Hello all! I hope we're all doing very well and our hair is also healthy. Today's post is going to look at Multivitamin supplements like Hairfinity that people take for hair growth. If you have questions or a personal experience with these supplements, please post a comment below. Thanks!
Question: Do we need to take supplements like Biotin for our hair? If we do, is it necessary to buy expensive brands like HairFinity?
Answer
This is a very good question, especially considering how much people testify about how supplements are helping them. Just to provide a little background, Biotin is a vitamin in the B family of vitamins. It helps break down food and helps with absorptions of fatty acids and such. It also helps promote cellular growth, and so people use it to help increase the rate of growth of hair, nails and other cells. Biotin is usually obtained in sufficient quantities for our daily needs from the food we eat and from microorganisms in our guts that make it. The recommended daily intake for Biotin is currently set between 30-35 mcg depending on age and whether you're breast-feeding. According to a recent study most adults consume between 40-60 mcg of biotin daily through food. Foods that are abundant in biotin are listed below in the table. It is therefore rare to find people who are deficient in biotin.
That brings us to the question. Since we get all the biotin we need and even more from food, do we need to take extra supplements? I tried to address this question a while back in this post, but ultimately the decision to use such supplements is a personal one. There has been no reported maximum dose, and no reported negative effects of exceeding the daily recommended value. A study found that taking 5000 mcg a day for two years had no serious side effects. However, a lot of women who take extra biotin supplements report side effects like increased acne and other break outs on the skin and scalp, along with increased hair shedding. Whether to brave these potential side effects is a personal choice you will have to make all on your own. There has been no study to prove biotin's effects on hair growth, but there are a lot of testimonies to its efficacy.
If you do decide to take such a supplement, do you need to take special supplements like HairFinity or Hair, Skin and Nails vitamins? I can be quite honest here and say yes and no. Even though there's no research, alternative practitioners recommend between 2000-10000 mcg a day for treating hair loss. The added expense may be completely unnecessary IF you don't mind a lower dose, because most of the common multivitamins we already take contain added amounts of biotin. Here is a label listing ingredients of HairFinity.com:
And here are labels from a few common generic Multivitamins:
As you can see, the hair vitamins contain MUCH higher amounts of biotin. The choice of which multivitamins to use are yours depending on the dose you'd prefer. Some specific brands of generic multivitamins contain really high amounts of biotin as well, so its worth it to check your bottle of vitamins to see what it contains.
So that's it then. Will you or are you currently taking supplements to grow your hair? Be the first to comment and win N500 of airtime!
Thanks for reading,
The Ghana Hair Chick
Question: Do we need to take supplements like Biotin for our hair? If we do, is it necessary to buy expensive brands like HairFinity?
Answer
This is a very good question, especially considering how much people testify about how supplements are helping them. Just to provide a little background, Biotin is a vitamin in the B family of vitamins. It helps break down food and helps with absorptions of fatty acids and such. It also helps promote cellular growth, and so people use it to help increase the rate of growth of hair, nails and other cells. Biotin is usually obtained in sufficient quantities for our daily needs from the food we eat and from microorganisms in our guts that make it. The recommended daily intake for Biotin is currently set between 30-35 mcg depending on age and whether you're breast-feeding. According to a recent study most adults consume between 40-60 mcg of biotin daily through food. Foods that are abundant in biotin are listed below in the table. It is therefore rare to find people who are deficient in biotin.
That brings us to the question. Since we get all the biotin we need and even more from food, do we need to take extra supplements? I tried to address this question a while back in this post, but ultimately the decision to use such supplements is a personal one. There has been no reported maximum dose, and no reported negative effects of exceeding the daily recommended value. A study found that taking 5000 mcg a day for two years had no serious side effects. However, a lot of women who take extra biotin supplements report side effects like increased acne and other break outs on the skin and scalp, along with increased hair shedding. Whether to brave these potential side effects is a personal choice you will have to make all on your own. There has been no study to prove biotin's effects on hair growth, but there are a lot of testimonies to its efficacy.
If you do decide to take such a supplement, do you need to take special supplements like HairFinity or Hair, Skin and Nails vitamins? I can be quite honest here and say yes and no. Even though there's no research, alternative practitioners recommend between 2000-10000 mcg a day for treating hair loss. The added expense may be completely unnecessary IF you don't mind a lower dose, because most of the common multivitamins we already take contain added amounts of biotin. Here is a label listing ingredients of HairFinity.com:
Here's a label for hair skin and nails multivitamins:
And here are labels from a few common generic Multivitamins:
As you can see, the hair vitamins contain MUCH higher amounts of biotin. The choice of which multivitamins to use are yours depending on the dose you'd prefer. Some specific brands of generic multivitamins contain really high amounts of biotin as well, so its worth it to check your bottle of vitamins to see what it contains.
So that's it then. Will you or are you currently taking supplements to grow your hair? Be the first to comment and win N500 of airtime!
Thanks for reading,
The Ghana Hair Chick
No I'm not,and to be honest,I don't think I would go that far. Roniidavies@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteLol.. thanks for reading and commenting..why do you think it would be going far to take biotin though? Just out of curiosity
DeleteI started taking 1000mcg biotin about a month ago, I sincerely haven't noticed any extra ordinary hair growth or maybe I should increase my dosage but so many people swear it works so maybe when I feel the need to, I'd start taking the 5000mcg. No side effects for me. No acne, no breakouts but my friend started having acne after she started taking hers.
ReplyDeletecoyintrovert@yahoo.ca
Thank you for commenting. Some people say to give it up to 8 weeks before noticing any change. If not then maybe a higher dosage may work. I'm happy you don't have break-outs though! thats good
DeleteWell done
ReplyDeleteI wanted to talk about this soon, but I am quite happy someone did anyways
Spot on!
Yayy!Thank you..:)
DeleteI've considered Biotin or HSN for my hair and nails, but haven't been bothered enough to actually get it.
ReplyDeleteLol.. maybe you just don't like taking pills eh?
DeleteAm currently taking quite a high dosage of Biotin.Its been one month and so far,I have had positive results.I only settled for such a high dosage as I've been ill so struggling to eat well.I really dreaded the much talked about acne but luckily so far,I have not developed any.
ReplyDeleteThats good to hear..its surprising you're already seeing results..most people have to wait for a while
DeleteNo Sis,the resulys I have seen is super rapid nail growth and clearer skin.My nails are really growing faster than ever and are really strong and my skin is so clear.
DeleteI would love to take biotin or hairfinity but haven't been able to get.I presently take vit Bcomplex and Vit C.used to take Vit E.I haven't really kept tract of my growth until I started the inversion method and I saw about 2inches of growth in 7days!.I need biotin,pls.if anyone is in Lagos Nigeria and can direct me to a shop or something
ReplyDelete2 inches is a lot of growth! I'd probably do that too! Unfortunately I don't know where you can get them to buy, but maybe someone else will comment who knows. Thanks for reading and commenting!
DeleteI went to a pharmacy to ask once and they had it for N4500 so try well stocked pharmacies
DeleteFor hairfinity, naijahaircangrow.blogspot.com has it at their store in Ikoyi I believe and I think they also have it on their online store. But biotin can be found at pharmacies
ReplyDeleteYou guys use pills for your hair again?
ReplyDeletehttp://itsebunite.wordpress.com
Where have you been living? Under the rock? Some people use pills for their hair, but if they were not really lacking in the nutrient they are trying to supplement, it makes no difference. That's why they are called supplements, not additions.
DeleteI've heard about them.. Didn't think they were that mainstream yet.
Delete