What problems do skin, hair, and nails have?
The most noteworthy skin-related issues that individuals experience are aging, acne, eczema (e.g., atopic dermatitis), and skin cancer. Hair-related issues include hair loss, breaking, and graying. Nail-related issues include brittleness, discoloration, and fungal infections. Age, damage (e.g., physical trauma, exposure to certain chemicals or radiation), oxidative stress, and inflammation can all lead to problems with skin, hair, and nails.[1]
How could diet affect skin, hair, and nails?
The integumentary system is complex and requires many nutrients to function correctly. As such, a diet that provides adequate levels of nutrients — notably, protein, certain micronutrients (e.g, cysteine, lysine, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, selenium), and essential fatty acids such as omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids — is important.[2] Not only are these nutrients necessary for ordinary function, but they also play a role in protection and repair (e.g., in response to UV radiation). Deficiencies in these nutrients may manifest as abnormalities in skin, hair, and nails.[3][1]
Which supplements are of most interest for skin, hair, and nails?
If it’s difficult to obtain adequate levels of the nutrients listed above from the diet, supplementing with them may be advisable.[3][1]
Additionally, cocoa extract, coconut oil, nicotinamide, and Polypodium leucotomos all show some promise as treatments to support skin health.
Cysteine, lysine, marine proteins (i.e., extracellular matrix components from sharks and mollusks), procyanidins, pumpkin seed oil, B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E derivatives, and zinc have all been studied for hair loss.[4]
There isn’t much research on supplementation for nails, although it’s possible that hair supplements may benefit them because they’re made of similar materials.
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Examine Database: Skin, Hair, & Nails
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Frequently asked questions
The most noteworthy skin-related issues that individuals experience are aging, acne, eczema (e.g., atopic dermatitis), and skin cancer. Hair-related issues include hair loss, breaking, and graying. Nail-related issues include brittleness, discoloration, and fungal infections. Age, damage (e.g., physical trauma, exposure to certain chemicals or radiation), oxidative stress, and inflammation can all lead to problems with skin, hair, and nails.[1]
The integumentary system is complex and requires many nutrients to function correctly. As such, a diet that provides adequate levels of nutrients — notably, protein, certain micronutrients (e.g, cysteine, lysine, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, selenium), and essential fatty acids such as omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids — is important.[2] Not only are these nutrients necessary for ordinary function, but they also play a role in protection and repair (e.g., in response to UV radiation). Deficiencies in these nutrients may manifest as abnormalities in skin, hair, and nails.[3][1]
If it’s difficult to obtain adequate levels of the nutrients listed above from the diet, supplementing with them may be advisable.[3][1]
Additionally, cocoa extract, coconut oil, nicotinamide, and Polypodium leucotomos all show some promise as treatments to support skin health.
Cysteine, lysine, marine proteins (i.e., extracellular matrix components from sharks and mollusks), procyanidins, pumpkin seed oil, B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E derivatives, and zinc have all been studied for hair loss.[4]
There isn’t much research on supplementation for nails, although it’s possible that hair supplements may benefit them because they’re made of similar materials.
There’s quite a bit of research on the topical application of nutrients to the skin and hair. Topically applied retinoids, carotenoids, nicotinamide, vitamin C, and vitamin E have all been studied for their effects on skin health.[1]
Topically applied caffeine, capsaicin, curcumin, garlic, melatonin, onion juice, and rosemary oil all show some promise for treating hair loss.[4]
Additionally, it’s advisable to use a broad-spectrum sunscreen, even if you aren’t spending much time in the sun.[5]
Your body can produce vitamin D when the skin is exposed to UVB rays,[7] so it stands to reason that sunscreen use may decrease vitamin D levels. Indeed, sunscreen can cause a drop in vitamin D production under laboratory testing conditions,[8][9] and this decrease is most notable if sunscreen is used consistently and properly (i.e., when using a broad-spectrum sunscreen and the right SPF, amount, and reapplication schedule).[10][11][12] Even so, it appears that most people need not worry about the effects of sunscreen alone on vitamin D levels.[13]
One important caveat — studies to date have generally been conducted on people with less skin pigmentation (i.e., those with Fitzpatrick skin types 1–3). A different result may be seen in those with Fitzpatrick skin types 4–6.
Generally speaking, 5 to 30 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to the hands, face, and arms at least three times a week between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. may generally be enough to keep vitamin D levels out of the deficient range (<30 nmol/L or <12 ng/mL).[14][15] When the UV Index in your area is 3 or higher, people with Fitzpatrick skin types 1 or 2 should limit unprotected sun exposure to less than 10 minutes, skin types 3 or 4 to less than 15 minutes; and skin types 5 or 6 to less than 30 minutes.[16][17] You can check out the UV index forecast in your area here (https://www.epa.gov/enviro/uv-index-search).
Keep in mind that longer periods of unprotected sun exposure will not necessarily lead to higher vitamin D production because the UVB rays will eventually degrade vitamin D in your skin to an inactive state.[18] This actually helps protect your body against vitamin D toxicity. Additionally, UVB-induced vitamin D production can be influenced by many other factors, including:[19]
👴🏽 Age
🦵🏼 Amount of sun-exposed skin
💊 Certain medications
🎽 Clothing type
🏔 Elevation
🗺 Latitude
🏬 Living environment (e.g., urban, suburban, or rural)
🏭 Pollution
✋🏿 Skin pigmentation
📐 Solar angle
⏱ Sun exposure duration and frequency
📅 Time of year
🌦 Weather conditions
For these reasons, it is not advisable to completely forego sunscreen to increase vitamin D levels or rely on sun exposure as your main source of vitamin D. Rather, a more balanced approach would be to increase vitamin D through diet and supplementation, with some limited unprotected sun exposure added in.
In short, not really. When tested for protection against UVB radiation only, many plant oils provide an SPF of <8.[24] These oils can be incorporated into commercial sunscreen products to help the overall SPF rating, but on their own they are insufficient for UV protection. Be aware that some of these plant oils can be potentially allergenic and may cause skin irritation (such as dermatitis) in some individuals.[25][26] Sunscreens are formulated using specific ingredients in specific amounts in addition to employing manufacturing methods to help ensure that these UV-protective ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the sunscreen. This process is very difficult to replicate at home.
Sun protection factor (SPF) values of plant oils
Adapted from Kaur and Saraf. Pharmacognosy Res. 2010.[24]