Biotin for hair growth, strong nails and healthy skin?

There are many claims on the internet that biotin will help your hair grow, make your skin healthier and even strengthen your nails and make them longer. Some people say that biotin pills have produced amazing results for them while others don’t have as much success.

According to my research there is no proven scientific evidence that biotin or biotin shampoos will make your hair grow or become shiny and healthier. In fact biotin deficiency is rare and most people consume adequate amounts of biotin in their diet. I should also mention that if you consume more vitamins and minerals than your body needs they are usually excreted as waste.

Although there is no scientific proof that biotin can do wonders for your hair, skin and nails many manufacturers of the product claim that consuming biotin pills are beneficial.

Biotin is a vitamin B complex and can be found in many foods. Biotin is involved in energy production and is needed for the production of fatty acids.

Some of the bottles I had purchased also claimed that the pills would help metabolize fat, which is why some people decide to take it to help with weight loss. There is also no scientific evidence that biotin will in fact help you lose weight.  

The brand I took:

The bottle I have claims that it is “a factor in the maintenance of good health, supports healthy hair, skin and nails.”

I began taking biotin in order to make my hair and nails healthier and I am going to share my results.

I took 5,000 mcg, (1 pill) of biotin every day for about 7 months. The brand I used was GNC which cost $34.99 for 120 capsules. With a GNC gold card the price is $27.99

The pills contain no: starch, lactose, wheat, sugar, gluten, artificial colors, flavors or yeast.

Results for my hair:

I did notice a difference in the length of my hair and an increase in growth but I cannot claim that it was the biotin alone that caused this. In fact I think it was due more to the fact that I stopped using heat styling and I began taking many other measures to insure that my hair was healthy.

After I stopped taking the biotin my hair continued to thrive without it but I do think taking the pills in combination with taking care of my hair did help strengthen my hair and help it grow slightly faster; but it was not a drastic change solely due to consuming biotin.

Some info on hair growth:

*Potential hair growth is also based on your genetics, your hair will not grow longer than it is genetically programmed to. It will also not grow in any thicker or in a different texture than is genetically possible. If you are healthy and taking the necessary steps to care for your hair and you still see slow improvements then chances are your growth rate is just slow.

*Hair grows at an average rate of about 0.5 inches per month but this may not be the case for every person.

*Hair health and growth is also effected by: medical conditions, certain medication, hormonal issues, how you care for your hair and your nutrition and diet. 

*Hair is suppose to shed each day and the shedding and growth rate varies between individuals.

Results for my nails:

I did notice a big difference in the growth rate of my nails. My nails were growing twice as fast while I was taking the biotin pills. They were also a tad stronger, although the increase of growth was more evident than the increase in strength.

Results for my skin:

The biotin pills had the most negative effect on my skin. For some reason the excess amounts of this vitamin caused my relatively clear acne free skin to begin breaking out in small red flattened pimples that took a long time to go away. I had never had any prior ongoing issues with beak outs before taking the biotin.

Because of the effect it was having on my skin I decided to stop taking the pills, and eventually my breakouts ceased and my skin cleared up.

Conclusion:

Everyone will react differently to certain vitamins and thus people will have different results. I cannot recommend taking biotin because that is something you have to decide based on your own health concerns. I can however say that I did see an increase in the growth rate of my nails and I do think it had slightly positive results on my hair but did nothing positive for my skin.

The only way to know if something works for you as an individual is to try it (if it is safe for you to do so). Taking multivitamins is also another way you can get in some extra biotin as well as other beneficial vitamins.