What Are the Benefits of Fish Oil for Your Hair?

Eating more whole fish with omega-3 fatty acids may help strengthen your tresses, but there’s limited evidence that fish oil pills will do the same. One of the most exciting touted benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, abundantly found in fish oil, is that they can help you grow long, lustrous locks. “Omega-3 fatty acids are not made in the body, so you need to eat foods that contain them or take a supplement,” says Lynne J. Goldberg, MD, the director of the hair clinic at Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts. Fish and seafood contain DHA and EPA, while plant-based foods such as walnuts and flaxseed contain alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, a fraction of which is then converted into EPA and DHA, notes the National Institutes of Health. Proponents of omega-3s say that getting ample amounts in your diet can help feed follicles and grow hair.