Your Diet Can Impact Hair Health & Growth: 5 Nutrients To Prioritize

Healthy hair doesn’t happen by accident. It takes patience, consistency, and a whole lot of care. In July we’re explaining everything you need to know about keeping your strands strong—and spotlighting our all-time favorite stories along the way. 

Your hair is one of the fastest-growing tissues in the body. That means it requires a steady supply of nutrients to build strong strands, support healthy follicles, and keep the growth cycle running smoothly.

Of course, there isn't one miracle food for better hair. Healthy hair is the result of consistent dietary patterns and a wide variety of nutrients. Protein provides the raw materials for keratin. Vitamins and minerals help follicles produce healthy hair. Healthy fats support the scalp. Even seemingly unrelated nutrients can influence shine, density, and breakage.

Even if you are one to stick to a no-fuss, easy-going hair care routine—biologically, hair is anything but simple. Every strand your body produces requires protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and energy. Because hair isn't essential for survival, it's also one of the first things your body deprioritizes during times of nutrient shortages, illness, or chronic stress.

So when you’re not prioritizing healthy eating, hair is often one of the places that is impacted. You may experience thinning, dullness, texture changes, and even out-right hair loss. (Read our most recent feature that dives into the science of hair loss here.) 

Think about your overall dietary pattern. Eating enough calories, prioritizing protein, filling your plate with colorful produce, and correcting true nutrient deficiencies create the environment your follicles need to thrive.

If hair had a primary building material, amino acids would be it.

Hair is made mostly of keratin, a structural protein built from amino acids. Without enough dietary protein, your body simply has fewer raw materials available to create new hair. Over time, low protein intake can contribute to increased shedding, slower growth, thinner strands, and reduced hair quality.

Animal proteins naturally contain all essential amino acids, while plant-based diets can absolutely support healthy hair with enough variety and total intake. For those who need additional support, protein powders and collagen supplements may also provide specific amino acids that support healthy hair, alongside skin and nails.

Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional causes of hair shedding, particularly among women. Iron helps transport oxygen throughout the body—including to rapidly growing hair follicles.

But iron doesn't work alone. Vitamin C dramatically improves the body's ability to absorb plant-based iron while also supporting collagen production, another important component of healthy hair. Also important: Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which means it also helps the body deal with damaging free radicals. 

Think of them as teammates. Eating spinach with citrus, beans with tomatoes, or taking an iron supplement alongside a vitamin C one (better yet, finding a multi with them paired together.

Healthy hair doesn't just depend on the strand itself. It depends on the environment it's growing from.

Just as your skin barrier needs lipids to stay hydrated and resilient, your scalp benefits from nutrients that support barrier function. Emerging research suggests plant-derived ceramides may improve scalp hydration while also supporting fuller-looking hair and reducing breakage.

It's another reminder that beautiful hair begins long before the strand reaches your shoulders.

Vitamin D is technically a hormone, not a vitamin, and researchers continue to uncover just how many systems it influences—including healthy hair growth.

Studies consistently find lower vitamin D levels among people experiencing certain forms of hair loss. And unfortunately, 41% of U.S. adults1 are insufficient in vitamin D and approximately 29%1 are straight-up deficient—so a large chunk of the population would benefit from getting more vitamin D. 

Since vitamin D is difficult to obtain through food alone and getting vitamin D through sun exposure has its own risks, supplementation tends to be the most effective route. Of course, that doesn't mean supplementation is appropriate for everyone. It’s important to get testing done before deciding whether supplementation makes sense.