Healthy hair is truly an inside job. Yet so many of us focus on pampering and maintaining the hair we see, rather than the all-important follicles below the surface. This is where a full head of thick, beautiful hair starts.

The healthiest hair starts from within—from the vitamins and minerals you get from whole and enriched foods as well as supplements, which nourish the follicles that work tirelessly to produce each and every strand. These nutrients help keep the follicle strong to prevent premature hair loss, and they help regulate the three-step hair growth phase, so that you don’t experience episodes of obvious no growth or an extreme shedding event.

OMI WellBeauty^TM Hair Nutrition delivers all the vitamins and minerals you need to achieve optimal hair follicle strength. In fact, OMI Hair Nutrition has been clinically shown to reduce hair loss by improving the anchoring of individual hair strands into the hair follicles (like a  flower bulb planted snugly and securely into the earth), in addition to improving hair strength, promoting hair growth, and increasing its overall radiance.

Below, we outline the five essential vitamins and minerals that help keep your hair follicles healthy. Here’s what you need to know about each one.

First up is Keratin, the powerhouse beauty peptide

Strong, fibrous keratin makes up 90% of our hair and outer layer of skin and nails. While our bodies naturally produce this important protein, an assist from keratin supplements is the best path to strong, healthy hair. That’s because as we get older—even starting in our 20’s— our natural keratin production slows, contributing to drier, more brittle hair that breaks more easily.

To fully nourish your hair (and skin and nails), you need to treat it from the inside out. Safe, natural, effective keratin supplements deliver nutritional support that strengthens your hair at the follicle level to help guard against hair loss. In fact, researchers have found that keratin can promote cell formation within the follicles, leading to increased hair growth. In addition, maintaining optimal levels of keratin in your body helps defend your outer layer of skin—including your scalp—against irritation and dehydration.

OMI WellBeauty^TM Hair Nutrition, is made with patented Kerafol™, which has been proven to anchor hairs in their follicles, restore hair growth, and reduce hair loss. The result: a nourished, healthy environment in which your hair can flaunt its strength, volume, and shine.

Next up is Biotin, Keratin’s support system

This nutrient helps prevent hair loss by boosting keratin production in the body—so if you’re in short supply, your body won’t maximize its keratin supply, and your follicles and hair could suffer.

Protein-rich foods like eggs, salmon, and sunflower seeds are good sources of biotin. Taking biotin in supplement form is a great idea because biotin supplements have excellent bioavailability—they are 100% absorbed by the body. One thing to remember is to tell your doctor or lab technician if you’re taking biotin—high biotin levels have been known to produce false results on lab tests having to do with thyroid or hormone levels, among others.

Then there’s Elastin, which keeps hair follicles active

This protein, which helps keep skin stretchy and elastic and forms a strong foundation for cell growth, is formed in the body early in life and depletes as we grow older (hello wrinkles). No wonder then, that this beauty peptide can impact the scalp and hair follicles as well. Elastin is thought to play an important role in regulating the hair cycle, and spurring activity in the follicle in particular.

Environmental and lifestyle factors like sun exposure and a poor diet can help deplete elastin faster—so to conserve the elastin you have, make sure to wear sunscreen and eat a balanced diet rich in plant foods. Elastin also comes in supplement form, often in partnership with collagen, another nutrient that supports healthy hair follicles and boosts hair growth.

Lastly, the 2 key minerals: Zinc, helpful for follicle recovery…

Zinc is a trace mineral that has a big impact on numerous chemical reactions in the body. While you may not need a lot of zinc, low levels of this mineral has been linked to hair loss. Researchers have found that zinc accelerates hair follicle recovery, making it crucial to achieving optimal hair follicle health.

Luckily, you can find zinc in many foods as well as in supplemental form. The recommended daily amount for women is 9mg (11 mg if you’re pregnant, and 12 mg if you’re breastfeeding). Meat, fish, and seafood are good sources of zinc, along with eggs and dairy products. While it’s nearly impossible to consume too much zinc through diet alone, it’s recommended to stay below 40 mg/day when taking zinc supplements. Higher doses can interfere with the body’s copper absorption (see below).

….and Copper, for follicle growth

Researchers have found that copper peptides promote the growth of human hair follicles, making copper another key mineral in the quest for strong, lush, hair. (Not-so-fun fact: Low levels of copper have been connected with prematurely gray hair.)

Incorporating copper into your diet through foods and supplements should be easy. You can find this mineral in liver, shellfish, beans, nuts, and whole grains. In addition, copper can be found in standalone supplements, as well as part of multivitamins and special vitamins such as OMI WellBeauty^TM Hair Nutrition.

Your Dream Hair To Do:

• Nourish your hair follicles from the inside out with a smart supplement strategy using OMI WellBeauty^TM Hair Nutrition.
• Focus on Keratin, which makes up 90% of our hair and is key for cell formation within the hair follicle.
• Build out a hair nutrition plan designed to keep hair follicles secure with a healthy diet rich in plant-based foods and lean protein.