Before taking any supplement, look at yourself closely. Are you showing any signs of deficiency?  The important thing here is that you should look for all signs before you jump in and choose a supplement – just because your hair is in poor condition doesn’t mean you should rush out and buy a bottle of Vitamin B2!

Once you have listed any symptoms you may be experiencing and have decided on the supplements you wish to take, make time to see your doctor, nutritionist, pharmacist or qualified practitioner before you buy anything and talk through what you intend to take and why. This is particularly important if you take any form of conventional medication as supplements could interfere with their efficacy.

As a starting point, you should take a good quality, high potency multi-vitamin and mineral and (because it’s not possible to fit a high dose of it into a multi) at least 1000mg of Vitamin C.

Additionally, an essential fatty acid supplement is advisable. Omega 3 comes from fish oil or flaxseed oil, whilst the best source of Omega 6 is starflower oil (also known as borage oil). As Omega 3 & 6 should be taken together in a specific ratio, it is best to find a combination of the two. These will be formulated to give you the best combination and will mean you have to take fewer capsules.

These three products will give you the basics of a good supplement regime that can be added to according to your own individual requirements.

Once you have decided on your regime, work out a routine for when you take your supplements – and stick to it! Taking supplements in an ad hoc way doesn’t work. Decide for yourself when it is most convenient to take them and make whatever arrangements are necessary to ensure that they are available.

After three months, re-asses yourself and re-evaluate your requirements. You should need fewer, or lower dose, supplements and you may find that you only require the basic supplements listed above.