Spirulina and Hair benefits
Does spirulina have hair benefits? Like many algae, spirulina has a good place in many natural cosmetics, whether for the skin, nails, or hair. Indeed, thanks to its great composition. It is an ideal ingredient to beautify hair, promote hair growth, strengthen it and make it more beautiful.
Why and how to use spirulina for your hair? Let’s see it in detail.
Composition of spirulina
It is in its composition that the secrets of the effects of spirulina on hair are hidden:
Proteins: 65% (including all amino acids)
Carbohydrates: 15
Minerals: 7% (Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc)
Lipids: 6% (including linoleic acid and gamma-linolenic acid)
Fibers: 2 % by weight
Vitamins (Beta-carotene, E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B8, B12, K)
Antioxidants
The proteins contained in spirulina, both numerous and of excellent quality, with all the essential amino acids, promote the synthesis of keratin. It is a protein representing 95% of the composition of the hair, whose role is to protect the hair from external aggressions: pollution, UV, seawater, etc.
Spirulina is also a food very rich in particularly assimilable iron, an essential trace element of hair health, which helps fight against hair loss.
It also contains essential fatty acids, and many vitamins and minerals essential to beautiful hair: magnesium, sodium, zinc, beta-carotene, vitamin B12, vitamin A, etc.
This composition makes spirulina an excellent cosmetic product, not only for hair but also for the skin, a subject that we deal with in our article on how to use spirulina for the skin, where you will discover how and why to use spirulina for skin problems like acne.
How does spirulina act on hair?
Against hair loss
The consumption of spirulina, as well as the direct application of spirulina-based cosmetics, allows for the strengthening of the scalp, better hair growth, accelerated growth, slowing down of aging and hair loss, preventing baldness and alopecia.
For better efficiency, it is interesting to use ginger externally, because ginger stimulates hair growth by amplifying the blood flow and exchange at the level of the hair bulb.
A better appearance
Spirulina nourishes the hair in depth and acts directly on its appearance: better hair volume, less dull, shinier, softer, thicker, less damaged, and brittle, etc. The effect is even greater when applied externally.
The effect is all the more obvious on wavy and curly hair, to which spirulina restores spring to the curls.
It is also a good long-term remedy against dandruff.
In the prevention of white hair
The appearance of white hair comes partly from oxidative stress due to age, but also from the toxins and toxins that we absorb and accumulate.
Lifestyle, but also a bad diet, pesticides, pollution, UV, increase the production of free radicals and lead, among other things, a capillary fragility, and an acceleration of the appearance of white hair.
Spirulina, as a superfood and dietary supplement, helps to improve the quality of the diet while having a detox effect. It is also an antioxidant food that slows down the premature aging of cells caused by the action of free radicals.
How to use spirulina for your hair?
Spirulina powder can be used in many ways, see our article on the different uses of spirulina to discover them, as well as the dosage. For the hair, the ideal is to use spirulina simultaneously in internal and external ways.
Internal use
WHERE TO USE IT?
To see action on the hair, it is enough to consume spirulina.
To take full advantage of its nutritional composition, spirulina must be consumed cold, because the nutritional value of food decreases with heat.
It has a strong flavor, so it is advisable to combine it with a drink or a portion of tasty food.
Sprinkle spirulina on food, in fruit juice, vegetable juice, soups, smoothies, yogurt, flaxseed or chia pudding, etc., but not in a hot drink!
FOR WHAT DOSAGE?
In reality, there is not a precise dosage for spirulina, since it is a food and not a medicine, but there are recommendations.
The classic dosage is to consume between 2 and 5 g of spirulina powder per day (about 1 teaspoon), starting with a dose of 1 g per day during the first week, then gradually increasing the doses by 0.5 g every 5 days.
Spirulina is only effective if taken as a daily cure for several weeks, between 4 and 6 weeks, followed by a break as long as the cure. It is not recommended to do more than 3 cures per year. The results on the hair are generally visible after only 1 to 2 weeks of treatment.
The general recommendation is not to exceed 6 g and the first effects of spirulina are felt from 800 mg.
External use
RECIPE FOR NOURISHING HAIR MASK :
Ingredients for 100 ml of mask:
1 half avocado
2 tablespoons of castor oil
4 tablespoons of coconut cream
1 tablespoon of spirulina powder
5 drops of ylang-ylang essential oil
Method:
Mix all the ingredients using a blender.
Apply the mask all over the hair. Massage the scalp well at the roots.
Leave on for 2 hours in a towel tied around the head or in cellophane.
Rinse thoroughly with clear water.
Wash hair with your usual shampoo.
This is a perfect mask for hair loss and to promote growth. It allows to nourish and moisturize the hair in depth.
HYDRATING HAIR MASK RECIPE:
Ingredients:
1 yogurt
2 tablespoons of agave syrup
1 tablespoon of spirulina
Method:
Mix the ingredients.
Apply the mask to the hair, massaging it well into the scalp.
Leave the mask on for 2 hours.
Rinse thoroughly with clear water.
Wash hair with your usual shampoo.
ANOTHER METHOD
You can use spirulina to complete an existing mask, conditioner, or shampoo by adding spirulina directly to it.
For the dosage, use approximately 5 g of spirulina for 100 ml of shampoo
Other tips for beautiful hair
A good diet
You will have understood that the action of spirulina comes from its nutritional richness, which allows, as a food supplement, to fill certain deficiencies. The health of hair comes from a healthy and balanced diet.
It is important to choose the right foods, rich in vitamins and minerals, and to avoid harmful foods: sugar, alcohol, bad fats, etc.
Moisturize and nourish the hair
It is essential to have beautiful hair, it must ensure its hydration through fat and water: vegetable butter, honey, coconut milk, etc. Otherwise, hair will be dull and brittle.
If the hair is not well nourished, it will be dry, but also split, fragile, and therefore brittle. This is the case for hair that has been put to the test with bleaching, the use of a straightening iron, etc. To nourish your hair, you should use vegetable oils such as castor, avocado, jojoba, etc., or ingredients such as egg or avocado.
Possible contraindications?
There are some contraindications and side effects to the use of the blue algae, we detail them in our article on the undesirable effects, but these adverse effects are mainly related to internal use and not external.
Remember that there is no danger in consuming spirulina if you respect the advice given in the paragraph “For what dosage?”, and if you are not among the people to whom spirulina is forbidden.
See also: Beauty tips