What nutrients do your skin, hair, and nails really need?
What vitamins and minerals do your skin, hair and nails really need? Discover what zinc, biotin, copper and vitamin C do - and when you'll see a difference.
Summary
Your skin, hair, and nails are built from the same raw materials: proteins, minerals, and antioxidants. A handful of nutrients do the real work here. Zinc, biotin, copper, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin A are paramount. If you get enough from within, your body has what it needs to work with. A supplement fills in where your diet falls short. Due to modern lifestyles and modern agricultural techniques, it is harder than before to get enough nutrients from your diet. You can read more about this in our blog 'The reduced nutritional value of our food'.
Below you can read which nutrients these are, what each of them does, and when you can expect results.
What your skin, hair, and nails need
|
Nutrient |
What it does |
Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
|
Zinc |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal hair, nails, and skin |
Meat, shellfish, whole grains |
|
Biotin (vitamin B8) |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and skin |
Eggs, liver, nuts |
|
Copper |
Contributes to normal hair and skin pigmentation |
Nuts, seeds, cocoa |
|
Selenium |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal hair and nails |
Brazil nuts, fish, eggs |
|
Vitamin C |
Contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin |
Bell peppers, kiwi, berries |
|
Vitamin A |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal skin |
Liver, egg yolk; beta-carotene from carrots |
|
Riboflavin (B2) |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal skin |
Dairy, eggs, whole grains |
|
Niacin (B3) |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal skin |
Meat, fish, nuts |
|
Iodine |
Contributes to the maintenance of normal skin |
Iodized salt, saltwater fish, dairy |
Other B vitamins such as vitamin B6 and folic acid play an important role elsewhere in your body but do not belong in this list.
The most important nutrients up close
Biotin (vitamin B8)
Biotin is the most famous name in this category, and rightly so: it is one of the few vitamins that count for both hair and skin. Biotin plays a role in the metabolism of fats and proteins, the raw materials from which your hair shaft is built. You can find it in eggs, liver, milk, and nuts.
Zinc: for skin, hair, and nails
Zinc has a function in skin, hair, and nails. It plays a role in protein synthesis and cell division. These are precisely the processes by which your skin renews itself and your hair and nails grow. A deficiency is more common in plant-based diets, as phytates from grains and legumes inhibit absorption.
Copper: the pigmentation story
Copper is the only nutrient directly related to pigmentation: it contributes to normal hair and skin pigmentation. In addition, copper contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. At Insentials, this combination is found in Hair Strength+ with Follicure™. If you suspect a deficiency behind your complaints, read about what is happening with hair loss and vitamin deficiency.
Vitamin C and Vitamin A
Vitamin C is the key to collagen. Without vitamin C, your body cannot produce collagen, and collagen is precisely what keeps your skin firm and resilient. Few nutrients have such a direct link to how your skin looks.
Insentials uses vitamin C in two beauty formulas, each with a different approach. Inner Beauty combines it in the H5-NADH™ complex with zinc, copper, and hyaluronic acid: micronutrients that give your skin the building blocks to get to work itself. The Smart Collagen Shot, on the other hand, is a shot with highly dosed collagen hydrolysate, supplemented with vitamin C that maintains your own collagen production. Why the form and dosage of collagen make the difference, you can read in what collagen is.
Vitamin A plays a different role: it keeps your skin in condition, and your body produces it itself from beta-carotene. This is the pigment found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins, among others. Glow Goddess works with β-Astacarotene™, in which beta-carotene combines with lutein and lycopene.
Strong nails: keratin and what your body needs for it
 |
Your nails are made of keratin, and that protein owes its hardness to the sulfur bridges between cysteine molecules. The stronger that network, the stronger the nail. Your body produces cysteine itself from methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid that you get through your diet. You can find it in eggs, fish, meat, and nuts. Two minerals help maintain that network: zinc and selenium. Zinc also counts for your skin and hair, and selenium for your hair. |
And then there are the amino acids themselves. Your hair consists of the same keratin as your nails, so this applies to both. The Smart Collagen Shot combines collagen hydrolysate with Keraboost™, which supplies methionine and cysteine: the building blocks your body uses to build keratin, for both your nails and your hair.
Hyaluronic acid: what it does for your skin
|
In addition to vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, another name pops up in almost every beauty formula: hyaluronic acid. Rightly so, because it is also naturally occurring in the body. Hyaluronic acid is a molecule that retains water in your skin, thus helping to determine how firm and supple it feels. The older you get, the less your body produces it. At Insentials, hyaluronic acid is found in Inner Beauty, along with the vitamins and minerals from the H5-NADH™ complex. |
 |
What can you expect from these supplements?
These nutrients are the building blocks of skin, hair, and nails. They primarily work when your intake is insufficient. This happens more quickly than you might think with unbalanced diets, busy periods, or life stages with higher needs.
A meta-analysis of fourteen studies with 967 participants found that oral supplements for hair showed significant improvements in hair density and hair loss compared to placebo (Alanazi et al., Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2026).
Nutrition is only one part of the story, though. Sun and time are the biggest drivers of skin aging, and sunlight initiates oxidative stress: damage to your cells by free radicals. Antioxidants like vitamin C, copper, and selenium help protect your cells against this. However, they are not a substitute for sunscreen. That always remains your first defense.
How long until you see results?
Your skin, hair, and nails continuously renew themselves, each at their own pace. Your epidermis is the fastest: it renews approximately every four weeks. A strand of hair grows an average of 1 cm per month, fingernails about 3 mm, and toenails 0.5 to 1 mm (Dutch Association for Dermatology and Venereology). What you ingest today will first be visible on your skin, and only then on the hair and nails that grow in the coming months.
This is precisely why Insentials works with regimens of three to six months. If you stick with it, you give your body time to fully build up this new growth with what you provide. That is also when you will see the difference. A few weeks is simply too short for that.
Curious what suits you? You can find all supplements for skin, hair, and nails here.
Beauty
Sources
Alanazi, R. et al. (2026). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Commercial Oral Supplements for Hair Growth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. View the study
Nederlandse Vereniging voor Dermatologie en Venereologie. Algemene informatie over de huid. View the source
FAQ's
