When it comes to boosting hair growth, the B vitamin biotin gets a lot of attention, which it should, as it’s essential for the health of your hair, skin and nails. But it’s also an excellent supporting player to superstar keratin. The reason: Biotin actually helps stimulate keratin production, the protein that makes up 80% of our hair and outer layer of nails and skin. Keratin has a significant impact on hair growth—and keratin supplements are a smart way to give your hair the support it needs to achieve its dream state: lush, shiny, healthy and full.

So, How Exactly Does Keratin Help Hair Growth?

Our bodies naturally produce keratin, a fibrous protein that’s incredibly strong (fun nature fact: it’s also the building block of bird beaks and animal horns), making for youthful, healthy hair. But over time, the body’s production of this growth peptide can slow—and you may notice your hair is drier, even brittle, and more likely to break.

If you’re thinking, “Great, I’ll book an appointment for a keratin treatment at my salon,” give us a minute to change your mind. Keratin hair treatments are intended to smooth and strengthen hair by smoothing the cells of your strands with keratin. However, these treatments often contain the dangerous chemical formaldehyde, which is harmful if inhaled, and can cause serious health issues. Even formaldehyde-free treatments only treat the hair you have now—making no impact on new and future hair growth.

For true dream hair transformation, ingestible keratin supplements are a better answer.

How Keratin Supplements Support Hair Growth—and Then Some

Keratin hair growth supplements strengthen from the outside in, getting to, well, the root of the issue, rather than only treating hair once it's grown. Keratin supplements work with your body in a safe, natural, and effective way, delivering nutritional support that strengthens your hair from follicles to ends, to help guard against hair loss. The result: a thicker head of healthy hair—one that glows with youthful bounce and shine.

Repeat After Us: Keratin Strong Means Keratin Long

It’s probably fair to say that you seldom—if ever—look in the mirror and think, “I wish my hair were stronger.” Adjectives like longer, shinier, thicker, curlier, straighter, darker, lighter, blonder… those attributes are probably what come to mind first. But hair strength is the secret superpower of gorgeous, look-at-me hair.

Since the core, inner layer, and outer layer (called the cuticle) of each strand of hair is made up largely of keratin, it’s essential that your body has enough keratin to keep that hair strong. Stronger hair is free to grow longer—unphased by the dullness, frizz, split ends, and breakage that plague weak hair.

Taking Keratin Makes Your Hair Products Work Harder

Much like hydrated, healthy skin is the perfect blank canvas for makeup, a healthy head of hair is ideal for maintaining a shiny, vibrant style, from cut to color. Strong, healthy hair that’s properly nourished from the roots on out will respond better to the active ingredients in your shampoo, conditioner, and styling products. It will also be less susceptible to visible damage from blow drying and other heat tools.

Your Skin and Nails Will Get a Major Boost, Too

Keratin isn’t just a hair growth supplement—it can have a dramatic impact on nails and skin, too. When your body is functioning with the right amount of keratin, your nails will be stronger, and less prone to splitting or breaking. Keratin is also a key component in the epidermis, or outer layer of skin, offering that first line of defense against dehydration and irritation.

How to Get More Keratin In Your Diet

Keratin hair growth supplements are a proven way to improve the condition of your hair as it grows. In one study of 50 women, subjects took a daily 500 mg dose of keratin supplements containing Cynatine HNS, a solubilized keratin in a highly bioavailable, peptide form that’s derived from sheeps’ wool. We’ve never seen results as convincing as these. After 30 days, we saw a 16.9% improvement in hair shedding, which jumped to 38.9 %  after 60 days and a whopping 46.6% after 90 days.

Certain foods are also known to maximize hair growth and overall hair health by amping-up keratin’s efficacy.

• Biotin-rich proteins like eggs, salmon, and nuts
• Broccoli and cooked greens like kale, collards, and spinach that are rich in vitamin A, which helps synthesize keratin. (Tip: Fat-soluble vitamin A absorbs better when paired with healthy fats.)
• Foods rich in vitamin D, including tuna, sardines, and fortified dairy and non-dairy milk
• Zinc-rich foods like meat, fish, and seafood, all of which have excellent bioavailability that also helps zinc boost collagen production and skin elasticity

But the keratin support your hair and nails require is nearly impossible to get from diet alone. That’s why I recommend taking a daily keratin support supplement. NAOMI Keratin features 500 mg capsules of Cynatine HNS along with ingredients including biotin that support both the production and bioavailability of keratin, to fully support healthy beauty from the inside out.