If hair loss is due to biotin deficiency, you may benefit from biotin supplements for hair growth. However, your hair loss and slow growth can be due to a lack of other vitamins. This article explores the link between this essential nutrient and hair health. It seeks to find out whether biotin works for growing or regrowing hair.
What is biotin?
Biotin is vitamin B7, a micronutrient essential for various body functions, including energy production. It’s prevalent in eggs, beef liver, spinach, oats, and almonds, among other foods. Also, the current market has biotin tablets for hair growth and other health benefits.
Since the body might produce little or no amount of it, you may need supplements to avoid its deficiency. Biotin is essential because it helps the body transform food into energy. Also, it regulates cell signals in the body. Additionally, it helps with the management of gene activity.
How Does Biotin Help with Hair Growth?
The current market has many brands of biotin capsules for hair. Taking biotin for hair is trendy in modern society, with people showcasing biotin pills for hair growth before and after photos on social media.
Generally, biotin benefits the entire body in several ways. But how does biotin help hair growth? The primary role of biotin is to help the body produce energy from food. However, the body also needs biotin to produce keratin. Keratin is a vital protein and a component of human hair, nails, and skin.
Since many foods have biotin, its deficiency is rare in societies where people consume balanced diets. However, its lack causes various health conditions, including hair loss and thinning. Consequently, some people take biotin for hair growth.
Taking a biotin supplement for hair may promote the growth of thicker, more voluminous strands. However, this may only work if a healthcare expert has diagnosed you with hair loss as a symptom of biotin deficiency. Overall, evidence suggests that supplementing with biotin through the strands enhances hair growth in non-deficient individuals.
Does biotin work for hair growth?
The question many people ask is, does biotin regrow hair? Although some people use biotin for hair loss, the evidence supporting the claims that it works is limited. Taking this vitamin for hair loss can only help in correcting biotin deficiency. Therefore, it can restore hair growth and health if biotin deficiency is the problem. Nevertheless, there’s limited evidence supporting the claims that adding biotin to haircare products or using supplements promotes hair growth.
However, some researchers suggest that taking biotin can prevent hair loss. Essentially, researchers have established a link between inadequate biotin levels and hair loss. Again, consulting with a healthcare provider is crucial to confirm that biotin deficiency is the reason for slow hair growth or loss.
Is biotin safe?
Taking biotin as a dietary supplement or using it in haircare products is relatively safe. However, a biotin overdose might have toxic effects, such as excessive thirst, urination, and insomnia. Also, it may interfere with lab results. Therefore, talk to your healthcare provider about supplementing with biotin, especially when taking other medications.
How much biotin should I take for hair growth?
Healthcare experts recommend taking 30 micrograms of biotin per day for adults. Pregnant women should take about 35 micrograms per day. Your doctor can recommend a specific product to supplement biotin or a biotin-rich diet if you suffer from alopecia. That way, the vitamin might help you in combating hair loss. Doctors sometimes recommend increasing biotin dosage to 3 milligrams or 3,000 mcg daily.
Side Effects
Side effects are a significant concern for most people when taking biotin for hair fall. Biotin is generally safe for most people, whether they take it through diet or supplements. However, it’s crucial to avoid overusing it. Supplementing with excess biotin can cause sleeping problems, skin rashes, and stomach issues.
Also, biotin can interfere with lab tests. Therefore, use the amount your doctor recommends and let them know you take biotin before undergoing any test. Biotin levels can drop due to antiepileptic drugs, such as primidone, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, and phenytoin. Therefore, avoid rushing to take biotin if your doctor diagnoses you with its deficiency while taking such medications.
Conclusion
Evidence supporting the use of biotin to grow hair or prevent hair thinning is limited. It only works in people with biotin deficiency since biotin deficiency can cause poor hair growth or hair fall. Nevertheless, some people have reported positive results after using biotin to promote hair growth.
Overall, hair loss or thinning can be due to other factors, including zinc and iron deficiency. Therefore, use biotin to promote hair growth if your doctor has diagnosed you with biotin deficiency. Remember, although you can get biotin from diet, lifestyle habits, medications, and some health conditions can cause biotin deficiency. Thus, you may need a quality biotin supplement for hair growth.