I am my mother’s daughter. And my mother is the queen of vitamins and supplements. Sure, we take ibuprofen occasionally in our house. But when you live with a nurse who reaches for MSM over painkillers, it’s bound to rub off on you eventually. The older I get the more I embrace the holistic health care approach my mom takes and how it can transform your life.

Over the years, I’ve tried an array of things for my hair and skin. And I know the changes in my diet the last few months have helped. The collection of things I’ve done to heal my hormonal acne after birth control is coming soon. It’s been a journey and I want to get all the details right for you. Today though I wanted to share the 5 best supplements for hair and skin. These are the things I’ve noticed over the last few months that have truly made an impact. Along with my diet, these supplements have done wonders to give me the healthy hair and glowing skin I’ve been working towards.

The Best Supplements for Hair and Skin for Women

PROBIOTICS*

Did you guess this would be the first on my list? I’m a massive believer in taking care of your gut. I try to start my morning with a glass of warm lemon water and a probiotic. It’s important to me that I keep my gut as healthy as possible. The healthier my gut the easier it is to absorb all the nutrients my body needs. I also try to eat fermented foods to help keep my gut healthy. But overall, I’ve been the most consistent with my daily probiotic and it’s made a difference.

MSM*

My mother has been swearing by MSM for years. It’s great for helping with cartilage in your body. And if you’ve heard the story behind Oskia skincare, you’ll know that their founder Georgie has seen amazing transformations in her own life. Because of my issues with hormonal acne, I’ve noticed areas of my skin with more texture than I would prefer. But since I’ve added in MSM to my daily supplements, I’ve seen that texture decrease. In combination with my skincare routine, MSM has done wonders to help reverse some of the things my acne issues left behind.

L-LYSINE*

I’ve taken L-Lysine on and off over the years. Typically, the only time I would take it was when a cold sore would pop up. But when I saw a video a few months ago on holistic cures for hormonal acne, I was shocked that l-lysine was listed. There was quite a bit of detail explained but my take from it is that l-lysine can potentially help balance testosterone levels naturally. And since it’s not a crazy drug, I decided to give it a try. If I’m honest, this is what I give major credit to in my hormonal acne journey. When I’ve previously gone off birth control, I’ve seen the way my skin can freak out. But with this supplement, my skin has been consistently acne free.

I should also note that my mom recently spoke with a doctor at work who said that L-lysine shouldn’t be taken every day. I plan to more towards an every other day regiment with it. But I’ll make sure to keep you posted.

COLLAGEN*

For the longest time, I was a regular consumer of biotin. But it didn’t do nearly as many good things for my hair as collagen. I have fine hair however I have a lot of it and my hair tends to appear thicker. With a less than stellar diet for the last few years, I noticed how rough my hair looked at the ends when it was longer. Before I chopped it to my current length, I found it to be stringy and not nearly as full as when it had been long before. However, as my hair has grown longer I’ve noticed that overall it seems fuller since taking collagen. Again, this is in conjunction with a healthy diet. But regular collagen has helped in my endeavor to get my hair back to it’s once full body appearance.

VITAMIN D*

I’ve lost track of the number of books and articles I’ve read that have talked about vitamin D in the last year. It seems to be one of the most common vitamins we don’t get enough of in our diets. I can’t pinpoint the exact effect it’s had on my hair & skin. But I’ve made it a point to take it regularly since I’m trying to heal my teeth and hormonal acne. I also tend to limit my sun exposure so it’s important to me that I make sure I get enough.

Now keep in mind, I’ve been taking this combination regularly for the last few months. But if you’re looking to make changes or take a more natural approach, I think that exploring supplements is a great place to start. And if you do find any of these work for you, I’d love to hear your story!

DISCLAIMER: I’m lucky enough to have access to a medical family that can guide me but please make sure you speak with a medical profession before making changes.