20protective%20lipid%20layer.
5. Walle, G. V. D. (2022, March 28). Biotin for hair growth. Healthline. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/biotin-hair-growth
6. Said H. M. (2009). Cell and molecular aspects of human intestinal biotin absorption. The Journal of nutrition, 139(1), 158–162. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.108.092023
7. Wolf, R., Schönfelder, G., Paul, M., & Blume-Peytavi, U. (2002). Nitric oxide in the human hair follicle: Constitutive and dihydrotestosterone-induced nitric oxide synthase expression and no production in dermal papilla cells. Journal of Molecular Medicine, 81(2), 110–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-002-0402-y