Does taking a biotin supplement really help hair growth?
Biotin supplements can be used to correct biotin deficiency and potentially improve hair growth. But how well do they work? Can they prevent hair loss?
Read on to learn why people take biotin for hair growth, what research shows about its effects on hair loss, and how much you should take.
What is biotin?
Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that plays many important roles in metabolism, gene regulation, and cell signaling. Like other B vitamins, biotin helps the body convert food into fuel, which in turn turns into energy. Biotin also helps the body metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. If you don’t get enough biotin, you may experience hair loss, rashes, and brittle nails. 1
Does biotin help hair growth?
There are some misconceptions about biotin and hair growth. Supplementing with biotin will not produce immediate results, and the vitamin is not a panacea for hereditary hair loss, thinning hair, or hair loss. However, biotin plays an important role in hair health. Like this:
Biotin helps your body produce keratin, a protein responsible for the formation of nails, skin, and hair. 2
Biotin helps regulate inflammation in hair follicles and slows hair loss, which is particularly helpful in treating alopecia (genetic hair loss). 3 A woman who felt she had thinning hair saw improvements after taking a multivitamin containing biotin. Their hair. 4
Can biotin prevent hair loss?
Some experts believe that biotin is more effective at preventing hair loss than promoting hair growth. 5 This is largely because biotin deficiency has been linked to hair loss.
A Swiss study found that 38% of women who complained of hair loss were deficient in biotin. Of these participants, 11% had a history of risk factors for biotin deficiency, suggesting a link between hair loss and insufficient biotin levels. 6 Correcting this deficiency is an important way to prevent hair loss.
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Foods rich in biotin
If you don’t eat a nutritious and varied diet, taking a biotin supplement for hair growth may be helpful. If you’re looking to adjust your diet to get more biotin from food, you’d be surprised how many foods contain this important nutrient.
Foods rich in biotin are:
Organs, such as liver
Eggs
Fish
Meat
Nuts
Seeds
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
Mushrooms
Bananas
Broccoli
Serums and supplements for hair growth?
The recommended daily intake of biotin is 30 micrograms. 1 Many hair supplements contain much more biotin than this, which is likely to be excreted in the urine or may cause adverse side effects. 6 For example, Nutrafol® contains 3,000 micrograms and Codeage® contains 10,000 micrograms.
With a recommended daily dose of 30 mcg, Foundation Skincare UnTangled Hair Supplement fills any gaps in your diet and ensures you get the right amount of biotin to support keratin production. In addition to biotin, the supplement contains a variety of other vitamins, minerals, herbs and acids, such as marine collagen, saw palmetto, horsetail extract, selenium, iron and other scientifically proven ingredients. This custom blend helps stimulate hair growth by rejuvenating stalled hair growth cycles and increasing keratin production in hair follicles. The result is noticeably thicker, fuller hair, with initial results typically seen after 30 days.
UnTangled is recommended for treating hair loss, thinning hair or thinning hair and works best in conjunction with Foundation Skincare Hair Serum to nourish follicles, promote new growth and prevent further hair loss, without the need for minoxidil.
While it’s much easier to maintain hair than to reverse hair loss, addressing thinning hair and hair loss early with lifestyle changes, dietary changes and hair growth products can make a big difference. Biotin is not a magic bullet for treating hair loss, but it is an important component that should not be missing from your hair care routine.
