I want to share with you my story about how I learned of  the most critical building block for full, beautiful hair: keratin. A few years ago, my mother—a stunning woman who always had the most beautiful hair— was suddenly experiencing hair thinning and loss. During this time, I witnessed firsthand how experiencing hair loss is traumatic and can leave you feeling vulnerable, exposed, and perhaps even "less than." And as I watched the emotional toll it took on her, it empowered me to find a solution. 

Since then, I've been traveling the globe, meeting with leading researchers for a solution. My discovery? By ingesting the most critical building block for full, thick, beautiful hair, we can support a longer growth cycle and reduce the length of the shedding cycle, resulting in fuller, healthier hair with less hair loss. The key lies in a certain peptide required to facilitate this process—a peptide commonly known as keratin.

Now, many in the beauty industry have come to think of keratin as an ingredient in a topical hair application that comes with a negative connotation, but it’s time to change the way we think about this critical peptide. The truth of the matter is that there is a special ingestible form of keratin that does not harm your hair and is actually known to help prevent and even reverse hair loss—and it’s the ultimate beauty secret for thick, gorgeous hair. So, join me as I share this secret with you and provide surprising answers to the following:

• What is keratin?
• What is keratin used for?
• What does keratin do for hair?
• What are the benefits of using a quality keratin supplement?

Are you ready to unlock the secret to healthy, beautiful hair? Let’s dive in!

What Is Keratin?

Before we discuss how keratin benefits your hair, let’s start with the basic information you need to know: What is keratin, and what is keratin made out of?

Keratin is a protein primarily found in your epidermal tissues, such as your skin, nails, and hair. In fact, it makes up an astonishing 95 percent of the protein in your hair and nails! Simply put, keratin is the protein that promotes their strength, structure, and resilience to protect against damage and trauma. But that’s not all. This tough and fibrous keratin protein also forms the structural framework of the cells that line the surfaces of your organs, canals, and cavities. Interestingly, keratin comes from the Greek word for horn, as it’s found in other outer tissues, too, such as a rhino’s horn, sheep’s horn, and even various feathers, beaks, and claws.  

Its strength and resilience are the very reasons why using a topical keratin treatment is popular in the beauty industry. But these treatments can contain formaldehyde. As a result, they aren’t recommended to use as formaldehyde is a colorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled or absorbed by the skin. For example, Brazilian keratin treatments and Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy have been deemed dangerous by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, so formaldehyde-free treatments are recommended instead. Even so, research has shown that topical use of keratin isn’t as effective as supporting your beauty from the inside-out with ingestible keratin. And that’s important for many reasons.

So, let’s take a look at some of the top benefits of consuming keratin and then review the best ways to get more keratin into your diet and daily routine.

Top Keratin Benefits for Hair, Skin, Nails, & More

Overall, my favorite keratin benefit is the way it can make you feel. You see, consuming this powerful protein helps to improve your overall glow by helping you love what you see when you look in the mirror, as we all know how much skin, hair, and nails can have an effect on how we perceive our own personal beauty.

The confidence you feel, the strength you feel, and the inner glow that comes with your outer glow can’t be beat. That’s what I love most about ingestible keratin, and why I recommend not only using keratin for hairbenefits but for other things as well. Keep reading to learn about the top benefits of consuming keratin.

1. Supports hair growth and strength

While you now know that keratin is the primary strengthening protein in your hair and nails, you may be wondering this: What, specifically, does keratin do for hair, and is keratin good for hair like we’ve been led to believe?

Quite simply, keratin is up the foundation of your hair shaft. But, as we age, we experience a decline in the production of this valuable protein, leading to the deterioration of both your hair shaft’s stability and flexibility. The result? When you look in the mirror, you see hair that’s dryer, more prone to breakage, and even thinner than usual. And this new, less desirable-looking hair doesn’t stand a chance against your favorite products or styling tools.

Now, because it’s the very foundation of your hair, you will often find products marketed as a “keratin treatment” for hair or as a keratin shampoo or conditioner. But the truth is that these topical treatments don’t offer the same effects as ingestible keratin, which has been shown to reduce hair shedding by more than 40 percent!

Think of it this way: The average person has about 100,000 hair follicles on their head, with one to two hairs coming out of each follicle, and loses anywhere from 50 to 100 hairs each day. By extending the growth phase of hair and anchoring the follicles, keratin helps to support hair growth and strength, effectively potentially cutting your hair loss in half!

2. Promotes skin integrity and glow

You may be surprised to learn that keratin makes up the outermost layer of your skin, effectively acting as your biological raincoat. The strong and flexible fibers make your skin strong against tearing and penetration, and it’s what also makes your skin supple and flexible (because it also helps you retain the hydration needed to give your skin that glowing appearance we all love).

So, what happens to keratin in skin as we age? As I shared above, during the normal aging process, keratin production decreases, which can result in dryer, duller skin that often causes itching, irritation, and visible aging. Consuming keratin can help to counteract this loss because you’re providing the benefits of keratin from the inside-out—beginning at the cellular level. Protecting the integrity of your skin helps to lock in your natural hydration and promotes the natural glowing skin you can only get from maintaining proper internal health and optimal keratin levels.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that due to its ability to help stimulate cell growth, support collagen production, and promote skin integrity, keratin has also been found to support improved wound healing by improving the structure of regenerated tissue.

3. Helps strengthen nails

As noted above, keratin is also essential for strong, healthy nails. So, as this protein begins to decrease during the natural aging process, you may notice your nails becoming more brittle, discolored (turning yellow, gray, or appearing duller), and even beginning to split or crack open. But aging isn’t the only cause of keratin loss in nails.

Your nails can lose keratin for other reasons, including changes in your circulatory system (meaning nutrients may not be able to reach your nails to keep them nourished and healthy), exposure to chemicals and cosmetics, and repetitive cycles of wetting and drying, such as everyday handwashing or even just doing the dishes.

Fortunately, studies have shown that participants who took a highly soluble form of ingestible keratin experienced measurable improvements in the strength of their nails.