The Ice Cream That's Actually Good For Your Hair

Ice cream is such a creamy, dreamy treat that it can be hard to enjoy without a sprinkle or two of guilt. The calories! The saturated fat! Surely, this dessert isn't great for your waistline. But what about if you knew every spoonful was benefiting your hair? A new trend in ice cream is to enhance this dessert with collagen, a nutrient that's been found in some studies to support the strength and growth of your hair (per The Healthy). Collagen, which is present in our connective tissue, cartilage, and bones, may also benefit joint and skin health.

Re:Think claims to be the first brand to offer collagen-infused ice cream to the marketplace, according to Progressive Grocer. Available in 12 flavors, including Coconut Matcha, Cardamom Pistachio, and Turmeric Ginger, Re:Think runs about 140 to 170 calories per half-cup serving. (For the sake of comparison, supermarket staple Ben & Jerry's can range from about 200 to 300 calories for the same size serving, per PopSugar.) Another ice cream brand offering collagen-enhanced ice cream is Dërinice. Their Collagen Coconut Beach is 150 calories per half-cup serving.

Neither brand shares exactly how much collagen is in a serving, so it is hard to know how much you're potentially helping your hair when you dive into a pint. Since they're both pretty new to the market, there haven't been many reviews yet, although Re:Think did get praise from reviewers at Guilty Eats and SweetyHigh.

Collagen has been a wellness buzzword ever since the paleo diet hit the scene; this lifestyle, sometimes known as "the caveman diet," encourages the intake of collagen, because it's hard to find this nutrient in the modern diet, yet our ancestors feasted upon it (per Paleo Leap). For that reason, you'll find many DIY ice cream recipes that include a boost of collagen in paleo blogs. Paleo Hacks offers a salted caramel recipe that's made from collagen powder, coconut milk, cashews, and, of course, caramel sauce. My Radical Roots, meanwhile, sources the collagen from gelatin in a simple vanilla ice cream recipe that doesn't require an ice cream maker.

While all of this talk of honey and coconut and healthy hair may sound perfectly delightful, a word of warning to the squeamish: Most collagen supplements come from the skin and bones of cattle and pigs, fish scales, or from egg shells (per The Kitchn). Which might make that scoop of vanilla, in fact, a scoop of vanilla-flavored fish bones, and that salted caramel may be getting its kick from a pig hoof. Vital Proteins, one of the more popular powder supplements, gets its collagen from "grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine hide from Brazil." Yum?