Thread: Diatomaceous earth / silica for hair growth plus a ton of other health stuff

I was poking around on The Long Hair Community and came across this thread on diatomaceous earth:
1/2" growth per month to 1/2" in 4 days!!! - The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards

I haven't gotten even close to the end of the thread (it's over 100 pages long) but they are making some pretty spectacular health claims for this cheap stuff. Incredible hair growth from the silica in it, eyelashes & nails growing faster and thicker (all this also means other hair you DON'T want growing more; ugh), better sleep, better breathing and help with asthma, better eyesight/less eyestrain, improved mood, more energy, detox, stuff most of us could use a little more of!

Do any of you use this stuff? It's doggone cheap if it really does all they're saying. A few sources mentioned in that thread:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Greensense-GreenSense-Diatomaceous-Earth-bag/dp/B00025H2PO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1272112427&sr=8-6]Amazon.com: GreenSense Diatomaceous Earth 5 lb bag: Home & Garden[/ame]
Buy Diatomaceous Earth - Buy Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth - Product Listing

For the record, I absolutely don't believe the girl who posted in the title of the thread 1/2" hair growth in 4 days. Other posts later in the thread seemed more sane.

Wierd, are you supposed to eat it?

The only use I know for the stuff is to sprinkle it around your garden plants if you have slugs. Supposedly, the diatomaceous earth is like tiny shards that shred the slugs and kill them. I've never tried it myself (for slugs or hair growth).

I am trying to grow my hair though....

Uh huh, that's right. And part of what it does for you is killing parasites in your digestive tract (more people have them than realize; gross, I know). I had worms a long time ago when I was a kid, and I know why dogs drag their bottoms on the floor. .w.:

I did a gall bladder cleanse with my boyfriend a few months ago, and then a few weeks after that I did that Master Cleanse lemonade detox. So I'm kind of a natural health nut anyway, and always looking for stuff like this to be proactive about my health.

Oh yeah: a few people in the thread were reporting decreased appetite and weight loss, which would go along with the detox reports.


Here is one post in the thread:

"it detoxes the body, we know that as it makes you go to the toilet! by cleansing the colon (this is only my theory) it rids the body of toxins, it aids in cell metabolism which in turn makes red blood cells more efficient, more red blood cells = more oxygen generating around the body (as in my breathing getting better) the more oxygen we have in efficient supply, the better our bodies work.

Silica is a mineral which apparently we are all deficient in, a body with enough silica in it cannot become cancerous (quoted on site and in various research articles, i will post the ref's when i find them). As we live in a hurried world where fast food and processed food is readily available, more people are in stressful jobs and situations ultimatelly our bodies suffer.

The hair to the body is unimportant, so is the first to show when we have less than adequate minerals and vitamins, but also the last to receive any worhtwhile nutrients; the body is more concerns with keeping our inner organs ticking over! Therefore it stands to reason, if we receive the correct balance, the hair doesnt have to compensate for other organs so gets a rich supply; result faster, healthier looking hair and health wise we also improve."

this sounds interesting...but I'd like to read more research on it. What are the side effects, if any, of using this?

I believe D. earth is made up of microscopic snails. We buy it at the feed store to use in our garden. (It's a safe way to contro cut worms and slugs.)

I don't get how eating it would produce longer hair.

Trying to look at this realistically and not get wide-eyed at all the claims, my guess would be the minerals in it are very healthy for you. With all the fake food we eat these days, we're not getting a lot of nutrients that would help us maintain optimum health. One of the sites that sells it for pest control says:

"DE is approximately 3% magnesium, 33% silicon, 19% calcium, 5% sodium, 2% iron and many other trace minerals such as titanium, boron, manganese, copper and zirconium."
Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is made of diatoms -- single-celled algae with silica cell walls. After they die, the silica cell walls build up as sediment and later are mined as diatomaceous earth.

I have no idea if any/all of these claims have any validity to them, but a quick and dirty pub-med or google scholar search does pull up some research studies linking silica supplementation with increased rates of skin, hair, and nail growth.

In case anyone wants to cut through the ".com" crap and do more research:
Google Scholar
PubMed home

Originally Posted by ssipes

Diatomaceous earth is made of diatoms -- single-celled algae with silica cell walls. After they die, the silica cell walls build up as sediment and later are mined as diatomaceous earth.

I have no idea if any/all of these claims have any validity to them, but a quick and dirty pub-med or google scholar search does pull up some research studies linking silica supplementation with increased rates of skin, hair, and nail growth.

In case anyone wants to cut through the ".com" crap and do more research:
Google Scholar
PubMed home

Hm. I have to say, I am somewhat intrigued by this. I keep thinking though, if this stuff shreds the outside of slugs, what will it do to the delicate mucous membranes of your digestive tract?

Aren't there better sources of silica?

Originally Posted by tamrahennatx

Aren't there better sources of silica?

This is what I was thinking. There are probably food sources. Not to mention, some hair, skin & nail supplements that contain biotin, B vitamins and other good stuff.

I worked in a health food store for 3 years and while the right supplements can work wonders, there's also a lot of "snake oil" out there too ,r:;

Originally Posted by Darbla

Incredible hair growth from the silica in it, eyelashes & nails growing faster and thicker (all this also means other hair you DON'T want growing more; ugh), better sleep, better breathing and help with asthma, better eyesight/less eyestrain, improved mood, more energy, detox, stuff most of us could use a little more of!

Wow, that was all sounding pretty wonderful until I got to the bolded part. I'd love to have better nails, thicker lashes and even longer hair, but at the cost of having more body hair? Nooooooooooo way!!!

I have been taking DE for months now- mixed in my morning protein drink. I too read that forum over on the Long Hair Community. I do have very fast growing hair, but not sure if the DE is making it more so. No odd side effects or anything. It is a tasteless powder, a little gritty if just mixed with water, so do add it to some sort of creamy substance.

Hmm... food for thought. ..g.:
Foods with Silica

* cucumbers
* oats
* rice
* wheat
* strawberries
* onions
* avocados

Herbs with Silica

* horsetail
* comfrey
* nettle