Hair & Nail supplements

[Lakky12]

I have rubbish nails which aren’t very strong and my hair is on the thin side. I’ve been looking at supplements and found one which has excellent results but contains herbal ingredients such as horsetail. I asked the surgery pharmacist if I can take it and she advised not to - she said herbal ingredients aren’t officially tested for interactions with Apixaban, bisoprolol etc. So…. Has anyone found a good supplement that’s ‘approved’?

[CDreamer]

When I wanted to know about herbs I asked a herbalist. Traditional pharmacists may not always be knowledgeable about herbs and their interactions with pharmaceuticals but often there are studies conducted by Herbalists. Maybe contact the Medical Institute of Medical Herbalism?

Another reasonable resource to check interactions is Drugs.com who have list of meds which interact with horsetail. You would have to check every ingredient.

Brittle nails can indicate an underlying condition such as Hypothyroidism. Have you seen your doctor?

I have dry, brittle nails and have to be careful but using my grandmother’s advice - apply almond oil, avoid harsh chemicals, protect with bees wax when gardening and wear protective gloves for harsh tasks helps but I’m never going to have long beautifully manicured nails.

[Lakky12 in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for this - I hadn’t thought of the herbalist angle - not sure why I hadn’t! I think I’m due a cholesterol check in a couple of months so will ask for thyroid tests as well.

[Blearyeyed]

Yes. You aren't meant to use Horsetail with heart issues and Arrhythmias, it can cause symptoms because it affects your potassium levels as well as interacting with certain medications , most specifically Digoxin.Have you had you B 12 and Folates and Vitamin D tested.

Age and our medications , and especially things like PPIs and indigestion remedies can reduce how well we absorb these and they make your hair thin and nails brittle. Very low . Borderline levels or Deficiencies in B 12 and Folate can cause Anaemia and similar symptoms to thyroid problems because they also affect your thyroid and absorption of other vitamins and minerals.

You can get spray types of those vitamins and they will help your skin , hair and nails much more than many OTC combos that specify for nails and hair.

Keeping well hydrated also improves them , as does increasing protein in the diet and adding more foods with vitamins A. C, D, E and B vitamins / folic acid.

Using olive on the nails at night can improve their texture.

You can also use olive oil on your hair ends and black soap products are unisex , you can get fragrance free , all natural varieties and they help to improve the softness of your skin , hair and nails.

My whole family use a soap bar called Dudu Osan , it has a nice citrus unisex smell and is recommended for Excema and Psoriasis. It's really cheap too , you can order it on Amazon and makes skin really smooth.

You can even grate it into a bottle to mix with water to make a simple shampoo , or get black soap shampoo too.

[Lakky12 in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thanks for your reply - not heard of Dudu Osan - will investigate! I have a healthy diet and stay away from processed food etc but will ask for a comprehensive blood to check for any vitamin deficiances.

[Blearyeyed in reply to Lakky12]

Yes do , you can get these deficiencies when you get older or take medications even if you have a good diet , which I know from experience myself.The same can be true with cholesterol, some people can genetically have high cholesterol, which doesn't improve with diet , natural supplements or exercise , again me !!!

And you can get Type2 Diabetes despite eating correctly on certain types of medications , often because those meds change how well you digest B vitamins as well.

The soap is spelt DuDu Osun it's on Amazon , just in case you look it up and can't find it, I spelt it as it's said earlier ( oops!)

[Lakky12 in reply to Blearyeyed]

Going to look now……. 👍 frustrating re your cholesterol. I have probably the healthiest diet of all my friends, swim 60 lengths a week go to a gym 3 times a week, yet I can never lose weight! But that’s another story……

[Blearyeyed in reply to Lakky12]

I'm similar and always was but always struggled to put on weight, turned out that was caused by undiagnosed digestive problems and Vitamin B12 Deficiency too. They can cause you to be either overweight or underweight.It's really frustrating, especially now that I also have Dysautonomia which means I can't exercise like I used to or go out on my own in case I faint!

[Lakky12 in reply to Blearyeyed]

It’s all a minefield!!

