Numerous people made their new year’s resolutions to “eat healthier and work out more”. While this is a great goal, many people jump from 0 to 100 in a day in regards to work out and diet change. One of the more popular diets being “all green” vegan style diets. Ripping on a treadmill at full speed and munching on kale and spinach may be great for health and to slim down, but is it good for the hair?

You may be denying yourself of some important vitamins and nutrients while trying to keep slim and healthy. During the process of picking your foods, be sure to look into what you are missing in your diet. Proteins, vitamins and minerals are crucial to keeping healthy locks!

Hair is made up of keratin, a fiber rich protein, so it is vital to keep protein in your diet. Poultry, different lean meats, fish and eggs are great examples of high protein foods. If you are trying to stay down the vegan route, you can obtain high doses of protein through seeds, legumes, and beans! Many on a vegan diet become deficient in many of the important minerals and nutrients such as copper, zinc, magnesium and vitamins A, B, C, and E, that fuel healthy hair and growth. Talk to a doctor about adding these vital nutrients to your diet.

Sweat is another factor that could ruin the hair. We get it, work out, sweat hard, and get fit…but excessive sweat may harm your tresses. Be sure to give your hair a good wash after any sweat sesh. While many experts discourage “over washing” hair, after sweating hair must not be left unwashed. To keep growing hair clean & healthy one must scrub away the dirt and build up that sweat can carry.

It is great to work hard at keeping healthy and eating right, but sometimes “over working” can, in fact, damage your hair. Working out over long spurts can have a negative effect on hair as hormone levels change and can create buildup of acid free radicals in the body, these factors can cause a loss of hair overtime.

Be sure when planning your work out routines and diet plan that you give yourself ample time for rest and recovery. This is important for not only healthy hair but a healthy happy life!