The health of our hair, skin, and nails is a direct reflection of our overall wellness. These features can shed light onto low thyroid hormone, inflammation, poor detox pathways, a vitamin deficiency, and other underlying issues you may not be aware of.
Although it is common to attempt to promote the health of your hair, skin, and nails topically, enhancing these features effectively comes from within.
Below are some of the top ways to give your hair, skin, and nails the boost they need:
Check Your Thyroid Hormones
Because the thyroid is responsible for producing hormones that regulate your body’s energy use, these hormones affect virtually every system in the body, including the growth of hair follicles, skin cells, and nail beds.
Thyroid & Hair Health: Typically, hair follicles regenerate themselves, going through the phases of growth, regression, resting, shedding, then growth again. However, research shows that thyroid hormones can directly impact hair follicle cycling. So, inadequate thyroid hormone slows the hair growth cycle and even increase the rate of hair loss.
Thyroid & Skin Health Similarly, thyroid dysfunction can affect skin tissues as these hormones regulate skin cell renewal. So when the thyroid is slow, the skin renewal cycle also slows, resulting in dry and flaky skin.
Thyroid & Nail Health Thyroid impact on nails Thyroid dysfunction can also affect your nails, causing abnormality in nail shape, nail color, or attachment to the nail bed, which can lead to brittle, splitting, or peeling nails.
These symptoms can resolve with comprehensive thyroid testing and proper medication. Learn more here
Support Your Detoxification Pathways
Your skin, hair, and nail health is practically a critical indicator of your detoxification pathways. Poor detoxification pathways due to a buildup of toxins often leads to acne and other skin problems, hair loss, and brittle or discolored nails. Below are some daily detox practices to incorporate into your routine: Stay hydrated: The U.S. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of water a day for men and approximately 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.
- Exercise: At a minimum, it is recommended to exercise for at least 20-30 minutes three times a week, but four to five times a week is better for detoxification and overall health.
- Enjoy Quality Sleep: Aim for between seven and nine hours of sleep per night.
- Use Low Toxin Household Products: common deodorants, food packaging, cleaning supplies, beauty products, and other household items can be loaded with toxins that overwhelm your detox pathways. Re-consider what products you surround yourself with on a daily basis because they do have an impact in the long run.
- Detox with IV Therapy: At Holtorf Medical Group, our Detox IV Bundle encourages detoxing toxins that may be hiding in your body, including heavy metals. The alpha-lipoic acid IV is a powerful antioxidant that works to help glutathione repair itself, providing detoxification in the body to remove toxins. This IV in conjunction with our detox supplements will help you detox potentially harmful substances.
Learn more daily detox tips here
Focus on Reducing Inflammation
Chronic inflammation negatively impacts all areas of health, including the appearance of your hair, skin, and nails. It is common for skin problems and hair loss to be a symptom of autoimmune disorders because an overactive immune system and chronic inflammatory response can damage these cells.
In extreme cases, inflammation destroys hair follicles and causes scar tissue to form in their place, a condition called Cicatricial alopecia. After scar tissue forms, hair doesn’t regrow.
Research shows that one of the most effective ways to reduce inflammation is Ozone Therapy. Ozone Therapy is a whole-body healing treatment that is often a core component of an integrative medical plan for those dealing with chronic infections Lyme disease or are immunocompromised. This is because all pathogens die in the presence of oxygen, making Ozone Therapy a potent anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral.
Ozone Therapy works by introducing ozone into the bloodstream, typically through an IV. Ozone, which consists of three oxygen atoms bound together and is nicknamed a “supercharged” form of oxygen, then encourages bio-rejuvenation. This process is associated with numerous potential benefits including:
- Stimulating the immune system
- Improving detoxification
- Increasing circulation
- Enhancing energy levels
- Reversing signs of aging
Learn more about the benefits of Ozone Therapy here
Supplement with Horsetail Grass
Horsetail’s health benefits have been used since as far back as the Romans and Ancient Greeks. It was used to stop hemorrhaging, treat tuberculosis, and even kidney diseases. This powerful herb is better known today for promoting hair, skin, and nail health.
Horsetail is rich in silica, a compound that strengthens nails and hair and promotes circulation (which leads to healthier hair follicles). This herb also contains antioxidants that support healthy detoxification as well as selenium and cysteine, which are known to promote healthy hair growth.
Holtraceuticals’ Big Hair supplement contains horsetail grass extract in addition to Betaine HCI, a natural substance that has been used to support digestion and absorption which is an essential part of building skin and hair proteins, such as collagen, making it scientifically formulated to optimize healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Balance Your Hormones
As we age, our hormone function slowly begins to decline (mainly due to stress, toxin exposure, diet, and other lifestyle factors).
In fact, starting in your mid-30s, testosterone declines about 1% to 2% each year.
Because hormones are the messenger signals that our cells use to communicate, they affect everything from hunger to libido, including the health of our hair, skin, and nails.
Hormone imbalances can accelerate signs of aging leading to hair loss, brittle nails, and aging skin.
By supplying the body with natural hormones through BHRT, you can support important areas of health including mental wellness, weight management, hair growth, skin health, athletic performance, mood stability, longevity, and so much more.
Learn more about BHRT for men here
Learn more about BHRT for women here
Consider Your Diet
As mentioned above, your diet is reflected in the health of your hair. In fact, research suggests that changes in the health of your hair or scalp could indicate nutrition or health issues. For instance, a dry scalp could be an indication that you are not getting healthy fats and thinning hair may indicate your diet lacks protein. Similarly, your fingernails may lack strength or be discolored if you are not getting enough B vitamins, zinc, and/or iron.
Skin is well-known to be affected by diet. We all have seen models and actresses share their diet for a big event in order to enhance their glow. Oftentimes, you will hear them mention they cut out dairy to avoid breaking out. This is because dairy, along with processed foods, trans fats, and gluten can elicit an inflammatory response. Inflammation in the gut can quickly result in redness, rashes, or acne on your skin. Moreover, such inflammatory foods have also been linked to premature aging, wrinkles, and age-related dryness.
Thus, the more whole, nutrient-dense foods in your diet the better. Antioxidants, B vitamins, and healthy fats can help boost the health of your hair, skin, and nails. Examples include:
- Fatty fish
- Avocado
- Walnuts
- Sweet potatoes
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Dark chocolate
- Green tea
Although such foods are a great addition to your diet to enhance your overall wellness, it is difficult to get all the vitamins and minerals to boost your hair, skin, and nail health through diet alone. This is, in part, because the gastrointestinal tract destroys the vitamins and minerals in food during the digestion process.
To fill in any nutritional gaps that may be compromising how you look and feel, consider high-quality supplementation available on Holtraceuticals or IV Therapy.
Holtorf Medical Group offers physician-formulated IVs that are packed with powerful vitamins and minerals to enhance your overall-wellbeing.
Interested in speaking to a Holtorf Medical Group Patient Coordinator about which services may be right for you? Contact us today
