THE NEXT BEST PROTEIN: WHY SPIRULINA AND CHLORELLA ARE CRUCIAL TO BLACK HAIR GROWTH AND HEALTH
You may or may not be familiar with Chlorella and Spirulina’s benefits for your body, but I am blown away by what it does for your hair. In fact, Spirulina itself is said to be the most nutrient dense food on the planet because so much is packed into it.
It is now apart of my hair routine and it correlates to black women’s hair specifically by getting it to grow and be healthy. I have these Chlorella and Spirulina tablets, actually they’re 50/50 split between Chlorella and Spirulina. However, they are in the same family and serve the same purpose.I eat them how the instructions say- 3 or 4 tablets 3 times a day, so by the end of the day you should have eaten 12. You can also blend these into smoothies, but I take mine straight out the bag because it’s easier.
Now fair warning, they do taste like the inside of a fish tank, but it’s literally plant algae that grows in oceans..so I expected that. Oddly enough, I grew to like the taste and smell — which isn’t a big deal once you find out what these things can do for not only hair in general, but black hair that’s not really talked about.
You’d think that looking at black women’s hair, it’s strong and ford tough. Interesting fact, African American hair is actually weaker and fragile than we think. Textured hair tends to suffer more hair issues like breaking off ,splitting, or shedding. Chlorella and Spirulina both have a high content of amino acids and iron. In fact, if any of you all are vegan, it’s the best source for plant based iron. We’ve talked about this before, but amino acids build up your hair’s protein profile to keep it strong. Iron can make or break your hair. If someone is losing or shedding their hair, the first thing you speculate is how low their iron levels are. Iron is pretty much oxygen to cells that keep your hair strong. so with taking these, you can get a decent amount of iron added to your routine.
DRY HAIR
Most black women’s hair and scalp tend to be more dry. With my type of hair, I’m usually looking for ways to keep it moisturized, oiled up, and greased up — it’s a universal black girl hair struggle. Dry hair and scalp can benefit from Spirulina specifically. It has what’s called beta-carotene that gives your hair the ability to naturally create sebum on its own that gives it shine.
You can also get beta-carotene benefits from eating carrots and sweet potato but apparently, Spirulina has a way higher content making it the top beta-carotene source than any other food.
HEALTH ISSUES
Ok so we know that Spirulina and Chlorella are great at targeting hair issues that are common in black women, but they are also amazing for health issues in our body that can cause hair loss or no growth. For example, black women are more prone to stress which causes health issues like heart disease or high blood pressure which is at such a high rate in African American women ( it runs in our family). These issues can cause hair loss or if not, the medication to treat could cause hair loss as well. I’m not a doctor so we’re certainly not going to think that taking these two supplements will suddenly get rid of a health issue. In fact, I was a little hesitant to include this because not alot of heavy research can be provided as proof that it is beneficial for these common health issues, so I am going to tread carefully and say this and maybe it can help. Chlorella and Spirulina are both heavy in antioxidants working to detoxify and balance your body’s ability to fight off free radicals that’s produced by what’s called oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress in your body can cause the health issues that I just mentioned — are you seeing the connection here?
I’m all for anything that can help or prevent future issues, but if you aren’t sure or want to be safe, please talk to your doctor before taking them.
BLACK HAIR DOESN’T GROW AS LONG
Since we already mentioned common traits most black women share when it comes to their hair, could that contribute to the notion of black hair growing at a slower rate because of that?
I can’t really say for sure that black hair grows slower than other races. Hair growth rates differ from person to person. Also studies on black hair growth rate is very limited to make it a certain truth. Based on the 3 factors I mentioned before this, I can see slower growth rate being a problem. I like that these tablets have magnesium in them which is starting to become a nutrient alot of women are looking to grow their hair.
Also, I found out that MSM is found in Chlorella as well. MSM is sulfur that works with your hair’s growth stage.
Hair growth goes through 3 stages or phases. The first phase is usually the growing phase and MSM ,or sulfur, is known to work through that phase and extend it which can in turn improve your slow growth rate. Some people take MSM as a supplement alone,which works too. I just like that everything is packed into one tablet instead of keeping up with so many different ones.
If you are trying to get on track with your health and overall hair health, I do suggest Spirulina and Chlorella. Comment below if you have experience with any of them!
