When you think of biotin you probably associate it with bright eyes, big hair, strong nails and brain function – which is spot on. In recent years it’s made waves on social media for being the hottest supplement for lush, bouncy ‘influencer’ hair and the first in the line of defence against hair loss, breakage and combating brittle nails, but is it truly worth the hype?

Ok, supplements down and social media posts aside, biotin is a naturally occurring essential nutrient that our body produces to metabolise carbohydrates and protein, but not one we are commonly deficient in. Let’s unpack:

Biotin is a water-soluble B Vitamin also known as Bitamin B7, B8 or even Vitamin H. It is an essential nutrient by which generally the amount we need is produced by our gut bacteria, it is also naturally present within foods such as: 🍌🥦🥑🍠🥚🥩🥜🍄

Biotin helps the body use enzymes and carry nutrients throughout the body – it gets itself amongst a whole lot of metabolic processes; it aids the body in metabolizing proteins and processes glucose to provide us with healthy energy metabolism.

Biotin plays an important role in hair health by improving the keratin infrastructure; it increases strength and vitality, ramps up shine, volumizes, and imparts a healthy scalp.

Studies have found that after using biotin topically, hair volume was significantly increased as was scalp coverage and hair body. Over a prolonged period of time, even more improvement was seen, along with additional perks such as increased hair shine, skin moisture retention, and skin smoothness.

Topical treatments of biotin work by binding the molecule to the hair, giving it an immediate effect of fullness. Applying a hair product with biotin coats each strand, increasing its diameter, and strengthening each strand, and by doing this, it prevents breakage thus promoting and protecting length, which is great if you’re trying to grow your hair long and strong!

In terms of combating hair loss by using supplements, there is little in the way of studies that show benefits for the growth of hair specifically by use of Biotin, it has been shown to be beneficial but when used alongside other vitamins and nutrients. Deficiency in Biotin is rare as we tend to get an appropriate amount from our diet. If hair loss or thinning is a concern, we would recommend consulting a specialist to discuss options.

REFERENCES:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12459313/
https://www.ijtrichology.com/article.asp?issn=0974-7753;year=2016;volume=8;issue=2;spage=73;epage=77;aulast=Tr%FCeb
https://renuerx.com/the-benefits-of-biotin-b7-for-healthy-hair-skin-and-nails/
https://www.livescience.com/51696-biotin-vitamin-b7.html