[DawnTX in reply to Blearyeyed]

I love black soap from Ghana. I have a friend from there and he told me they still make it the same way cooking it over a pot with the real leaves, etc. in it. Cousin has very sensitive skin. He is always breaking out somewhere for no reason, including his head, I gave him a bar. He couldn’t believe in two days. What a difference.

more and more I want to go back to the old days with simple things, including eating I can make a meal out of vegetables now and really don’t care that much for meat etc

Some people will say people died younger, but some of the things that did that has been licked now if this country continues fighting particular disease I don’t believe in vaccines, but the ones I had as a child certainly worked. I remember kids in school who had polio and had to live in an iron lung. I got my first two Covid. That’s it will not discuss that entire thing these days. I think I’m trying prayer more than anything. I always spoke one on one. I’m just paying more attention these days. I have seen what I consider miracles about a half a dozen times, including my pacemaker, the night I fell for the first time with a fib could’ve been my last after the second fall that night I crawled into bed and went to sleep having hit my head twice front and back, even knocking my teeth to where they don’t belong. They used to be saying about saving drunks and fools lol I’m not a drunk, but I sure was stupid that nightbecame subject on TV commercials not long after I had mine or maybe I finally paid attention. I don’t remember even hearing about it before we need to share info if you hear someone mention a fib or even ask if they’ve been checked because unless you are in the middle of an a fib attack, it will not pick up when they testing you

hang on there everyone they are working on new stuff every day. I’m living proof with the pace and a blate I had just a year ago. I was the first one to have what I got. It could be improved tenfold by now although I have no complaints neither does my doctor. He said even people without a fib would like the numbers I have these days. these days he is on me about getting stressed and depression under control. He also always reminds me how many parts in the body there are but people always blame the heart.

[Cavalierrubie]

l am just trying a recommended Rosemary shampoo and serum which can be bought from Amazon. Don’t know a solution for the nails.

[Lakky12 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

great - I’ll have a look on Amazon. Definitely worth a try!

[Finvola]

I've started using an Amazon shampoo which is SLS free and results aren't bad - my hair seems to be breaking less.

Nails are a plague for me too - paper thin and miserable. I use almond oil with Vitamin E but it is a very slow process. And I got a fungal nail infection to boot . . . oh joy.

[DawnTX in reply to Finvola]

I bought a combo set called happy on Amazon. It’s in a cute pink color bottle, shampoo and conditioners. Wow normally getting a comb or brush through my hair is a problem but since using this even in the shower that mess disappears and I can run my fingers through my hair, it’s about $13 US and it is lasting much longer than I ever expected. I was just looking for something. I didn’t even know what and settled on this. I will be buying more they have treatments even my hairstylist does them because of the water here. let me tell you how bad the water is in Texas compared to Florida where I came from. We have a treatment system. It doesn’t help. Shampoo and conditioner is the first time.

[Lakky12]

I’d never have thought of looking for a shampoo on Amazon, but I’ll definitely have a look later! It doesn’t help that I rarely put gardening gloves on when I’m weeding 🙄

[Blearyeyed in reply to Lakky12]

I never used to wear gloves but learnt that I had to on medications, that's another thing to put on your Amazon shopping list !

[DawnTX in reply to Lakky12]

I hate gloves hated them growing up in the cold weather unfortunately, maybe my hands are paying the price with arthritis now. Used to call my hands and fingers piano hands with long slender fingers. Now they look more like Frankenstein fingers.

[Lakky12]

ha, you are absolutely right! Really appreciate your advice. Hope your nails improve soon too!

[Hidden]

Bone broth is the best! My hair has got much thicker since I've been using it regularly, plus it's very good for your gut.

[pusillanimous]

Amazing how nails differ. I have hard fast growing nails- I think that whereas Samson's strength went to his hair, mine goes to my nails. I like to keep them short but need to cut them twice a week. I'm 81 years old with osteopenia in some bones, but have nails that are virtually weapons of war !

[Lakky12 in reply to pusillanimous]

I’m very envious!!!😄

[DawnTX in reply to pusillanimous]

my nails are the same as yours. I’ve always had them remarked on when having them done too bad the rest of the hand doesn’t match anymore.