With its signature dark green shade, Spirulina might not be quite what you expect from a beauty product. But this ancient superfood offers all the vitamins, phytonutrients and proteins you need for naturally healthy hair and skin.
What’s even better is that this natural beauty elixir isn’t just for slathering on your skin and hair. You can add Spirulina to smoothies and juices for better health from the inside out. With benefits including lower blood sugar, higher energy levels and heavy metal detoxification, it really is just the thing for great all-round health. But first, let’s explore all they ways Spirulina can help boost your hair and nourish your skin.
5 Ways Spirulina Helps Hair and Skin
From reducing fine lines and wrinkles to curbing premature balding, Spirulina works on all fronts to boost hair and skin health. Here’s how it does that:
Calms Inflammation
Inflammation doesn’t always present itself through sore joints or swollen skin. In fact, inflammation is responsible for more subtle changes to your appearance: redness, acne and puffiness.
This means that to help heal these skin conditions, you first need to treat the inflammation. Enter Spirulina. This single-celled algae showcases unique anti-inflammatory properties thanks to its impressive levels of phycocyanin – the active component behind the superfood’s green color. Research shows that phycocyanin has the ability to minimize the production of inflammatory molecules, giving the superfood its anti-inflammatory properties, and helping to treat common skin conditions.
Improve the Appearance of Fine Lines and Wrinkles
There are hundreds of products on the markets promising to zap wrinkles and magic away fine lines. But the reality is that most of them are pretty useless. Instead, you should be looking towards nature for a helping hand in keeping wrinkles at bay.
Spirulina is packed with Vitamin E, tyrosine and selenium, making it a great alternative to expensive lotions and moisturisers. Thanks to an impressive antioxidant capacity, this superfood supplement can help minimize free radical activity, and turn back the aging clock.
May Help Treat Acne
For most people, acne is more than just an irritation – it’s often painful and has a big impact on self-confidence. Acne can affect adults as well as teenagers, many of whom will have tried everything to improve the condition. But most of them overlook Spirulina – a supplement shown to actively reduce the appearance of acne.
According to a 10-week randomized study, the superfood is successful in reducing the appearance of acne lesions caused by both inflammatory and noninflammatory acne. This is down to the high levels of fatty acids contained by the algae, which work to reduce inflammation in the skin.
Detoxifies Your Skin
Thanks to its high levels of chlorophyll, Spirulina helps speed up cell turnover, which in turn encourages your skin heal faster. Increasing your skin’s metabolism is key to maintaining a consistent healthy glow, whilst also shedding the dry skin cells that can make your skin appear sallow and dull.
Treats Baldness
Spirulina isn’t just a lifesaver for skin – it can also keep your hair healthy. In particular, the superfood has been shown to help treat thinning hair, especially for women. According to one double-blind study, women who took one dose of Spirulina a day reported significant hair regrowth by the end of the trial, as well as noticeably healthier locks.
Spirulina’s ability to encourage hair regrowth is thanks to the high levels of iron and copper it contains, both of which help keep hair strong and shiny.
Get Superfood Spirulina into Your Diet Today
There are loads of ways to take advantage of spirulina’s beauty-boosting potential. You can make spirulina powder into a paste, add it to your favorite face mask, or take Spirulina tablets as a daily supplement. However you decide to use this superfood, Spirulina really does have the potential to transform your hair and skin for the better.
For more natural beauty tips, take a look at our all-natural beauty recipes for winter.
