Beauty from Within: Vitamins & Healthy Hair

In the finale of our four-part Beauty from Within series, we will be investigating the micronutrients included in supplements that support a healthy head of hair. This list of ingredients comes from the leading name-brand hair supplements on the market. Including these micronutrients in nutritional and supplemental blends allows lifestyle nutritional brands to claim for hair growth, strength and support with their products. Agropur Ingredient’s contract manufacturing team can aid brands in formulation with these components to pass along the hair-related benefits to their consumers and expand their market share into the beauty industry.

Check out part one, Beauty from Within: Skin Supplements, part two, Beauty from Within: Formulating with Collagenor part three, Beauty from Within: Dairy’s Role in Skin Health.

B Vitamins and Healthy Hair

A multitude of water-soluble B vitamins are associated with proper hair care. We will cover five components of the vitamin B complex group that protect hair.

The Anti-Stress Vitamin:

Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5, is often referred to as the “anti-stress vitamin” because of its ability to regulate stress hormones in the adrenal cortex. Stress negatively impacts hair pigmentation and strength, leading to both hair graying and hair loss when the body cannot properly handle stress. Including B5 in the diet will prevent both hair-graying and loss.

The Loss Prevention Vitamin:

Pyridoxine, or vitamin B6, also aids in hair loss prevention. B6 helps cell metabolism by aiding in regulating cysteine inclusion into hair building processes. Additionally, B6 has been shown in an all-female study to reduce hair loss associated with diffused alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that attacks hair follicles, when absorbed consistently for six months.

The Gray Hair Defense Vitamins:

Attaining an adequate and consistent intake of both folate, or vitamin B9, and cobalamin, or vitamin B12, will prevent megaloblastic anemia, commonly associated with pre-maturing gray hair. One note here to make is that vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal-based products, so vegetarian and vegan based products can fortify their formulas with B12 to deliver this necessary ingredient to their consumers.

The Volume Vitamins:

Finally, biotin, or vitamin B7, is found in most nail, skin and hair supplements because it is associated with thickening, growing and creating a healthy shine for the hair. Biotin works by strengthening keratin, which is the fibrous and structural protein that makes up the body’s hair and nails.

Other Healthy Hair Micronutrients: Zinc, Choline and Glutathione

Learn about how zinc, choline, and glutathione can also be functional ingredients in hair supplements below.

Zinc:

Ingesting an overabundance or a lack of zinc can both lead to hair loss. Ensuring zinc is consumed at adequate levels both prevents alopecia and general hair loss by regulating the oil glands surrounding hair follicles.

Choline:

Ingesting choline also helps to keep hair strong and healthy indirectly by preventing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This disease is linked to hair thinning, so ensuring that it is prevented is a step in the right direction of keeping hair healthy.

Glutathione:

Finally, Glutathione, which is a tri-peptide structure, also aids in the fight against non-alcohol fatty liver disease and alopecia. Glutathione also works to fights general oxidative stress and inflammation, which prevents the folliculitis or an itchy scalp leading to hair loss from occurring.

All of the above vitamins, minerals and micronutrients can be found in a balanced diet that includes both plant-based and dairy-based whole foods. However, with consumers’ dietary restrictions in mind, brands can create supplemental blends that include these micronutrients to provide consumers with options to fill any nutritional gaps that they may have regarding their hair health’s needs. Agropur Ingredients has experience with formulating and producing healthful, supplemental blends for lifestyle nutritional brands that are looking to enter the beauty from within market. Our contract manufacturing team will gladly work with your brand to create the ideal hair health supplemental, food-grade blend.

In conclusion…

Agropur is a North American dairy industry leader with an abundant supply of high-quality dairy products to support our shared goal of ‘Better Dairy. Better World.’ Agropur Ingredients also has experience with contract manufacturing various dairy proteins (whey, milk, casein, etc.) and beauty-enhancing powders for health and wellness brands. Consider us the next time you, as a brand or fellow manufacturer, have an interest in or need insight into contract manufacturing with dairy ingredients and skin and nail enhancing supplement powders.