Hair Health Nutrition Guide for Women

Food for Your Follicles: 10 nutrients that support healthy hair, and where to find them.

This free guide is for women experiencing hair loss, and the dietitians who support them, who want a clear, evidence-based starting point for nutrition and hair health. It explains the 10 nutrients hair follicles rely on, the everyday foods that provide them, and what to know before reaching for a supplement.

Why I created it
I’m Holly Forbes, a registered dietitian who has experienced hair loss myself. When hair starts shedding, women are told to take biotin, cut out sugar or buy expensive “hair foods.” This guide replaces that noise with the basics that matter: eating enough, eating a variety of foods, and knowing which nutrients your hair depends on.

What’s inside (5 pages)
• The 10 nutrients hair follicles rely on: protein, carbohydrates, iron, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin C, biotin, omega-3 fats and folate
• For each one: why follicles need it, everyday food sources (plant and animal) and simple ways to eat more of it
• “Supplement smart” notes on when a supplement may help, when it won’t, and why more isn’t always better
• Why eating enough matters for the hair growth cycle

For dietitians
Use it as a first handout for clients experiencing hair loss: to start the nutrition conversation, to explain why restrictive eating can affect hair, or as take-home reading after an assessment.

Details
• 5-page PDF (US Letter, full color); read on a phone or computer, or print
• Updated October 2026 with a new design and expanded nutrient information

 

This guide is for general nutrition education. It doesn’t diagnose, treat or reverse hair loss.