What Is Biotin?
Biotin is a vitamin, also recognised as Vitamin B7 or Vitamin H. It is a coenzyme, and small quantities of it are found in foods such as salmon, carrots, cauliflower, chicken and dairy produce. It can also be taken as a supplement.
How Will Biotin Help My Hair?
It has long been thought that biotin deficiencies can lead to hair loss. Therefore, more and more people have been taking biotins supplements to try and help their hair loss situations. As biotin is also a coenzyme, when ingested, it binds to other enzymes and this is an important factor in the production of amino-acids, which are of course, the building blocks of protein. As you may already know, hair is composed mainly of keratin, which is a protein itself. Due to this, many believe that taking extra biotin supplements will increase the rate at which their hair grows.
Does It Work?
Unfortunately, the body is not quite as simple as that. Biotin will not prevent hair loss, and there is only a small, insignificant amount of research that neither proves or disproves the effects of biotin on the hair. There is also not enough research into the side effects of taking too much biotin, and therefore I advise you be careful if you must take the supplements. According to the NHS, as long as you are taking less than 0.9mg per day, it is unlikely to cause any harm. You should be able to get all of the biotin that you need through a healthy, balanced diet. In conclusion, we do not know what effects biotin really does have on your hair, but there is no research to suggest it is the next big thing for hair loss sufferers.
