Carrot for hair growth!? Carrot for glowing skin!? Can it be true...?

Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes 

Summary: In this blog we detail and explore how carrots can benefit your hair and skin. We’ll discuss what essential nutrients carrots contain, what they can optimise in our hair and skin's health and appearance, and why you should consider including carrots in your beauty regime. Read on to discover more about carrots, and what they can do for your hair and skin's health and quality…

Carrots are a powerhouse of nutrients – a tour de force in the vegetable world! Known for benefitting your overall eye health and linked to lowering cholesterol, they do wonders for your insides. But, did you know they contribute to what’s on the outside too?

That’s right! Carrots have been touted as as excellent ingredient for skin’s appearance and hair’s growth and quality… But how?

Are carrots rich in Vitamin A? Yes!

Skin

Vitamin A is an antioxidant that attacks free radicals. But, what are free radicals?

Well, every single physical thing in the world is formed by molecules. Molecules themselves are made up of tiny atoms and atoms are made from pairs of electrons. When atoms are missing an electron from their pair, it becomes a free-radical.

This lone atom now wants to find another electron, so it searches for other atoms to steal in the body, and it’s not picky about where it will steal that atom from. A common place free-radicals steal from is our skin.

Unfortunately, these free-radical attacks cause oxidative stress, which damages DNA, weakens the living cells and tissues of our skin, and leaves us more vulnerable to some skin conditions and health problems.

Vitamin A counteracts the damage caused by free-radicals and when it comes to skin’s appearance, it means Vitamin A is essential for preventing the development of wrinkles, supporting in evening out the skin’s tone and reducing the chance of pigmentation occurring. Read more on what free radicals are and why they aren’t great, here.

Hair

Vitamin A also helps the body create sebum: your hair’s natural conditioner! Without sebum, you’re likely to experience a dry and itchy scalp and brittle hair.

That’s right – carrots and their Vitamin A can improve the quality and shininess of your locks!

Are carrots loaded with Vitamins C & E? Yes!

Skin

Vitamin C aids the production of collagen which is responsible for keeping the skin plump and firm. Vitamin C also contains a property that inhibits your skin's melanin production. Excess melanin is what causes skin discolouration (like dark spots) and/or hyperpigmentation, so it can support in slowing this process down and prevent dark spots occurring in the first place.

Vitamin C also works with Vitamin A against free-radicals and supports in reducing the occurrence of oxidative stress.

Like Vitamin C, Vitamin E is an antioxidant and one of its primary functions in the skin is in sun defence. In addition, Vitamin E contributes to the overall health of the skin.

Normally, the body produces Vitamin E itself in the form of sebum (oil) through the skin pores. Sebum helps keep the skin conditioned. If you’re lacking in it, the skin will become dry so good doses of Vitamin E, found in abundance in carrots, can prevent this from happening.

Hair

Vitamin C is vital for helping the body absorb iron. Without the right iron levels, you may experience chronic hair loss and/or hair not growing past a certain length.

In addition, your body needs Vitamin C to create collagen — a protein that plays an important part of your hair’s structure as well as your skin’s. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body: it literally holds it together! Vitamin C is absolutely essential for the synthesis of collagen.

If you’re deficient in Vitamin C, you can experience dry, brittle hair and/or hair loss so stock up on those carrots!

Vitamin E on the other hand is best known for its antioxidant properties and its protective stance over the body’s cells, including hair cells.

Vitamin E helps protect against oxidative stress in the scalp, again caused by free-radicals, and thus can support in improving hair growth and preventing hair loss. Another reason to be including carrot in your diet!

Do carrots contain Potassium? Yes!

Skin

If you have really dry skin, it may be because you're deficient in potassium. Carrots have bags of this too, so consuming carrots daily can help your skin maintain its moisture levels and stay hydrated!

Hair

A potassium deficiency can cause hair to thin and potassium is responsible for balancing the hair’s pH levels, making carrots another great food for helping the body stay appropriately stocked.

So, apart from eating them, how else can I use carrots to benefit my hair and skin?

Make Your Own Carrot Hair Mask

As well as making sure you’ve got carrots in your diet, you can also apply them topically by including them in DIY skin and hair treatments. For example, you can make your own hair mask with just a carrot and coconut oil!

Take 1 carrot and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.

Cut the carrot into small pieces and place the cuts into a food blender. Whizz it up! Then, remove the carrot from the blender and into a bowl. Add the coconut oil into the bowl, mixing the ingredients together until you get a paste. Apply the mask to the hair and scalp for 10 to 30 minutes before thoroughly rinsing with a gentle, paraben and sulphate free shampoo.

The coconut oil will work wonders for any dry, damaged, and/or frizzy tresses and soothe any sensitive scalp, whilst the carrot will apply its alleged magic from the outside in!

Carrot Oil

Carrot oil has been growing in popularity in the hair care industry because of the vegetable’s nourishing and vital nutrient content, and cold pressed carrot oil enables us to apply those nutrients directly to the skin, scalp and hair to reap the benefits in a topical way.

Carrot Oil For Skin

Cold pressed carrot oil has been shown to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant properties.

It can brighten and tone the skin, prevent signs of ageing, regulate your skin’s sebum production making it arguably suitable for all skin types, can reduce the inflammation that comes with conditions like rosacea, and can boost the effect of your SPF product!

A new wonder oil for your collection, perhaps?

Carrot Oil For Hair

Using carrot oil on your hair is reported to help improve its texture, make it shinier, smoother, and softer to touch. It’s also argued that applying carrot oil to the scalp can prevent hair loss by its ability to strengthen the roots.

Try rubbing carrot oil directly into your scalp and mask the hair with it, leaving for a few minutes before washing regularly with a high-quality, hypoallergenic shampoo, and see if it works for you!

The act of rubbing the oil into the scalp will also stimulate the hair follicles, as this massage-like motion increases blood flow to the scalp – another great way of encouraging hair growth!