The strains and stresses of life can play havoc with your health, but they can also have a detrimental effect on your appearance as well. Most people focus on their skin and internal health when making improvements to their general wellbeing, but some things that are quite often overlooked completely are your hair and nails, which can be a good indicator as to the condition of your overall health.
Strong and healthy nails and hair can often be forgotten because there are so many “quick fixes,” such as a manicure or hiding dry and brittle hair under a hat. However, these are not solutions, and the condition of your hair and nails can often indicate deficiencies in your diet.
There are numerous ways that you can maintain, or indeed improve, the health of your hair and nails. Supplements and vitamins along with some foods can certainly help you achieve healthy nails, strong hair, and overall good health.
Here are our top 5 tips to get healthy hair and nails.
1. Good Maintenance
Like most things in life, if you look after it, and keep it maintained, then it will last longer and stay in good condition. Take your car, for example; it will stay in good condition with regular servicing, professional valets, and routine checks. The same can be said about your hair and nails.
Getting your hair cut or trimmed regularly will help with split ends and dead hair. A trip to the salon for an intense conditioning treatment will assist with combatting dullness and will help put the shine back into your locks.
Nail and cuticle conditioners, along with regular manicures, will help with the overall condition of your nails. Those who regularly have their nails done with extensions or gel manicures may look gorgeous when they are done, but the harsh chemicals, glues, and cement used will damage and thin your nails. So, it may be worth going ‘au naturale’ for a while to give your nails a chance to repair themselves.
2. Super Foods for Super Hair and Nails
You are what you eat, right? Taking that into account, there are a lot of foodstuffs out there that are great to keep your hair strong and shiny and your nails in tip-top condition. It is essential that you build a strong foundation from the inside out to protect your body and give strength to your nails and hair.
Foods that are particularly high in fatty acids such as Omega-3, protein, and Vitamins A and C are great for your body’s overall health and wellbeing – but specifically for your hair and nails.
Foods that contain these include fish and fish oil, lean meats, flax seeds, avocados, leafy green vegetables, and nuts, such as brazil nuts, cashews, and almonds.
3. Take Regular Exercise
You may not think that taking regular exercise will help with the condition of your hair or nails, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Physical activity in any form is a sure-fire way to keep your body and mind healthy, but it is also a natural way to give you glowing skin, healthy, strong hair, and nails.
When you exercise, it improves the circulation in your body and also helps with the respiratory system. This means that regular exercise promotes oxygenation in the body, which encourages hair growth, prevents hair loss, and keeps the scalp healthy.
4. Take Supplements
There are numerous supplements on the market that are great for both your hair and nails and one of the best ones is collagen, which you will easily find at expert online resources like orphicnutrition.com. Unfortunately, we can’t stop the amount of collagen in our body from being reduced.
However, we can certainly try and remedy the amount of collagen in our body through foods and supplements. If you are taking collagen supplements regularly, you will see an improvement in your hair and nails condition and strength.
Collagen is made up of amino acids and protein and is the most abundant source of protein in our bodies. Boosting collagen production could be key when you are looking to improve the condition of your hair and nails.
When your body has a collagen deficiency, you will notice your hair is dry, dull, and brittle, and your nails could crack or break more easily.
5. Make Sure You Get the Right Vitamins
If you don’t currently take vitamins, then a daily multivitamin tablet is the perfect way to start. They are great if you’re trying to boost your overall health as they contain vitamins A, B, D & E, which are all good for your nails and hair.
Vitamins are usually found in tablet or capsule form. Still, with a lot of people not being able to swallow tablets, many multivitamins are now available in a liquid form that you can drink first thing in the morning to give your body its daily boost.
Biotin is another great option and is a blend of Vitamin B7, Vitamin H, and Co-Enzyme R, which help with cell regrowth and renewal. Biotin also assists with the formation of amino acids, which are also found in collagen, that builds the protein in your body, helping with dry and brittle nails.
Sometimes your nails have noticeable marks or color pigmentations, some of which may look like little bruises in your nails. This occurs when there is a lack of B Vitamins in your system. Vitamin B12 can help with this. Another vitamin that you may not have heard of is Folate or Folic Acid.
Pregnant women usually take this, but you may have a deficiency in Folate if you notice your nails are becoming particularly brittle. Folate helps with the formation of new cells and can be found in dark green vegetables, avocados, and citrus fruits; alternatively, you can take Vitamin B9.
Look Forward to a New You
We hope you enjoyed these top five tips for improving the health of your hair and nails. Follow some, or all, of them, and see what a glorious difference it can make. You’ll feel so much better, too!
