Can hair loss and scalp health be improved using vitamins and minerals?

Our hair cell is the second fastest dividing cell in our body and vitamins and minerals are important for normal healthy hair growth. This can mean if we are deficient in key vitamins or minerals, then this may have an effect on the development of our hair.

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The importance of vitamins and minerals to hair health

In this series of articles, we are going to discuss why vitamins and minerals are so important with regards to healthy and thick hair.  Over the next few months we will be delving into vitamins A, vitamin, B, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E.

We are also going to look at minerals such as iron, selenium, and zinc, and their relationship with healthy hair growth and scalp health.

The hair growth cycle

A normal healthy scalp comprises approximately 100,000 hair follicles, and these hair follicles are going through a natural rhythm of anagen (the growing hair phase), catagen (the resting phase), and telogen (the shedding phase).

On the scalp, which is unaffected by any form of hair loss, 90% of all the hair follicles should be in the anagen phase, and this phase can last up to 5 years.

Hear from our co-founder Wil as he discusses the hair growth cycle by clicking here.

For hair follicles to produce strong, healthy hair for this five-year phase, they are reliant on crucial elements, such as vitamins, oxygen, proteins, and minerals, to keep producing for this length of time.

All of these essential vitamins and minerals are delivered into the hair follicle through our blood supply by tiny blood vessels known as capillaries. The capillaries pump the blood into a small factory at the base of the hair follicle known as the dermal papilla. The dermal papilla will then use the nutrients delivered by the blood supply to produce healthy hair.

When our hair is analysed, microscopically, the fibres reveal a make-up of components, such as oxygen, proteins, iron, nitrogen, and sulphur.

This means having plentiful supplies of the key vitamins and minerals within our bloodstream is essential for the quality of hair produced during the anagen phase.

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In our next article we are going to explore iron, selenium and zinc, and their role in the hair production cycle. We will look at both the trichological and nutritional aspects.

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If you want to know more about which vitamins you need to maintain to produce super thick and healthy hair, book an online trichology consultation with one of our qualified trichologists.

Find out more about our Online Hair Loss and Scalp Health Consultations here.

Read here about our genetic testing services which provide personalised treatments including vitamins and minerals.

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