Natural Ways to Help Keep Hair Healthy

With worries over harsh chemicals, many people are looking to herbal hair care products to avoid possible adverse health effects. For example, many brands of shampoo today contain sodium lauryl sulphate, a detergent that studies have shown may interfere with wound healing, dry and roughen the skin, damage hair follicles and impede hair growth, and is a known skin irritant.⁸⁹

On the other hand, hair products made with natural whole herbs or herbal extracts and without these potentially harmful chemicals may actually be beneficial to your hair and your health. Full of biologically active vitamins, minerals, essential oils, natural hormones, and fruit acids, herbal extracts can offer a wide range of healthy choices.⁸⁹

How it Works

Ashwagandha is high in antioxidants, amino acids, and iron and scientific studies have demonstrated its many healthy effects.²⁴ It reportedly stops female hair loss following childbirth,¹¹ and oral supplements containing ashwagandha may actually reverse greying hair.²⁴ Ashwagandha’s potent antioxidant properties can also help protect the skin against free radical damage.²¹

Used in shampoos, ashwagandha is believed to help improve scalp circulation and strengthen the hair, as well as help get rid of dandruff.⁸⁹ Ashwagandha does stimulate DHEA, which is a precursor to both testosterone and estrogen and stimulates the production of collagen and natural skin oils—both of which may encourage healthy hair.⁸⁶ Ashwagandha also appears to stimulate production of melanin, the pigment responsible for hair color, and contains the amino acid tyrosine that is necessary for the formation of melanin.^24,63

Evidence of Benefit

In an interesting clinical study involving 101 healthy men, ashwagandha was found to inhibit the loss of melanin in hair.²⁴