0

Frizzy Hair: Could It Be a Vitamin Deficiency?

Anti Frizz Dry Hair Frizzy Hair Hair Care Supplements Vitamins
 by Better Not Younger
articles/Frizzy_Hair_Could_It_Be_a_Vitamin_Deficiency_Better_Not_Younger.png

Many of us have struggled with frizzy hair all of our lives. For example, those with naturally curly hair know how it’s more prone to frizz, especially under humid conditions. For others, frizziness may be a periodic signal that your strands need extra TLC.

They could be broken, dry or damaged, with frayed ends and a texture that is wiry and out of control. Why the sudden change? Your frizzy hair could be attributed to hormone fluctuations, changes to your daily hair-care routine or even a vitamin deficiency. 


What Is Causing My Frizzy Hair?

Your hair strands are built with an intricate three-layer structure. Your outer layer, or cuticle, has shingle-like overlapping cells. Your environment, pH balance and other factors open or close these cells, controlling your shaft’s moisture balance and protecting its inner layers. 

Put simply, when your cuticles are open, your mane looks frizzy. When they are closed, it appears smooth. Numerous internal and external factors can trigger frizzy hair.

  • High humidity: When the moisture content in the air is higher than your hair’s moisture, your cuticles open to allow water molecules to enter. Your strands become swelled, and the cuticle cells remain raised and rough-textured.
  • Dry hair: Likewise, when your locks are dry, your cuticles quickly open to take in moisture. Chronically raised cuticles leave your hair vulnerable to damage, which exacerbates your dry hair and frizzing problems.
    • Styling damage: To lock in a style or color, you or your stylist might use chemicals or heat styling tools to force open your cuticles. When you (and your hair) were younger, your strands were resilient, and recovering from harsh treatment was easy. However, mature hair is more prone to permanent styling-related damage and frizz.
    • Hormone changes: With age and the onset of menopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels drop, leading to issues that impact your hair biology: for example, your strands emerge thinner, and your body produces less protective sebum oil. This makes breakage, split ends and frizz much more likely.
    • pH Balance: Neutral pH is 7 on a pH scale, anything above is considered alkaline and anything below is acidic. If the pH of your scalp and hair are too alkaline, your skin becomes itchy and your cuticles open, giving you a dull, dry and frizzy look. Unbalanced pH can be caused by some shampoos, straighteners or dyes. 
    • Vitamin deficiencies: Each cellular process in your body requires specific raw materials and vitamins to function. If your scalp and hair follicles can’t draw from crucial hair-building micronutrients, you could wind up with weak and frizzy hair.

      • What Vitamin Deficiencies Affect Hair?

      Our hair is often the first place we can detect signs of inadequate nutrition. That’s because though healthy hair is pivotal to our sense of well-being and self-confidence, it’s not essential for survival. When faced with limited resources, our bodies channel nutrients to vital organs and crucial processes first, which means your hair is likely to suffer.

      Deficiencies in any of the following vitamins and minerals could manifest as conditions including generalized hair loss, frizziness or brittle hair:

    • Biotin (vitamin B7): Biotin activates enzymes that break down the carbohydrates, fat and protein necessary for hair production and reducing frizz.
    • Zinc: Zinc is a mineral required for a host of hair-friendly metabolic activities, including nutrient absorption, cell division and hormone regulation and production.
    • Vitamin D: Proper vitamin D levels regulate our hair’s growth cycle, keeping follicles in the active growth phase so they can produce longer, healthier strands.
    • Vitamin C: Vitamin C is essential to collagen synthesis, one of the protein building blocks of hair. It can also prevent hair and scalp issues associated with anemia.
    • Vitamin E: Vitamin E supports scalp and hair health, reducing inflammation, increasing hydration and ensuring your follicles are functioning correctly.
      • Folic acid: Folic acid is needed for cell growth and division, a process vital for rapidly dividing hair bulb cells in our follicles. 
      • Vitamin B-12: Vitamin B-12 assists in cell metabolism and may have a role in maintaining our hair’s pigmentation levels.
      • Vitamin A: Vitamin A is another nutrient our body requires to maintain successful cell growth and division in our follicles.

      What if I Have a Vitamin Deficiency?

      If your doctor has confirmed that you lack one or more of these nutrients, they’ll likely suggest getting more sun exposure and increasing certain foods in your diet, including:

      • Fish: Vitamins A, D, B-12 and biotin
      • Spinach and leafy greens: Vitamins A and C
      • Dairy or Almond Milk: Fortified with vitamins A, D and B-12
      • Whole grains: Vitamin E, zinc and biotin
      • Nuts: Vitamin E
      • Eggs: An excellent source for biotin and vitamin A
      • Carrots, mangoes and pumpkin: Vitamin A
      • Tomatoes, bell peppers and citrus fruit: Vitamin C

      As we age, our bodies may have trouble properly synthesizing the nutrients from our diets. This means that even if we’re eating everything we should, we may still lack the vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy hair production. 

      Supplement Your Diet to Counter Frizzy Hair


      Oral supplements can help boost your body’s bioavailability of nutrients, giving your skin and follicles nourishment to produce well-balanced, healthy hair. Better Not Younger’s edible hair-care supplement Significant Other Hair, Skin & Nails Supplement + Retinol Boost, which doubles the vitamin A, does just this!

      Eat two strawberry-flavored, sugar-free gummies daily for a potent dose of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to balance pH, enhance cuticle health and promote longer, more robust, frizz-free hair! Both formulas include:

      • Biotin
      • Zinc
      • Vitamin D3
      • Vitamin C
      • Vitamin E
      • Folic Acid
      • Vitamin B-12
      • Vitamin A

      Find All Your Frizzy Hair Remedies with Better Not Younger


      Frizzy hair could be associated with several factors, including nutrient deficiency. So the first step to dealing with frizz is to provide your body with the building blocks it needs to create shiny, healthy hair. 

      Look for Significant Other Hair, Skin & Nails Supplement + Retinol Boost on our Better Not Younger online Shop page. 

      Also, check our Better Blog to learn about other ways to tackle frizz using our hair and scalp serum, conditioner and hair masks.

      Tell Us: Has your hair suddenly become frizzy? Could it be related to a vitamin deficiency? Share in the comments below!