The Health Benefits of Seaweed

Wrapped around sushi rolls or floating in muscle-soothing baths, seaweed is famously healthy stuff. And it’s not just good for us, it’s good for the planet. When our founder, Rivka, moved from New York to Scotland in the seventies, she collected bundles of seaweed from the windswept beaches. Why? Because as a trained aromatherapist and herbalist, she knew that marine algae would be a powerful ingredient in her seaweed-infused shampoo, skin creams and soap formulations. So, what exactly can seaweed do for your skin and hair? And how does it help the planet?

BENEFITS OF SEAWEED FOR YOUR SKIN

Seaweed is loaded with nutrients from the water it grows in. Through active transport and absorption, it takes up good stuff like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins (like vitamin E and calcium) and minerals from seawater. And many of these components are known to do good things for the skin. Some species of seaweed may:

Moisturise: Packed with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids, seaweed is thought not just to nourish the skin, but to help maintain its barrier. Not only that, but the carbohydrate alginic acid is known to help trap moisture into the skin.

Help Acne, Sensitive Skin and Rosacea: Seaweed is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, which can help calm irritated skin. And zinc and magnesium, which seaweed is rich in, are known to lessen redness.

Reduce the Appearance of Wrinkles: Certain varieties of seaweeds are especially rich in antioxidants (including vitamin C) and amino acids, which are thought to increase the production of collagen and lead to smoother, more youthful skin.

BENEFITS OF SEAWEED FOR YOUR HAIR

As well as helping with a whole host of skin issues, seaweed can do wonders for your tresses. Many of the nutrients that make seaweed an effective skincare ingredient also make great hair products. Seaweed may help:

Moisturise and Thicken: The strong presence of fatty acids, omega-3, zinc, iron and vitamins A and C in seaweed are all good news for hair. These components help to give hair follicles nutrition and increase blood flow to the scalp, which can lead to thicker, shinier hair.

Replenish Dry Hair: Did you know that seaweed shares many of its hydrating properties with popular haircare products like argan oil? If your hair is damaged or dry, some of the components in seaweed may give it a much-needed boost. Vitamins A and C can help encourage healthy sebum (natural oil) production in your scalp, which leads to softer, healthier locks.

Strengthen and Protect: Seaweed is rich in minerals and amino acids – these fortify hair, making it stronger, bouncier and less likely to break. The antioxidants in seaweed may also help protect your tresses from free radicals and remove product build-up, helping to prevent dullness and hair-thinning.

Calm the Scalp: The anti-inflammatories in seaweed that help stressed-out skin can also come to the rescue of scalps in need. When hair follicles are irritated, hair loss can occur, but seaweed may help to calm them and prevent it. Again, those vitamins can help improve blood flow to the scalp, which keeps it healthy. And a healthy scalp equals healthy hair.

HOW DO YOU USE SEAWEED FOR HAIRCARE?

If you’re looking for healthy hair growth, Seaweed is a great natural option. Seaweed is great to incorporate into your hair care routine because it boosts the strength of your strands by providing essential amino acids, proteins, and minerals like zinc, all of which are necessary for the body to help make keratin. This, in turn, will help limit breakages and frizz, leaving your hair softer and more nourished for longer. Our Seaweed and Citrus shampoo helps detoxify your hair and stimulate blood circulation in the scalp, banishing dryness and giving your strands a much-needed hydration boost. This is also a bonus if you’re a fan of seaweed hair, AKA: The Curly Girl Method. 

DOES SEAWEED HELP YOUR HAIR GROW?

Seaweed is great for your hair. As well as adding hydration to your strands, trapping moisture and helping to nourish from root to tip, it also adds some important nutrients to your hair like vitamins A, B, C and E. It will also nourish your follicles with various nutrients like zinc, iron, iodine and magnesium, all important contributors to healthy hair growth.

But the benefits of seaweed don’t stop there. It’ll also help benefit your hair growth indirectly through nourishing your scalp and creating a healthy microbiome. This is the bedrock of healthy hair growth and will improve your overall scalp health by reducing dryness, balancing the natural oils on your head and boosting circulation. The natural detoxifying properties of seaweed will also help wash away unwanted chemicals, excess sebum and leftover hair products from your scalp, meaning your follicles will be free and healthy to make long, nourished strands of hair.

IS SEA KELP AND SEAWEED THE SAME THING?

Not to make things confusing, but all kelp is seaweed, but not all seaweed is kelp. Confused? Let us try and explain… "seaweed" is a general term for various types of marine algae (red, green, and brown), while kelp specifically refers to a large species of brown seaweed. All sorts of seaweed have varying benefits for haircare and skincare, but like most things in Nature, these benefits are not all equal. For instance, both kelp and seaweed species are excellent natural moisturisers, drawing water to the skin and helping to lock in that hydration. However, various seaweed species like red algae are especially known for their powerful antioxidant protection and anti-ageing compounds like carotenoids.

SEAWEED BENEFITS THE PLANET

As well as being supremely moisturising for your hair, Seaweed is one of the most sustainable natural ingredient crops in the world. Grown underwater, it absorbs all the moisture and nutrients it needs from the ocean, so there’s no need for landmass, watering or fertiliser. It’s also an excellent carbon sink, drawing CO₂ from the sea. Seaweed provides habitat for fish and other underwater creatures, helping to improve biodiversity. When fed to livestock, it is known to massively reduce the methane emissions that contribute to global warming – and it could one day replace plastic packaging. It grows rapidly, too, with some species sprouting by up to 60cm a day. Seaweed might just be the future!

OUR SEAWEED

The seaweed we use is organic fucus vesiculosus, also known as rock wrack, sea oak and bladderwrack. Just like the original seaweed Rivka gathered in the seventies, it's hand-harvested off the coast of Scotland. You'll find natural seaweed extracts in our aromatic, sulphate- and cruelty-free Seaweed & Citrus Shampoo, Seaweed & Citrus Conditioner, Seaweed & Citrus Hand Wash and Seaweed & Citrus Body Wash. It's never been easier to incorporate seaweed extract into your haircare or skin care routine, and now you know you’ll be doing some good for the planet too with our easy refillable aluminium bottles. Like all of Nature, seaweed needs healthy, plastic-free waters to thrive.