Want Better Hair? Start With Your Gut
That’s not typically the first thing we think of when we want to improve our hair health, but hear me out.
We’re all guilty of blaming bad hair on the weather, hard water, or that one unforgiving haircut we gave ourselves during Covid. But what if the real reason your hair isn’t thriving has nothing to do with any of that and instead has everything to do with what’s happening inside your body?
Think of your gut as the food delivery system for everything your hair needs to grow strong and healthy.
-Iron keeps oxygen flowing to your follicles, without it hair can shed excessively.
-Zinc repairs follicle tissue and keeps oil glands working properly, keeping your hair well hydrated.
-Biotin is essential for keratin production, the literal protein that makes your hair. Interestingly, certain bacteria in your gut actually produce biotin for you. They feed on the fibre you eat and can synthesise biotin that your body can absorb. So eating a high fibre diet (your guts favourite), literally helps to keep your hair looking healthy.
Vitamin D activates the hair growth cycle, and B12 supports the rapid cell division happening inside every follicle.
Adding a daily supplement like Probio7 Original- Daily Gut Support can help maintain the beneficial bacteria responsible for producing and supporting these key nutrients.
Inflammation: Your Hair’s Worst Enemy
Here’s where it gets interesting. When your gut is unhappy (thanks to stress, illness, antibiotics, poor diet or an overall imbalanced microbiome), it triggers inflammation throughout your entire body. Your gut releases inflammatory proteins into the bloodstream, which travel to your hair follicles and can push them into a shedding phase before they’re ready.
A damaged gut lining (otherwise known as leaky gut), can release harmful fragments of bacteria and other unwanted pathogens into your bloodstream, creating a full-blown inflammatory response that your poor hair follicles simply cannot cope with. But it doesn’t stop there, if our gut is inflamed then we may not be able to absorb all the key nutrients our hair needs from the foods we eat, leaving our hair follicles left feeling starved and less than luscious.
Supporting your gut lining with Probio7 Restore – Antibiotic Recovery Support can help reduce inflammation and improve nutrient absorption.
Friendly Bacteria As A Form Of Self Care
Friendly bacteria supplements help to keep your gut microbiome happy and balanced, your gut lining strong and tight, and inflammation at bay. A good friendly bacteria supplement helps your body to actually absorb those hair supporting nutrients and produce additional ones all by itself.
So, we believe that these friendly gut bacteria deserve a seat at the table when it comes to self-care. Not only do they help us to feel good internally, but they also help us to feel better about external features (like our hair, skin and nails) too. Taking a friendly bacteria supplement alongside a nutrient rich, fibre rich diet, will support your hair from the inside out and leave you feeling like you’re in the next best exotic shampoo advert.
A targeted option like Probio7 Advanced – High Strength Support can be a simple addition to your routine to help keep your gut bacteria balanced.
And while nurturing your gut sets the foundation, using the right hair tools on the outside can make a big difference too. Tools like Manta help detangle hair gently and stimulate the scalp, supporting blood flow to the follicles and complementing all the internal care you’re doing.
Happy gut, healthy hair.
Written by: Sally Spicer
Nutritional Therapist: MSc Performance Nutrition, DipCNM, mBANT, mCNHC
Head of Nutrition at Probio7
